What to know<\/p>\n
Shannyn Hill began DJing in 2015 as a mental health outlet, teaching herself on a laptop before investing in professional equipment during the pandemic.<\/p>\n
She became a key figure in Toronto\u2019s Queer party scene, spinning at major events and festivals while building a loyal following.<\/p>\n
Mentorship from Raptors DJs helped her transition into sports, leading to gigs with WNBA Canada games and the PWHL.<\/p>\n
Now the official DJ for the Toronto Tempo, Hill reflects on representation, her Queer Caribbean identity, and creating space for future artists.<\/p>\n
The Toronto Tempo\u2019s official DJ is a familiar face for those who frequent Queer parties in the city, and now she\u2019s sharing her journey from her family\u2019s home to the Coca-Cola Coliseum.<\/p>\n
Shannyn Hill has become synonymous with Queer events in Toronto. From Hide&Seek to Artist Project and beyond, you can find Hill on deck, keeping the good vibes going at 2SLGBTQ+ functions city-wide. She\u2019s even playing the upcoming Electric Island Fest in May.<\/p>\n
But back in 2015, before she was a professional DJ on her way to becoming a household name, Hill was looking for a way to care for her mental health.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was using Virtual DJ and just kind of mixing without equipment. Couldn\u2019t afford equipment, and it was just my laptop,\u201d she told Queer & Now<\/a>. \u201cI just needed a healthy, safe outlet. So I took to DJing with my laptop.\u201d<\/p>\n She explained that she would make mixes for her own parties, events organized by friends and family functions.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat kept me busy for some time, but it wasn\u2019t until maybe five or six years later that I actually dove back into DJing,\u201d she explained. \u201cIt was during the pandemic, and there was really nothing to do. So I was just on Netflix binge-watching shows, and I came across a show called The Get Down.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat really piqued my interest, because it made me fall in love with the art of DJing. It\u2019s the story of Grand Master Flash and how he turned the turntables into an instrument,\u201d Hill shared.\u00a0<\/p>\n Soon after, she purchased her first DJ controller and has been practicing ever since.\u00a0<\/p>\n DJ 4Korners and Andre 905<\/p>\n According to Hill, mastering the art of DJing sporting events has been a learning curve, with different factors that come into play compared to a party or dance. But, she\u2019s learned from the best, having been mentored by some big names in Toronto, including Toronto Raptors DJ 4Korners<\/a> and DJ Andre 905<\/a> of the Raptors 905.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s so much to it, like the timing, the comms system where I have someone talking in my ear. So I had to learn how to navigate that,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n Working with 4Korners, she was able to attend Raptors games and plug her headphones in during his set to hear what he heard. She immediately had questions<\/p>\n \u201cLike, how do you DJ with all these voices and all these commands going back and forth at you? And you\u2019re hearing your music, and queuing it up, like how you stay focused?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n But with years of event DJing under her belt and a passion for sports, after a few games, the experience with 4Korneers made it easier for her to start trying her hand at other sporting events. Including for the PWHL\u2019s Toronto Sceptres<\/a> and previous WNBA games in Canada.<\/p>\n Official DJ for the Toronto Tempo<\/p>\n Hill\u2019s journey to becoming the Tempo\u2019s<\/a> official DJ spans back to 2023, during the first-ever WNBA Canada game. Andre 905 was able to help her secure the gig spinning for the match.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI remember DJing the game and being like, \u2018This is so cool. I would love the opportunity to do it again.\u2019 Then I saw an ad in 2024 that the WNBA was actually coming back again, but this time in Edmonton,\u201d Hill shared.<\/p>\n Reaching out to her prior contacts from 2023, she inquired about DJing for the upcoming game. But they told her that they did not know the plan for Edmonton. So she did what all good Millennials\/Gen Zers do when we want a gig: She hopped on LinkedIn.<\/p>\n \u201cLinkedIn saved my life,\u201d she laughed, explaining that she used the site to look for the names of people working on the event.<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Eventually running out of searches on the platform, her last search turned up the name of a woman who had recently contacted her via email. Hill reached out to share her interest in working the game.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was like, this is alignment, and this is good timing,\u201d explained.<\/p>\n Soon after, Hill secured the gig for the Edmonton game. Then the following year, the league reached out to her to spin for their match in Vancouver. It was soon after that the WNBA announced that a team would be premiering in Toronto in 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n During her opportunity in Vancouver, she shot her shot with the Tempo\u2019s management, letting them know she would love to be the official DJ for Toronto\u2019s WNBA team. A few months later, the team contacted Hill to offer her the gig.\u00a0<\/p>\n Explaining that it didn\u2019t feel real until the court reveal<\/a> earlier this month, Hill says the new job feels like a full circle moment.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was practicing DJing in my earlier years, I\u2019d always have the basketball game on. So now, the fact that I get to do this as a career and watch live basketball and play music, it just feels like multiple full circles,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n \u201cI just feel so grateful to be in this position and be that representation, for my younger self, for young kids, and just anyone who looks up to me and aspires to do what I do one day.\u201d<\/p>\n Queer & Caribbean: The importance of representation<\/p>\n As a Queer woman in the industry, Hill has faced more than her fair share of obstacles.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve had to prove myself twice, do more and push more,\u201d Hill explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAt first, I felt like I had to dress more feminine, because I\u2019m more masculine presenting and I felt weird coming in spaces as masc while I was still coming to terms with my sexuality,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n Having faced pushback for the way she presents, or even for being a woman DJ, Hill says that she\u2019s past feeling insecure or shaky, and is now in a place where confidence in her identity outweighs any prior feelings of insecurity.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just so confident in who I am and how I dress, how I look, and what I do. I\u2019m totally okay with it,\u201d she shared, admitting that this was something that took time.<\/p>\n As a child, she shared a common experience with many Queer Caribbean-Canadian<\/a> kids: a conflict of identity and culture.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cI grew up in a Christian and Jamaican household, and Jamaican culture was, unfortunately, very homophobic, and their music can also be very homophobic,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n \u201cSo that was something I was battling with as a kid, knowing I was Queer, but not having the words to put to it, because every time I tried or that topic was brought up, it was always like shut down because of religious and cultural reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n This meant she didn\u2019t have space to express herself verbally or through physical expression, like how she dressed. But now, at 29, things have changed.<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n \u201cBut now I\u2019m in a space where I\u2019m so comfortable in who I am that I shop in the men\u2019s section all the time,\u201d she explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hill shared that she wants Queer youth of Caribbean descent to know there\u2019s nothing wrong with who they are.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHold it in your mind that you are okay, you are whole, and you are perfect just the way you are. You were made perfectly, you were made whole,\u201d she explained. \u201cJust keep telling yourself, that\u2019s what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n A return of Sol Flower Fest?<\/p>\n As a means of creating space for fellow Queer and BIPOC artists to shine, early in her career, Hill began co-organizing Sol Flower Fest<\/a> alongside Toronto R&B artist Tara Lord<\/a>. Through regular music showcases, the duo provided a platform for Queer and BIPOC art, something many feel Toronto is missing in a big way.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was really important to highlight these artists because they are super talented, and quite a few of them haven\u2019t really had too many opportunities to perform because of the lack of spaces and how they didn\u2019t really fit into certain categories.\u201d<\/p>\n