Fashion Rocks: Music and Style with DJ Roze Royze

Welcome back to Fashion Rocks, a series that celebrates dapper musicians across the globe. This week we’re featuring DJ Roze Royze, a New York based DJ who has been fiercely mixing music and bringing vibrant beats to dancefloors across the city since 2007. Roze Royze is an NYC native and favorite DJ in a variety of clubs and scenes. She blends her passion for music with a flair for rhythm and precision. In addition to her latest LGBTQ hip-hop party “Set It Off,” Roze Royze will be spinning at Hot Rabbit’s event, “Hell Yes: Haunted Warehouse Halloween.” We sat down with Roze Royze to learn more about what inspires her music and fashion aesthetics. *All images courtesy Roze Royze

dapperQ: When did you start DJing – and what or who were your early passions and influences?

RR: I started DJing 8 years ago in the house music scene.  I’ve been influenced by everything growing up from listening to [my] parents play the Spanish music, going outside, and hearing hip hop and reggae blast thru people’s windows.

dapperQ: How has your work evolved?

RR: I started like many Dj’s, just DJing gig to gig and feeding my love and passion for music from party to party. However, I decided it was time to start my own party. I started “Set it off,” which is a party where I welcome the LGBTQ community to come express themselves musically and freely in a safe environment. I have encouraged and hosted up and coming designers, artists and DJ’S to come and showcase what they consider their style. To me, seeing other people’s passions and being able to provide them an environment to showcase their skills is one of the many rewards being a DJ has brought me.

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dapperQ: How would you describe your current musical style? I don’t really have a current musical style.

RR: As a DJ, I felt that setting a musical style evokes limitations. The freedom of music is what brought me to being a Dj in the first place. I love all music, from hip-hop to house to jazz to rock to salsa. My love for music is all over the spectrum.

dapperQ: The relationship with the audience is important for a DJ. How do you balance between giving the crowd what they want and staying true to your artistry? Do you believe in “reading an audience” – and how do you put it into practice?

RR: To be a DJ means you have to be able to feel and to know your crowd. The crowd is one of the main reasons I love being a DJ. To look out in a room where I’m DJing and seeing my skill and my love for music being spread to others is my drive. I can feel the crowd; I can read the crowd and being able to do that has enabled to me to tailor my set to help me feed the audience what they like while being able to keep it personal to me.

dapperQ: Music and fashion have always been intertwined. Some of the biggest style icons have come from the music industry, from Gaga, Bowie, Madonna and Beyonce to Andre 3000, Joan Jett, Pharrell, and the Beatles. On the runway, the perfect song has the power to convey the aesthetic of a designer’s work. Alternatively, the perfect outfit or personal style has the power to convey the aesthetic of a musician’s work. How would you describe your personal style when it comes to fashion? Would you say it is influenced by your music? If so, how?

RR: Music is a big part of my style and who I follow has allowed me to pick and choose how I apply it to my daily wears.

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dapperQ: Has your style evolved over the years?

RR: I tend to gravitate towards practicality and urban wear.

dapperQ: Who are some of your fashion icons?

RR: HBA, Vastie, Swizz Beats, [and] Kanye West

dapperQ: What is the one article of clothing you cannot live without?

RR: Boxer Briefs

dapperQ: What can we expect next from you?

RR: I’m always working with like minded individuals and putting one off events. In addition to Hot Rabbit’s “Hell Yes” Halloween bash, I’ll also be hosting “HAM Thanksgiving Eve Bash” at C’mon Everybody.

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