Important Notes About DJ Booking and Events

For the time being, I'm not booking any public events as a DJ and am only taking on event roles as a facilitator, presenter, teaching artist, writer reading my work, etc. I am also only participating in virtual events due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

For event organizers other community members hosting events, here is a list of resources about the ongoing pandemic and disability justice: tinyurl.com/OngoingPandemic

Why I’m Not DJing Publicly Anymore

Hi all! I’ve been taking a much-needed break from public spaces for a while for healing in many forms, and I wanted to share a few things as I start to feel better. In addition to the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and my chronic pain, I changed my social media profile names, deleted some of my artist pages, and stopped accepting DJ gig offers a few months ago once I learned / realized that the word “hype” as used in my former artist name “Phenohype” or “DJ Phenohype” is a Black, AAVE word that I never should have used to promote or identify myself as a non-Black artist or entity. I’m sorry for not doing the necessary research and learning before taking on an artist name. These types of actions contribute to racial capitalism and anti-Blackness; although no one ever brought this information to my attention, I want to be clear that it still negatively affects the possibilities for Black DJs and artists around me who were / are seeking some of the opportunities I was offered while I was, at least in part, benefiting from the branding I’d created with language I should not have been using and benefiting from—in the opportunities I was offered and often accepted in spaces by and for BIPOC and QTBIPOC, some of my merch (including my self-published book), and public messaging for self-promotion. Going forward, I’ll only be DJing privately for fun by myself (i.e., unpaid) and using my name from everyday life (i.e., “Allison Masangkay”) for any public presence I have in the future. I’ll also continue to / begin immediately defaulting to suggesting QT Black DJs, especially femme and women QT Black DJs if/when I’m offered DJ opportunities in the future. I’m also no longer selling "Phenohype" merch. I’m committed to making sure to do better at researching and confirming the origins of words / language before saying them or using them myself including the intonation, mannerisms, and many other aspects of language, plus all of the many parts of Black culture and other cultures that aren’t my own. Thank you for everyone's support of me as an artist and being over time that helped me learn, be open, and make necessary changes. 

—Allison Masangkay