Winning a national DJ competition seemed inevitable for the talented young DJ known as J Phlip. In a very short time she became a house music staple in central Illinois and often found herself making the two hour drive to Chicago to play respected venues such as Smartbar, Zentra, and Whiskey Sky.  Next thing she knew, she was being flown from her hometown of Champaign, IL to Hollywood, CA to compete against the other two finalists at the famous Ivar nightclub, in front of judges Colette, Rap, and Reid Speed.  The contest, sponsored by BPM Magazine, Rockstar Energy Drink, and Stanton, and titled “Beauty and the Beats: The Female DJ Mix Award”, was intended to discover the next big female DJ in electronic music.  The contest was indeed successful when discovering J Phlip, and has led to even bigger moments for this talented 22 year old. 

            J Phlip fell in love with house music when discovering the thriving underground house scene in Champaign, only a few hours away from Chicago.  Music has always been a huge part of her life from playing instruments to singing and dancing in choir to deciding to specialize in Audio and Sound Engineering as part of her General Engineering degree at the University of Illinois.  DJing was simply the next step for her.  “I found that dancing and listening to others spin music made me happy, no matter what was going on in my life.  I wanted to be able to make others feel that way through my choice of music,” she said.  She found that being behind the decks was a comfortable place for her, even in front of others, and knew it was her following. 

            J Phlip is constantly being influenced by all music around her and the experiences in her life. She in turn inspires other DJs and keeps pushing the local house scene forward. She held one of the longest running weekly residencies for electronic music in Champaign.  For over two years, house fans from around the Midwest came to Barfly on Thursday nights to hear J Phlip spin four hours of her own style of funky, techy, jazzy and deep house. Constantly listening to new tracks and digging in Chicago record stores, J Phlip always manages to impress even the most knowledgeable DJs with her song selections.  Besides her many Champaign residencies, she also shared a weekly with Heather Doble of The Sound Navigators in Chicago at Lava.  Every Sunday at The Sunday Soul Supper these two ladies would play alongside a new featured guest DJ.  She currently holds a weekly residency at the lovely Boltini Lounge in Champaign, keeping her very busy at home when she isn’t traveling to other gigs.

            Her precise mixes and strong EQ skills would pass the most rigorous DJ tests. But it is also her friendly and cheerful attitude that has won her so many fans. Whether spinning at nearly every club in Champaign, or traveling to far away cities to play, J Phlip visibly loves the music she is playing. “House music gives me a good feeling inside.  It is full of energy and can drag me out of any mood, and is so much fun to layer and blend,” she said.

            While her name is very well known locally, it is quickly spreading much further with her completion of a U.S. tour with Colette and Reid Speed at the end of 2005, a two-page feature in BPM Magazine, and an overseas gig playing for over 2,500 people in the Dominican Republic.  J Phlip thinks big and knows that winning the contest has opened doors for her; but at the same time she is well-grounded and ready to put in the work it will take to follow her dream of a career making music. As she prepares for her college graduation and more time for working on music in the studio, it is clear that J Phlip will be able to spread her sound across the world, so be prepared to get your ass on the dance floor to J Phlip’s bassline-driven body-shakin house music!