Today we’d like to introduce you to Raquel Perez.
Raquel, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I spent my childhood years living in the Rio Grande Valley. Growing up there, the culture was family, food, Tejano/Country music, and church. Every Sunday I would go to church and sit with my aunt who played flute in the band. That’s where I really began to love, understand, and appreciate the livelihood of music entirely.
I moved to Houston back in ’08, Kingwood, specifically is where I lived and went to high school. The city itself was a big culture shock and intimidating at first. But it grew on me and what made it easier to love and adjust to was the music, fashion, and arts culture that was here and all the history that ties along with it. That was when I knew I had to somehow participate and be apart of the culture.
My DJ career started in my college days. I graduated from the University of Houston (Go Coogs), in the fall semester of ’17. At that point, I was in my first year of initially investing in my own DJ equipment and teaching myself at first. I had influences of all kinds, but the one that impacted me most in my first years as a DJ was being down the street from a well known Houston cultured university, TSU. I spent my time there, having a little fun but mainly watching and studying the DJ’s that would crowd control a Swag Surf party and yearning to be able to do the same some day. Some of my DJ mentors that I met at TSU started by letting me open up gigs for them, and I’m forever grateful for them opening the doors for me and helping me find my niche. Around that time frame is still one of my favorite gigs to this day, which was opening for Kodak Black during the Superbowl week here in Houston.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Every struggle is what makes you stronger, I say. Thankfully for that mentality, I keep my head held high and continue on to being the best that I can be every day. As a young female DJ in a primarily male-dominated industry, it has its ups and downs. One main struggle is being underestimated at times and often overlooked to be headlining big gigs. You absolutely need to have tough skin to survive in this industry and be able to handle the public’s opinions at times and dust it off.
Another hardship along the way was learning how to crowd control, being able to adapt to different crowds. That is probably one of the hardest aspects to accomplish as a DJ in general. The crowds that I don’t get to see often are the ones I appreciate most because it pushes me outside of my comfort zone and forces me to play music I don’t generally get to put into rotation. An example of this is when I DJ’d a Muslim fashion show recently in EADO. I was so nervous considering I didn’t know much of the music they played in their culture. But like anything else, you have to do your homework to be able to overcome the struggles and become successful! That is what I do and live by.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with DJ Raqqcity – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
As a DJ, there is so much room for versatility, and that is what I specialize in. Some people call it open format, but I like to reside myself to just being versatile with my style and adaptable to whatever is thrown at me. That is one of the aspects I am most proud of myself because if I just stick to what I only know of now, then I will never continue to grow and reach my greatest potential.
What sets me apart from any other male/female DJ’s are my unique music taste and different styled sets I do at each of my events. I have DJ’d anything from wedding/family gathering gigs to big, historical venues around the city such as The Flat and Axelrad.
Monthly residencies I host are currently every last Tuesday of the month at Dean’s, as well as, every first Wednesday of the month at Avant Garden.
Weekly residency I host currently is every Tuesday at El Pueblito.
Being a member of The Vibes HTX collective and having peers and the network pool of people I know in the industry at such an early time of my career as a DJ is an aspect I am proud of. Being able to do what I love and represent the city I love all while having fun with the community, which is what I do it for and what I am most importantly proud of!
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My goals are to have not only been able to travel around the states but more importantly, to take my craft overseas and be just as successful wherever I go. That is what I’m really focused on as of now. Thinking big is never outside the box unless you make it yourself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thevibeshtx.com/
- Phone: 2819042736
- Email: djraqqcitymusic@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djraqqcity/
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/djraqqcity
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/djraqqcity
Image Credit:
@jtekproductions
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition, please let us know here.
