interview+photography Jorge Perezchica
Meet Gracy Delgado aka Gracy D, a 32-year-old DJ whose life has been a tapestry of sound, culture and dance. Growing up in Compton, Gracy D was immersed in family traditions and vibrant celebrations. It was a household where music was more than a backdrop, it was an introduction to her musical knowledge coming from her family. This intimate connection with music was her inheritance from her grandparents, who had migrated from the border of Mexico to build a better life for their future generations.
As a child, Gracy was already captivated by the power of music, not just to be heard but to be felt. Her love for music was twofold, encompassing both her ability to create it and her capacity to dance to its beats. Her passion led her to pursue a dance career.
With her dance foundation and a growing passion for DJing, Gracy’s journey took a significant turn when she received her first controller at the age of 28. She dedicated countless nights to honing her craft while still working a full-time job. It wasn’t until a few months in that she made the decision to fully commit to her DJing endeavors. Then, the unexpected happened—the pandemic struck.
The pandemic, with all its challenges, provided Gracy with an unexpected opportunity. It allowed her the time to immerse herself in mastering her craft and perfecting her skills.
The turning point in Gracy D’s career came in 2021 when she clinched victory in the Dinah Shore DJ contest. This triumph not only opened doors to more opportunities but also firmly placed her name on the map of known DJs, not just in Palm Springs but in the broader industry as well.
Coachella Magazine: What was it like growing up in Compton?
Gracy D: I would say that growing up in Compton was kind of like the introduction to my musical knowledge coming from my family, my uncles including my grandparents. There was always music around my house. So I grew up pretty much in a small household. My grandparents migrated from the border of Mexico, and they pretty much just decided to build a better life for their future generations.
Growing up, I was the oldest. And I was always surrounded by family, a lot of gatherings, a lot of barbecues and everything. Every moment that we had, the one connection that was always made would be music. So I think that was a huge impact on who I am — I poured and devoured music with passion.
CM: What were some of your favorite music you listened to growing up?
GD: I like to say that I don’t have a favorite, you know, I like to say that there’s a lot of stuff that I like. I think me personally, and I always tell my mom, I probably was born to just be in love with music because I not only do music, but I also feel it had an impact on me enjoying music by dancing as well. That’s why I went to school. I pursued a dance career, so all of those impacts with music growing up and also dancing, I think it’s what made me the person that I am today.
So as far as music growing up, we did listen to everything. Literally. As long as you felt good, whether it was sad music, happy music — music for us, I would say, it is very therapeutic.
CM: How does dance help you as a DJ?
GD: I think that definitely helps me out. One thing is understanding music, but one thing is knowing what the people want from a dance, from an outside perspective, from the crowd wherever you are. At the end of the day, as DJs, we are pretty much like the masters of the dance floor.
At the end of the day, we want people to be on the dance floor at all times. So we pretty much choose that route. We have that ability to know what to play and, yeah, I would have to say having that dance kind of background really helped, made it easier for me to just pick up the music aspect of becoming a DJ, knowing the beats, the counts. It all starts with knowing the basics. And I feel like because of the dance, I already have that music ability to understand rhythms and hearing the counts. It’s what helped me out to learn the DJ system.
CM: Tell us about your journey becoming a DJing.
GD: My partner bought me my first controller. I dedicated nights. I was still working a full-time job, so I wasn’t set to fully dedicate myself as a DJ. I was still trying to learn the ropes. So I would say a couple of months in is when I kind of like just decided to pursue it. And then the pandemic hit. So obviously, I think that really helped me to just use that time to spend at home to master the craft work on it and practice.
CM: And then you won the DJ contest at the Dinah Shore in 2021. Did that open more opportunities for you?
GD: Yeah it definitely opened more opportunities and I feel like it definitely put my name, if you wanna say it on the map or the radius of known DJs that are in the industry, not just Palm Springs. So that definitely put my name on the radar and since then, they brought me back the following year. That also brought more eyes into knowing who I was.
CM: After winning the Dinah Shore DJ contest, you moved to Palm Springs.
GD: Yeah, so when I moved, which was about almost a year ago because I was already kind of semi-established in the LA scene, I still had a commute. Up until I would say this year, when I started having more opportunities in Palm Springs.
LA is a very competitive. There’s so many opportunities. But because I already had residencies, I still had a commute until I was able to meet people here, network, get to know the scene, get to know the venues. And yeah, I would say like starting this year is when I started having more opportunities to expand.
CM: How did you use social media to get your name out there?
GD: I would say what really helped me, well during the pandemic, all the DJs obviously lost their gigs in person. So the only way for them to still connect with people would be streaming back then. I pretty much tried everything, Instagram, Facebook you know, not, not as much as TikTok until recently because of the music copyrights, it was so difficult to even be on for like more than 10 minutes before cutting off.
Back then, Twitch was one of the biggest streaming platforms for all the DJs, once they kind of like learned how to do the streaming, they hopped on. And that’s pretty much the way that people still were able to check out their favorite DJs, listen to music and connect with people. With the pandemic not still being able to encounter or be around people, it gets difficult. But definitely Twitch was the biggest, I would say impact. And I dedicate myself to stream pretty much almost daily.
CM: And you’ve been able to turn DJing into full-time?
GD: Yeah, I would say maybe with that same year that I started, 2019. Around November is when I just quit my full-time nine-to-five job and really dedicated myself fully, doing a DJ. By that time I was pretty much getting more and more opportunities. So I felt it was safe to dedicate myself full-time.
GD: I still commute to LA for events. I still have events in Long Beach. My goal for this year is to travel to DJ to get more bookings, not just in California, but pretty much become like an international DJ. And then also, I feel it’s time for me to step into the next chapter. I also have other projects. I have the nonprofit, which is with my partner. We use music, art and dance as a form of therapy. I have the DJ and then she does the live percussions with me. And then my goal is to really get into producing music.
CM: When you’re DJing a set, what do you need going on in your mind?
GD: When I DJ I pretty much just get into this different state of mind. Pretty much I just kind of like am just enjoying the moment. I don’t think about anything else, but just living in the moments, playing the music and just pretty much sharing my happiness, my excitement, my everything when I play the music, you know?
CM: How do you go about about reading the audience and adjusting your set in real time?
GD: Yeah, as a DJ it’s so important to really read the crowd, you know, and one thing with me is, I want my goal whenever I do some sets is to be able to connect with the crowd. They’ll feel that energy is so powerful. So whenever I play music, I pour my all, I look at the crowd, I interact with them, I get on the mc, I hype it up. In the moment that I start seeing like smiles, laughters, it’s like when I know that I’m doing something good.
CM: What does Latin music mean to you?
GD: I still think Latin music is still trending because with Latin you can do so much now, everything’s being fused. I know house music is coming back, you know, they’re making everything upbeat. But I still have a, a really strong connection with my, my Latin genes obviously because I’m Mexican. So that’s always gonna be a part of me that I’m always going to pretty much embrace and represent. You know, it is who I am. My Mexican culture, my Latina culture, everything is always gonna come out.
So whenever I have a chance to play Latin music, it’s gonna come off really, really strong. Because again, you know, it’s just in my blood, it’s in my genes. As far as music, I mean it’s still high up there. I know it’s maybe not as big as it was last year, but I still feel it being high up there. It’s obviously evolution to a dance, which is everything. It’s just high, high, high energy, high upbeat.
CM: Did you have any residencies currently?
GD: I’m a resident at Chill Bar. And since they open Reforma, I do some events with them as well, with Gasolina Party. I’m hoping to, to build more residencies the more that I’m out in the scene. I also do Palm Springs Art Museum for special events.
CM: What’s the biggest lesson that you’ve learned throughout this four years?
GD: The biggest lesson for me at least is don’t change. Like, be true to yourself. People are gonna recognize and notice your, your real self and if they’re gonna enjoy your music, it’s because it’s who you are. They’re gonna, they’re gonna appreciate that, the honesty, the humbleness. So I, that’s one thing is just say true to yourself. Stay humble, meet people, share moments and yeah, just enjoy every second of it.
CM: And how would you describe yourself in three words?
GD: Ooh, this is a tough one. Okay, let me think about it: Passionate, happy, and energetic.
CM: How do you market and promote yourself as a DJ?
GD: I still consider myself an open format. I think it’s important to kind of be well-rounded with your music styles, especially since Palm Springs being such a touristy city, there’s a lot of diversity here. You have to be able to play a little bit of everything to cater to everyone that shows up, you know, English and Spanish, I’m bilingual as well. Whenever I do MCing I’m able to speak well, both English and Spanish.
CM: Where do you see yourself five to 10 years from now?
GD: Hitting the big stages. Definitely producing my own music, my own tracks. Hopefully working with artists. But yeah, hitting the big festivals, the big stages. Yeah, that’s where I see myself five, 10 years.
CM: What do you love most about music and DJing?
DG: What I love about music and DJing, I love that we pretty much have full control of what we play. We connect with people with just a, a rhythm of beats. The fact that I play something and people enjoy it, you know, it just makes me happy. I connect with so many people. I think at the end of the day, it’s just connection with the people. You connect with them in an emotional way, whether it’s something sad, happy, energetic, you know, you’re able to connect with people with a certain song and you’re able sometimes to even like kind of relive a moment. And at least for them.
If you play a song that they haven’t heard in years and it brings back a memory from a time that something’s happened, you know, like you’re able to connect with a certain soul, a certain energy by playing that one song. And I think that’s important when it comes to DJing. It’s just letting your energy out when you play your music and DJing.
CM: Anything else you would like to show that you even talked about?
GD: Well, aside from my DJing, again, I have a lot of other projects that I’m working with, with the duo. That’s something that I also wanna push more this year. I know that the females in the industry are, are coming up. You’re starting to see more female DJs come up, more artists, more producers. I wanna push for that, having DJ and live instrumentation aspect of it. And then also wanna focus more into the non-profit. It’s important for us to help out people, if you’re not DJing, still be able to connect with them and help them with, with music. Using art, using dance. I mean, there’s so many ways that you can help with mental health. So there’s a lot of stuff that I wanna be able to push for that this year.
CM: Thank you very much your time. I appreciate it.
GD: Thank you.
SOCIAL: @missgracyd
LINKS: Music Art Dance Helps