DJ MAHEALANI

DJ Mahealani loves playing records & believes there are spirits in grooves that are divine remedies wanting to be heard.  She spins vinyl spells & a wicked bitches brew of beats.  Her sound is old school new wave lunar bump; dusty ol’ space age jams & modern beats from back in the day. She flips the familiar into future fun & makes heart beats & booties collide.  

She earned a B.S. in Applied Learning Development & a B.A. in Comparative Ethnic Studies at U.T. Austin. While there in the 90s, she created the Student Union Open Mic Hip Hop Night, which showcased & gave space to local austin hip hop legends such as Bavu Blakes, Tee Double, Romeo Navarro, & Tigre Liu in their early years, & co-sponsored national acts like the Roots. During this time, she also studied Afro Caribean hand drumming, & Haitian dance, drawn to the rhythmic connections she could feel in hip hop culture. after graduation, while working as a children’s advocate at a women’s shelter on the island of Maui, the name Mahealani was given to her in a dream. she was later taught by local friends that is how names are traditionally given and it means the full moon.  

Committed to the belief that music heals our souls, Her wax/ing can conjure magic on the dance floor.  She’s played dancehall records for Dave Chapelle, hip hop for Sandra Bullock, & country& blues for Questlove at a bbq. She’s shared the stage& turntables with (dj)Elijah Wood, been called the first lady of wax by her peers & loves teaching girls the art of deejaying every summer at Girls Rock Camp.