Today We’d like to introduce you to’ to Drea Faux Real.
Drea, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be in the Music/Entertainment Industry. When I was young, I also always knew that I was going to move to LA & start my career in Music at some point in my life. I think sometimes when you’re born with a passion in you, you just know what’s destined for you. I definitely felt that my whole life, started singing & playing instruments at a young age, & music was always being played at home.
As I got older, I continued to pursue the music route by exploring different approaches. I would keep myself busy all the time by making music & also going to a lot of shows. When I was in college, I started making mixes & uploading them on Soundcloud. I was pretty tapped in with the whole Soundcloud Producer/DJ scene before it blew up so I would feature a lot of rare music on my mixes. However, I was not mixing at the time, I would just throw all the tracks on Garageband & fade in/fade out (haha). But that was my initial introduction to the DJ world. After I put up a few mixes, they ended up getting some traction & a few months after that, I landed my first gig at a very prominent San Francisco nightclub (shoutout Mikos & Thomas).
Fast-track almost five years later & I am still DJing, but it’s nothing like the first few struggle months lol. I am super more confident & selective in terms of what I play. In a sense, I’ve curated my sound to be, MY sound. But it has been a very long journey, a lot of highs, some lows but it’s definitely been worth it to touch so many people with my music selection.
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?
I like to believe that with anything, there are struggles, failures, & letdowns, and that’s just the way life is you know? The important thing is navigating through that, learning & outgrowing. DJing, & being in the music scene, in general, has definitely not been a smooth road.
Being a woman in this industry particularly carries an incredible amount of pressure, to begin with. I always feel like I have to work double as hard, just because it is a male-oriented industry. To tackle this, comfortability, for me, is rule number: 1. When you’re not comfortable & fully yourself in front of the decks, people will notice & it will translate in your set. Practice, practice, practice! Sometimes, I’ll practice one transition that I really like for like 30 mins, just so I can perfect it & play it out somewhere.
Also, know your worth! It’s really easy to deal with party/club promoters that don’t have good intentions, so you have to really demand your worth & stick with it. Make the budget a priority, & keep it professional.
What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
Learning to have an appreciation at a young age for Music, Design, and Art, really helped pave my life. When people ask me what specifically I do, I literally can’t pinpoint it because I really do a little bit of everything lol. I am a DJ, Creator of Online Magazine Website ‘Hey Ma’, Graphic Designer, Vibe curator, to name a few.
Most people know me as DJ Drea Faux Real, I’ve been DJing for 4.5 years now. I started out in the Bay Area, booking shows everywhere from San Francisco to Oakland, to Sacramento. Three years ago, I moved out to LA, & jump-started my DJ career in a whole different market, although it felt like starting all over again, it was the right decision because it allowed me to meet so many people from different paths of life. When I moved to LA, I was blessed to DJ events for brands, artists, & venues I had always dreamed of DJing for. I am very proud of curating my own sound & having friends & people come out just to hear me DJ is really priceless. I never take that for granted!
When I’m not DJing, I’m always keeping myself busy with my other projects, revolving around Design/Digital Marketing. You can check out some of my work here (non-DJ related) DreaHuerta.com.
What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
I believe the biggest barrier to Female leadership in this industry is being treated equally. Women DJ’s always have to really showcase their talent & work harder than men just to be on the same pedestal. There’s nothing wrong with starting from the bottom & working your way up, but I know we can do whatever we put our minds to just as good as Men can. I have however seen a positive shift of Women in the Entertainment industry in the last few years. A lot of more Women are DJing and in general doing a lot of things that were Male dominant at one point. This makes me really excited about the future!
Contact Info:
- Website: Dreafauxreal.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @Dreafauxreal
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dreafauxreal/
- Twitter: @Dreafauxreal
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Image Credit:
@36neex
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