Honeyluv Is Redefining the House Scene for the Love of It

Though she’s always loved music, HoneyLuv’s first foray into DJing began the way many do: with a desire to control the aux cord.

“It was my duty,” she tells PAPER during our video chat. She’s calling in from Berlin, recalling her role as the playlist queen while hanging out with friends in Los Angeles. It was those same friends—who knew her as Taylor Character, an NCAA-level basketball player and, at the time, a member of the military—who encouraged her to start spinning. So, she did. “I was in the Navy, and it was becoming a lot for me,” she says. “I needed something like an escape. I would go back to my room and practice DJing. From there, I grew a love for it.”

Now, she’s sharing that love across the globe. She recently dropped a collaboration with actor Idris Elba—under his DJ persona, IDRIS—called “Euro Flow,” and is currently on her Fall N Luv tour. She’s also running her own label, 4 Tha Luv, with a clear mission: to bring more soul into house music.

Below, HoneyLuv takes a moment from her busy schedule to talk about music, her journey so far, and where she’s headed next.

What drew you to this path when you had so many others in front of you?

It started when I was young. I was in my pre-teens and I loved music. I always made music. I would write poetry over rap songs that I created, but I really didn't go too far with it. At that time, I was in basketball, and that was my main focus. That was my life at the time. So music was just a side hobby. It wasn't until I stopped playing basketball, went through the military and made some friends in Los Angeles [that] saw how much I love music and anytime we were out, I was on the aux cord and no one else could touch it. It was my duty.

My friends were just like, “Why don't you DJ?” “You seem like you know good songs, so why don't you DJ?” I said, “You know what? I don't know about that.” But then they just kept forcing me. I was like, “Okay, I can try it.” And actually, it kind of helped me, because when I was in the Navy, which was just becoming a lot for me. I needed something like a scapegoat. I would go back to my room and practice DJing. From there, I grew the love for it. I really, really enjoyed it. It kept my mind off things. Once I was decent enough, I did some parties with friends who do R&B brunch parties.

It’s funny how the best things often start as a hobby. At what point did it shift from “This is fun” to “This is my career”?

I was doing research on DJs, because I knew about DJs like Calvin Harris and guys like him. I loved their music, and I was like, There are no women that look like me on the forefront. That wasn't until I did my research and saw there were are few but they were super underground. They're not getting the same exposure as everyone else. I thought maybe I could change that. That was a motivational thing for me. It was a challenge. And I love challenges in life. I think that's when I was like, hey, let me get a bit more serious with this. Since I am good at it, I love doing it, it's keeping me from having my little anxiety attacks. This is a good thing. It's a positive thing. That's when it started to become a career for me, when I noticed those aspects.

You have a new single coming up with IDRIS. What can you tell us about it? How did it come together?

It came together really organically. I think my manager had told me three years ago that IDRIS was a huge fan of mine. I thought that was crazy. When I came to London, my manager had set up a meeting for us to go into the studio. I didn't know what to expect at all. I was just going there to show him my beats and see if he liked any of them. He was already a fan. We were just messing around and having fun. It wasn't until last month that we finalized the song. We went through so many different transitions. It had been through an Afro-House transition, but we were like, “No, let's not do that.” We settled on it being like a '90s rave type of song because I love the '90s and those sounds from back then. I incorporated that into what we had, and he was happy with it when I sent it to him. I've been playing it out, and it's been going crazy at all the shows. I opened up with it two nights ago in London. It went off.

Speaking of performing, your touring schedule looks intense. How has it been?

I've been mostly here in Europe for the summer, and every party I've been to has been absolutely amazing. I don't think there has been one bad party since I've been here. This was a dream of mine: to just be in Europe and tour. The fact that I'm doing it is crazy, but it's been really, really good. It’s been a very positive experience.

I also wanted to ask about your label, 4 Tha Luv. What inspired you to start it?

It's very rare when you find soul in the music, and in house music in general. I wanted to showcase more of that with my label. We're here for the love of the music, that's what it's for. It’s not because of the love of a DJ, it's not because of the love of certain songs, just for the music in general. I felt like that was important to capture. I wanted to showcase different artists who don't get the same opportunities. A lot of labels will only sign certain DJs. And for me, if the music sounds good and it has soul in it, I want to sign them. It doesn't matter who it comes from. That was my first motivation with that.

How has the label and working with new artists been going so far?

People have been sending me promos. All my good friends have sent me promos. I'm going to launch the first song next year. We’ve just been doing little parties here and there, little pop-ups, which have been really amazing. Having friends come on and play with other DJs that I admire. So it's been pretty good. It's been getting a lot of good feedback.

Let's go five years into the future. What do you hope is happening with the label then?

Being able to pop up in different cities and host curated parties with people from those regions I go to. I don't want to have to bring my friends. I want to meet different people in those regions and bring them along and be there. So definitely something like that.

How do you stay high energy while traveling so much and working so hard? Any advice?

Honestly, people don't get it, but going home. Go home and sleep. I'm very adamant about that. I'm not staying out to chit-chat. Once I'm done, I'm going to my bed because I have to. If I keep going, I'm going to be exhausted. You're going to see it in my face. I'm going to be stressed and I don't want that. Sleeping and going home are number one.

You’ve got such great personal style as well. What are some of your tips for dressing authentically?

I'm a '90s baby, so that's always going to be with me. Baggy clothes, lots of colors, and just keeping it street sexy, street cool, as TLC would say. I like the tomboy aspect too but also making it feminine is very important for me. So everyone is always complimenting the type of stuff that I'm wearing, whether it's a little bit tighter or a little baggy … it’s still tomboyish vibes. It embodies what Aaliyah was and TLC was back then but just getting that modern twist and keeping up with what the fashion is.

We love a throwback moment. Speaking of Aaliyah and TLC, what’s inspiring you now? From music, film, everything — what’s currently lighting you up?

‘80s funk music. I rediscovered it. I used to listen to it when I was younger. And I was like, “What is this? I don't care about it,” but that's when you're younger. A you get older, you start to appreciate the things your parents played for you.

I know you have some dates coming up this month. Can you tell us about it? What can fans expect on this tour?

Tons of new music that I've been working on for probably the past year or two. It's literally so much now. It's beautiful. I'm really excited to share that with everyone, because they've been hearing me play it here in Europe and through the videos I post. So, finally being able to share them in North America, where I'll be most of the time, is really exciting. I know they've all been like, “Please play this when you come here!”

You've got touring, you've got the new track with IDRIS, you've got the label. What are you most excited about next, though?

The sound that I've been searching for and experimenting with is finally coming into fruition. I think being able to finally put those songs out into the world and seeing what the feedback will be … I get chills. I haven't gotten chills from any of my songs until now. I'm excited to see what it does in the world and how people react to it.

Photography: Gianni Gallant