Missy B

When New York legalized same-sex marriage in 2011, Gov. Andrew Cuomo garnered a lot of press for our community’s victory — and unmentioned behind the scenes, many activists worked tirelessly to ensure that historic moment happened. DJ Missy B was one of them, as a member of the now-defunct Empire State Pride Agenda, the group that worked to advance LGBTQ rights in New York for a quarter of a century. As a DJ, Missy B has been supporting the queer community by proffering music at Pride. She’s actually been a DJ for 40 years, which she attributes to knowing her craft and word-of-mouth. She started at age 11 out of her basement, then worked at all of her friends’ birthday parties. (Oh, and she also has a secondary gig as a finance consultant.) If you’ve been partying for any period of time in New York, you’ve likely seen her around: She’s worked at LoverGirl, The Octagon, The Warehouse, and Nanny’s. Beyond New York, she’s spun in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Toronto, Montreal, the Bahamas, and Bermuda, racking up a variety of awards throughout the years. (A highlight of her career was meeting the ultimate club music diva, Grace Jones!) DJ Missy B, who believes “music is food for the soul,” prides herself on her ability to play at any type of gathering, for any age, and in any genre, which — along with her experience — separates her from many other DJs in the game. In these stressful times, we need to party and purge our worries more than ever, so we’re thrilled to have Missy B playing our soundtrack. —GH