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NBA's three women DJs are leaving an impact that is felt far beyond game days
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- NBA's three women DJs are leaving an impact that is felt far beyond game days
Ikigai .
A Japanese phrase for a personal purpose that fuels one in life. It is found at the intersection of what a person is passionate about, what they are skilled at, how they can get paid, and what the world needs.
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For DJ Chika Takai, using her platform as an entertainer is her ikigai .
"I think (the) world needs more women and women need to see how other women (are) doing it," she said. "So, that's kinda how I am living for."
Takai is the official DJ of the Atlanta Hawks and one of three women resident team DJs in the NBA. Shawna Nicols, who goes by DJ Shawna, works for the Milwaukee Bucks . And DJ Heat, born Nicole Mosley, controls the turntables for the Washington Wizards and WNBA's Washington Mystics .
"We wanna go as far as we can go, as far as fanbase," Takai said of the power of being a face of the Hawks. "So from that standpoint, I think having a female in this type of role is very important because it can open up for more women and they can feel it's more relatable and they feel welcomed."
DJ Chika Takai, DJ Shawna and DJ Heat are the three women DJs in the NBA for the 2023-24 season.
Ivy Winfrey, who went by the alias DJ Poizon Ivy, was the second woman and first Black woman to be an NBA team DJ when she was with the Dallas Mavericks in 2016 after spending time with the Dallas Wings . She was the first woman to DJ an NBA All-Star Game in 2018. She hung up her headphones last month after DJing the All-Star festivities. Emily Thornhill, known as DJ Thornstryker, was the first woman resident DJ when she joined the Detroit Pistons in 2014.
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"It's a big title," Thornill said during a 2017 interview for the 'What's Up Detroit ' podcast. "It feels pretty amazing. I feel really lucky, honored and just grateful to be the first."
Each DJ carefully curates the game experience based on the team and city, while bringing their own flavor.
Thornhill specialized in house music, a staple of the Motor City.
For Takai and Mosley, the city's DNA is woven into their own. Takai said trap music legend T.I. is "always my king."
For DJ Heat, "you're always gonna hear go-go music when you come to a game."
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DJ Shawna expressed the importance of showing up "always positive, always at a hundred."
Winfrey said she prided herself on being one of the first to bring Afrobeats to arenas. She also played Balkan music to help Luka Dončić feel at home.
Both Nicols and Winfrey describe their abilities to connect with people as a "superpower." Winfrey's DJ name, Poizon Ivy, is based off the Batman villain of the same name. But both DJs use their powers for good.
Besides providing the soundtrack for games, the DJs travel the world for various events and represent the teams in their local communities. Prior to speaking with USA TODAY Sports last month, Mosley had just returned from a trip to South Africa for the Basketball Africa League, an NBA-FIBA joint venture, and Nicols had just finished up an event encouraging local youth to vote. The women also DJ for events outside of sports and have interests in fashion, fitness and content creation.
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For all of them, being a part of the basketball world through music is a dream they didn't even know was possible growing up.
Takai moved from Japan to Atlanta as an adult in 2014 because of the allure of hip-hop. She started her journey with the Hawks as a member of the dance team.
Nicols is a former basketball player and Milwaukee native who has the 414 area code tattooed on her arm.
Mosley was born and raised in the nation's capital and spent her childhood watching music videos. She would scribble potential rap names for herself during high school math classes and stumbled upon "DJ Heat."
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Winfrey has fond memories growing up in Kenya of her uncles watching and playing basketball. She added turntables to her music repertoire as a student at Marquette University.
Ivy Winfrey, who went by the alias DJ Poizon Ivy, was the team DJ for the Dallas Mavericks and the first woman to DJ at the NBA All-Star Game. She loves fashion and energizing crowds.
From ball kids to team DJ
Mosley and Winfrey were both ball kids for the Mystics and Mavericks. Becoming the team DJs was a full-circle moment.
Mosley was the ball girl for the Mystics' inaugural season and became the team DJ during their 20th anniversary season. That year, the team made it to the Finals and lost, but they returned in 2019 to win it all.
"Look where I started and look where I am now," she said.
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While recalling her journey, Winfrey reflected on how hearing other people's stories can seem "like a fairytale." She said she first got connected with the Mavericks after her family moved to Dallas because she saw an advertisement on television for the team's Hoop Camp for kids. The age requirement to be a ball kid was 13. She was 12.
"I made an argument that I was closer to 13 than I was to 12, and so I didn't really see why I needed to wait until I was 13," she said. "That's very indicative of who I am as a person. I think that where there's a will, there's a way. And I really do think that rules are not necessarily meant to be broken, but they ultimately can bend as close or as far as you want them to bend, right? That's how I've approached everything in my life."
DJ Heat and DJ Shawna share championship and bubble memories
The DJs are considered part of the team. Mosley got to soak in the confetti and is the owner of a 2019 championship ring from when the Mystics beat the Connecticut Sun in front of their own fans for their first title.
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"You hear the term 'storybook season,' and it really felt like a storybook season," she said. "I remember being so nervous as the clock was counting down to make it official.
"That buzzer went off and the confetti started flying! It was such a cool moment."
"You're always gonna hear go-go music when you come to a game," DJ Heat said. Go-go music as signature to Washington D.C. and has a special place in the Wizards and Mystics DJ's heart as a native of the area.
Nicols also got to celebrate the Bucks winning the 2021 championship and lit up recalling how it brought the city together. She knows a heavier side of being integrated into the family of an NBA basketball team, too. In 2020, she was selected to be a part of the NBA bubble . Not only was the world dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, but also a racial reckoning.
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The Bucks sat out Game 5 of the opening round of the playoffs to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake. The stand sparked a domino effect as the other NBA teams sat out their playoff games and the WNBA, MLB and MLS did not play scheduled games that day. Tennis star Naomi Osaka's decision to sit out her tennis match caused the Western & Southern Open to delay the tournament to show solidarity with the Black community.
Blake, a Black man, was paralyzed after being shot in the back seven times by a white police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, which is 30 minutes away from Milwaukee. Nicols recalled hearing the news and crying while getting her daily COVID test. She gathered herself and got to the arena, where she was mentally preparing to do her job and play motivational music for the Bucks. She said she watched the clock tick down for shootaround. "Something doesn't feel right and the clock hit zero," she said. Then she learned of the team's historic decision to not play the game.
"It was one of the most proud moments I have as being a part of (the team)," she said. "It brings me to tears, being a part of the Bucks organization with what our guys decided to do with their platform. Because they rocked the world."
DJ Shawna holds the Larry O'Brien Trophy after the Milwaukee Bucks won the 2021 NBA Finals. She has been a part of several historic moments with the team, including the championship and the NBA bubble.
Winfrey described her previous role as a team DJ as "the sixth man on the court" because she got to help the players shine in big moments. Beyond that, she said she felt a sense of purpose serving as a vessel for the unifying power often felt during games.
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"Sound really does amplify moments, and when it's perfectly placed, it's a beautiful thing," she said. "But also, whenever these moments transpire I look around, and the joy that people exude collectively with strangers is insane, right? And that is the true power of sport, is that it for one second, allows us to lay down all of our differences."
Women DJs in NBA inspire each other
Nicols discovered DJing when she was with friends at a local Milwaukee bar called Walker's Pint. Her college basketball career with the Wisconsin Badgers was over and she wondered what to do with her life. Since she doesn't drink, she started talking to local legend DJ Rock Dee, who was spinning that night, and was intrigued by his job.
After playing professional basketball in Europe, she came home and found her lane with the help of Rock Dee's mentorship. She started as the official DJ for Marquette women's basketball games and is now the official DJ of the women's Final Four — and also Giannis Antetokounmpo's favorite DJ . She also founded "Dare to Be," a clothing line and media company meant to inspire others to live in confidence.
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Nicols knew of Winfrey back when she DJed for local radio stations in Milwaukee. Winfrey was the first woman to to be a mixer at WKKV in the city, before she pitched WNBA star Skylar Diggins-Smith on DJing for her youth camp. That opportunity led to Winfrey being the Wings DJ when the Tulsa Shock relocated to Dallas.
Nicols and Winfrey connected in the NBA world and Nicols now considers Winfrey a friend and mentor.
"She's always been a huge supporter of me and an advocate of continuing to use that platform," Nicols said, "and to elevate my own brand and to try to make the most of these amazing opportunities that, honestly, I never dreamed of as a basketball player."
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Takai said that she sees how Nicols is carrying the torch. Although they haven't met in person, Nicols DJed the 2021 NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta.
"She's been always out there doing her thing and always inspires me," Takai said.
And now Takai is giving back in a way that is special to her. When she moved to Atlanta from Japan, she didn't speak English and didn't know anyone. She founded the Study Abroad Foundation of the Arts to assist international students with their English and getting adjusted to American culture. She sees her program and her role in entertainment as working hand-in-hand to create change.
"I just wanted to make this easier for the next generation, specifically women. So that's something that I needed to do because that's where I came from. … I tried to erase my trauma almost," Takai said. "I can be the example so that people can see, 'Oh, she did that! She moved to the States not knowing English. Oh, she did that, she got the job not knowing anybody. She did that,so I can do that too!'
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"Anytime I see those girls who might have a little crazy dream like I had, I need to help them out."
Chika Takai moved to the Atlanta from Japan because of the allure of hip-hop and is now the team DJ for the Hawks.
Mosley credits her time as a student at Morgan State University, an HBCU, for building her leadership and confidence. She said she shares the mindset of encouraging women, specifically in the NBA. She said people come up to her all the time during Wizards games, especially players and broadcast crew from other teams, to let them know they appreciate her.
"I get told that I am an inspiration to other young women and young girls," she said. "I have a number of female DJs in other sports across the country that reach out to me and ask for advice, and I'm all for it because I want to see just women in sports continue to grow at every single level.
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"Nothing has felt like competition or trying to be 'the one' or anything when it comes to any other female DJ I've met working in sports. … It really, really feels like a bond and a sisterhood between everybody."
Nicols, who advocates for the LGBTQIA community with her platform, said that women working in sports "all have our stories" of hardship. She credits therapy and her support system with helping her brush off the negativity and continue to do what she loves.
"We all have stuff and we internalize things, right? And people say mean things," she said. "I'm in a very subjective industry and I can't make everybody happy. And unfortunately, when I don't make them happy, derogatory terms come out because I don't shy away from who I am.
"It's really hard and vulnerable to put yourself out there and to share, but I would rather do that on the chance of it impacting just one human that might look at me and see something in me."
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Winfrey said "heavy is the head" of those who pave the way for more women in sports. She talked about dealing with imposter syndrome during her 15-year DJ career, which included five NBA All-Star Games and sound directing the inaugural season of the Basketball Africa League. She is now a creative consultant for the Wings, helping the team connect with its audience.
She doesn't subscribe to a specific religion, but believes in spirituality and that a higher power guides her in life. She referenced the Biblical scriptures Hebrews 11:1 about having faith in the vision, and the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25 that says our gifts, skills and passions are given to us to use for the sake of others.
For Winfrey, setting an example for her 11-year-old daughter is one of her reasons for pushing through uncharted territories.
"The older I grow, the more convicted I become in advocating for my vision, because it was given to me," she said. "I'm a leader and I'm an advocate. I've never been about me. I've been about everybody else, because that truly is what is fulfilling to me."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA's three women DJs making their mark on league history
