What to know
- Shannyn Hill began DJing in 2015 as a mental health outlet, teaching herself on a laptop before investing in professional equipment during the pandemic.
- She became a key figure in Toronto’s Queer party scene, spinning at major events and festivals while building a loyal following.
- Mentorship from Raptors DJs helped her transition into sports, leading to gigs with WNBA Canada games and the PWHL.
- Now the official DJ for the Toronto Tempo, Hill reflects on representation, her Queer Caribbean identity, and creating space for future artists.
The Toronto Tempo’s official DJ is a familiar face for those who frequent Queer parties in the city, and now she’s sharing her journey from her family’s home to the Coca-Cola Coliseum.
Shannyn Hill has become synonymous with Queer events in Toronto. From Hide&Seek to Artist Project and beyond, you can find Hill on deck, keeping the good vibes going at 2SLGBTQ+ functions city-wide. She’s even playing the upcoming Electric Island Fest in May.
But back in 2015, before she was a professional DJ on her way to becoming a household name, Hill was looking for a way to care for her mental health.
“I was using Virtual DJ and just kind of mixing without equipment. Couldn’t afford equipment, and it was just my laptop,” she told Queer & Now. “I just needed a healthy, safe outlet. So I took to DJing with my laptop.”
She explained that she would make mixes for her own parties, events organized by friends and family functions.
“That kept me busy for some time, but it wasn’t until maybe five or six years later that I actually dove back into DJing,” she explained. “It was during the pandemic, and there was really nothing to do. So I was just on Netflix binge-watching shows, and I came across a show called The Get Down.”
“That really piqued my interest, because it made me fall in love with the art of DJing. It’s the story of Grand Master Flash and how he turned the turntables into an instrument,” Hill shared.
Soon after, she purchased her first DJ controller and has been practicing ever since.
DJ 4Korners and Andre 905
According to Hill, mastering the art of DJing sporting events has been a learning curve, with different factors that come into play compared to a party or dance. But, she’s learned from the best, having been mentored by some big names in Toronto, including Toronto Raptors DJ 4Korners and DJ Andre 905 of the Raptors 905.
“There’s so much to it, like the timing, the comms system where I have someone talking in my ear. So I had to learn how to navigate that,” she explained.
Working with 4Korners, she was able to attend Raptors games and plug her headphones in during his set to hear what he heard. She immediately had questions
“Like, how do you DJ with all these voices and all these commands going back and forth at you? And you’re hearing your music, and queuing it up, like how you stay focused?” she said.
But with years of event DJing under her belt and a passion for sports, after a few games, the experience with 4Korneers made it easier for her to start trying her hand at other sporting events. Including for the PWHL’s Toronto Sceptres and previous WNBA games in Canada.
Official DJ for the Toronto Tempo
Hill’s journey to becoming the Tempo’s official DJ spans back to 2023, during the first-ever WNBA Canada game. Andre 905 was able to help her secure the gig spinning for the match.
“I remember DJing the game and being like, ‘This is so cool. I would love the opportunity to do it again.’ Then I saw an ad in 2024 that the WNBA was actually coming back again, but this time in Edmonton,” Hill shared.
Reaching out to her prior contacts from 2023, she inquired about DJing for the upcoming game. But they told her that they did not know the plan for Edmonton. So she did what all good Millennials/Gen Zers do when we want a gig: She hopped on LinkedIn.
“LinkedIn saved my life,” she laughed, explaining that she used the site to look for the names of people working on the event.
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Eventually running out of searches on the platform, her last search turned up the name of a woman who had recently contacted her via email. Hill reached out to share her interest in working the game.
“It was like, this is alignment, and this is good timing,” explained.
Soon after, Hill secured the gig for the Edmonton game. Then the following year, the league reached out to her to spin for their match in Vancouver. It was soon after that the WNBA announced that a team would be premiering in Toronto in 2026.
During her opportunity in Vancouver, she shot her shot with the Tempo’s management, letting them know she would love to be the official DJ for Toronto’s WNBA team. A few months later, the team contacted Hill to offer her the gig.
Explaining that it didn’t feel real until the court reveal earlier this month, Hill says the new job feels like a full circle moment.
“When I was practicing DJing in my earlier years, I’d always have the basketball game on. So now, the fact that I get to do this as a career and watch live basketball and play music, it just feels like multiple full circles,” she explained.
“I just feel so grateful to be in this position and be that representation, for my younger self, for young kids, and just anyone who looks up to me and aspires to do what I do one day.”
Queer & Caribbean: The importance of representation
As a Queer woman in the industry, Hill has faced more than her fair share of obstacles.
“I feel like I’ve had to prove myself twice, do more and push more,” Hill explained.
“At first, I felt like I had to dress more feminine, because I’m more masculine presenting and I felt weird coming in spaces as masc while I was still coming to terms with my sexuality,” she continued.
Having faced pushback for the way she presents, or even for being a woman DJ, Hill says that she’s past feeling insecure or shaky, and is now in a place where confidence in her identity outweighs any prior feelings of insecurity.
“I’m just so confident in who I am and how I dress, how I look, and what I do. I’m totally okay with it,” she shared, admitting that this was something that took time.
As a child, she shared a common experience with many Queer Caribbean-Canadian kids: a conflict of identity and culture.
“I grew up in a Christian and Jamaican household, and Jamaican culture was, unfortunately, very homophobic, and their music can also be very homophobic,” she explained.
“So that was something I was battling with as a kid, knowing I was Queer, but not having the words to put to it, because every time I tried or that topic was brought up, it was always like shut down because of religious and cultural reasons.”
This meant she didn’t have space to express herself verbally or through physical expression, like how she dressed. But now, at 29, things have changed.
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“But now I’m in a space where I’m so comfortable in who I am that I shop in the men’s section all the time,” she explained.
Hill shared that she wants Queer youth of Caribbean descent to know there’s nothing wrong with who they are.
“Hold it in your mind that you are okay, you are whole, and you are perfect just the way you are. You were made perfectly, you were made whole,” she explained. “Just keep telling yourself, that’s what I did.”
A return of Sol Flower Fest?
As a means of creating space for fellow Queer and BIPOC artists to shine, early in her career, Hill began co-organizing Sol Flower Fest alongside Toronto R&B artist Tara Lord. Through regular music showcases, the duo provided a platform for Queer and BIPOC art, something many feel Toronto is missing in a big way.
“It was really important to highlight these artists because they are super talented, and quite a few of them haven’t really had too many opportunities to perform because of the lack of spaces and how they didn’t really fit into certain categories.”
And heads up, former Sol Flower Fans, while the parties have been out of commission for a few years, Hill says that they may be making a comeback.
“We’ve actually spoken about bringing it back at some point, but maybe with a little twist, a little something different. But it’s still in the back of my mind to do something like that again.”
The Toronto Tempo hit the court for their debut game on April 29, taking on the Connecticut Sun for a 7 p.m. game at the Coca-Cola Coliseum.
