HoneyLuv On Black History Month, Being In The Navy And Learning How To Produce Music In The Barracks

HoneyLuv is making strides within the dance music scene as she blends R&B, Reggaeton, Afrobeats, house and techno into her signature sound, which is best seen on her latest single, “Inside My Mind.” The Ohio-bred producer, formally known as Taylor Character, grew up listening to ‘90s house music with her mother, with the likes of Cece Penison, Frankie Knuckles and more on repeat. Today, it’s female icons Peggy Gou and Honey Dijon that serve as inspiration.

Character has a remarkable story: when an injury prevented her from making it in basketball at the NCAA level, she opted to serve as a drone operator in the Navy to pay for college. She then taught herself to deejay in the barracks. Since then, she has captivated live audiences on festival stages like Coachella and Outside Lands with her futuristic, deep tech sound.

In addition, Character is currently serving as an ambassador for Armani Exchange, and her personal aesthetic is described as “sexy urban streetwear.” Indeed, Character proves to be a multifaceted creative.

Here, Character discusses Black History Month, her knee injury, being a drone operator for the Navy and more.

Lisa Kocay: Can you describe your sound in three words?

Taylor Character: “I would say funky, sexy and groovy.

Kocay: You suffered an injury that prevented you from making it in basketball at the NCAA level, so you opted to serve as a drone operator in the Navy to pay for college. You also taught yourself to deejay in the barracks. Can you talk more about the story?

Character: “I had been playing basketball since I was six years old, and when I got to the end of my high school year, I had suffered an ACL injury and an MCL [injury]. My knees were kind of jacked up, so to say. I was still able to get a scholarship, though. I went to college, but then again, it happened for a second time. I tore my ACL again. I was like, ‘You know what? I’m not going to go for a third. I’m just going to stop right here and there.’ And so I did. Then eventually, I thought about joining the Navy so I could get the rest of my college paid for because I didn’t want to pay out of pocket. So I did and I got stationed in Los Angeles.

“For four years, I was a drone mechanic. I did the mechanics for the drones that we were trying to fly. I was there for four years but within those four years, I was learning how to deejay because my friends forced me to do it because not a lot of female deejays were in the Los Angeles area. At first, I brushed it off, but then they kept forcing me. So I was like, ‘I’ll just do it.’ I end up really liking it. I was deejaying some of my friend’s parties. It was mostly hip-hop and R&B parties that I was able to get into first because I didn’t really know anyone in the dance scene just yet, but I really did want to deejay dance music and house music because those parties always saw on TV from concerts that always look crazy.

“Eventually, once I got out [of deejaying hip-hop and R&B parties], I met up with some people. They were showing me the ropes. I was able to put out one or two songs just to get my name out there. And especially since Covid happened with Twitch [becoming popular], I was able to showcase that I deejayed house music just to get my name out there as well. At the end of 2020, I got out of the military, and in 2021 is when I was fully committed to deejaying. I went to school for it and had the military pay for it for me. It helped me learn how to produce music better and to get a start on it as well. Then it was getting gigs for myself and reaching out to different venues.”

Kocay: You said your friends were pressuring you to get into deejaying because there are a lot of women within the industry in Los Angeles. Did they know that you had like a knack for deejaying?

Character: “They did because every time we would go out, I was always on the AUX chords picking the tunes. Everything I picked…my selection was I guess on point, as they would say.”

Kocay: You’re currently serving as an ambassador for Armani Exchange. What are three must-haves in your closet?

Character: “Definitely some cargo pants, some crop tops and some cool tennis shoes.”

Kocay: What is one piece of fashion advice that you think everyone can gain from?

Character: “Dress how you want to dress. Don’t try to dress how everyone else is. Create your own lane.”

Kocay: Do you remember the first electronic music song you heard that made you fall in love with the genre?

Character: “I think it was Frankie Knuckles’ ‘Your Love,’ and it was when I was younger, too. I was playing Grand Theft Auto. I think it was that one or it had to be a Cashmere song. It was one of those two. But I remember Frankie Knuckles’ ‘Your Love’ being the one where I was like, ‘Oh what is this?’ It’s such a vibey, sexy track and I loved it.”

Kocay: Frankie Knuckles, that’s a pretty good throwback. How did you get to hear that?

Character: “I actually love all throwback music, whether it’s R&B or the ‘90s. I like the older stuff. I feel like during that, I wish I could have been alive and partying at that time. I’m always drawn to it.”

Kocay: Do you still take inspiration from that era when making your music?

Character: “Most definitely. Especially with my latest track, ‘Sway.’ I think I was listening to some classic songs. I got the inspiration and went into the studio trying to incorporate those sounds that I was hearing with a lot of stuff that I like to put in, and a little bit of that R&B and hip-hop style as well. That’s how the way it came about.”

Kocay: What’s your favorite song you made and what was happening in the studio when you made it?

Character: “I would say the current one that I have now ‘Sway’ because I feel like it’s me finally coming into what I want my sound to be in different aspects of the genres that I want to make. I literally made it right next to my bed in my little bedroom studio.”

Kocay: What does Black History Month mean to you?

Character: “Basically giving appreciation to people now of color who are paving the way and to our ancestors. We’re out here making changes, fighting for equality, and I feel that it’s very important that everyone shows that respect, no matter what color you are. African Americans, especially in the United States, are not treated as fairly and I feel like we have a lot of work to do. I think Black History Month gives us that boost to keep us going and not stopping because we have to do it not just for ourselves, but for the future and those in the past who fought.”

Kocay: The music industry is known for not being as inclusive as it should be to people of color. What do you think the music industry can do better?

Character: “I’ve been seeing a lot of opportunities given to girls that look like me and other people of color as well. I feel like it’s slowly getting there. It could be way better but things take time, I guess. I’m kind of happy with the direction the music industry is going.”

Kocay: What do you think white people can do to be better allies?

Character: “Know your privilege. Acknowledge that you have privilege and try to navigate how you can do better.”

Kocay: If you could go back in time to when you first started making music and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?

Character: “Don’t stop because I should have kept going. I started making music when I was in middle school and I think basketball had taken over around that time, but I wish I would have stayed with it. I would love to have been deejaying around the world at 17 or 18, but in a way, I’m glad I didn’t because I probably would’ve been wild. Now I’m like very calm and chill.”

Kocay: How did you start to deejay in middle school? That’s so cool.

Character: “I was making beats. That was my thing. I was producing beats, writing lyrics to them here and there, deejaying on the computer, [but] only on deejaying websites that they had. It was an interest I had. I never really got into it like I wish I would have.”