RS: So you love animals, you're a professional Karate master and you're a DJ…
Kimberly S: I’m not a master…
RS: Are you a mistress?
Kimberly S: No, a master is a fourth degree black belt and so far I’m on my second degree.
RS: With your drive you'll be there pretty soon.
Kimberly S: We’ll see, I don’t know. I’ve just had spinal surgery on a herniated disk and my neck not long ago, so I’m getting back in shape here but I’m going to be real limited in just a few areas. Like I can’t ever spar again, which is OK, I’m getting older anyway.
RS: Is that from carrying all the records around?
Kimberly S: <Laughing> No, I think it’s from almost thirteen years of Karate - jumping and landing and twisting and all kinds of crazy shit.
RS: What’s your favorite record in your bag right now?
Kimberly S: My favorite record in my bag is Seal’s “Love Divine.” It’s really nice to put on and the crowds love it. I have tons of favorites, I can think of 20 right now which date back to early house music.
RS: What advice do you have for DJs who are looking to break out of clubs and getting on the circuit?
Kimberly S: First get out there and be prepared for a gigantic ocean, because everybody is a DJ nowadays and if they’re not a DJ, then they want to be. I started my own small company and I have three DJs who I mentor and manage. With my connections and stuff I’ve been able to get them started and I would never place my reputation on the line unless I felt they were just awesome and humble. I’m teaching them that too, you don’t just go out and play records. You have to learn how to keep the ego thing in check. You have to know when it’s OK to say this isn’t cool what's happening or go with the flow. I didn’t get the CD players that I wanted so now I’ll find a way around it and I’ll get experience playing on this stuff and now I can play on everything because everywhere is different and they don’t always read the contract.
Be prepared and know it’s not easy. If you can find people who support you and believe in you, get them together and say hey, let’s start cold calling clubs and sending out promos, it takes a lot of work. I put in a good twelve years or so before I was truly discovered, I didn’t think it would be a career path, I just did it because I loved it. This is very important, if anyone does ever help you, never forget that person. I feel that when you do something for somebody, you're doing it out of the kindness of your heart and not to get anything back, even though it’s a career and you're actually making money off of it. My manager Sandy did it because she enjoyed it at the time and now I manage myself. I appreciate all that she did to get me started and I appreciate what Jeffrey did to get me out there as well and I’ll never forget them. I appreciate James who taught me and The Palms for giving me the opportunity and then letting me stay around for eight years. You just don’t forget those beginning roots and just thank you and I appreciate is all you really can give back some of the time, and that’s all anybody really wants to hear. Don’t forget your roots, that’s the best advice I can really give anybody.
Now that I can do what I love and make a really decent living doing it, I’m going to keep working hard and being consistent. If you want to go out there and DJ, you have to stay consistent to create your crowd. Often it doesn’t even matter how good of a mixer you are, it’s putting on the right records. In the 70s you could barely mix, put “I Will Survive” on and “Native New Yorker” and just know when it was the right time to read the crowd.
RS: Anything else to say to the DJs out there?
Kimberly S: There is so much more to say, the thing really is just be prepared to be disappointed a lot on your journey. Play for free if you have to in the beginning just to get your name out there and then follow up on it. ‘Hey, can I play for you again?’ You can’t just sit around waiting for things to be handed to you, it’s not the way of this business. It is to some degree for some people, but they're the hare and the tortoises are the ones that always end up being the diamond in the rough, the ones who really make it because they have the stamina and endurance and get a lot out of what they do. I was also very lucky to have Manny Lehman as a circuit mentor to ask questions because he’s been traveling as a DJ for so long. Now I can do that for my boys, so it’s pretty cool. DJing is a hard business to get started in, it really is.
