Los Angeles native DJ Moonbaby (Angela Jollivette) has been exposing Angelenos to the finest of soul, jazz, r&b, hip-hop and electronic music since she was in grade school hiding her boombox under the desk.

Today she has her own inspirational soul/gospel radio show “Worry Free Wednesdays” on www.churchbeatradio.com, every Wednesday at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. (PST). She DJs out and about town and will be headlining the May 7th First Friday event at the Museum of Natural History in Los Angeles. If you’re in LA – don’t miss that! She introduced me to several artists including Esperanza Spalding, DJ LadybugMek, and The City Champs. Follow her on twitter: @djmoonbaby!

Rootnotemusic: What experience are you trying to bring to people when you’re DJing? You seem to cross sound boundaries and have a wide range of influences. Please give me a bit of the Moonbaby musical philosophy.

DJ Moonbaby: I just love good music. I don’t care what genre; my roots are deep in soul and jazz but I want to expose my audience to the unknown to expand their musical taste. I love when people come up to me and ask ‘what was that song you were just playing?’ I think I get more excited about being asked that question more than making them dance – because they’re engaged, thinking, and wanting to discover more!

I asked her to give me a sampling of the sounds we might hear on her weekly radio show or if we caught her at a live gig. Here is an exclusive Moonbaby mix starting out with the soul master, Stevie Wonder, with his reggae inspired “Master Blaster (Jammin’)” live from 1980:


A preview of South African born, Toronto raised soul artist Zaki Ibrahim’s Eclectica Album:

This track is from the tribute to Fela Kuti (Red Hot +Riot), “Water No Get Enemy” featuring Macy Gray and D’Angelo:

Here is Swedish-Japanese electronic band, Little Dragon with “After The Rain”:

The often sampled “Rise” by Herb Albert from 1979. Check out those moves!

“Juicy” by the one and only Notorious BIG:

Links & Resources:
www.churchbeatradio.com
First Fridays at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles
http://www.zakiibrahim.com/
From DC to Digable Planets to DJ LadybugMek
Groovin’ with the sons of Booker T: MMW, Big Organ Trio, & The City Champs
Esperanza giving us hope!