DJ Jadaboo Shares What Goes Down After 2 A.M.
- Written by Alyssa Morlacci
From live sets on TikTok during quarantine to NBA stars belting out the 'Shallow' lyrics at last call, DJ Jadaboo tells us what goes down after 2 a.m.
When Jada Chambers stepped into the studio to film her episode of “2 A.M. Chronicles,” she surprised us midway through filming by flashing her engagement ring.
The 25-year-old known as DJ Jadaboo will be marrying her high school sweetheart, rapper Kyle Harvey of The SuperDuper Crew. The couple met when Jada was 14 years old, and she recalls even back then hearing about Kyle’s vision for becoming a musician.
“He wanted to be a rapper, and I was like, ‘OK.’ And I just thought it was super regular to me because my dad was in music,” she says. “… All of my music knowledge and everything I’ve been doing in music is definitely due to my mom and dad.”
Jada’s dad, James Chambers, was in a 1990s group called Red Zone Fam. Her family’s involvement in the music industry played a part in her decision to start DJing as not only a way to express herself but also to build a career and social media following.
With more than 200,000 followers across platforms including TikTok, Instagram and SoundCloud, Jada seamlessly pivoted to sharing music online while clubs are closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I love TikTok,” she says. “[On] TikTok I went viral with my video; it was ‘Rain On Me’ and ‘Make It Rain’ by Travis Porter—SWV and Travis Porter. I was in the beginning of quarantine. I had come up with that transition there, and was like, let me just film it. I think it’s cool. Little did I know I was going to get like four million views on TikTok.”
Prior to the pandemic, she was DJing at 143 for SOSUPERSAM, who had serendipitously been Jada’s inspiration for becoming a DJ.
“I thought she was so amazing, and I was like, ‘I want to be like her. I want to be like her one day,” she recalls of the moment when she saw SOSUPERSAM playing a live event at Grand Park in downtown LA. “I want to perform in front of all these people and share my music knowledge. And little did I know a couple years later in my DJ career, she’s my boss.”
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Jada’s secret to booking gig after gig is in her ability to read the room and not be selfish with song selection. Once at 2 a.m., she even facilitated a singalong with a few NBA players who turned up that night.
She was playing at Hyde in Los Angeles when Chandler Parsons, Blake Griffin and their friends started coming up to the DJ booth. As she was playing the exit music, they requested ‘Shallow’ by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, and as it played they all belted out the lyrics.
“It was actually pretty epic,” she says. “I’m like, ‘Wow, I have a hand in, you know, creating this moment for people.’”
Jada compares her role to psychology, and says her job is “getting into people’s minds and trying to figure out what they like.” But more than anything, DJing for her is also a creative outlet.
“I feel like everyone expresses themselves through clothes, or makeup,” she says. “I feel like music, and showing my music, is what gives me purpose and my identity.”
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