Taking over Bar Rouge next Saturday is Malaysian Music Sensation Queen T.
We sit with her to talk about her journey to taking her crown in the Malaysian Hip Hop Scene
ADM: The Malaysian Scene is well-known for its Hip-Hop Scene, how would you say your journey was rising up in the scene?
QT: When I first moved to KL, I went through a rough challenge because I was new in the scene here and I only had one hip-hop residency. However, I was fortunate enough to acquire the right acquaintances to elevate myself in the hip-hop scene. From this, I was given the opportunity to showcase my skills at locations that are mainly focused on hip-hop such as Kyo KL, Prime and Artebar. This opened up a pathway for me to shine as a hip-hop DJ in the Kuala Lumpur scene.
ADM: How did you meet your mentor DJ Reeve?
QT: When I was still residing in my hometown, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, I worked as a manager in a club. At that time, we needed a guest DJ and one of my DJ seniors introduced me to DJ Reeve. We decided to bring him in as a guest DJ. From there I got to know him personally and I learned about his studio academy, BPM by Goldsounds. I decided to take further lessons at BPM to learn more intricate things such as mastering the art of using all the different types of controllers, players, mixers and turntables. Not only that, I also took up lessons for battle skills and scratching. Because I was still residing in KK, I made trips back and forth from my hometown to Melaka as my lessons with BPM was at Melaka. From here, I established a strong bond with DJ Reeve and he took me in under his wing as one of his artists.
ADM: Why the switch from Tiana to Queen T?
QT: I wanted to re-brand myself. When I was still new in the scene, a lot of people regarded me as the Queen of EDM. My name as DJ Tiana was established in KK as an EDM DJ. When I moved to KL, I wanted to re-brand myself so that I can start afresh as a hip-hop DJ, which is my true passion. Not only that, 2019 is a special year for me because I wanted to pick up new skills. Therefore, I felt like it was the perfect time to re-brand myself as I wanted to dabble into the production scene as well. Hence, the re-branding from DJ Tiana to DJ Queen T occurred.
ADM: What can we expect during your set in Singapore?
QT: I'm going to be playing an open format DJ set. Despite being known as a hip-hop DJ, I feel like one of my strengths is that I am able to be versatile according to the crowd. From this, I can play pretty much any genre, ranging from EDM, Retro, Hardstyle and Bass.
ADM: What's next for DJ Queen T?
QT: For this year, I am targeting the international market as a hip-hop DJ. For the previous years, I have performed internationally as an EDM DJ. With 2019 being my re-branding year, I want to pick up new international gigs with the title of a hip-hop DJ. Not only that, I want to release self-produced music and take my career to greater heights.