Seeing Yourself in the Room
While going through photos (thank you Darien) from our second FAM Session, The Art of DJing and Vibe Curating, I paused on a picture of the panelists standing together—with me, the host, right beside them.
“Oh wow… I kind of look like her.”
The “her” was Val Fleury, one of the panelists standing next to me in the photo. What struck me wasn’t just the resemblance—it was how grounding it felt to see someone who looked like me speaking confidently about a profession I care deeply about. It was comforting. It allowed me to see myself in that space.
That’s what representation does.
FAM Session: The Art of DJing and Vibe Curating
Lanisha, Val Fleury, Sibby Liv, DJ Haram
Sometimes representation doesn’t arrive as some grand political statement. Sometimes it’s just a quiet moment where you finally recognize yourself in a room.
So much of the work we do at FamFrequency Productions—especially when it comes to recruitment and programming—is intentional about centering Black and brown folks, women, and non-binary people in professions that don’t always reflect them. Because if a single photo could spark that feeling in me, imagine what it does for a young person still trying to figure out where they belong.
I remember calling my partner from the other room and saying, “Hey… don’t you think we kind of look alike?”
And honestly, that small moment made me smile harder than I expected it to.
As we continue building FAM Sessions and programming for our student-artists, I’m excited to keep bringing in professionals, teacher-mentors, and creatives who reflect the young people we serve—so they can see themselves in these spaces, believe they belong there, and maybe one day pay it forward and do the same for someone else.
It made me think differently about the kinds of rooms we’re creating through FamFrequency Productions.
FAM Session: The Art of DJing and Vibe Curating
Our next FAM Session: Producer Edition takes place Sunday, May 31st in Philadelphia featuring J Melodic, Vanessa Silberman, Lyd Marie, and Kofi Bonsu.
If you’ve been looking for a room where music, creativity, and community feel accessible—we’d love to have you there.
I love the work that I do.
