Not long after graduating from college with matching degrees in romance studies (both learned Spanish and Portuguese), sisters Angel and Dren Colemen were turned on to disc-jockeying by a friend who had the equipment. It took only a moment of experimenting for Angel to instantly become obsessed. “I went home and I told Dren that we needed to learn how to DJ,” she says. “She didn’t ask me any questions, she just said, ‘Yeah, you’re right, let’s learn.’ I guess she trusted that I knew what I was onto.”
After a few months of practicing together daily, they booked their first gig. Now the two can be spotted regularly at venues across New York City as well as in Atlanta, booking gigs at New York Fashion Week and working with clients like Nike and ESSENCE. Bringing their pure unadulterated good vibes wherever they perform, the duo has a way of making the crowd come alive and now they’re sharing the journey to success, day to day duties and their biggest lessons learned.
Names: Angel and Dren Coleman
Ages: 25
Title and company: Angel + Dren
Location: New York City
Hometown: Bronx, NY
Twitter: @angelanddren
Instagram: @angelanddren
The gig: Simply put, we’re DJs who love fashion, beauty and fitness! We love being able to make people move and being able to create moments. We also love to drop our own remixes.
The journey: We always kinda knew we wanted to be involved with music, and from the first time that we got to mess around with DJ equipment, we knew this was it.
Day-to-day duties: Not every day is the same,but we spend a lot of the afternoons working on finding new music and playing shows!
Their top industry tip: Practice is the most important! That, and never be afraid to ask for help or advice from people you admire. You’ll be surprised how many people are willing to help you.
Confessions of black women in the music industry: Being women in a male dominated field is difficult at times, but it just means that we need to be that much more confident. The benefits are that we’ve been able to show young women like us that starting your own business in your field is possible and worth it.
Their biggest lesson learned: Never compare yourself with other people. You just have to do you and the rest will fall into place.
Their biggest accomplishment: We love working with Nike as Official DJs. They’re super supportive of our fitness goals and of our music pursuits too.
Best time-saving tip: Preparation is honestly the best time-saver. And, if you’re tired, go to sleep. You’ll get more done if you’re rested.
The smartest advice they’ve ever received: “Stay low and build.”
What they’d tell our 18-year-old selves_____: Be patient. You’ll figure out what you love to do. Not everyone knows at 18, what they want to do with their lives and that’s ok.
In their downtime: Recently it’s been Netflix and Frank Ocean.
Their tech fixes: Turntables, Laptops—of course DJ must-haves! Serato is the app we use to DJ- so it’s super important.
In their beauty bags: We love the La Mer Perfecting Primer (Insert fire emoji)
The ultimate power accessory: A choker can make anything edgy
Their theme song: According to Dren, right now, it’s Kanye West’s “Fade” or Frank Ocean’s “Ivy.”
If we could have lunch with any woman it be_____: Michelle Obama, hands down. We’re SOOO inspired by her fit and wellness initiatives, plus she’s also super poised, intelligent and real.