WOMEN EMPOWERED – DJ LISSA MONET

BY: KAYLA KARIM 

From Soca to top 40, DJ Lissa Monet spins it all.  She is one of the top female DJs in the Greater Toronto Area entertaining all audiences. DJ Lissa Monet paved the way for herself and for many, by having a positive outlook on life and her career.

Lissa grew up in the Don Mills and Lawrence area with her family where she spent most of her life and elementary school days, before moving to Scarborough for post-secondary. She attended Centennial College and studied Business Marketing ahead of pursuing a career in the music industry. Monet said that she has generally been surrounded by music her entire life. Aside from it being her personal passion, Lissa was introduced and influenced to music by family members, including her father and grandmother.

In their childhood days, Lissa and her younger sister would spend time at their grandmother’s house putting on a performance, singing and dancing to Bob Marley records. Her father, who played steel pan, was a part of a few groups in the GTA. Lissa would join, practice, and perform with the groups during events such as Caribana. Lissa also helped compose music for the steel pan groups with her musical theory knowledge from high school.

So how exactly did DJ Lissa Monet become a DJ? Well, it wasn’t difficult. Because of her musical background and passion for the art of spinning music, she found herself surrounded by people who wanted to see her grow and flourish in the entertainment industry. Her group of friends pushed her to become a DJ simply because she was knowledgeable with her music and she was just that talented.

She was introduced to club djing at a young age, hanging around the performers at the DJ booth. After multiple sessions of shadowing some of the veteran DJs, Lissa was immersed into the djing profession starting to practice on a friend’s turntables and eventually getting a set of her own. The endless hours of trying out various mixes paid off after receiving her first gig in Texas.

Throughout her career, DJ Lissa Monet has been booked for international gigs, to local events, to the well-known “We Day” tour. The list of events she’s performed at is impressive, to say the least, but there is one that stands out in particular for her. When asked, Lissa said that djing a VIP party for Beyonce’s recent tour was one of the greatest moments she’s ever had. The Queen herself came up to the DJ booth and praised Lissa on playing some Prince tracks throughout the night. 

Lissa is a well-known DJ, but that is not all that she is capable of. Currently, along with a business partner, she is the founder of “female DJ agency” as she described it, where she seeks opportunity and gigs for female DJs in the industry. She wants to give those experiences and chances, such as the ones she received when she was starting off so that these DJs can showcase their talent.

Lissa has accomplished a lot at such a young age, especially in such a competitive industry. She was asked what her biggest challenges were, and she replied with a simple answer, “I try not to let any obstacles affect me and I try not to dwell on them”. There was nothing in particular that came to mind when she was asked to speak about struggles that she endured on her path because she did not recognize them as struggles, rather as lessons. Lissa said that she did not focus on the negative events that occurred during her job. She chose her profession because she loved what she did. She didn’t want to let moments that didn’t go so well to shape her in any way, because she knew that she would be going into the next performance with the same positive attitude. This mindset came so easy for her because she “didn’t allow those things to outweigh [her] passion”.

Her advice for anyone, whether it is in the music industry or aspiring DJs was similar to the way she performs and lives her life, to take everything with a grain of salt. “Mistakes are learning curves,” she said, “it’s not about what you do, it’s about how you do it”.

Lissa strives to “pave paths” for those that consider her as a role model. She wants to continue to encourage the concept of not allowing obstacles to define you. She explained, “you have to create your own path”. Everyone goes through them, but it is how one conquers these experiences; that is what really represents them.

Twitter: @heylissamonet

Instagram: @heylissamonet

Facebook: DJ Lissa Monet

Soundcloud: djlissamonet