DAILY DAWN

Fraternal twin, Ashley Douglas has refused to be overshadowed by her look alike. DJ ILY.ILY., Ashley’s stage name, has developed her own style and sense of self through her skills as a DJ.

Ashley landed her first gig at her own high school DJ’ing at their annual Masquerade Ball. This was the moment she realized being a DJ would last much longer than expected.

Soon after, Ashley dropped her first mixtape, “Collection .001” on Sound Cloud her senior year of High School. Expecting only 100 plays, “Collection .001” received over 1,000 plays. That summer she released another mix. This one being entitled “Collection .002 Dirty South”. This mix has all the hit songs of rappers from the south.

Ashley has since grown and gained even more experiences behind the turn table.

Making an imprint on the musical scene at the University of Pennsylvania, Ashley has joined a club called The Collctve. The club is comprised of DJ’s, music producers, photographers, and other individual’s in creative fields.  

During her second semester of college, Ashley had a gig just about every weekend.

“A personal goal for me is expand past the Penn State frat parties and take advantage of the Philly music scene,” says Ashley.

Ashley DJ’d at a club in Philadelphia called CODA, opening up for artist “World and Smile” as well as night club Milk Boy opening up for Band Dance Music (BDM).

Through her mix tapes Ashley has been able to be introduce a wide variety of styles of music to her listeners. In describing her style, Ashley says, “it’s a mix between hip-hop, house, and a R&B type thing.”

Straying from the main stream DJ’s, Ashley finds a sense of authenticity and originality in smaller DJ’s she comes across on Sound Cloud. These are the creatives that influence and inspire her to expand her reach of music.

To no one’s surprise, Ashley looks up to Beyoncé for her work ethic. Ashley says, “If I don’t want to take a gig or something. I just think ‘what would Beyoncé do?’

 Motivation can sometimes lack in young creatives due to the simple people around us telling us we won’t make it, or our dreams are unrealistic.

 Ashley says, “When something you’re interested in is such a strong passion. I think about how I can push it to the next level. In thinking of career choices, I think of how I can incorporate my passions into what I want to do.”

Going to college for business, Ashley wants to join the professional side of the music industry working in management. She will work with media and entertainment firms to insure artists are guided and not taken advantage of.

Constantly trying to one-up herself is what will helps to keep Ashley inspired. In hopes other young creatives as herself continue to push past the barriers that come about. There are no limits when you are the ultimate creator.

Finding a community of creatives has helped Ashley come out of her comfort zone and work with others. “Working with other more experienced DJ’s has helped me to develop my craft,” said Ashley.

Ashley is doing just what any other young creative should do, joining a community of similar individuals to network and grow with.

Go support DJ ILY. ILY. on sound cloud and her local events in Philadelphia.