KANDI'S BIO
Dr. (h.c.) DJ Kuttin Kandi, who was born and raised in the unceded Lenape territory also known as Queens, NY is internationally known and widely respected as a legendary "People's Hip Hop DJ Scholar." Kandi is a disabled queer gender-fluid femme Filipinx-Pin[a/x]y-American Writer, Poet, Theater Performer, Educator, Hip Hop Feminist, and Community Organizer for over 25 years. DJ Kuttin Kandi is a Global Hip Hop and Cultural Ambassador by Next Level's Meridian International Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs where Kandi served as a Site Manager for Next Level. Kandi is a Co-Founder and Executive Director of Asian Solidarity Collective (formerly Asians for Black Lives San Diego) and the newly launched center, The Asian Advocacy, Community & Action Center (The Action Center). Likewise, Kandi has co-founded several other local grassroots organizations such as Families for Justice in Education San Diego, the Dede McClure Community Bail Fund, We All We Got San Diego and so much more. Kandi is also a Co-Founder of national organizations the People’s Collective for Justice and Liberation and the University for Justice and Liberation (UJL). In 2021, Kandi served on both the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, Committee for Persons with Disabilities and as a Human Relations Commissioner of Chula Vista. Kandi is a member of DJ team champions 5th Platoon; Co-Founder and DJ for the Hip Hop group Anomolies; Co-Founder of the famed NY monthly open mic “Guerrilla Words,” Co-Founder of the coalition R.E.A.C.Hip-Hop (Representing Education, Activism & Community through Hip Hop), Co-Founder and Board Member of the DJ Coalition - Freedom Sound DJ's, and Founder, Editor and Host of the podcast Hip Hop Bruha and new podcast, Kuttin Class, launching in Spring 2024. In 2020, DJ Kuttin Kandi received an Honorary Doctorate in Pinayism from six professors in the discipline who hail from five universities for their endless dedication to radical sisterhood, critical praxis, and transformative solidarity. In April 2024, Dr. DJ Kuttin Kandi will be inducted into San Diego Women's Hall of Fame with the Spirit of the Hall of Fame Award.
Kandi first gained global reverence by competing in over 30 DJ competitions such as the ITF Championships and Vibe Magazine DJ Championships which eventually led them to being the first femme DJ to compete in the 1998 DMC USA Finals and winning the 1998 Source Magazine DJ Championships. Kuttin Kandi has been interviewed and featured in elite publications such as Source, Vibe, Vogue, YM, Rolling Stones, XXL, The New York Times, The Daily News, The San Diego Union Tribune and the Vibe Hip-Hop Diva’s book. Kandi has performed all around the world with artists such as Bob James, Father of Hip Hop Kool Herc, Jay-Z, Gangstar, LL Cool J, Mya, MC Lyte, the Roots, Dead Prez, Immortal Technique, Black Eyed Peas, Common, BlackStar, and punk Riot Grrrl group LeTigre, just to name a few. In 2008, Kandi received the “Social Change” Award at the Black Lily Honors event at the Black Lily Festival alongside legendary award recipients, Jill Scott, Michelle Parkerson, Toshi Reagon, Kimi Takesue, and Amy Whinehouse.
Kandi has rocked stages and stadiums for audiences of 30,000 people as well as performed at historic venues such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Lincoln Center, and Madison Square Garden for WNBA’s NY Liberty including tours such as the Vans Warped Tour. Kandi is a known Pop-Culture Political Essayist and has written as a Guest Contributing Writer for several blogs such as Colorlines, Racialicious and more. Kandi and the co-Founder of Krip-Hop Nation Leroy Moore, co-developed the Hip Hop for Disability Justice Campaign and co-wrote "Hip Hop & Disability Liberation: Finding Resistance, Hope & Wholeness" for disability activist and editor, Alice Wong’s Disability Visibility Project's first anthology. Kandi is also the Co-Editor of the book "Empire of Funk: Hip Hop and Representation in Filipino/a America" and newly released anthology, “Closer to
Liberation: Pin[a/x]y Activism on Theory and Practice.” Kandi is a playwright and featured spoken word artist and DJ of the “Bayanihan” theater production which is currently on tour through the Maraya Performing Arts. Kandi is a Midwest Academy Alumni, a 2018 Rockwood Fellow and a 2018 San Diego International Airport Artist-in-Residence with Pulitzer Prize Finalist, Artist and Comedian, Kristina Wong and Samuel Valdez. When Kandi is not performing they are community organizing, speaking, writing, lecturing, consulting, and managing. Kandi worked at UC San Diego’s Women’s Center for seven years specializing in social justice & diversity programming and within Student Life at Diablo Valley College in the Bay Area. Kandi is a well-known public speaker and lecturer and has spoken at over 150 colleges/universities across the United States. Kandi is also involved with the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance - San Diego, the Intersectional Feminist Collective, the F.I.E.R.C.E. Coalition, Filipino American Educators Association of California, The Transparent and Responsible Use of Surveillance Technology San Diego (TRUST SD) Coalition and organizes with various organizations throughout San Diego and the United States. In addition, Kandi is a strong Disability Justice and Special Education advocate with a Dis/Crit practice. Today, DJ Kuttin Kandi continues to do community organizing work, organizational development trainings, coaching for liberation and provides various lectures on diversity, gender & sexuality, race, disability justice, and Hip Hop Feminism as they proceed to write their memoir and work on releasing a newly anticipated poetry album by the end of 2024. Kandi's pronouns are they/them + she.
