GREATEST: SOSUPERSAM
The Filipino-American DJ shares her origin story before starting LA's premiere R&B party 143, exploring new creative mediums and representing her culture.
I met Samantha Dueñas about seven years ago when she worked at 722 Showroom (a now-defunct LA-based clothing showroom). Just like today, she was very charismatic, funny and very confident. It has been so amazing watching her grow her career in a way that can speak to so many others the way she does. At the time, I remember thinking that her idea for 143 was genius. Growing up as an Asian American, R&B was very much a predominant genre. I knew all the lyrics to every Blackstreet and Dru Hill song, and I would send them to the lovely 13-year-old ladies (obviously I was the same age at the time) to swoon and slow dance to with me. I remember all those baby boners I would pop during that time. But the year is 2020 now–and SOSUPERSAM is like the Funkmaster Flex of slow jams.
— Kyle Ng of Brain Dead
So you’re known as a DJ—that’s kind of your thing. Were you into fashion first or what was actually your first thing?
Dance.
Dance?
I got an economics degree and then I became a backup dancer.
What? For who?
Vanessa Hudgens.
Wait, I did not know that.
It's true. We did one music video; it was my second audition as a backup dancer and I booked [it]. One music video turned into two national television performances, and that turned into a month-long tour with the Cheetah Girls.
No way.
I worked with [Vanessa] for six to eight months.
That's insane. Speaking on that, I used to be super into dance too when I was in junior high.
Break-dancing?
I mean, I could only do like the 'Coffee Grinder' move, but I could also do the splits.
Can you still do the splits?
No. I don't know when that stopped, but I used to be super flexible and I would do the splits and thought I was so cool. I went to school with mostly white people, so I was [known as] the Asian guy who could do some dance moves. But back to you: so dancing, then PR?
Dance went into advertising and then PR, and then I picked up DJ[ing] on the side because as a Filipino-American girl in LA...
...you have to DJ.
You just know how [to DJ]. You pick it up through osmosis. You pick it up through your cousins at family parties at first, then you pick it up from friends at school, then from the boys you date...Everyone DJs. So, I knew how to DJ before I touched a turntable. Isn't that crazy?
That's insane. You're part of, like, a guild.
Yeah, it's wizardry.
But then why is it that Fil-Ams are so connected to hip-hop music as well?
I do know. Do you want to get historical?
Let's get historical.
Okay, so, this is Sam's history of the world. It's probably very flawed, but, essentially, the Philippines was conquered by...you name it; they conquered us over time. Like, the Spaniards for 300 years, and then, of course, the Americans who also conquered the Philippines.
I think historically-speaking, our people have leaned into American culture and everything that goes along with it: language, wanting to wear sneakers and just being good at adjusting to American life when you move [to the US]. I don't understand Tagalog because my parents were like, "No, American. We're American."
I think [Fil-Ams] picked up on hip-hop culture pretty readily. As a race, we're party people. We pull up to a Filipino party singing, dancing, very adaptive to karaoke–like Magic Mic. I know some [Magic Mic] codes off the top of my head.
I think [Fil-Ams] picked up on hip-hop culture pretty readily. As a race, we’re party people. We pull up to a Filipino party singing, dancing…
SOSUPERSAM
No way. I know every Puff Daddy song.
Even “Jealous Guys” with Mase, right? But yeah, I got into DJing [as] a hobby and then grew gig by gig. Being in fashion PR, I was able to wiggle my way into some cool stores and pop-ups. I was stoked to play in-store at Steven Alan.
So what got you into your R&B party nights, like 143?
I got this residency opportunity and they were like, "Come in and do your thing [like] hip-hop, R&B, deep house." So I came in, did my thing and they were like, "Yeah, that was cool, but can you take out all the bass? Can you not play hip-hop? Can you not play house?"
It was 2013, [the] height of the EDM, trap, big drops and 2 Chainz. I was like, "I'll just play Jodeci. How about that, you guys? It'll be an anticlimactic party and it will not do well but we'll get free drinks and I'll get to play Keith Sweat."
And so, we just went for it. And it actually did really well.
I have seen the parties and it's insane how many Asians go to [them]. But, there's also the sensibility of Asian males being sensitive on the inside, so you don't think that it would be their vibe to just listen to Jodeci. And yet, they all know every Jodeci song.
They do. It's such a phenomenon.
It's also just so chantey and sing-a-long.
It's so chantey and so sing-a-long. You don't realize it, and you never really listen to this style of music [with your friends]. So, all of a sudden, you're just having a bunch of AMFs (the cocktail Adios Mutherfucker) and everyone knows every lyric to this Weeknd song and you're like, "This is all so bizarre."
So the future of you, the evolution. What's going on?
I picked up an NTS show.
Nice.
When I got it, I was just like, "Wow." I have never really explored this medium of sharing music, of being able to speak about it while playing it. That's not something I'm able to do as a DJ on stage. I think [the NTS show] sparked something in my ability to communicate through this format.
The next thing I'm exploring is how to do that more, whether it's through radio or even just speaking one-on-one with people. I do a Q&A segment during my NTS show where I have people write in [with] questions and I answer them on the air, and I get this new level of being able to connect with people who are listening.
I also enjoy moderating panels and so it's exploring more of that personality side and maybe seeing how that could play into TV, film and radio. There's also the support from my fellow Asian Americans and my fellow women of color. I don't think I'd be where I am without them. So all of these support systems, if I'm able to give back to them and help push them even further, I'm here for it.
That's so cool.
Yeah, you're Asian too, right? I'll support you.
Yeah, I am Asian too. [Laughs]
When I DJ, I'm always hungry, so I always brought food with me. Over time, I started to share the food. You'd come to 143, [and see that] this is a family Filipino party and I'm Filipino-American: We like to take care of our people when they come in. So, you're going to come in, and we're going to have a lot of food. Everyone's going to be silly and feel at home and that's what we want to bring and it's 100% genuine to who I am. It's such a visceral extension of what I'm into. If you come to 143, it has a specific taste; it has a specific smell; it taps into all the senses. I think that's why we've been able to sustain [143] for as long as we have.
When I DJ, I'm always hungry, so I always brought food with me. Over time, I started to share the food. You'd come to 143, [and see that] this is a family Filipino party.
SOSUPERSAM
143 goes beyond what the original idea is. A goal of a creative is to showcase not just one thing that you're selling to someone. The product is the secondary idea. The full thing is you wanting to add your creativity into it, you know what I mean? It's about just pushing an idea. If you look at any failures, that's just a way to learn from something, like, 'How do I move forward and learn?' And everything's a learning process.
I just heard this quote that really struck me and it was basically saying, ”There are no successes and there are no failures, just lessons.” I think that's why activities are important: that is the incubator for joy. That's the purest source for any genuine idea.
I think the best creators are people who have been inspired by something besides whatever they're doing–Steve Jobs was inspired by the Whole Earth Catalog [a counterculture magazine and product catalog published by Stewart Brand that was discontinued after 1998]. A lot of fashion designers are inspired by architecture. If you just enjoy life and get inspired to do something, that's the X factor for whatever you're making. But speaking of activities…
I think I saw you rock climbing… Are you on a level six?
I’ve done a few level sevens now—B sevens—but it's still hard.
Is ‘B’ a level?
Yeah, ‘B’ is a rating system, but again, it's not about the ratings, it's just about having fun.
That's how I feel about running right now. I try to relax.
How do you gauge that? Distance? Speed?
[I gauge it by] if I'm learning and if I'm relaxed, which is cool. I used to run every day and if you still lived in the city, you’d probably see me running slow.
I don't run though so I'm not interested.
Interview: Kyle Ng
Photography: Asato Iida
Styling: Leslie Corpuz