OkayFuture Labs: Sibby Liv on Blending Genres, Building Energy and the Women DJs She’s Tapped Into

For Women’s History Month, Okayplayer’s OkayFuture Labs is spotlighting women DJs whose sound, story and point of view are shaping the culture. For Sibby Liv, it starts with rhythm and ends with connection. Her sets move between Miami bass, club, dancehall and more, building energy in a way that feels both intentional and instinctive. It’s less about sticking to one sound and more about knowing how to transport a room, bringing the crowd with you.

Below, Sibby Liv talks about how she got her name, the first controller that started it all, the women DJs she’s tapped into right now and the advice she’d give her younger self.

OkayFuture Labs: How did you get your artist name?

Sibby Liv: One day I went to go pick my mom up, and I seen this name in her phone. Mind you, my DJ name was something else before it is what it is today. So I’m like, ‘Why did they call you like 20 times? Mom, who is Sibby?’ And she was like, ‘That’s you.’ I’m like, ‘What? You never call me this.’ She said, ‘That’s my nickname for you.’ At the time, I went by another name and I put that to the side. And I said, ‘If I ever change my name, I’m gonna change it to that.'

So, Liv, I was trying to find a name that related to the previous name. And my friend, we were just going back and forth on the phone because he helped me go through my name change. He shouted out a name. He said, ‘Liv.’ And I’m like, ‘Boy, how you know my niece?’ And he’s like, ‘I don’t know your niece. I just know that you have sex and then you live.’ And I’m like, ‘That’s the name.’

My previous name was Selecta Sex, so everybody called me Sex. But with the name switch, it was like Liv, and everything just tied back into family. My brand is about family, my siblings. I call my supporters my siblings. And yeah, that’s how the name came about. It was all about love and family.

What was your first piece of equipment? And what are you using today?

Ah, you know what? I think it began with a V. It literally was half the size of this controller. It was like a little square. It only had four of these pads on each side. It was like a little plate. It was my first. That was my first controller, and I was like, ‘Man, I can’t do this no more. I need the big stuff.’ I was moving fast. Like two weeks. I was on it. I really was invested. I was DJing, I was practicing every day.

What made you want to DJ?

My friend, my mentor, he actually… I told him I wanted to DJ. He thought I was BS’ing. And my first mix was actually on my laptop. Because I had to prove to him that I really wanted to do it. So I had to do a mix on my laptop. And then it’s like, ‘Oh, you really wanna do it?’ And then he brought me my starter kit.

How did you know this was your genre of music?

I love old school 1990s dancehall. It’s forever a good, great feeling. And then 2000s dancehall I love too. But I also like to explore different sounds. I’m into rock. I’m into every genre. Even a little bit of country. I don’t dislike any genre. I just feel like music. It’s whatever you feel. If you feel like some metal death music, you might like that. I don’t just like one genre of music, and this is why I fuse sounds together.

How does your community and culture influence your sound?

I like to fuse sounds together because some sounds are familiar to you, but the things that aren’t, if I put it together with something that you like, I’m actually putting you on to something else different.

My family just collected a lot of music when we were younger. We just always had access to a bunch of music and different sounds.

And then also too, I think that with music, I could say I do a good job of storytelling. If I wanna take you on a journey, I think with this, I wanted to start with my roots — dancehall — and just work my way into the things that I like and then what’s happening today.

With juke and Miami bass, those are the sounds that are pretty — I wanna say they’re popular — but it also just gets the body moving. And I just like to dance. I wanna get to it.

What advice would you give your younger self about getting into music?

Be patient. Be better. Get better every day at your craft. There’s no such thing as perfection. Perfection kills. It stops the growth. Fall forward and enjoy the journey. It’s not about winning. It is about going through the process to win. Also, there’s no real L. It’s just you learn.

Who are some women DJs you're tapped into right now?

Who do I love right now? Lil Two Hood. She’s based in New York. She’s fire.

Gab Soul. She’s tough. Sonia Soul. I really love what she’s doing. I feel like I would love to do a DJ set with her. Me and her together, y’all would’ve been calling the cops. It would’ve been on fire. Sonia Soul, shout-out to you. You are definitely torch. Every time I see her post online, I’m just like, ‘Yo, I just wanna experience her party, and I want to play with her because her stem is crazy as well.’ I think me and her doing an event together or going crazy or anything, it would be nuts. Yeah, she’s torch. You gotta look her up.