There’s something to be said about finally figuring out what you want to do with your life and then pursuing that at all costs, doubters be damned. That’s what Aries is in the midst of doing right now.
While the Brooklyn-born star got his start in the modeling world after being raised in a conservative enclave of Houston, he quickly made a name for himself in the New York nightlife scene as a beloved emerging DJ who frequently pops up at Animal in Williamsburg and hosts the monthly La Maison De C*NT party.
In a wide-ranging conversation with So.Gay, Aries opened up about finding his footing in the oftentimes exclusive queer nightlife scene in New York, not hearing a Beyoncé song until he moved to the city at age 17, uncovering his signature style as a DJ, and much more.
So.Gay: Tell us a little bit about how you got your start in DJing and where your passion for it initially came from!
Aries: When I moved here, I initially started modeling because my mom had been modeling for, like, 12 years. After we got here, I was living in Queens at the time, and I was at one of her rehearsals and I opened my big fat mouth and gave my two cents, and they’re like, “Do you want to choreograph the runway part?” I was like, “Okay, cool.”
So.Gay: How old were you at the time?
Aries: That fashion show was actually the day of my 18th birthday. Anyway, about a year later, I started learning how to vogue. I met a friend of mine, Robert Silk Mason, who is a Juilliard graduate, an amazing dancer—literally one of the best ones I know—who taught me how to vogue. Robert saved my life, basically I had been diagnosed with HIV in 2019 or so. From there, I got into hosting as I stepped away from modeling for a bit because I just needed that time away from the industry, but also still needed to make money still. So, I started going out a bit more by myself.
I went to Battle Hymn in 2023 for Halloween, and Ted Patterson played, Vicki Powell played, and they were just some of the best sets I had heard—besides Honey Dijon, of course, who you can see almost every month locally in New York. I was like, “This is it.” That was what I wanted and what I needed to hear every time I went out. That December, my friend had an old deck at their place, and they taught me how to beat match my songs together, making sure the tempo was right, making sure you have the right BPM, and just beat match after that. All the rest of this is technical.
For the next two months, I would be doing that day-in and day-out with at their place, and that February 19 was my first official DJ gig for some friends I’d known for some time now. It was a great night. I feel like I knew DJing was it, because I figured out that I had an addictive personality number one, but number two, I never had more of an obsession with anything than music, ever. I grew up singing. I literally was in choir my entire life, from the age of seven until 17, and music was just in my blood. I did band for like three years out of my schooling, and I was first chair every year. I play the flute. And, so, moving to New York, I kind of reset my entire life. I came from a very conservative family and not a lot was experienced in my childhood. So coming here, I literally had my second childhood, and I also got to do my first show.
So.Gay: You got a lot out of your system when you came to New York, then?
Aries: Coming to New York at 17, I decided coming off the plane, I was like, “I’m gonna do everything I dreamed of, and I’m going to make all of it happen here and now.”
So.Gay: You said you came from a conservative family. Growing up, were there certain elements of pop culture or pop music that you weren’t supposed to be listening to that you would sneakily consume?
Aries: I literally had not heard a full Beyoncé song until I came to New York.
So.Gay: You had never been exposed to any pop music until then?
Aries: Of course, in school and in choir we’d be singing some of those songs, but not to the point where I was allowed to explore them. I couldn’t play it on a speaker, I couldn’t play it on the radio. That was not my lifestyle. It was pure gospel in every aspect of it. Honestly, there are some songs I’d still listen to, but when it came to DJing, the thing with house music is people believe anybody can play it, and that’s not the case, because it’s not a musical arrangement, it’s a feeling. House has always been a feeling. That’s what created the community. That’s what has kept the community going as DJs and as a house community, and that’s why Soul Summit is still a thing; they’re playing that same healing kind of music, and that’s what keeps that party going.
So.Gay: When you wanted to make the jump from hosting to being the DJ at these events and parties in New York, was it difficult to be taken seriously? Or do you feel like the people in and around that world had already accepted you, so they didn’t think twice about you starting to DJ?
Aries: There were moments where I told people, “I want to DJ your party. Give me a few months, and I can be ready.” And they told me, “A month? It’ll take you a year.” And I was like, “Okay, sure.” And then ended up DJing a party within three months. So it was kind of like, “Sure, that’s what you can think, but you’re not going to find a single other person that can do what I do.” Are there plenty of house DJs? Sure. There are plenty of queer Black house DJs. There are amazing queer Black house DJs. But none are like me.
So.GAY: Back when you were modeling, did you feel like there was any sort of musical element to it that laid the groundwork or helped to inform what you’re doing now with DJing?
Aries: At a runway fashion show, you’re gonna hear beats, and if you pay attention or if you are in the business and know how modeling works, you know that no model walks on time, but they always turn on the beat. They always mark their beats. Because it’s not about being on beat, it’s not about keeping time. It’s about filling the beat, filling that space in time between that strut. So as a DJ, what you’re doing is filling space and time with music and energy for people to feel and dance to. And, as you understand that, you create better sets. You create better vibes. It could be cohesive, it could be chaotic, but as long as it fits—it just needs to make sense.
As a model, it’s about your face, and there are different technicalities that coincide with your walk on a runway. It’s the same thing when it comes to DJing.
So.Gay: And ballroom kind of sits right in the middle of those two things, in a way.
Aris: Yeah, you’re telling a story with your hands. You are giving a full performance to express yourself, and that’s the music selection of DJing, knowing what songs you’re playing that emote that feeling.
So.Gay: You could also think of a DJ set as being a story, too. They have arcs to them.
Aris: And that’s the artistry of it. That’s a good DJ. That’s a great DJ. When you can tell yourself a story, and it could be a completely different story than what the DJ was trying to tell, but you can tell your story, you can make your story happen, It doesn’t have to be anything actually happening. But whatever that fantasy is, it can happen right there on that dance floor.
So.Gay: When you’re thinking about the current state of New York queer nightlife, what do you like and dislike about where it is right now?
Aries: I mean, it’s been very sad to see a lot of the very prominent queer spots closing down. I’ve always believed in protecting culture and community as a queer person and specifically as a Black person. So my initial response is that we need to band together. We need to pull together and strive for a sense of when someone is falling, we rush to their aid. We make something happen that turns that around, whether it’s a party, whether it’s a fundraiser, we pull those people together.
There’s just a lot of hierarchy. As a community, what are you doing sitting over there telling people what they can and can’t do, especially when you see how they’re moving, when you see the effort they’re putting into making something happen for themselves? I think that that is underappreciated in the scene of many people, because I’m not the only new DJ that’s out here that’s working their tail off to get these bigger gigs and get to these bigger crowds and being overlooked because they have some girl who can bring a whole bunch of people in.
It’s not what it was when they were doing these balls, when they started these parties, when they were doing high tea and low tea and tea and tea parties in general. It wasn’t to play the most popular music. It was not to play pop music, it was playing the queer shit that they had, that was out for them to hear, for them to feel safe, for them to feel like they belonged.
So.Gay: Well, it sounds like you’ve found the right lane for yourself, despite all of that.
Aries: Yeah, I will be DJing till I’m on my deathbed and beyond.
So.Gay: There’s something so rewarding about finding what you love to do, and it sounds like you have faith in your talent and, ultimately, your skill will be rewarded with talent and opportunity.
Aries: I also don’t want it to sound like I have nobody in my corner. I just want to say it out loud, that I would not be here without the community of people that I have grown to become so close with and learn from and that’s what I strive to find out here in the scene and in the community. That’s the solution that I believe is necessary. We have to stick together. You have to have those people that think you’re the best and that believe in your talent. They don’t need to think you are already legendary, but they do know the legends and they believe that you can be one of those people, too. Those are the people you keep around.
