After moving to New York from Mandeville, Jamaica, in 2002, Tygapaw, AKA Dion Mackenzie, taught herself Ableton, and started creating the kind of club tracks she longed to hear. Whether she’s reworking pop ballads or dancehall classics like “Badman Forward,” Tygapaw pulls from a grab bag of styles, from soca-fied R&B to decompressed dancehall and accelerated rap. She also runs two regular parties that blend Caribbean sounds with US club styles: Fake Accent, a monthly party that highlights queer and trans artists of color, and Shottas, where she and friend Chris Udemezue host artists from New York’s queer Caribbean crews. Having recently released a new EP, _Love Thyself_., Tygapaw steps into the studio to talk with guest host Naomi Zeichner about her new record and making music for New York’s queer, black communities.
