Not many 26 years olds out there can say that they’ve gone on tour with rapper Drake, opened up for Jay-Z and Beyonce, and have their own radio show on BBC Radio 1Xtra, but Tiffany Calver can!
A self-confessed rap music nerd, Tiffany has quickly risen to the ranks of the biggest names in the DJ and music scene. She’s the first woman to host for BBC Radio 1Xtra The Rap Show taking over from Charlie Sloth, and has been busy balancing that, plus all her DJing gigs, presenting jobs and her newly launched record label — more on that later…
Her DJing career only spans half a decade but she has already made a name for herself for putting a lot of up-and-coming rap artists on the map. We can thank her for getting us all obsessing over some of the hottest trap/grime/hip-hop artists in the UK right now including Fredo, Headie One and Pa Salieu.
Tiffany is from a small town called Telford which she tries to describe to me as “an area just outside of Birmingham”, by pure coincidence, I too lived there for many years. Although Telford may not have been the hub for urban music, she reveals her parents were the biggest music heads: “A lot of my friends have had to discover music on their own. I was brought up learning and listening to so many different genres and sounds. My mom takes credit for a lot of the hip hop I grew up on and that I ultimately became a fan of.”
On a virtual sit down with GLAMOUR, Tiffany chats all things music to her new life in the city working for BBC Radio. She even shares how her work relationship developed into a genuine friendship with rapper Drake and what he’s really like IRL. This girl is a driving force in UK music and here she reveals her best tips on how to create space and take this male-dominated industry by the horns.
From a tiny Telford flat to the O2 Arena… I was always destined to do something in music…
“My mom had me when she was 19. We lived in a tiny little flat, but with a lot of love. My parents were two absolute music heads. They were these stupid-young party animals. All of my baby videos had the best soundtracks ever because there was just always so much music playing. So many moments of my life are attached to specific songs, most of my happy memories are. I remember spending time in the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbeans as a kid, and walkman and going to the market and buying those incognito ripped CDs, and it had all of these ripped songs named ‘track 1’, ‘track 2’… There I discovered so much American music, and I’d have to Google the lyrics to find out who is who and memorise lines!”
There was a time I wanted to be a fashion journalist and Anna Wintour herself got me out of a teen existential crisis…
“I didn’t realise I had a place in music until I got a bit older. I didn’t think it was possible. That’s probably because of where I grew up and just thinking I didn’t have any access. When I was 16 or so, I thought I wanted to be a fashion journalist. My mum even entered me into a competition and I won, so I got to attend this Teen Vogue seminar. We got to hear Anna Wintour, Vera Wang, and all of these amazing people talk. However, one thing that stuck out to me was Anna Wintour sharing her story of not having to go down the known path, (i.e. university, to get an office job, getting promoted blah blah blah).”
“Where I am from, we’re also taught that that’s your only way out. But Anna just threw herself into the deep end and her career kind of unfolded like that. I was on the plane home and remembered asking myself that if I have to do anything for free for the rest of my life, without even thinking, what would it be? Would it be fashion? No. But it would definitely be music.”
My first job in music was blogging…
“I was writing a blog, and then I was emailing a bunch of music journalists. One of the people I messaged was Amaru who owns Amaru Don TV. He interviewed a lot of artists and he ended up giving me a blogging position on his website while I was still in school. I then went to a website called SBTV”
I’ve also tapped into Music PR…
“I moved to London to attend City of Westminster College where I studied Media while blogging for SBTV on my lunchtimes. There I met someone who connected me with Rachel Campbell who looked after literally everyone from Stormzy, Jorja Smith, AJ Tracey, you name it.”
I was rejected from a BBC apprenticeship…
“When I started DJing, my dream was to always have a radio show and to be on TV. A friend of a friend was trying to start a radio station online. So I basically blagged it and sent him a mix that I made on my computer. I’d applied for so many things like an apprenticeship at BBC and no one was taking me. So this was my first opportunity to get into the door.”
“I finally had access to actual equipment for DJs and as soon as I started practicing and learning how to mix I instantly fell in love and everything else kind of fell away. Eventually, I ended up moving to the coolest online radio station ever, Radar Radio, then KISS FM and that was a big moment because that was the first time a woman had a national rap show on radio.”
Check your DMs…
“When Charlie Sloth left the Rap Show at BBC1xtra, everyone sort of knew the door was open at the BBC. That had been my dream show and after a while, I thought I missed my chance. But then I got a DM on Twitter from the head of 1Xtra at the time and he asked to go for a coffee and if I’d do a pilot. I did a pilot and I bombed it, it was bad! I don’t know why, but I think they saw something in it and they still offered me the show. I just remember crying when I got it. I’ve grown up listening to that show every Saturday in Telford with my mom while dancing in front of the mirror, so it felt surreal. So to be given the opportunity to continue that legacy and also make history while doing it, being the first woman and the first Black person to host it. It was and still is a dream!”
As a woman, DJing for rappers comes with its challenges…
“I DJ for a rapper called Fredo. I don’t really remember many UK rappers having a female DJ. With that came a lot of backlash, when you’re trying to break down that barrier. But something I’ve kind of told myself is having to go through it / kicking down these doors will always be worth it as long as the people that go after me won’t have to go through it. I’m seeing more and more women in my field, making waves for themselves as they should and getting the recognition that they deserve. I spend a lot of time speaking to other women and people in general. Whether they come to my events or listen to my show, having that connection as a woman with other women, we are starting to feel like we belong in this space now.”
There was a time I wanted to dim my womanhood to be taken seriously… Tracksuits only!
“Maybe five years ago or so, I would only ever DJ in a tracksuit. I would always cover up and I think that was my way of trying to suppress my femininity. I didn’t even necessarily realise I was just trying to protect myself. There is a stigma that comes with being a woman that is, ‘oh, she’s pretty’ or, ‘oh, she’s curvy’ or ‘she’s this…So that’s why she’s getting this opportunity’ so I’d try and hide my womanhood to kind of eradicate that narrative for myself. I always said I didn’t want to be looked at. I didn’t want to be attractive. I didn’t want to be expressive in my appearance because all I wanted people to do was hear me, I didn’t want them to see me. Five years on, and where I’m at now in my career, I feel a little freer to be whoever and to express myself.”
I’m one of six women in a festival with a lineup of 50+ artists…
“It’s really sad to see that there is still such a struggle for equality within the spaces I work in. I actually had a conversation with Annie Mac about it, because I didn’t know if I wanted to still do this whole music thing. I’ve wanted to quit many times before, quite frankly. But she basically just said ‘You have to, you have to be that one that does it so that other women can do it too..’ I guess in many ways I looked up to her as being that first woman I could see doing the job I have, and doing it very successfully, so that just meant a lot to me.”
There have been many times that I wanted to call it quits!
“Look, I have amazing friends, a great family, and a really supportive circle. I also have staff, I’ve got a therapist. But when you go through so much scrutiny while doing your job just for being a woman, it can take its toll on you and your sanity. I remember when I first started interviewing artists on my show, if I laughed or if I smiled, the comment would be the ‘oh she’s flirting’ or that I must have done ‘something’ to get the interview, or to get my job.
“They would even say that I must have done [I]‘something’[/i] to go on tour with Drake. Just a bunch of horrible narratives, purely because of my gender. It definitely took a toll on me mentally and I just didn’t know if it was worth being so sad over, but fortunately, because of the support system, and therapy I managed to get myself out of that place and I continue to fight to live my dream and I enjoy it again now.”
Hire more Black women!
“We need to provide opportunities for Black women to enter these spaces, whether that’s through programs, apprenticeships, internships, just allowing them to get their leg in the door. More corporations, companies, labels, promotion agencies, festivals need to be doing the work to bring in more women from the beginning. They also need to open their eyes to the talent that is already in front of their faces. If you research the actual percentages of women in positions, whether it’s in labels, whether it’s in radio, whether it’s in festival lineups, there is a really big gender gap. You have to empower people and put them into the right positions to make real change.”
The pandemic shook me to the core…
“The pandemic was a really scary turning point because I realised every single thing I do depend on people. I DJ in clubs, I’m at festivals and I’m in the nightlife scene, which is suffering terribly.
I’ve launched a record label… and I’m also releasing a mixtape early next year!
“I launched my own record label at the beginning of the year and signed some amazing acts, like Bando Kay and Curtis J, and there are a bunch of exciting things in the works…I spent a lot of time behind the scenes helping make records that make moments happen, whether it was the Drake and Headie One record, so this felt right.”
Drake is honestly the nicest person EVER!
“He is the nicest person ever… genuinely! He’s so funny and such a normal person that you forget how famous he is. It’s really weird, he’s like one of the biggest artists in the world and he doesn’t act like it. I learned so much being on tour with him and I’m so grateful that he believed in me enough to put me on that stage to DJ. He let me bring out UK artists like J Hus and really created a moment. He put a lot of trust in me and he really respects my opinion. Even in that [I]’Only One'[/i] record with Headie One, I was so happy to be a part of that project.”
“He just acts like a friend and we still have a great friendship to this day. We’ll FaceTime here and there to catch up. He’s a huge fan of UK music. He’s really invested in it. When he wants to do a record, he just wants to do a record. It’s very natural. It’s not calculated. It’s not anything strategic. He just loves the scene. Recently he was messaging me about Central Cee. He also loves Millions, Berwyn. I remember he sent me a Trillary Banks freestyle once, he loves so many people. He’s just always watching and listening.”
My favorite memory from the tour with Drake obviously involves us eating McDonald’s at the club…
“One of my favorite memories was when we were in Paris at a party after a show. Across the bar, we were both miming at each other and he was, “Are you hungry?” and I was like “yes, are you hungry?” And we both looked at his security guard and we screamed ‘McDonald’s!’ Soon after you could just see his security walking with bags of McDonald’s through the party and we just sat in the corner of this booming party, with loads of famous people, loud music and alcohol flowing, stuffing our faces with chicken nuggets and fries, not sharing with anyone. Another one was bringing J Hus out to the O2 Arena. That was such a special moment. I’m really happy I got to see that come to life.”
The artists I’m obsessing over right now are…
“I’m obsessed with Shaybo, she’s just incredible. I love Bree Runway. She’s been around for so long, like on the internet singing, and to watch her live that out now in such a big way, is beautiful. She just won best international act at the BET awards and she deserves it. And it’s so amazing to see a Black woman in a position to turn pop music on its head in the UK.”
“There is also a rapper from Nottingham that I’m obsessed with called M’way. He stands out to me because of the beat selection.
One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever been given was from Drake…
“The best advice I’ve ever been given is to have a shot of tequila before a show if I’m feeling nervous. — Drake’s advice, and it works! Oh and to just be kind to everyone because you never know. Everyone remembers. Always be nice to everyone because you don’t know who or what or where you will be, or they will be, and you’ll probably need to work with each other in the future.”
If I weren’t in Radio I would…
“Probably have a bar in St. Lucia beach. Yeah! Where I cooked and kept everyone very hydrated.”
My best advice for girls who want to do what I do is…
“Tunnel vision, it helps me to just keep focused on the goal. Don’t let anything distract you. Don’t let anything or anyone make you feel uncomfortable, remember that you have a voice, and use it. Don’t let anything hold you back because you are in control of your destiny.”
If my beauty cabinet was on fire I’d save…
“Firstly my Skinceuticals Hydrating B5 Serum. Then, my good friend Maya Jama has these facemasks called MIJ Masks and they’re so hydrating for your face, I’m obsessed with them, honestly and lastly my Skinceuticals SPF 50, SPF is an essential people! Trust me.”
For more from Glamour UK Beauty & Features Assistant Shei Mamona, follow her on Instagram @sheimamona