Inspired by her musical family, Sophia Kennedy aka Dj Jem began her musical journey at the age of 5 when she took up piano lessons. Her knack for rhythm came with ease; she quickly took up other musical instruments including violin, trumpet, cello, guitar, and baritone. She became a member of the Santa Rosa Youth Symphony and participated in her school’s orchestra and band from grades 5 to 12.

     Sophia spent ten summers surrounded by melody at Cazadero Music Camp nestled deep in the redwoods of Northern California. It was there that she expanded her knowledge of music and gained a deeper understanding of music theory. She moved to Oahu in 2009 to attend the Shidler College of Business at University of Hawaii at Manoa, she quickly found a new way to channel her musical ability by joining the on-campus radio station KTUH. She learned the ins and outs of broadcasting, sound engineering, and dj-ing as well as hosted her own radio show “The Treasure Chest w/ Dj Jem” for three years and soon began dj-ing live at small events.

Local DJ Supercw discovered Sophia through KTUH and took her under her wing, teaching her about the fundamentals of DJ’ing live. Jem and Supercw did many tag team sets and Jem was her fill in for events while Supercw was on medical leave. Although Supercw is no longer with us, Jem continues to provide the same positive, uplifting energy that Supercw would grace her audience with. After a seven years of dj-ing, Sophia has DJ’d for over 50 companies on Oahu and has been a resident at over 10 venues including SKY Waikiki, Alohilani Resort, Rumfire Waikiki, Nobu, Corepower Yoga, F45 Fitness and Lululemon. She is known to create a sparkling and energetic ambiance playing a mix of dreamy electronic, jazzy hip hop, deep house and remixed throwbacks. Not sure what a sparkling ambiance would sound like? Might have to see her live to find out. She believes music sounds best when it comes from the heart, all of the venues Jem currently plays at allow for open format sets; giving her creative freedom (where the magic really happens.) Currently, you can find her weekly at Sky Waikiki, Buho, Prince Waikiki and Alohilani Resort.