UNIIQU3

Cherise Gary, the producer, DJ, and vocalist best known as UNIIQU3, is the queen of the Jersey club movement. The Newark native creates and spins an ecstatic blend of ballroom, juke, trap, and more, filled with fast-paced breakbeats, hip-hop and R&B samples, and sex-positive lyrics. She rose to international prominence through numerous high-octane mix sets, as well as EPs like 2018′s Phase 3 and 2021′s Heartbeats. She additionally received attention for “Hold Up,” her 2022 collaboration with Whipped Cream, Big Freedia, and Moore Kismet.
Gary played piano in her high school concert band. She additionally took dance classes in downtown Newark, where she encountered DJ Tameil, the originator of the Jersey club sound, selling mix CDs on the street. At the time, the Jersey club scene was dominated by male DJs, promoters, and dancers. UNIIQU3 formed a street team and dance crew called the Vixens, and became the scene’s first female DJ. She threw numerous D.I.Y. events in New Jersey, and became a regular presence at New York’s influential GHE20G0TH1K parties. She lent her voice to several local producers, though she became frustrated with them for taking too long to produce their tracks, and taught herself to make music on her own.
In 2014, UNIIQU3′s mixtape The New Klassiks was released by Lit City Trax, and she released the song “2 the Floor” with Ase Manual. She continued producing tracks at a rapid pace, and her fame spread worldwide through mixes such as her 2016 Boiler Room appearance and a 2017 guest mix for Diplo & Friends on BBC Radio 1XTRA. 2018 saw the release of UNIIQU3′s Phase 3 EP and Club Queens, a collaboration with Baltimore’s TT the Artist. She also made a guest appearance on Teklife affiliate DJ Taye’s Hyperdub-issued full-length Still Trippin'. In 2020, she released two Digital Diva EPs and collaborated with London’s KG on the single “B2B”/“Black Roses.” The following year, UNIIQU3 issued the brief mixtape Bitches Is Outside, Vol. 1 and the Heartbeats EP (on Local Action), which contained the viral hit “Microdosing.” Additionally, her 2018 song “Off the Chain” (with TT the Artist) was sampled by Chlöe (of Chlöe x Halle) on her 2021 solo single “Have Mercy.” The song reached the Top Ten on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and was performed at the MTV Video Music Awards, providing a major moment of mainstream exposure for Jersey club music. In 2022, UNIIQU3 collaborated with Whipped Cream, Big Freedia, and Moore Kismet on the single “Hold Up.” ~ Paul Simpson