DJ Minx on Building Detroit's Techno Scene from the Ground Up | Living for the City FULL Interview

DJ Minx is one of the founding architects of Detroit's techno and house scene, the creator of Women on Wax, and one of the most important DJs the city has ever produced. This is her full conversation with host Hanif Abdurraqib.

In this extended interview, Minx traces her origin story from discovering techno through Electrifying Mojo on the radio to walking into her first gig with a bag of records and getting laughed at by the women at the door. She breaks down the difference between house and techno, the short-lived clubs that kept Black dance culture alive in Detroit, and what the Music Institute meant to an entire generation of dancers and DJs. She talks about Moodymann showing up at three of her parties before finally telling her she was starting a label in two weeks whether she felt ready or not, and how that conversation led to the Airborne EP and the birth of Women on Wax.

Minx also reflects on the responsibility of preservation — why Detroit techno needs to be in history books, why playing vinyl is a skill that not everyone has, and what it felt like to be on stage with K-Hand the last night she ever performed.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - The Shelter, the Music Institute, and Early Black Dance Culture in Detroit

03:56 - House vs Techno and the DJ Culture That Grew from the Dance Floor

08:00 - Radio, Electrifying Mojo, and Keeping Detroit Techno Alive

12:00 - How Minx Got Into DJing as a Woman in Detroit

18:59 - Moodymann, the Label Conversation, and the Birth of Airborne

23:03 - Women on Wax: From Mentorship to Movement

33:34 - The DJ's Role, Vinyl as a Craft, and Preserving Detroit Techno

41:00 - K-Hand: The Last Night