This lesbian DJ quietly made herstory at the Grammys and stanning is the only option
Tracy Young accepts the Best Remixed Recording award for “I Rise” onstage during the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards. (Timothy Norris/Getty Images)
Lesbian DJ Tracy Young won Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical at the Grammys, for her Pride remix of a Madonna tune.
Young, who’s been in the music industry for more than a quarter of a century, is the first woman to win the category since it began in 1998.
“We made history, ladies,” Young said in her acceptance speech, which took place in a Sunday ceremony prior to the Grammys broadcast. “I proudly accept this on behalf of all female producers who have been overlooked.”
She also thanked the LGBT+ community in her remarks.
“I’ve seen more and more female engineers in the studio, and I think moving forward, we will continue to be recognised,” Young told Billboard Dance before her Grammys win.
“This field was and still is mostly dominated by men. But it is changing. I’ve definitely seen more women DJs, and hopefully, more women will come forward and start producing. I have hope.”
Young’s winning Pride radio remix of “I Rise” by Madonna was the latest in a long series of remixes.
She’s previously worked to create remixes of hits by more than 100 top artists, including Lady Gaga, Cher, Celine Dion, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey and Madonna – who she’s collaborated with 14 times since the late 90s.
More than 50 of her tracks have been number one on the Billboard Club Chart Hits.
Tracy Young was the only woman in the category and the first woman ever to be nominated.
She was up against Wuki’s remix of Miley Cyrus’ “Mother’s Daughter”; Lincoln Barrett’s remix of Jorja Smith’s “The One”; Luc Bradford’s remix of Mild Minds’ “Swim (Ford. Remix)”; and David Gerard C Dewaele and Stephen Antoine C Dewaele’s remix of Marie Davidson’s “Work it (Soulwax remix)”.
Young has spoken out about the male-dominated music industry on several occasions, including in a January 2020 interview with The Advocate in which she referenced the lack of mentors and sexism as the biggest barriers to female DJs.
She also noted how significant a message it would send were she to win at the Grammys.
“I’m just a girl from Virginia with a love for music. And to have made history and to be Grammy nominee for a Madonna song [tells the world that] if you have a dream and you go for it, you can do it.”
