Heavily influenced by the soul, funk & jazz scenes of Chicago’s south side, DJ Shani (she/her) has always been enveloped by music. Throughout her childhood, her family taught her the roots of her sound (Zydeco, Blues, Jazz, Reggae, Funk, Soul), while the radio (Energy 88.7fm, B96, WGCI) taught her the future of her sound. After a few years in the rave scene, first as a patron then as a promoter, she noticed that the energy was inviting, but it was missing something. While she was a junior at Loyola University – Chicago, she set in motion what would be her biggest contribution to the House music scene to date.

In May of 1998, DJ Shani created & produced a Deep House radio show coined “The Groove Temple®” on WLUW-88.7FM that filled a void for the most prominent, yet canceled house music radio station, WBMX. She has a humble, personal & realistic outlook about the DJ craft, “For me, it was & still is about sharing music, providing a music experience to people & giving exposure to DJs who aren’t given the chance to play out. I come from musicians – both grandfathers played music in the same band. My grandmother played piano, my uncle plays guitar and my immediate family still plays music for a living.”

Her father, was an avid record collector, her stepfather, guitarist Abdul Hakeem of the world music Chicago-based group Funkadesi, toured with Rita Marley when she was in high school. Her brother, who goes by the moniker KrushLove, has been making music longer than she’s been a DJ. Her mother is the only one that doesn’t make music, but she more than makes up for it by being a playwright. When people say they’ve grown up with music, she relates.

Even after her graduation from Loyola in 2001, she continued to produce The Groove Temple®, was a freelance writer for various Chicago music magazines (5Magazine, L’Afrique) & worked at the famous Gramaphone Records. There, she helped promote both, by organizing the first ever record fair between Gramaphone & WLUW. In 2004 she moved to Paris & attended L’Universite de Paris – La Sorbonne. She performed at La Maroquinerie with Karl The Voice (Playing for the City) and at Sanz Senz with DJ Wamba (Les Nubians).Once returning from Paris, she kept producing & hosting The Groove Temple®, continued as a freelance music journalist & DJ’d throughout Chicago for various residencies, events & music festivals. In 2006 she worked with Jay-Cee & Glenn Underground, wrote & performed “Mon Ami, Mon Amour”.

In 2013, she was diagnosed with MS and attributes the music & DJ culture to her healing. For 17 years, DJ Shani was the Executive Producer of the Saturday night, 4 hour radio show, with hundreds of listeners worldwide. The Groove Temple® has hosted an impressive roster of guest DJs & interviews like Derrick Carter, DJ Touch (France), Osunlade, DJ Légo, Alix Alvarez, Sean Haley, Oscar McMillan, Lady D, DJ Frique, Bucie, Andre Harris, Phil Asher, Leonard Part VI, Black Coffee, DJ Heather & Ron Trent just to name a few. In October of 2017 she relaunched The Groove Temple® and partnered with Soundwave Radio and 92.3 fm in London, England. The Groove Temple is now back to basics with the same vibe and energy that it once had almost two decades ago. In 2009 she moved to Austin, Texas where she currently resides.

This series’ DJs have been curated by FFTX team member Jp Rivera-Felizardo.