DJ Rekha

DJ Rekha, née Rekha Malhotra, pioneered the merging of Bhangra and Bollywood sounds with contemporary electronic dance music. Rooted in hip-hop and dub, their DJ sets range from Brazilian Baile Funk to Balkan Beats and everything in between.

They founded Basement Bhangra, one of NYC’s longest-running club nights (1997-2017). Their debut album "DJ Rekha presents Basement Bhangra" (featuring a track with Wyclef Jean) won much critical acclaim and was nominated for best DJ album by the 2008 Plug Awards. They are the founder of Basement Bhangra™, Bollywood Disco, and co-founder of Mutiny Club nights. They were named "Ambassador of Bhangra" by the New York Times.

Rekha was the sound designer for the TONY award-winning Broadway Show, "Bridge and Tunnel," and received a Drama Desk Award nomination for their work on the play "Rafta Rafta." Rekha was also the associate producer for the NPR Radio Documentary, "A Feet in Two Worlds." They have done remixes for artists that range from Meredith Monk to Priyanka Chopra.

Rekha was NYU's A/P/A Artist-in-Residence for 2006-2007. They have received numerous community awards and in 2009 was inducted into the New York City's Peoples’ Hall of Fame. They have curated events for Celebrate Brooklyn, Central Park Summerstage, and has performed at the Obama White House and internationally. Rekha was a Grand Marshall of the 9th Annual NYC Dance Parade in 2015. In January of 2017, they performed at the historic Women's March on DC. They graduated with a Master’s of Science in Comparative Media Studies from MIT in 2019.