A longtime fixture of Detroit's club scene, DJ Minx is often referred to as the First Lady of Wax. Her mixes and productions range from deep and minimal to boisterous and funky, earning her respect throughout the techno and house scenes. Active as a DJ since the early 1990s, she formed the Women on Wax collective and label, which started releasing tracks in the early 2000s, scoring an underground hit with the 2003 minimal house track "A Walk in the Park." She continued honing her craft over the years and began receiving more widespread recognition during the 2010s, as her international bookings increased and she released further singles, such as 2022's "Do It All Night” and 2023’s “The Throne”.
Jennifer Damaris was born in Detroit in 1967. She began to DJ after a friend took her to see Derrick May spin at a club called the Music Institute in 1989. As DJ Minx, she started playing sets at another Detroit club, the Loft, and other parties in the city. She became close friends with Kevin Saunderson during the mid-'90s, and he gave her some guidance and encouraged her to develop her own style. Minx hosted a program called Deep Space Radio on Detroit station WGPR, and provided voice overs on Saunderson's X-Mix: Transmission from Deep Space Radio, a 1997 mix CD modeled after the show. Minx hosted another show called Steamy Windows on CJAM, broadcasting from the University of Windsor, and also became a resident DJ at Club Motor in Hamtramck, Michigan, where she opened for established DJs from Detroit and abroad. She performed at the first Detroit Electronic Music Festival in 2000 and continued to play the festival annually, including its subsequent iterations as Movement and Fuse-In.
Minx formed Women on Wax, a collective of female DJs and producers from the Detroit area, in late 1996, launching the label Women on Wax Recordings in 2001. Her debut EP, Introduction, was released as a white-label 12" that year, followed by Airborne in 2003. One of the record's tracks, "A Walk in the Park," became a hit among minimal techno DJs, with Richie Hawtin re-releasing it on his M_nus imprint, including remixes by producers Ricardo Villalobos and Matthew Dear. Over two decades after she began her career in the club scene, DJ Minx finally started receiving recognition as a dance music legend.
In 2015, Mixmag named her as one of the 20 women who shaped the history of dance music, and Time Out New York included her in a list of the Top Ten house DJs of all time in 2016. She was awarded the Spirit of Detroit award by the city council in 2018, along with Stacey Hotwaxx Hale, Underground Resistance's Bridgette Banks, and other women who played a major role in Detroit's dance scene.
Minx came out as a lesbian in 2021, during Pride Month. Soon after, her image was featured in a mural on the side of Detroit's Ruth Ellis Center dedicated to the city's queer community, and her single "Purse First '' was released, with proceeds benefiting the LGBTQ+ community center. In 2022, Minx made her first appearance on BBC Radio 1's long-running Essential Mix. Her song "Do It All Night," previously featured on Carl Craig's 2019 mix Detroit Love, Vol. 2, was given a full release on Planet E, with remixes by Craig and Honey Dijon.
Minx continues playing clubs and festivals around the world and now curates her own stage at Movement, has a residency at Spot Lite and started her own party brand House Your Life in 2022.
“House your life came together as a means to encompass a community of folks of every color in the dance music scale. Based in Detroit, we present people with different personalities, sounds, musical styles and genres in house and techno music.”
2023 saw the release of “The Throne” on Higher Ground with remixes from Cinthie and Mayson Maynard as well as new remixes for “A Walk In The Park” from Soul Clap, Seth Troxler, among others. 2023 also saw the releases of “We All Famous” and “Get On Up” through Hot Since 82’s Knee Deep in Sound label. Minx remixed Third Culture & Hiroko Yamamura’s “She’s Evil” in 2024 as well as had releases on Factory 93 with “Another One”, “Get It Up” on Snatch and “Taking It Back” on Higher Ground.
DJ Minx’s 2025 is looking strong as ever, with upcoming releases on Crosstown Rebels, LP Giobbi’s YesYesYes (via Defected), Walker & Royce’s Rules Don’t Apply, Weapons, among other labels.
