Rae Sada grew up with music orbiting all around her. It all starting with playing the piano at the young age of three and, from there, music was a force that shaped her. "Every song felt like a portal; one chord and I’d be dropped straight into a memory, a feeling, a different version of myself," Sada says. "I knew early that whatever I did in life, it had to exist in and around music." At sixteen, Sada began sneaking into underground shows and clubs in Hollywood for the sake of achieving proximity to the music scene and this serendipitously led to her first music-adjacent internship. After sneaking into a Grammys party, she was introduced to Charlie Amter, who was head of A&R Dance at Warner Chappell at the time. "I told him—probably with more confidence than I should’ve had—that my goal was to get an internship in music at a major label. And somehow, that same night, he gave me my first A&R internship at Warner Chappell," she says. "I don’t think he realized he set my entire trajectory of my life by opening that door."
Sada landed in the Los Angeles music scene and was helping shape other artists' careers before quickly reminding herself that she too was an artist and that, as an artist, she should be making things. So, starting last January, she started taking DJ gigs around New York City and was quickly addicted to the energy from the crowd and their response to her sets. More recently, she opened for Disclosure at during F1 in Las Vegas and is now all in on working on her own house music to release in 2026.
Sada is not a DJ who gets on stage and presses play. She tells stories, guides rooms, and shifts energy. Coveteur caught up with the DJ, storyteller, and sound curator about what keeps her busy when she's not electrifying rooms and taking her audiences on journeys.
Where Are You From?
Rae Sada
From: "I’m from New York, born and raised."
Located: "I’m currently living in the Lower East Side. East Sideeeee forever."
What's Entertaining You?
Rae Sada
Listening: "Honestly, my own [music] that I'm working on. I’m deep in building out my releases for next year, and I am tunnel vision building out my sound. Outside of house music… SZA is always in rotation."
Watching: "I don’t watch much TV, but The Beast In Me on Netflix—Claire Danes is incredible. And of course, the Diddy documentary… disturbing but essential viewing for anyone in the Music Industry."
What's In Your Cart?
instagram.com/raesada
Vintage ’90s/2000s hip-hop tees on eBay: "I collect them, and I’m always looking for the next one. My favorite is a Ruff Ryders tee with the perfect drop shoulder—I’ll never let it go."
Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami Speedy Bandouliere: "A little Christmas gift to myself—I've always wanted one of these small Louis bags."
Hanes tank tops: "I wear these all the time. I am a creature of comfort when it comes to how dress so I am very comfortable and chill with my style. If I want to dress something up, I usually rely on jewelry."
USBs: "I think these are in every DJ's cart... I'm always needing spare USBs on hand, as DJ's usually do."
Vintage boom box: "I am a true audiophile always looking to collect vintage speakers or things that make sound, so right now I have a vintage boom box in my eBay cart."
What Are You Saving?
instagram.com/raesada
NUXE Oil: "This skin oil I got from St. Barths. All over my body, all winter. New York skin in December is not for the weak."
What Are You Browsing?
Rae Sada
TikTok: "I fell into a full Diddy-doc TikTok spiral after watching the documentary just watching other people’s reactions to it as well. Seeing how much money can hide horrific behavior—especially in our industry—is disheartening. As a native New Yorker who grew up on hip-hop and then worked inside the business, you think you know the story. But the level of cover-ups and smoke and mirrors was wild. It makes you rethink everything you thought you knew about the industry."
