The sonics connoisseur opens up about his creative process, founding legacy, and highly anticipated solo debut, “If Not Now, Then When.”

Southern California native Joe Kay is a vibe curator. Unabashedly music-obsessed, throughout his early life, he would discover vintage sonics and songs as if they were high-end collectible sports cards. Sonics to Joe Kay are compelling sounds and produced beats that would stimulate his imagination to seek out more. The 35-year-old DJ and beatmaker founded the Soulection collective, a music discovery platform where DJs worldwide share their love for music, with Andre Power and Guillaume Bonte in 2011. “[In Soulection Radio] we say future beats, eclectic soul, and forgotten gems,” Joe Kay prefaces on our Zoom call. “A lot of that is really how the Soulection collective is coded, what we live by, it is the Soulection Bible.”

In 2008, broadcasting sounds in his Grandmother’s basement, Kay produced his own homegrown radio show on Podomatic called “Ill Vibes,” which would lay the foundation for Soulection Radio and his forthcoming sold-out Soulection spinning live events. The eclectic grooves that occupied the DJ’s mindspace sparked the idea of Soulection, which would go on to blossom into a global artistic and cultural movement.

 

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From February through March 2025, Soulection celebrated its 14-year anniversary in a big way, making tour stops in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, and Houston. An astounding lineup of DJs (including Kay himself) shared their synergistic adoration for sonics with a crowd of 5,000-plus attendees. Nowadays, the vibe facilitator is choosing to take his fluency in curating worldly sounds and packaging them into a musical body of work that captures his essence. If Not Now, Then When marks a major moment for Joe Kay, who has historically often been camouflaged behind a standing table of DJ turntables. Out April 4, 2025, the six-track EP was crafted in the executive producer’s Joshua Tree sanctuary, which inspired much of the sound design. Out in the desert terrain of Yucca Valley, Joe Kay made a call out to his friends: Karri, Cruza, Isaiah Falls, Arin Ray, Blackway, Amaria, Dylan Sinclair, Merges, Sinead Harnett, and D’Mile. There, “the skeleton of the musical foundation of If Not Now, Then When was laid down in about 7 to 10 days,” Joe Kay breaks down to me. 

Only someone like Joe Kay could send out a bat signal in the sky to get artists and producers who all live across the globe to come to a desolate, creative safe haven. Kay caught up with Latina ahead of his EP release to discuss his lifelong love for sound design, being inspired by the soul of California music, and his family household’s Hispanic-Caribbean heritage.

LATINA: Truly standing the test of time in contemporary music’s creator economy, how does it make you feel knowing you created the Soulection collective that has been around for this long?

JOE KAY: I’m forever grateful. I’ve said this to my friends recently, every year that we make it, every extra year added, it’s always a blessing. I just feel to be able to do what we’re doing this deep in and have a loyal following and community of people that come out to the shows. We don’t even announce the lineups or my name is not even on there, and it feels really, really good to be able to bring the amount of people that we’re doing. I think in New York, we did over 5000 tickets. We had to add bonus shows for the stops that we decided to do in the US. Somewhere between 10,000 to 12,000 people with a handful of shows that we did for this 14-year run. People are still listening to the radio show religiously and are dedicated to the sound of Soulection.

LATINA: What is at the core of Soulection’s creative beliefs?

JK: At the core, the message and ethos of what we do is always to be intentional. That is what people feel first [from] anything we post, anything we share, anything we release, everything from the communication, the language, the captions to the design, and the music. It’s a testament to the longevity of us still being here. It is not about trying to inspire people to get into music or to be an artist, DJ, or producer. It is about staying true to yourself. Do not dim your light, keep finding ways to push through with your vision no matter what [your doubts are], and stay selective.

LATINA: What led you to create the idea of Soulection?

JK: I’ve been doing this since 2007. [The intent was] always to create this concept of uniting other like-minded people. We created the early foundations of Soulection back in 2008, 2009, but it took a couple of years to [get going]. There have been so many artists, DJs, and people that I’ve brought in along the way during this journey to help push it to what it is. Much of it was created in my grandmother’s basement in the den when I was in college.

LATINA: Tying to your family’s background, what Latin music or artists impacted you when you were younger that nurtured this cultural idea of making music a movement?

JK: Music is my therapy. There was a lot of different music played around the house, a lot of soul music, a lot of R&B. There was such a world sound always brought into the house, whether it was house music or reggae. I’m half-Mexican, I have Puerto Rican heritage and Native heritage, too, so there were always different styles of music. There were always Latin sounds, like Puerto Rican music, getting into salsa via my grandma—who only spoke Spanish—and Dominican music. I’ve always resonated with Jamaican music, too. Dancehall, lovers rock, just the overall Jamaican sound. So a lot of what was inspired and created in Jamaica also influenced the Puerto Ricans and that is where reggaeton and all these different sounds came from that I love. 

“Music is my therapy.”

LATINA: How has Southern California shaped your taste in music?

JK: I feel the Cali sound, the West Coast sound, has influenced me immensely. Sometimes, if I’m playing that music across the world, people might not resonate with the West Coast sounds. The Chicano oldies culture is huge here, [so] I think that is a part of my heritage growing up in LA—the lowrider culture mixed with that classic 1970s soul music. It is a whole energy, from the way you dress to the way you look. South LA’s Battlecat had a certain bounce and soulfulness. Today, Kendrick has done so much for the culture, so that’ll always be a part of my DNA. Some sounds are still coming from the [highly influential musicians] of the Bay area.

LATINA: Referring to your first EP, If Not Now, Then When, the title is very telling. What about this body of work made it right for your solo debut?

JK: It’s six tracks and features nine artists who I believe in and love. The EP is a snapshot of what I already do on Soulection radio and what I do as a tastemaker. This time, it is me leaning in and owning that. There is R&B, soul, some Jamaican influence, and Afrobeats. Primarily all with singers and vocalists. We had great writers and a legendary producer, such as D’Mile. I leaned into the tastemaker and executive producer side. I’m not [doing production] on this project. I put these people in the right room. It was many of the artists’ first time meeting each other or even finding out about each other. So the entire EP felt like a true Soulection ethos of what I’m about: [introducing] people to new artists and new sounds.

LATINA: The whole idea of If Not Now, Then When—were you second-guessing this release at times? What was the timeline like for this project? 

JK: Original music is the only thing I’m missing in my portfolio and catalog. If Not Now, Then When was intentionally created at my home in Joshua Tree. The home where we created these sessions inspired the EP with the space’s interior design. The project was inspired by the desert, the energy and clarity out there, the quietness brought everyone together. In terms of, why aren’t you doing this much sooner? Or why haven’t you done this before? And to be honest, I do feel like it’s right on time even though I’m 14 years in with Soulection, I feel like I’m the most poised and established now. Before, I was constantly telling myself, I’m not ready or I need more time, I’m around people that create the best music.

LATINA: What creative decisions did you make sure to prioritize while creating this EP, or was it all spontaneously organic? 

JK: When we were in Joshua Tree, it was great to see how everyone was discovering each other for the first time in person, yet there was this synergy. It just felt like a jam session with like-minded individuals. The fact that people took the time to trek two to three hours out from Los Angeles, some people flew in, told me that people were serious about this and it was important to me to take charge. People immediately resonated with one another and had chemistry within the first two hours. A couple of the records, such as “Moonlight and “Slow It Down,” were created within the first 24 hours.

LATINA: How did you approach these artists in introducing their sounds together?

JK: There was a real spark and chemistry that came about from bringing these people together. It felt really good. I did come into it telling everybody: Be yourself, but also feel free to create and step out of your normal sound. Come out of your normal pockets of sounds that you’ve been producing or records that you’ve put out. Let’s make a moment to try something new. That is what Soulection is about. It is about taking risks. I started off the whole session by giving them that speech and that introduction allowed these artists to experiment and try something different.

LATINA: In the digital age, the music world is increasingly saturated with artists tapped into algorithms and social media. How do you stay inspired as an artist and keep things sounding natural?

JK: I stay inspired in different ways, not just through music. I have tapped more into interior design and spatial design, [like,] How do I want my place to feel and sound? That correlates to how I spend all of my days at a time in one place. I might as well invest in my space and make it feel the best possible—artwork up on the walls, furniture pieces, and chairs, lights, and aromas that inspire me to want to create. Even when I experience writer’s block, I might look at a poster or look at a magazine or a coffee book or something that I have on my table that was made in the ‘60s or ‘70s and think, Damn, this still feels timeless.

“That is what Soulection is about. It is about taking risks.”

LATINA: What about the state of contemporary music are you excited about? Any criticisms as a music lover and someone who loves art?

JK: Right now, there are more artists than ever. I was listening to the latest show that I did for Soulection Radio. I was listening back to it and I had played this artist Jayla Darden, and she has a similar tone and pitch to Brandy. She is kind of slept on—she needs to be bigger. We’re in a time when there is more music and more creatives, designers, DJs…just more everything than we’ve ever had. When we were younger, there wasn’t social media, [everything] wasn’t as accessible. [I think] it was much harder to become successful in the music space—to be known and seen. You had to create this unique body-of-work and really depend on your resources and go through the label system. I find out about new artists every day, every week, and there are so many more that are untapped. [But] we have to do a lot more nowadays. You have to be your own creative director, your own designer, and your own visionary.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Malik Peay is a features writer based in Los Angeles who focuses on culture, entertainment, and more. He loves the art of traveling and connecting with people through their taste in music. You can follow his work on Instagram.

In the year and a half leading up to her new album, Natti Natasha has gone through a nasty time. The Dominican superstar is balancing being a mother and one of reggaeton’s leading ladies after her partner, Raphy Pina, was sent to prison. With her new album “Nasty Singles,” Natasha is reclaiming the word “nasty” and showing that there’s more to it than just a negative or sexual connotation. She is healing and working through the adversity in this fierce collection of songs.

“This is a nasty era,” she tells LATINA. “It’s about being unapologetic and very comfortable with myself. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs. This past year, I’ve felt like I’ve grown and it’s been about overcoming the obstacles.”

After breaking through with Don Omar’s “Dutty Love” over a decade ago, Natasha has positioned herself as one of the top female artists in reggaeton. In May 2021, she gave birth to her first child, Vida Isabelle, with Pina. A year later, Pina was sentenced to serve 41 months in prison following an illegal firearms conviction. Natasha continued to raise their baby while releasing hits, including the fiery “Mayor Que Usted” featuring reggaeton icons Daddy Yankee and Wisin y Yandel.

“Through everything that has happened, I feel like I’ve learned a lot about my career, myself and the things I can overcome by myself,” she says. “Once you take a bad situation and make it a good one, so many good things can come out of that. I make sure that I have the best attitude ever. It could always be worse and it’s not. We’re healthy and we have everything in life that we could want.”

Now Natasha is compiling her recent hits and new songs in the “Nasty Singles” album. She defines what “nasty” means to her: “It’s the extreme of each person, feeling and the adjectives that describe them. For example, when a woman is super beautiful, she’s nasty beautiful.” Natasha finds power in the word, especially in the tigress anthem “Kokorota,” which she dedicates to her daughter.

“She’s a baby, but I definitely want her to be [a ‘Kokorota’] when she grows up,” Natasha says. “When I’m doing my makeup, she wears makeup. She loves lipstick. She takes the microphone and sings. She dances a lot. I really make it my business to let her have fun and be creative around me.”

In her album, Natasha also embraces the sexual connotation of being “nasty.” In the dembow-infused “To’ Esto Es Tuyo,” she sings about giving herself completely to the man that she loves. Natasha also teamed up with fellow Dominican star Tokischa for the freaky reggaeton romp “No Pare.” The risqué music video drew criticism from sexist people with backward thoughts about motherhood and sexuality.

“I haven’t cared about what anybody has said,” she says. “You could be nasty beautiful. You could be nasty sexy. You can be anything you want. It doesn’t matter if you’re a mother or not. I feel more beautiful now. I feel more empowered. I feel like my best self now after becoming a mother.”

Though the album is personal to her, Natasha adds that “Nasty Nat” is also an alter-ego. “Each song is a character,” she says. “It’s like being an actress in a song. Like Julia Roberts plays a prostitute in “Pretty Woman” but in real life she’s not a prostitute.”

Natasha also reclaims the word “b**ch” in Spanish in the perreo-ready “Tu Perrota.” She previously did that in 2018 with Becky G in “Sin Pijama” when she sang, “I have always been a lady, but I’m a b**ch in bed.” In addition to uplifting women, Natasha’s bold songs have also become anthems for the LGBTQ+ community, which she acknowledges.

“When I talk about overcoming obstacles, I’m talking about for everybody,” Natasha says. “I’m talking about freedom as well now that everyone can express themselves and who they are even more. I’ve always been very outspoken about the things that I want to express and say. With [‘Tu Perrota,’] I want to see everyone in heels and with makeup. I want to see everyone’s vibe.”

With this album, Natasha is taking risks by pushing reggaeton to new places. She seamlessly blends Afrobeats in her post-breakup banger “Otro Caption.” Natasha then mixes elements of música Mexicana in the brassy kiss-off track “Ya No Te Extraño.” The personal evolution she experienced this past year is also manifesting itself in her music.

“Art is art, so I feel like you just have to play with it and not take it so seriously,” she says. “I feel like I’m going to connect with people differently. I want my fans to connect with a nasty feeling of their own through these songs.”

Stream “Nasty Singles” below.

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Lucas Villa is a freelance music contributor for LATINA and his work is featured in Rolling Stone, Billboard, Teen Vogue, MTV News, and W Magazine.

In the ever-evolving landscape of smartphone technology, the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which hit the market earlier this fall, boasts an “advanced camera system” that promises to elevate users’ photography experiences. But isn’t that what they always say? Does the market really need a 15th iPhone? To answer these questions we embarked on a journey to Mexico City to a content creator workshop, hosted by Apple, to delve into the camera’s capabilities.

The workshop, attended by content creators from across Latin America, provided an immersive experience in testing some of the features of the iPhone 15 Pro Max camera. In between different rooms, we split up into several groups where Apple experts walked us through some of the new and updated features. From highly configurable settings to innovative shooting modes that enhance the camera’s quality, LATINA had the chance to explore the device’s potential and put its camera to the test. Check out what we learned below.

Camera Settings Made for the Amateur to the Pro

The iPhone 15 Pro Max allows you to customize your camera settings down to the format and resolution. Getting into the weeds of the settings menu was initially daunting, but the new phone has little pop-up blurbs that guide you through all of the options and provide recommendations. Under Camera Capture, there’s a High Efficiency Mode and a Most Compatible mode that essentially manages your file size, keeping in mind your phone’s storage (thank you, Apple). The experts recommend setting it to High Efficiency. Photo mode under Photo Capture required some guidance, ultimately we elected 24MP for optimal resolution in conjunction with High Efficiency.

However, the debate around file formats like HEIF Max, ProRAW 12 MP, and ProRaw Max (up to 48 MP) was a bit more confusing. In layman’s terms, these settings define the number of megapixels captured per image, with higher numbers translating to larger image files (note: these will take up more storage). For the average user seeking a balance between quality and storage efficiency, the experts advised setting Pro Default to HEIF Max and turning on your ProRAW & Resolution Control.

Benefits: incredible image quality at a practical file size perfect for storing and sharing.

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Grainy Shots No More

Testing the camera in a low-light setting was nothing short of impressive, signaling a departure from grainy shots. Now powered by the Photonic Engine, the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s Night Mode, although reminiscent of past iPhone cameras, now utilizes a complete 16-bit color space for enhanced color accuracy, ensuring a crisp nocturnal aesthetic even for Night mode portraits. This feature unequivocally lives up to the hype, marking a significant leap forward in smartphone photography.

Benefits: sharper detail, more vivid colors, and better low-light performance.

Say Hello (Again) to Action Mode

Arguably the most exciting feature, Action Mode elevates video production by stabilizing shaky footage. Though not necessarily new to the iPhone family (the 14 also has this feature), this innovation provides users with the ability to shoot dynamic videos cinematically, even when zoomed in 5x. For those aspiring to capture their own action scenes, this feature bridges the gap between amateur and professional videography.

Benefits: smooth videos no matter the distance or pace.

Definitely Worth it

The iPhone 15 Pro Max stands out as a versatile tool for content creators, striking a balance between innovation and user-friendly functionality. As with any device, investing time in understanding its capabilities is the key to unlocking a seamless user experience. Highly configurable settings might confuse some users, while the automatic correction feature caters to those who prefer a hands-off approach to capturing content. The new phone keeps both types of users in mind, offering control to photography enthusiasts, and simplicity to users desiring pristine images without the need for manual corrections.

We have made it to the twelfth, final, and best month of the year. As the first real post-pandemic year since 2020, these last twelve months of cinema were very different from a lot of what we’ve seen in the last few years. Writers, directors, actors, and just about everyone else on the call sheet came back in full force, giving audiences some of the most passionate, and even divisive, projects they’ve ever worked on.

There was a certain no-holds-barred, shake off the cobwebs attitude to movies in 2023 that we desperately needed. We’re taking a bit of a break this month, with just two Film Fridays instead of the usual four. But we won’t be done shouting out the films worth watching in 2023 until the stroke of midnight on January 1st.

“Silent Night” (In Theaters)

This Christmas, legendary action director John Woo is gifting us a new shoot-em-up thriller, this time with an interesting twist. Similarly to the slapstick comedies of the 20s and 30s, Woo’s new film – which follows a man hellbent on revenge after a brutal assault leaves his family dead and his vocal cords completely destroyed – is almost entirely silent. No need for that pesky dialogue in Woo’s film. Instead, the story unfolds through broken bones, gunfire, pure mayhem, and probably a couple of dirty looks, too.

“Godzilla Minus One” (In Theaters)

Following a series of Godzilla movies produced by American studios, the iconic monster is returning to Japan for a new story set just after World War II. This mid-40s Godzilla tale brings the character back to his roots, as a metaphor for the nuclear devastation Japan endured during the war. According to longtime fans, this new Godzilla film is one of the best ever, which is really saying something considering there are literally 38 of them.

“RENAISSANCE: A FILM BY BEYONCÉ” (In Theaters)

As if the Taylor Swift concert film weren’t enough, another generation-defining pop artist is releasing a concert film of her own. Performed and directed by the woman herself, Beyoncé’s new film is a celebration of the Renaissance tour and every single person who made it possible. The film incorporates concert footage, interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage to offer audiences an immersive look behind the curtain.

No matter how difficult you think it may be for Beyoncé to do her Renaissance performance night after night, it’s probably even more grueling than you could imagine. “RENAISSANCE” is all but a concrete confirmation that she is one of the hardest working entertainers in the world right now. More importantly, she puts on one hell of a show.

“The Sweet East” (In Theaters)

This directorial debut from longtime cinematographer Sean Price Williams looks like another charming, lowkey indie movie, the kind that seemed to fall out of favor at some point in the mid-2010s before making a comeback over the last couple of years. Following a high school student who gets lost during a class field trip, “The Sweet East” stars a handful of notable up-and-comers and even premiered at Cannes earlier this year despite Williams’ struggle to find funding during pre-production.

BONUS ROUND:

We’ve got a few more you might be interested in checking out this weekend!

“Everyone Will Burn” (In Theaters)

“In Water” (In Theaters)

“Shayda” (In Theaters)

“Don’t Suck” (In Theaters/VOD)

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Josef Rodriguez is a writer, filmmaker, and film critic living in New York City.