Meet vegan Odalys Peña, the ultra-creative 21-year-old entrepreneur Harlem native who goes by Odalys.
By night she’s a DJ, known for her carefully curated playlists, and party host who has worked with Lil Yachty and The Weeknd, at Teyana Taylor’s “Harlem Made” Vfiles party. She taught Rihanna how to Dab, and music guru opened for Steve Aoki at Marquee NY. By day, she is a runway model, featured on the new Fuse docu-series The 212, (Tuesday nights at 11:30 p.m.), and a creative director at FreshMilkLab, a multi-platform creative studio.
In an interview with Odalys, Vogue Magazine wrote that you can get to know the renaissance woman by:
“… scroll(ing) through her Instagram and you’ll understand the appeal. Peña wears pink Gucci-logo chokers and silver Tiffany & Co. charm and chain necklaces. She’s big on berets and loves a lace or metallic bra top. For VFiles, she once rocked a cut-off tee with the words ‘Models Suck’ scrawled across the front. She may not be angling for a gig in a Paris show, but Peña’s swag and her freewheeling attitude are show-worthy all on their own.”
Here’s our e-interview with Odalys:
Harlem World Magazine: Who has inspired you the most?
Odalys: Who inspires me the most I would say is my family and the stresses they all go through I’ll say is what fuels me to keep working harder till those stresses don’t exist.
HW: What is the secret sauce to your success?
O: I feel like there is no secret sauce but hard work and dedication.
HW: What advice would you have for someone who wants to follow in your Harlem footsteps?
O: The advice I would give someone is don’t let anyone tell you how to live your life, not even your family. It’s funny how when you believe in yourself the most and follow your dreams and make some progress how those who never believed in you start too.
HW: What’s your fav place in Harlem?
O: My fav place in Harlem would be Jacob’s Restaurant, that mac n cheese boiiii, and that jerk chicken lmao.
HW: Where do you go to escape your busy career?
O: To escape my busy career I like to go wherever I can just enjoy real life. I feel like my career is one thing and then enjoying the outdoors and just appreciating life is another! I love taking a walk down the park below from Riverbank State Park.
HW: When did you realize you were on the right track with your career?
O: I never could tell if I was on the right path or not. I just always hoped and believed I was cause whatever I was doing made me feel good and be able to make enough money to take care of myself.
HW: Why do you describe your style as “broke rich”?
O: I describe my style as #brokerich because the money I earn most of it goes into bills, my family and just getting around. So its’ not like I can always just afford wanting to splurge on buying clothes. Luckily I get a lot of clothes for free from brands that I just put my Lil twist too and try to make it me as much as possible.
HW: How do you describe Harlem Style?
O: Harlem will always be one of a kind. There’s nothing you don’t see here .. down to people having their different types of swag all the way to people having their own cool lingo, I always felt like Harlem is a place a lot of originality came from!
HW: How does it feel to be the most popular DJ in NYC?
O: Aww man thank you guys but I’m definitely not the hottest DJ in New York. I feel like I’m just getting started and it’s lit but there’s so much to always learn!!! So it’s hard for me to feel the best.
HW: Thank you.
Stay in contact with Odalys:
https://twitter.com/o_mescudi?lang=en
https://www.instagram.com/odalys_ny/?hl=en
Photo credit: Manny Prieres (Fuse). #LOVE, #Harlem, #The212
Check out more Interviews on Harlem World Magazine here.
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