UNIIQU3 at Royale, 2/12/24
It’s nearly impossible to fully keep up with the ever-shifting zeitgeist of popular music today; trends and subgenres bubble up and take hold on a timeline so expedited that it’s easy to miss new developments before they’ve already flown by. That being said, though, the rise of Jersey club that has taken place over the last few years has been difficult to overlook.
Jersey club is somewhat self-explanatory; it’s a subgenre of dance music that developed in Newark, New Jersey that operates around a rapid, pounding, ~140 BPM kick drum rhythm pattern, often embellished with sampled bed creaks, whip cracks, and sirens. The last decade and change has seen the genre develop in niche corners of the internet, but the beginning of the 2020s ushered in a monumental rise in the sound’s popularity. This was made most apparent (and ubiquitous) by Lil Uzi Vert’s hit “Just Wanna Rock,” which brought a Jersey club beat to the backgrounds of short-form videos and house parties alike. To some, this infectious new sound came entirely out of left field, but anyone familiar with the name UNIIQU3 understands that Jersey club’s meteoric rise had been a long time coming.
UNIIQU3 is about as synonymous with Jersey club as an artist can get. Hailing from Newark, the rapper, producer, and DJ has spent the last decade establishing herself as the de-facto Jersey club queen. Over the course of a few EPs and a never-ending catalog of remixes, she has worked her way to the top of the scene; kicking off 2024 with an opening slot on Tinashe’s BB/ANG3L tour, UNIIQU3 shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon.
Seeing a great opening act is sometimes a bit tragic; far too often have I experienced disinterested audiences paying no mind to—or worse, talking over—incredible opening performances. As UNIIQU3 took the stage at the Royale, though, I knew this would not be one of these occasions. Although much of the crowd had come to see Tinashe, it only took a few moments before they were hooked by the hammering rhythms being produced by the Jersey DJ’s set.
UNIIQU3 controlled her set with a DJ board set up in the middle of the stage, but she spent the majority of her performance strutting around the stage, rapping over her own beats, and taking plenty of breaks to dance. She was backgrounded by a giant pink graphic bearing her name with wires wrapped around it, which paralleled the fluorescent cords that she had attached to her outfit. This focus on wires and cords served as a perfect symbol—UNIIQU3’s presence on stage was absolutely electric.
Technically speaking, her set was absolutely adept. Beyond being an incredible performer, she’s a master DJ, keeping the crowd engaged by mixing edits of popular songs with her own material, creating seamless blends and infectious rhythmic throughlines. She mixed “Bubble Gum,” a choice cut from her Phase 3 EP in with snatches of UK garage before shifting back towards Jersey club, and the crowd could not help but dance through it all. At some point toward the end of her set, an assortment of words, including “JERSEY CLUB QUEEN,” began to flash behind her, and at that point, I don’t think anyone in the venue disagreed with that assessment.
Although excitement was high for the main show, it felt as though the audience would have been fine if UNIIQU3’s show had continued longer. Jersey club is about as infectious as dance music gets, and this was made visible in the Royale. Even after UNIIQU3 left the stage, energy coursed through the venue. One thing was absolutely clear: we had just been in the presence of Jersey club royalty.
