The Best House and Techno Tracks of 2021

DRAMA, the musical duo made up of vocalist Via Rosa and DJ and producer Na’el Shehade, is the product of many eclectic influences. Rosa comes from a background steeped in hip hop and reggae, cutting her teeth as a member of Chicago-based hip hip group THEMpeople before joining forces with Shehade in the latter half of the 2010’s. In addition to her early professional experiences, Rosa also pulls from the music that is all but in her blood from the time she spent with her parents, who were members of a traveling reggae band, on the road.  Shehade, on the other hand, is a DJ and producer through and through, manifesting his childhood obsession with dance music through his illustrious career of today, which, in addition to his work as one half of DRAMA, spans work with superstar artists like Chance the Rapper and Kanye West, and with major broadcasting outlets like MTV and Bravo.

As a partnership, Rosa and Shehade have released an impressive list of full-length albums, EPs and singles, and have collaborated with artists including Gorgon City, Flight Facilities, and more. They’ve also made a habit of opening their tracks to remixing, and through this have garnered reimaginings of their discography from the likes of John Summit, Justin Martin, Tom & Collins, and more.

As a traveling act, DRAMA has played some of dance music’s top venues including Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheater, where they opened for Big Wild, the Brooklyn Steel, and Metro Chicago, as well as at a slew of festivals on the major United States circuit including San Diego’s CRSSD, Southern California’s HARD Summer, Michigan’s Electric Forest, Detroit’s Movement and many more. They’ve also opened for artists like ODESZA on their The Last Goodbye tour, in addition to sharing the stage with major mainstream acts like Coldplay and H.E.R.

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