Day and Night
Memphis Murphy is cool without trying. A DJ, model, and native New Yorker, she lives in the fast lane and keeps us on our toes.
Interview by SAHIR AHMED
Photos by AVA VAN OSDOL
Crowded rooms, fast music: Memphis Murphy’s life reads like a midnight romp through Brooklyn’s techno scene. With a snappy moniker to match her budding celebrity, Memphy possesses the grit and savvy of a true New Yorker while radiating the mysterious cool only a Scorpio can muster. At 24, the Harlem-born D.J. isn’t keeping pace—she’s setting it.
Sahir Ahmed: What is the most New York thing about you?
Memphy: New York girls know how to acclimate to any situation. I can be at the Ritz kiki-ing with the rich girls or sitting on a stoop smoking a joint. She can be cute, calm, and collected, but she can also be ghetto. She knows how to do both.
Sahir: Duality.
Memphy: Exactly.
Sahir: Which era of music defined your teenage years?
Memphy: There’s two eras. Early-2000s Kelis—that completely formed my outlook on music and style and taste. And the Pussycat Dolls, which really cemented something in me. It was just girl power, sexy, bossy. It was so bad, I even watched The Search for the Next Doll.
Sahir: Do you remember the first set that really impressed people?
Memphy: My best, the one that probably impressed people the most, was for Herrensauna in Berlin a year ago. It really resonated, especially on a deeply musical level. Being in Berlin,surrounded by people who take it so seriously, meant a lot.
Sahir: When were you first scouted for modeling?
Memphy: At 17 by my friend Sabrina [Fuentes]. You know Sicky Sab? She was signed with No Agency at the time and felt like we would vibe. I got signed around 2018, then in 2020 I left to join New York Model Management, and in 2024 I started working with IMG.
Sahir: Was stepping in front of the camera natural for you?
Memphy: It was easier when I was younger. I wouldn’t think about it as much when I had piercings, colorful hair. I was giving “cool girl.” As you mature and refine your style, I feel like you start thinking about whether you look your best instead of just thinking, Whatever, when your picture’s being taken.
Sahir: Has having a career in the public eye shaped the things you value?
Memphy: A bit. My dad’s band [the System] had two really big songs in the ’80s, so I grew up with him going on tour, doing interviews, making songs with and hanging out around famous people. For me, being in the public eye was just work. Starting out young definitely helped me feel more secure in who I am now as an adult.
Sahir: Is there a model you’ve always admired?
Memphy: Issa Lish, she’s half Mexican and half Japanese. I’ve always considered her iconic—also her being a doll, no one ever clocks that. And it wasn’t as if she used the trans card as a way into the industry. She’s one of my favorite models, for sure.
“New York girls know how to acclimate to any situation.” — MEMPHY
Sahir: Are “Memphy, the model” and “Memphy, the D.J.” the same or different personas?
Memphy: Definitely different. Memphy the model is slaying the runway down. Memphy the D.J. is raunchy—she’s giving party girl 365. But I do love when they come together. It keeps things interesting.
Sahir: When faced with a choice between a late-night gig or a big photo shoot the next morning, which do you prioritize?
Memphy: It depends on the photoshoot; if it’s an editorial, or free, and if the gig is paying, baby, I’m going where the money’s at.
Sahir: What sign are you?
Memphy: I’m a Scorpio.
Sahir: What are Scorpios like?
Memphy: Amazing, smart, beautiful, talented. No, seriously, I feel like we’re really honest, sometimes to a fault. If you ask a Scorpio their opinion, they’re going to give it to you. We won’t lie to spare your feelings. That might seem intimidating or intense, but we’re also the biggest crybabies.
Sahir: Why is it a fault?
Memphy: I’d say that everyone beats around the bush a little bit. Now more than ever, especially with Trump being president. I don’t think anyone feels safe to be fully honest. Everyone just wants to keep their job. But then again, when are people ever really honest?
Sahir: If your best friend sets you up on a blind date, are you going?
Memphy: Depends on which friend.
Sahir: If you go, what are you hoping for?
Memphy: I’m hoping for at least six-foot-two, either a Taurus or a Pisces, pays the bill and doesn’t ask to split it, not D.L., we get along and there’s no awkwardness. I’d also rather go for drinks over food—for the first date, at least.
Sahir: What about your ideal summer day—where are you and what are you eating?
Memphy: If I’m in New York, then a day out in the Hamptons, eating ice cold watermelon by a pool, with prosecco. If I’m out of the country, then in Mexico, on a beach eating mango.
Sahir: Do you prefer word of mouth or social media?
Memphy: I wish word of mouth were more important, but I know that social media is king. I always say to myself that I was born in the wrong era.
Sahir: Do you keep your phone on you at all times?
Memphy: I literally cannot be without it. I’d have a heart attack. I genuinely feel like I’m already getting carpal tunnel. It would take a really good hypnotherapist to train me to not use it.