Biography
Cherise Gary, who performs as UNIIQU3, works as a producer, DJ, and vocalist while serving as the central figure of the Jersey club movement. Born in Newark, she fuses ballroom, juke, trap, and additional styles into high-energy tracks driven by rapid breakbeats, samples drawn from hip-hop and R&B, and lyrics that celebrate sexual agency. International recognition arrived through her intense DJ sets and releases such as the 2018 EP Phase 3 and the 2021 EP Heartbeats, along with the 2022 single “Hold Up,” a joint effort involving Whipped Cream, Big Freedia, and Moore Kismet.
During high school she played piano in the concert band and studied dance in downtown Newark, where she met DJ Tameil, the creator of the Jersey club sound, who was selling mix CDs outdoors. The local scene at that time consisted mainly of men in DJ, promotion, and dance roles. UNIIQU3 established the street team and dance crew known as the Vixens, becoming the first woman to DJ within the community. She organized numerous independent events across New Jersey and appeared regularly at the influential New York parties hosted by GHE20G0TH1K. After contributing vocals to tracks by area producers, she grew impatient with their slow turnaround times and learned production independently.
Lit City Trax issued her mixtape The New Klassiks in 2014, the same year she released the track “2 the Floor” alongside Ase Manual. She maintained a steady output of productions while gaining wider attention through sets that included her 2016 Boiler Room performance and a 2017 guest mix for Diplo & Friends on BBC Radio 1XTRA. The year 2018 brought the Phase 3 EP, the joint project Club Queens created with Baltimore’s TT the Artist, and a guest spot on the Hyperdub album Still Trippin’ by Teklife affiliate DJ Taye. In 2020 she put out two Digital Diva EPs and paired with London’s KG for the single “B2B”/“Black Roses.” The next year saw the short mixtape Bitches Is Outside, Vol. 1 and the Local Action EP Heartbeats, which featured the widely circulated track “Microdosing.” Her 2018 recording “Off the Chain,” made with TT the Artist, was later interpolated by Chlöe of Chlöe x Halle on the 2021 solo release “Have Mercy,” which entered the Top Ten of Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and was performed at the MTV Video Music Awards, marking a significant mainstream breakthrough for Jersey club music. The 2022 single “Hold Up” reunited UNIIQU3 with Whipped Cream, Big Freedia, and Moore Kismet.
During high school she played piano in the concert band and studied dance in downtown Newark, where she met DJ Tameil, the creator of the Jersey club sound, who was selling mix CDs outdoors. The local scene at that time consisted mainly of men in DJ, promotion, and dance roles. UNIIQU3 established the street team and dance crew known as the Vixens, becoming the first woman to DJ within the community. She organized numerous independent events across New Jersey and appeared regularly at the influential New York parties hosted by GHE20G0TH1K. After contributing vocals to tracks by area producers, she grew impatient with their slow turnaround times and learned production independently.
Lit City Trax issued her mixtape The New Klassiks in 2014, the same year she released the track “2 the Floor” alongside Ase Manual. She maintained a steady output of productions while gaining wider attention through sets that included her 2016 Boiler Room performance and a 2017 guest mix for Diplo & Friends on BBC Radio 1XTRA. The year 2018 brought the Phase 3 EP, the joint project Club Queens created with Baltimore’s TT the Artist, and a guest spot on the Hyperdub album Still Trippin’ by Teklife affiliate DJ Taye. In 2020 she put out two Digital Diva EPs and paired with London’s KG for the single “B2B”/“Black Roses.” The next year saw the short mixtape Bitches Is Outside, Vol. 1 and the Local Action EP Heartbeats, which featured the widely circulated track “Microdosing.” Her 2018 recording “Off the Chain,” made with TT the Artist, was later interpolated by Chlöe of Chlöe x Halle on the 2021 solo release “Have Mercy,” which entered the Top Ten of Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and was performed at the MTV Video Music Awards, marking a significant mainstream breakthrough for Jersey club music. The 2022 single “Hold Up” reunited UNIIQU3 with Whipped Cream, Big Freedia, and Moore Kismet.
Albums
Singles
