Oakland is Soulovely

Our Story

Soulovely is a groundbreaking monthly cultural affair stewarded by Aïma the Dreamer, Lady Ryan, and Emancipation, remarkable cultural practitioners of African descent. Since our inception in 2011, Soulovely has curated an extraordinary platform that celebrates and sustains the unwavering spirit and beauty of Oakland's queer and trans-BIPOC communities. For 15 seasons, Soulovely has solidified its place as a cultural anchor within Oakland's vibrant queer and trans communities, showcasing over 300 phenomenal WOC and QTBIPOC DJs and live performers.

Within Soulovely’s nurturing embrace, music becomes a soul-stirring force, surrendering to the rhythm in an outpouring of love and support. From house to neo-soul, old-school hip hop to salsa, and afrobeat, we embrace the soulful umbrella that ignites spirits and moves bodies. Rest assured, we steadfastly uphold our commitment to excluding any music that degrades women/femmes or perpetuates homophobia or transphobia.

Meet The Founders

Emancipation

She/Her

is a proud Afro-Arab who identifies herself as a “professional joy enabler.” Through the music our ancestors dreamed of, Emancipation’s sound travels across continents tracing our human collaboration and connection. Nothing makes her happier than to witness her beloved QTBIPOC communities get free on the dance floor. Smiles, sweat, grace, and love for one another, all remind her of how glorious this life truly is.

She has been making people dance in the Bay Area dance scene for over 15 years and has been an active cultural worker and activist in Oakland since she first moved to the Town from her native Egypt 20 years ago. Eman worked for many years fighting for justice in Palestine and Iraq helped to organize the Arab immigrant community in San Francisco and worked for a handful of other community initiatives. Emancipation is the visionary behind the monthly spring-summertime outdoor jump, SOULOVELY. She is also a resident of SKIN, a project of Candi Martinez and DJ Cecil that brings dancers and DJs together over the love of deep, spiritual, ancestral dance music.

Aïma The Dreamer

They/Them/Femme

Aïma the Dreamer, is an Oakland-based multidisciplinary artist, musician, filmmaker, and cultural organizer with over two decades of experience creating art and spaces rooted in liberation, resistance, and collective transformation. A Queer, mixed-heritage artist of Black, Indigenous, North African Amazigh, Arab, and Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry, Aïma draws from their lived experiences and intersectional identity to create work that challenges oppressive systems while celebrating the resilience, beauty, and radical imagination of marginalized communities. Their artistic practice spans music, visual art, film, performance, and cultural production, centering QTBIPOC liberation, intersectional feminism, femme empowerment, and collective joy. Aïma is the co-founder of Femme Rage, a femme-centered arts organization exploring rage as a transformative force, and Afro Queer Global, a musical arts residency celebrating Queer and Trans creativity across the African diaspora.

As a vocalist, lyricist, and MC, Aïma blends Hip Hop, Jazz, Trip Hop, World Beat, and House into a soulful, genre-fluid sound rooted in socially conscious storytelling. They have toured nationally and internationally, sharing stages with acclaimed artists including Talib Kweli, Roy Ayers, Nneka, Robert Glasper, Ana Tijoux, MC Lyte, Les Nubians, Bahamadia, and KRS-One. As a member of the all-femme Hip Hop collective Femme Deadly Venoms, their music has been featured on CBS's The Equalizer and Netflix's Ginny & Georgia. Their forthcoming solo album, On the Frontlines, follows the Summer 2026 release of its first single, Stand Up. Aïma's visual artwork has been exhibited at SOMArts and the African American Art & Culture Complex, and their filmmaking includes the Femme Rage short film trilogy, with screenings at QWOCMAP and Frameline film festivals. Across every medium, Aïma's work embraces art as resistance, creativity as liberation, and community as a powerful force for imagining and building more liberated futures.

Lady Ryan

She/Her

Lady Ryan is a beloved figure in the Bay Area, evoking feelings of safety, joy, and belonging as both a spiritual conductor and dedicated professional. Her unwavering passion for music resonates throughout the Bay Area and beyond, whether enchanting the crowd at Warriors' games, producing for her acclaimed parties, Soulovely or Sweetspot, or gracing the airwaves of 91.7 KALW San Francisco.

Lady Ryan has shared the stage with iconic artists, including Diana Ross, George Clinton, Erykah Badu, Journey, Indigo Girls, and Anderson Paak. With her vast knowledge and appreciation of diverse musical genres, skillfully infused with just the right touch of nostalgia, Lady Ryan's ability to orchestrate uplifting vibrations ensures an unforgettable experience on any dance floor.

Our 2026 Season Finale is October 25th @ 7th West!

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Looking for ways to get involved?
Consider becoming a sponsor.

We welcome participation from small business owners, community organizations, movement partners, allies, and values-aligned corporations. Your participation as a sponsor will sustain and support almost 15 years of building queer Black and Brown joy, resistance, and liberation in the Bay Area

What will your generous sponsorship help with?

Subsidizes tickets for our working class, youth (21-30), and folks from low-income communities (ticket prices start at $15 and go up to $40).
Covers travel and production costs for our headliners to perform their best performance.
Makes this event a reflection of the incredible diversity of our movement for queer and trans liberation!
Affirms your support for our important cultural work that builds power in our QTBIPOC communities.

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