American activist and whistleblower Chelsea Manning headlined the latest hyperpop party, sksksk, at BK’s Elsewhere club, along with Isabella Lovestory, D4RKCIRCLES, THELIMITDOESNOTEXIST, Food House, and Swan Meat.

In May of 2022, Manning teased her Twitter followers with an announcement that she will begin DJing again after a 15 year hiatus. Manning, a former U.S. Army intelligence analyst, disclosed hundreds of thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks for which she was sentenced to 35 years in prison [1]. During this time, Manning became the first person to receive gender transition related healthcare while in military prison[2]. The Obama administration later commuted her sentence, ending her seven year imprisonment in 2017[3].

The party’s founder David Chan, who is also known by his DJ monker, THELIMITDOESNOTEXIST, invited Chelsea to spin at the event via DM on Instagram: “I always knew Chelsea was a DJ from articles I read about her. She used to DJ in bars back in her college years. There is a piece by Michelle Lhooq talking about Chelsea’s love for music and how it connects to her politics. As someone who loves hyperpop, it’s extremely clear to me that trans women are the best musicians and DJs, and I really wanted to have Chelsea because I knew she would understand our vibe perfectly. So I just DMed her, and she said yes!”