CULTURE ONLINE

Jillian Logan

The Woman Bringing R&B to Mexico City.

spring 2025

A woman DJ wearing headphones, a black top, and a striped shirt, standing behind a DJ controller in a dimly lit room with artwork on the walls.

WORDS Rach Albright
PHOTOGRAPHY Estafani Montserrat Reyes

Mexico City, an already stunning and artistic place, has a thriving Black community contributing to the creative scene through music, art, fashion, and food.

Enter Jillian Logan, a content producer, a newly-minted DJ who already has a loyal following, and all-around culture plug, digging her heels into any— and everything music & art related —and making it better. Jill grew up in the DMV and then in Atlanta, both areas with thriving music scenes that have produced some of the greatest artists of our generation. After making her official move to Mexico City in 2017, she wasn’t hearing R&B at parties or events around this city. With the help of partner Alexandre Ricart, Resident DJ Bastian Bell, along with a host of other DJs she’s curated and rallied behind, she took it upon herself to create it.

A person with long hair sitting on a motorcycle, wearing a jacket, in a dark setting.
A black and white promotional poster featuring a woman with an afro hairstyle wearing sunglasses, a tank top, and a necklace, making a peace sign. The poster promotes an event titled 'An R&B Experience' with 'Freak 'N' LO' for lovers and friends, happening on Friday, August 30, from 10 PM to 4 AM at Bonito Nuevo León 89, Condesa. The cover charge is $200.
Two fashionable women in a cozy restaurant, one wearing sunglasses, a purple sports jersey, and a hat, the other in a shiny, circular-patterned top, with a chef visible in the background.

In 2023, Jillian, Alex, and Bastian launched FREEK’N U (pronounced freakin’ you), billed as “the first and only R&B party in CDMX”.

Freek'N U is a monthly event popping up across Mexico City, bringing lovers and friends together in a carefully curated atmosphere to vibe, dance, and connect through timeless R&B hits and future classics.

But, it’s so much more than that. Freek’N U has emerged as one of the capital’s staple cultural hubs and has created a community for locals and visitors alike. The event would not be what it was without Jill’s style of doing and the unpretentious spirit she brings to the dancefloor that keeps everyone coming back for more. R&B is for everyone, and it’s finally making a name for itself here in Mexico.

Their unique approach moves beyond a ‘party’ and has created a community and sacred gathering for people. The experience is full of joy, diversity, positivity, and more body-rolling sing-a-longs than you can count. The audience is genuinely there for the music and the community—not to show face or pick up their next fling—creating a safe space with like-minded people. Out of their effort something necessary emerges: a sanctuary and temple to worship the restorative energy of R&B.

Group of young people dancing and enjoying themselves at a party or nightclub.
A group of women at a party or social gathering, smiling and holding drinks, with one woman in colorful attire and accessories in the center.
A person with short hair, glasses, and a cap, wearing headphones around their neck, standing behind DJ equipment in a dark room, possibly a recording studio or nightclub.
A man with glasses and a black T-shirt making an 'L' shape with his hand over his face in a dark, red-lit environment.

“It means a lot to me to have successfully highlighted R&B in an underrepresented market. R&B is Black-American at its core but through this party it goes to show how it really reached far and wide. To be this sort of nexus for Black people visiting Mexico City is exciting to me, not because I want to make CDMX more Black or more American, but because the more that locals interact with Black people, the more we all begin to have more respect and understanding for each other.”The mixing of cultures and respect is what truly makes Freek’N U magical. In the future, it will only gain more momentum and grow globally, thanks to the high vibration and positivity that connecting over R&B music brings.

Freek'N U can set an example of the spaces we should seek out and create; Spaces geared towards fusing cultures with respect and intentionality. There seems to be no better way, afterall, for unity like some shared shaking of booty. ❤

Group of women at a party, taking selfies and smiling.
Silhouette of a woman with braided hair holding a glass in a dimly lit setting with beams of light shining in the background.
Black and white poster advertising a reggae and R&B music event called 'Freak 'Em' with three women in shiny outfits, with details about free drinks, cover charge, date, time, and location.
A woman with glasses, earrings, and a choker, wearing a crop top and high-waisted jeans, joyfully dancing or singing in a dimly lit setting.

STORY CREDITS
PHOTOGRAPHY Estafani Montserrat Reyes, VIDEO Walter Sarez, FLYER DESIGN Alexandra Regehr, WORDS Rach Albright

FEATURING
FOUNDING DJs Jillian Logan and Bastian Bell of FREEK’N U

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