DJ Lady Tribe graffiti tag in Oakland, California.
Nikki Shamdasani, best known by her stage name DJ Lady Tribe, is a retired DJ, graffiti artist, actress, model and reality television star, of Hispanic, Indian and Japanese descent.[1][2][3] She is best known for her appearance on VH1's hit celeb-reality series; Rock of Love Bus with Bret Michaels.[4][5]
Shamdasani began graffiti at a young age, in 1995 she was featured in the documentary Graffiti Verite. She became one of the most notable graffiti artists in the California area, and was a part of the infamous "TKO Gang", featuring in the WAR 4, DVD.[6] In 1999, she was arrested alongside her then boyfriend Roberto Franklin Ramirez in Las Vegas, Nevada over two separate suspected gang-related murders.[7] She was arrested in 2000, for vandalizing public transport for tagging a public bus, after her family home was raided by the Los Angeles Police Department.[1][8][9]
In 2006, she was featured by Fox 11 News focusing on her DJ and graffiti work.[citation needed] Her work was featured in the 2006 book, Graffiti Women - Street Art from Five Continents.[10][11] In 2007, she was one of the featured graffiti artists in the independent film, Bomb It.[2][12][13][14] She was also the cover model of the film. Her work caught the eye of graffiti artist, Seen, who is regarded as one of the worlds most famous graffiti artists, they collaborated on a piece together in 2008.[15]
DJ career
Shamdasani began DJing in the early 2000s. In 2004, she was a part of the Murda Mami's group, a collective of underground female DJ's and rap artists including; DJ Lazy K, Gloria Velez, La La, Ms. Sancha, Rah Digga, Remy Ma, Shawnna, among others.[16][17] Her notoriety in the Hollywood club scene lead her to working alongside artists such as; Chingy, Ciara, Lil Jon, Nina Sky, Redman, Rihanna, Slim Thug, T.I. and The Game.[18][19] Her debut single Murder Mommy, is featured on the Hi Power 2005, CD.[20][21] She is also credited on Pitbull's liner notes for his 2007, studio album The Boatlift.[22][bettersourceneeded] They collaborated on a Bojangles remix, which was released in 2011.[23] She released a single featuring Twista in 2011, titled Extreme Ways.[24] In 2011, she released a third single titled 24/7 featuring Ms. Sancha,[25] this was a cover of Shamdasani's friend, Adore Delano's song, which was originally released in 2009.[26]
Shamdasani posed for Bench Warmer trading cards in the 2004, 2005 and 2006 trading sets.[37] She featured in many different magazines including on the covers of; Access, D Sport,[38]Lowrider,[39]LUX G, RIX and multiple others. She also featured in centerfold spreads for KING and Open Your Eyes.[1][40] She featured in music videos for, 50 Cent and RZA.[citation needed]
Shamdasani appeared in many graffiti based documentaries beginning in 1995, she was a featured artist in the 2007, independent documentary Bomb It[2] starring as the cover model for the film, and the 2009, TKO gang based documentary, WAR 4.[6] She had extra roles in the films; Fast & Furious 4 as a DJ, S.W.A.T and Training Day.[36][bettersourceneeded]
Between the years of 2005-2006, she was a correspondent on LATV's, L.A Onda' TV, interviewing celebrities and reviewing cars.[43] She was a resident DJ on the DJ based show The Roof[44] and had a 5 minute feature on Fox 11 News, focusing on her DJ and graffiti career.[citation needed]
In 2009, she was a contestant on the hit VH1 celebreality series; Rock of Love Bus with Bret Michaels.[4][5] Despite being eliminated in the first episode, her time on the show became infamous, stemming from an array of different scenes. Including a controversial moment where Shamdasani took a shot of alcohol out of fellow contestant Gia Lynn's, vagina, after Lynn inserted the shot in to herself at a bar.[45][46] She also famously read out a rap she'd written for Bret Michaels, off the back of a genital herpes and gonorrhea results sheet. She later claimed to take no illegal drugs, and that every drug she took was legal, before hiccupping and apologizing for being too drunk, later during the elimination ceremony, she couldn't stand straight, eventually stumbling down and having to sit on the floor.[47] During the reunion special, she revealed she had entered rehab and had become sober.[48]
Personal life
In 2020, Shamdasani came away from her social media pages, citing she was taking a break, it was revealed in 2021, that she had suffered a stroke.[49][bettersourceneeded] In 2025, she deleted all her official social media pages.
↑Ganz, Nicholas (2026-01-08). Graffiti Women - Street Art From Five Continents. New York: New York: Abrams (published 2006-11-01). p.126. ISBN9780810957473.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
