Erika Blue: Police Officer by Day, Raver by Night

To say Erika Blue has been through a lot in her life would be an understatement. The 39-year-old from Vernon, NJ, grew up in poverty. She gave birth to her first daughter when she was 14 and was in an abusive relationship for 15 years. In times of distress, the one thing she knew she could always turn to was music.

Blue attended her first rave at 16 and has never looked back. She’s now a police officer of 14 years and the proud mom of three daughters who are 24, 20 and 16. While she was uncertain about telling people she was a cop who raves, she now wants to share her story with the rest of the world. Blue took her eldest daughter to her first rave, TomorrowWorld 2013, and teaches all three about PLUR. Her message: It’s okay to be who you are. After all, that’s what this culture is all about.

“It’s okay to come out and be who you are. We are here with open arms, ready for whoever.”

“I think there are more people that are afraid to come out as cops that rave because they think our job looks down upon it,” she says. “People think it’s all sex and drugs and orgies everywhere. When I tell people I’m going on vacation to EDC New York, they kind of look at me weird. ‘How old are you?,’ ‘What are you doing?’ or ‘Why are you into it?’ It’s okay to come out and be who you are. We are here with open arms, ready for whoever.”

What made you decide to be a cop, and what was the process like to become one?
I work as a patrol officer in a very inner-city, poverty-ridden part of New Jersey. When I started, it was my only option. I was a single mom of three daughters, and I’ve always been kind of a tomboy, so it was basically what I had to do to support them. It was hard in the beginning, but I’ve been doing it for 14 years, so it’s not as difficult.

What’s a typical day at work like for you?
I work solo; we don’t have partners. You go out to wherever you’re dispatched, assess the situation, and use your judgment and try to take control, regardless of how you feel. We have a lot of heroin and domestic violence problems as well as shootings and murders in our area. It’s pretty bad, but it’s what I do, and I’m used to it.

How did you get into raving?
I was raised in poverty, had my first daughter at 14, and was with my daughters’ dad for 15 years in a very abusive relationship. My only escape growing up and being a young mom was music. My first taste of house music came when I would hear it played on the radio late at night. I went to my first rave at Limelight in New York City when I was 16 and my daughter was two, and I fell in love. Back then it was harder to find a venue; there were no festivals, really. It was very underground. You bonded more closely with people who were into the kandi kid lifestyle, because not many were, and you weren’t as open about it. For me, raving is a place to escape that accepts everyone for who they are.

At shows, what are people’s reactions when you say, “I’m a cop”?
I was afraid at first, but they embraced it. They thought it was the coolest thing, saying, “Wow, a cop who raves—that’s awesome.” I met another cop who raves, Justin, through a Facebook group and learned we have the same concerns. We can’t be around certain things and do certain things, and he totally got it. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you’re gay, you’re a cop, or whatever. Other ravers who know I’m a cop know if they have a problem they can talk to me, and not only that—they help me too. It’s just like a big family.

How do you feel when you see illegal activity at raves?
Everybody has a choice to make. You can’t really judge people; you don’t know their struggle. You have the hardcore people who go for the music and the younger kids who just go for the fun, and let’s just say, you can tell between the two.

Who are your favorite artists to listen to?
The artists from back then are still my favorites: Frankie Knuckles, Tony Humphries and Robbie Rivera. Now I like artists like Ørjan Nilsen, Thomas Gold and Aly & Fila.

How do you balance raving and having kids?
It was difficult, but raving has always been there for me when I was lost. Yesterday I had a mammogram, and they found a lump, and I turned to music for that. When I’m having a stressful day at work in my unit, I play music and it takes me away. My kids have heard the music I listen to, and they know the old classics. They can even sing along to artists like Frankie Knuckles because they were raised on it.

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