CLEVELAND — DJ Lily Jade is expanding her resume.
You may remember the South Euclid second grader, who’s real name is Lily Goodwin, when 3News profiled her last May after she used quarantine music battles with her father to transform herself into a working DJ.
"It's been amazing," Goodwin says.
In less than a year’s time, life has really changed for the 7-year-old. She has grown from local DJ to a Kids Club Jr. Reporter for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“I was like, 'Hey Lils, you want to audition for the Cavs?'” explains dad, Juan Goodwin. “We gave her what the framework was. She kind of nailed it.”
According to the Cavs Youth website, DJ Lily Jade is the youngest Kids Club Jr. Reporter among this season's correspondents.
“I thought they wanted more, but it turns out they just wanted to see my skills,” Lily says.
DJ Lily Jade’s talent has been on full display. She was featured as a DJ at a Cavs game. She's interviewed professional basketball players like Kevin Love and she even had a lighthearted exchange with Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff about an artist on his playlist. Bickerstaff assumed the young reporter didn’t know hip-hop artist Jay-Z, but he was mistaken.
“I was about to just grab my phone and then show him the Jay-Z songs I play on my playlist,” she shares. “In my head I’m just like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ … I know he’s an artist and a rapper. I know that he’s Blue Ivy’s dad and I know that he’s Beyonce’s husband.”
If being a Cavs Kids Club Jr. Reporter wasn't enough, DJ Lily Jade is also the host of her own radio show that airs every Saturday at 11 a.m. on 95.9 FM WOVU. She covers girl bosses in Northeast Ohio, promotes service in the community, has a word of the week and of course a DJ mix.
“I want my daughter to know that she has a voice. If you ever feel like something isn’t right, when you crack that mic open, whoever is listening on Saturday will hear it,” Juan Goodwin says of the counsel he gave his oldest daughter. “But I also want her to know that comes with a responsibility. The opportunity, the responsibility and the way she's taken it by the horns, my wife and I couldn't be prouder.”
DJ Lily Jade has a busy schedule for the NBA's All-Star Weekend Feb. 18 through the 20th in Cleveland. In addition to her radio show, she’s DJing at the All-Star Clinic at Tower City on Friday and at the Power of Sport Summit on Saturday.
DJ Lily Jade is also holding her second annual sock distribution for the homeless.
“I love to help people out a lot,” Goodwin says.
To donate to this year’s sock drive, click here.