Our Teachers

Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Mario Rodriguez came into a world filled with the culture off the streets. Although living under the guidance of his devout Catholic parents, Rodriguez dabbled in everything the streets had to offer from gang life to hip-hop.

Thanks to his older brother Delfino, a graffiti artist and break dancer (b-boy), Rodriguez went route of hip-hop, a culture born on the streets but brought out the creative nature of its participants.

Rodriguez experimented in each of the four elements of hip-hop culture: b-boying, graffiti art, emceeing (rapping) and DJing. While exceling at hip-hop, he needed an appropriate nickname. Delfino was called Fienz on the streets, but Delfino and his friends had a special name for Rodriguez.

“My brother’s friends used to come over to the house when I was in junior high,” says Chonz. “There were no boxers back then really, so I wore whitey tighties, and when they would come over, they’d say, ‘Yo, chones (a Mexican slang word for underwear), go put some clothes on!’ I used to kick it in my chones, take out the trash in my chones, so my name was chones for awhile. Then people just started calling me Chonz.”

Now christened with a nickname, Rodriguez gravitated towards DJing. Inspired by the local Denver DJs, DJ Chonz practiced and honed his skills in his basement for two years before coming out to compete in DJ competition. When he won a local radio DJ competition in 1996 after being undefeated for consecutive weeks, DJ Chonz’s star began to rise on the Denver hip-hop scene.

The win earned him a 30-minute and then a 60-minute segment on the hip-hop radio program “Eclipse: Shedding of a Blacker Light on KGNU” and he was invited to compete in regional and national DJ competitions such as the DMC Mixing Championships, Guitar Center Mixing Championships and the Lowrider-sponsored DJing competitions. The competitions opened the door for Chonz to share the stage with such hip-hop luminaries as Dr. Dre, Eminem, Slick Rick, The Roots, Snoop Dogg as well as tour with De La Soul, Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon and Baby Bash.

After making so much noise on the local scene, in 2001 Denver’s largest hip-hop station KS107.5 (KQKS-FM) allowed Chonz and local personalities Francois Baptiste and Kingdom to launch the Radio Bums MixtapeShow, a specialty hip-hop show on Sunday nights. Because of the popularity of the show and Chonz’s skills on the turntable, KS107.5 recruited him to mix live in the studio for the weekend party mix and during the afternoon drive, making him the first DJ to ever mix live on commercial radio in Denver.

Today, with over 20 years of experience, he’s the most recognizable DJ in Colorado and surrounding states. Over the years he’s led the station to No. 1 rankings in various categories including afternoon and night host for the 18-34 demographic from 2009 to 2011 locally and nationally in 2012. He was also responsible for creating the new KS-1075 morning show in 2017.

He’s won numerous awards from Denver’s alt-weekly Westword’s “Best of …” issues including Best Hip-Hop DJ, Best Denver Radio and Best Online Radio show for a daily mix he streamed live on the internet. He was also awarded Best Afternoon Show from the Colorado Broadcast Awards in 2010.

DJ Chonz also continues to dominate the nightclub scene with several weekly events in Denver as well as consistent events in Las Vegas, San Diego, Phoenix and Los Angeles.

When he’s not on the road or in the studio, giving back to the community is important to DJ Chonz. Especially when he can lead young people to find positive life direction from music. This is his fifth year working with CU’s Summer Industry Music Program (June 14-26), where he is involved with providing scholarships for high school students to attend. Thus leading to the creation of the DJ Chonz Foundation 501 (c) (3) Non-Profit in 2018.

Most recently in 2018 DJ Chonz team up with long time friend DJ Staxx to open the Denver DJ School. Which empowers and teaches the youth and adults the art of DJing. 

Chonz states “It is a blessing to be able to provide for his family doing what he loves to do”

Emilio "DJ Spexx'' Martinez was born and raised in Colorado. Coming from a very close knit family where all gatherings revolved around music and food, he grew up listening to lowrider oldies, tejano corridos, R&B, Hip-Hop and so much more.  His mother was an active member of the Denver B-Girl crew "The Radio Active-ets" which inspired his love for all elements of Hip-Hop culture.

Following in his mothers footsteps he began learning to breakdance and developed an interest in DJing. Around the age of 15 Spexx attended an open scratch lesson hosted by Youth on Record in Denver. This was the moment Spexx would realize his true love and passion for DJing. Spexx bought his first set of turntables and speakers and began rocking house parties and events for family and friends. 

After high school Spexx would attend Full Sail University for a short time before he moved to LA to help a friend manage a recording studio. WIth the experience gained from these adventures Spexx returned home to Colorado to continue pursuing his passion for DJing. Spexx would attend any DJ event he could find and most importantly the DMCs. Spexx would connect with local DJ legends DJ Chonz and DJ Staxx who encouraged him to continue chasing his dream. 

In 2018 Spexx started attending Denver DJ School where he completed classes to enhance his mixing and scratching skills. During this time Spexx met DJ RayRock and DJ DENCO who gave him the opportunity to sign with their collective DJ company Vibe Revival in 2021. The Denver DJ School and Vibe Revival have given Spexx opportunities to DJ many venues and make new connections. Spexx hopes to continue DJing in the Denver music scene and explore opportunities to take his skills on the road. 

Dennis Perez aka DJ Nes is a Denver native and has been DJ’ing and rocking with local bands  for over 15 years. His love for music began at a young age, while starting out as a B-Boy he developed a sense of style and rhythm which carried over to DJ’ing. “I never really could write bars or wasn’t the greatest artist but music is where I found my niche in Hip-Hop”. 

Even though Hip Hop was his first love-DJ Nes didn’t want to confine himself with one style, so he drew inspiration from all genres of music passed down from multiple friends and family members. “My Open Format style brings flavor and style into every set I do with the ability to adapt to any crowd” Nes says. 

Not only is he a performer, Nes also currently teaches the art and history of DJing at Lake Middle School as well as at The Denver DJ School. He believes it is important to know where the art form started so the youth can take it to the next level. 

Giovani Espinoza, also known as DJ Buzz, started DJ'ing in August 2017. He was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, the same as his mom and dad. He attended Mountain Range High school and graduated in 2020. Currently, DJ Buzz is enrolled in the Community College Of Denver and majoring in Business/Marketing. His most significant DJ accomplishments are sharing the same stage with well-known artists such as Bhad Bhabie, Blueface, YBN Namir, and YNW Melly. He considers one of his best achievements is growing from a student to an instructor at the Denver DJ School. DJ Buzz's inspiration in life comes from his family, who supports him and helps him grow as a person. One of his goals in life is to have an impact with his music and one day make a name for himself. Hip Hop culture and music influence his daily life as he looks up to many rappers that he can relate to.

DJ Big Styles is the “mid next century modern negro.” A mixmaster, producer, and journalist. He produces stellar events and is a veteran music journalist with 20+ years of experience. Adored by the urbane, and music nerds equally, he is known for controlling the energy of any event. Styles challenges audiences with taste-making selections, and is also comfortable in a basement sweat box. In 2016, he started the Denver branch of the “Cuffin’ All Thangs R&B ” party. Now Denver is the strongest Cuffin’ in the country. His Drake Night is in its’ 3rd year. Styles has contributed for the popular music blog Chrome Music, Modern in Denver Magazine, Westword, and Village Voice Media’s Pazz & Jop poll. His mixes and original productions have been featured on the blogs Chrome Music, and Soulbounce.

Colorado native and Denver resident, Landon R. Gahm (DJLRG) has become a Swiss army knife of Hip-Hop and technology. He got into DJing to avoid following in the same footsteps as some negative influences around him. Getting inspiration from the likes of Dj Qbert, A-Trak, Dj Craze, and worn out DMC videos. As his skills developed, he got his first gig at his high school pep rally and hasn’t looked back since.

In 2008, he Joined the band “Cypher.” The band became a way of crossing music genre boundaries. It was at this time that recording, mixing and mastering became a passion, and he spent as much time in the studio as possible learning everything he could about creating music. Playing the same stages as some of the industries best. Gaining radio and national attention.

Owner of “LIVIN LRG ENT” a company founded in 2012 specializing in events, media, and web services. Running a music studio in Denver with producer “SenS” allowed him to network and work with some of the best talents in the business. Check out their music on all major streaming platforms. 

Giving back to the community and the youth is important to him. Showcased by his work with the “Foote Center” to inspire incarcerated youth and volunteering for “Youth on Record.” “It is time to inspire the next generation of Hip-Hop. The Denver Dj School is where that happens.