In the early 2000s, when hip-hop was undergoing a seismic shift from its New York origins to the emerging sounds of the South, DJ Sense was quietly orchestrating one of the culture’s most significant transformations. The Philadelphia native, who had relocated to Atlanta’s burgeoning music scene, co-founded The Aphilliates, a DJ collective that would become synonymous with the mixtape era’s golden age. Through his acclaimed series and strategic partnerships, Sense helped catapult artists like T.I., Jeezy and Lil Wayne from regional favorites to global superstars, crafting a blueprint that merged underground authenticity with mainstream accessibility.
Known throughout the industry as “The Trendsetter,” DJ Sense has spent more than two decades establishing himself as both a cultural architect and a bridge between hip-hop’s generations. His influence extends far beyond the turntables, encompassing radio programming, artist development and an unwavering commitment to discovering emerging talent. While many of his contemporaries focused solely on commercial success, Sense maintained a delicate balance between street credibility and mass appeal, earning respect from both underground purists and industry executives.
Today, as hip-hop continues to evolve in the streaming era, DJ Sense remains a vital force in shaping the genre’s direction. His role as mentor and tastemaker has become increasingly important as the industry grapples with questions of authenticity and artistic integrity. Through his continued work in music curation and artist development, Sense represents a living link to hip-hop’s mixtape heritage while actively participating in its digital future.
For all those young hustlers, you have constantly brought value to the marketplace. How do you stay hot?
That’s something that I don’t even know if I have the answer for. I don’t know if I have control on that. That is a faith driven, where I get my source from. That’s from my Heavenly Father in Jesus name, that’s where I get my source from. He determines my path and my direction. I’m out the way I just let go. You’re not always ‘hot all the time’.
I’ve had super low moments. I’ve had Job moments to where I didn’t know where anything was coming and you just got to stay on that path and stay focused and tap into your source. And if you’re obedient, then your moments come to you, and it’s just about being a servant.
Music is magical. What are two of the most magical moments you’ve had in music to this day?
I would say the first moment would probably be being instrumental in the rise of Southern hip hop itself—creating and co-creating the Affiliates and the Gangsta Grillz brand with my brothers musically, and being instrumental with the likes of the T.I.s, Jay-Zs, Ludacrises, and the Lil Jons of the world. Just being a part of that rise of Southern hip hop and Atlanta hip hop as a whole, while still being a youth and not even understanding what we were doing.
The second one would be most recently, when I established this Chosen Journey brand that God is blessed me to do and to take the skills that He blessed me with, and the knowledge that I was able to gain over the years and really do it for a true divine purpose that touches people through this culture of hip hop, and the vibration is high and the message is progressive, and those two stick out the most to me.
What message do you want people to understand when they tap into this movement, and how can they raise their frequency right now?
Music is a high vibration. Music is a universal language across the world, across the globe. A lot of times our main influences are through music and the culture. There are a lot of young people—call it crashing out—moving in a direction where we have a lot of youth violence and a lot of poor decisions being made, and sometimes we don’t even know where that source of vibration is coming from.
The message and the importance behind what God blessed me to do with the Chosen Journey Brand was to really show people that even lost souls that may not even realize that they’re receiving a certain frequency through music, that there’s a high quality of music, it’s in the culture of hip hop.
But we’re using this tool for a purpose that can deliver your frequency in a progressive way, and you can understand how to walk your path progressively and not move in a destructive path. And sometimes you don’t even realize that, that’s what you’re being fed. Your vibration of your environment.
A lot of times we have to seek the foundation of what the environment is so we can be fed properly and that’s what Chosen Journey is all about. The platforms were created, I was blessed to do some amazing things on a national scale, and even in Atlanta where this is unprecedented where I’m able to play hip hop music and highlight these artists on a mainstream secular platform, Hot 107.9 radio one blessed me with that. Rolling loud, the biggest hip hop festival in the world, reached out to me and said, we want to highlight your platform, what you’re doing last December in Miami.
I brought six artists with me to Miami, and it was phenomenal. I was able to go national and Sirius XM reached out to me and hip hop nation.
This is a mainstream platform and so we want you to highlight what you’re doing. But you did it really loud and what you’re doing in Atlanta, we want to highlight that Sirius XM as well, and it’s going beyond the walls, is not in a subcategory where it has to be the subgenre where it’s gospel or Christian, or Christian rap or gospel rap, or whatever you want to call it, this is hip hop, and we’re delivering a high vibration through it, and touching young people that may not even realize how dope this stuff is.
Which six artists did you feature in Miami, why did you choose them, and how do you know the crowd needs and deserves a higher frequency?
I had a really successful, dope artist named Hulvey, No Big Deal. I had Jon Keith, I had artist by the name of Gawvi, I had this artist by the name of Alex Jean, just to name a few. And it’s so funny when we were on that stage in Miami, I saw kids with face paint, and certain things that may not represent a progressive minds. They naked blow up dolls and all kinds of stuff. You don’t realize, sometimes, artists, it’s a responsibility.
The pen is mightier than the sword and that power, that words. Our most powerful people are in those positions, because they speak. They can touch people vastly. And it’s the same responsibility for an artist, and when you got 20, 30,000 people out there, and they’re ready to be fed something that they didn’t even realize.
And then here I come with this Chosen Journey thing, and I got these artists talking about how your path can go in this different way, and how you have a choice, to live in an eternal space, and you don’t have to necessarily move in a vibration that could lead you into a space of crashing out.
We have a lot of drug use, a lot of violence. We overindulge in a lot of fornication, all kinds of things. And these things affect our communities. So why not take these same tools through music, and deliver a little bit of a better vibration that can ultimately trigger your mentality a little bit differently, and trigger your spirit, and a young person might be in a space where they’re emotionally reacting to somebody like oh, he disrespected me. He said something wrong to me, whatever that vibration is.
What’s that rap telling you? No, we’re gonna pull up on that app. We gonna use a drill, but if you receive in a certain vibration that is ticking you a little bit differently, and making you think about your decisions and making you think that, wait a minute, if I make this right turn, I could go here, and that’s just nothing that’s small scale. That’s not even knowing that it can save a life. And it’s that simple, but it’s that complicated as well. It’s not corny, a lot of people, could look at it that may not know this music.
I’m gonna keep it real with you. This music is sounding better than what’s being served right now, and the artists are better than lyrical. They got swag. They’re not all stiff and looking, corny, or anything like that.
It’s high quality and this is somebody that’s been around, a lot of the culture and then I’m seeing these young kids and I’m like these kids and they could spit. So I need to align with this, and it’s a purpose driven like that’s the bottom line.
As a cultural lighthouse, how can you help those unaware they don’t need to repeat past mistakes and already hold the power to grow mentally and spiritually?
That gift is in you, that Holy spirit is in you, but you gotta move in obedience. You have to move. You got that straight path, there’s a lot of discipline that comes with it. But with discipline there’s always progress. And when you wanna stray to left or stray to right, that straight narrow path, that balance beam, you could fall off. It was like when you walk that straight, narrow path you gotta deflect all of the things to the right and deflect the things to the left, because you don’t wanna fall off.
You got to get back up, and then you got to start all over again, and I appreciate you for saying the comparison of a lighthouse cause that’s just all that I’m just trying to be, it’s a selfless act. I’m just doing what I was called to do and being a servant, do I enjoy the quality of it? I do. Is it easy? Absolutely not. Can it be a challenge for people to buy in? Absolutely as if anything. But some people don’t even know what’s good for them.
It’s just my job and my role to continue to just be able to constantly feed that. And maybe if one person can realize, I was just making a left turn and then I was listening to what you had to say. Then job well done for that day. I’ve had many calls, especially since the brand has started to go National, where I’ve got people in prison that come just to the show for discipleship and to align, and that may be their only source of information. A lot of people have been church hurt, or they don’t like what the man has taught them or shown them, or things like that.
This is beyond the walls, and it’s not preachy, it’s just good quality vibration. It’s not like, I’m trying to ridicule somebody or anything of that nature. We’re just trying to provide a good high quality, vibration, and a good source of information on a good roadmap for your life.
How can people choose music over drugs as inspiration and connect with you and others raising the love frequency for future generations?
I call it Chosen Journey Sundays, I’m on every Sunday, locally in Atlanta, Hot 107.9, eight to ten in the morning every Sunday. You can also listen online hotspotatl.com. Then nationally from ten to twelve, Eastern time on hip hop nation, channel 44 SiriusXM. On socials @chosenjourneyshow IG, @trendsettersense IG, @djsense twitter, @trendsettersense Facebook.
We’re just gonna continue to just do with the purposes that we got called for Chosen Journey. And June 22nd, it’s going down Sunday Center stage. We got this big concert where I’m bringing some of the biggest Christian hip hop artists. If that’s what you want to categorize it gospel rap artists.
No big deal, Miles Minnick, Childlike CC, Anike, WHATUPRG, Jon Keith, 1K Phew, Aaron Cole, Kijan Boone, and Shwayze, and many more. Center stage tickets centerstage-atlanta.com. Sunday, June 22, and it’s a part of the whole birthday bash weekend that goes on in Atlanta. It’s a huge moment and it’s going to be a glorified situation, and I’m looking forward to it.
