By Chris Caprice
Miami has produced unforgettable nights, legendary clubs and defining moments in music.
But behind many of those moments are the DJs who helped create the soundtrack.
For decades, DJ Epps has been one of the names connected to that story.
Born Yves Felix Jr. and raised in Manhattan, New York, Epps began DJing while he was still a teenager. What started with an opportunity to control the music at a neighborhood house party eventually grew into a career spanning Miami nightlife, radio, television, touring, music and SiriusXM.
Today, Epps can be heard on LL COOL J’s Rock The Bells Radio on SiriusXM, but understanding where he is now means going back to where the journey began.
The Beginning of DJ Epps
Epps was around 14 years old when he received his first opportunity to DJ a neighborhood house party in New York.
There was no national radio platform yet. No major club résumé. No celebrity connections.
There was simply a teenager discovering what could happen when he controlled the music and understood the crowd.
Not long afterward, Epps and his mother relocated to Florida during his teenage years.
Miami would ultimately become the city where DJ Epps grew from a young DJ into a recognizable name in hip hop and nightlife.
Finding His Place in Miami
When Epps arrived in South Florida, Miami was developing its own increasingly influential identity in music and entertainment.
He found his way into the city’s hip hop scene and began building his reputation through parties and club appearances.
According to his official biography, Epps promoted and performed at his own weekly events at venues including Sugar Shack, Club Cream and Legendary Fat Black Pussy Cat at Liquid Night Club.
Those nights became more than DJ gigs.
They became opportunities to build relationships, understand the business and establish DJ Epps as a personality within Miami nightlife.
Over time, the name DJ Epps began traveling far beyond individual clubs.
But when Epps reflects on his career today, his connection to Miami is much deeper than simply the places where he performed.
“Miami made me,” Epps told Industry Idols. “A young boy coming out of New York City moving to Miami made me understand this is where I needed to be to make sure my brand explodes in the music industry and become a household name for the 305.”
That statement captures the relationship between DJ Epps and Miami better than any résumé could.
He was not born in the city, but Miami became the place where much of his story was written.
From Miami Nightlife to Radio
For DJs of Epps’ generation, radio represented one of the biggest steps from being known inside clubs to being heard across an entire city.
Epps made that transition.
His career has included work connected to Miami radio stations including WEDR 99 Jamz, Power 96 and 103.5 The Beat, along with Beatz 96.3 in West Palm Beach and Power 105 in New York.
Those opportunities placed Epps in front of audiences far beyond Miami nightlife.
His career continued expanding nationally.
Epps developed a working relationship with 50 Cent and appeared on BET’s Rap City with Big Tigger, adding television and national exposure to a résumé already rooted in Miami’s entertainment culture.
At that point, DJ Epps was no longer simply building a career behind the turntables.
He was building a brand.
The Formula for Staying in the Game
One of the most difficult things to accomplish in entertainment is longevity.
Music changes. Clubs change. Radio changes. Audiences change.
The songs that control a room during one generation may be completely different from what moves the next.
DJ Epps has managed to remain active through those changes.
When Industry Idols asked him what has helped him stay relevant throughout his career, Epps pointed to fundamentals that have guided him for years.
Performance. Work ethic. Humility. Protecting his reputation. Continuing to help other people.
For Epps, those things are not separate from the music.
They are part of the formula.
“This recipe keeps you in the game,” Epps said.
His style has also never been limited to simply playing records.
Mixing, blending, scratching, music selection and understanding the energy of a crowd became part of the identity associated with DJ Epps.
That versatility allowed him to move between clubs, radio, concerts, touring and eventually one of the biggest platforms dedicated to hip hop culture.
Rock The Bells and SiriusXM
Today, DJ Epps hosts The Saturday Night Ride on LL COOL J’s Rock The Bells Radio on SiriusXM.
For Epps, becoming part of Rock The Bells represented another major chapter in a career that began decades earlier at a neighborhood house party.
It also carries a much deeper meaning.
“Rock The Bells means the world to me because I get to live out my legacy under a brand name that defines our culture called Hip Hop,” Epps told Industry Idols.
For him, the opportunity also means working alongside LL COOL J, someone Epps describes as a figure the culture looks up to and respects.
Just as importantly, Rock The Bells gives the fan base that has followed DJ Epps throughout his career another opportunity to continue experiencing his sound on one of the biggest platforms in radio.
It represents both where he has been and where he is now.
DJ Epps Is Still Building
What makes the DJ Epps story particularly interesting is that it is not finished.
In 2026, Epps released “Real Ninjas,” a collaboration with Ty Nitti and OGee L’z that Epps described as bringing New York and Miami together.
He continues to expand beyond traditional DJing through music, radio, digital content and independent artist development.
Epps has continued creating DJ sets, interviews, livestreams and programming through his own digital platforms.
He is also developing New Music Radio, a platform designed to give both independent artists and established names an opportunity to break records, test new music and get their songs heard through his social media ecosystem.
Artists looking to submit music can do so through www.djepps.com.
That platform represents another evolution of what being a DJ can mean.
Today’s DJ can also be a broadcaster, curator, interviewer, content creator, tastemaker and independent media platform.
Epps has found ways to operate across all of those worlds.
DJ ZAYY and the Next Generation
The next chapter of the DJ Epps story is also becoming a family story.
Epps points to his son, DJ ZAYY, as someone carrying that next generation forward.
But he does not describe ZAYY as simply following in his father’s footsteps.
“Not just a DJ but also an artist. He is the future,” Epps said.
For someone who has spent decades building his own name, watching the next generation develop adds another dimension to the legacy.
The DJ Epps brand is no longer only about the career he created.
It is also about what comes after him.
Throwback Social Gatherings
Epps is also preparing another concept built around music, community and nostalgia.
Throwback Social Gatherings is expected to bring Epps’ sound and experience to cities beyond Miami.
The concept adds another lane to a career that has consistently evolved with the culture.
While platforms and technology continue changing, there is still something powerful about bringing people together around music they remember.
For Epps, that connection between the DJ and the audience has always been at the center of the experience.
A Story That Continues to Grow
Another chapter of Epps’ career is being developed away from the turntables.
A book about his life and career is also in the works, telling the story of his journey from New York City to South Florida and the growth of the DJ Epps brand after Miami became home.
That story includes several generations of hip hop, changing eras of Miami nightlife, radio, television, touring and SiriusXM.
For younger DJs trying to understand what a lasting career looks like, the lessons may ultimately go far beyond music.
Relationships matter.
Consistency matters.
Reputation matters.
Adaptability matters.
And according to Epps, helping other people matters too.
Miami Made DJ Epps
There is something significant about the relationship between DJ Epps and Miami.
He came to the city as a young man from New York.
Miami became the place where he built his reputation, developed relationships and turned DJ Epps into a recognizable name.
Decades later, that relationship remains central to his identity.
“Miami made me.”
It is a short statement, but it says almost everything.
Miami was not simply the city where DJ Epps worked.
It became the city where he built his brand and where he became connected to the culture of the 305.
Still Part of the Conversation
Entertainment is always searching for whoever is next.
That makes longevity one of the strongest measurements of success.
DJ Epps has watched Miami nightlife evolve. He has watched hip hop grow into a global cultural force. He has watched traditional radio compete with streaming and social media transform the way artists reach audiences.
Yet his name remains active through all of it.
From a teenage house party in Manhattan to Miami clubs, radio, BET, major artists and LL COOL J’s Rock The Bells Radio on SiriusXM, DJ Epps has continued finding ways to move forward without forgetting where his story was built.
Now, with New Music Radio, DJ ZAYY, Throwback Social Gatherings and more still ahead, the next chapter is already taking shape.
There are still records to play.
There are still artists to introduce.
There are still stories to tell.
And after decades behind the turntables, DJ Epps is still part of the culture he helped move forward.
