Meet the Rising Stars of Denver DJ School: DJ Millierock and DJ Morena

Lake Middle School was historically underperforming in Colorado state testing. A majority of the students at the school, located in Denver near City Park, come from underprivileged backgrounds. The odds are stacked against them.

Dino Reyes Jr. grew up in the area and is familiar with what the students face on a daily basis. As Dean of Culture at the school, he recognized something was needed to help them overcome their circumstances, so he turned to hip-hop.

He called in the Denver DJ School, an institution founded by DJ Chonz, one of the most well-known deejays in Denver, to bring something different to Lake. In 2018, Chonz and DJ Nes, another respected local deejay, started an afterschool program that taught students the art of turntablism. The response was so positive that, the next year, the deejay class became an elective in the school’s curriculum.

Now, there are 40 students per semester in classes of 10 taught by DJ Spexx, also a Denver native whose mother was a B-Girl back in the day. DJ Chonz and DJ Nes continue to oversee the program. The classes empower kids to embrace a love of music and see a future performing at some of the biggest venues for some of the biggest teams and artists in the city. Administrators also bring in guest speakers like revered producer Exile to share about their experiences and offer inspiration.

Reyes Jr. built out the arts program to include podcasting classes and an in-school barbershop. There are colorful murals on the walls and motivational quotes with portraits of Tupac and Nipsey Hussle in the weight room.

The intention is to create culture. Administrators hope getting the students engaged in creativity fuels their interest in academics. 

It's working!

In the 2023-2024 academic year, Lake Middle School passed state testing to “turn green.” And it wasn’t a fluke because the students did so again the next year.

But the program isn’t just about passing a state test and making the school look good on paper. It’s about equipping students for the future. 

In class, they are taught the basics of deejaying and perform for their peers. At the end of the semester, administrators select two to four students to “graduate.” These are kids that they see have a passion for deejaying and potential to have success beyond the classroom. Those students are given a scholarship to purchase their own deejay equipment, take additional classes at the Denver DJ School, and learn the business of the industry.

Mic Coats is a music industry veteran and dean at Lake Middle School, where he was once a student. He explained the process of the deejay program, noting that some students make “a couple thousand dollars” in a summer.

“It’s planting the seed with the class,” he said. “You find the kids that are really gravitating towards the art and are really into it and have potential.”

Two of the students who graduated are DJ Millierock and DJ Morena. Since taking the course in 7th grade, they have lost count of the gigs that they’ve performed at, including weddings, block parties and Denver Broncos’ tailgates.

“They’re super passionate with music and we’re just giving them an avenue for them to be able to let that out,” DJ Nes beamed. “... They get confident, more comfortable being up there performing in front of everybody. So just to see them grow in that aspect, not only their skill level, but also seeing their confidence and being who they are.”

Kick The Concrete spoke with DJ Millierock and DJ Morena about their experiences at Lake Middle School, their love for the artform and more.

Both of them will be deejaying at Kick The Concrete’s Denver magazine release party on April 9! RSVP here.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Kick The Concrete: What do you enjoy about deejaying?

DJ Millierock: I’d say like the ability to bring a community and the people together, different people from different backgrounds. Just like to connect people.

DJ Morena: Also what she said. Just music is obviously such a big part of people’s lives. So I feel like being able to mix people’s favorite songs together and then seeing the reaction is definitely one of the coolest parts about it.

Kick The Concrete: Is it fueling when the audience reacts like that?

DJ Millierock: Yeah, it’s definitely a unique feeling. It’s something that a lot of people wouldn’t be able to like, if you’re not a deejay, not a lot of people experience it.

Kick The Concrete: Do you have a dream to deejay in a certain venue or for a certain artist?

DJ Millierock: I’ve done Bronco tailgates and stuff, but I would like one day to try and deejay the background music for the Bronco game, ‘cause I feel like that would be really cool, especially coming from a background where a lot of my family like the Broncos.

DJ Morena: Any sports team is a big goal for right now. The Nuggets would also be really cool.

DJ Millierock

Kick The Concrete: What does it mean to have teachers that are successful deejays doing gigs for major festivals, artists and teams?

DJ Millierock: It’s just crazy ‘cause it’s like there’s a lot of deejays, but there’s only a couple that actually succeed and are able to continue and pursue their career. And it’s just crazy because I remember in 7th grade, I was like, “Dang, my teacher’s famous! That’s crazy!”

DJ Morena: It’s a lot more exposing for me, too and it gives me kind of a new idea of where I want to be able to get one day. I could simply see their posts on Instagram and I’m like, “That’s crazy. That’s cool.” I’m just kinda thinking like that would be really cool for me to get to.

DJ Millierock: Putting yourself in their shoes like, “Dang, imagine if I did that.” It’s cool to think about.

Kick The Concrete: What type of music is your favorite to play?

DJ Millierock: I would say R&B and hip-hop.

DJ Morena: I would probably say hip-hop only because it’s just a classic for every generation I feel like. New hip-hop, a lot of people like it and then like old hip-hop, who just doesn’t like it? It just brings everyone together no matter what it is.

Kick The Concrete: Where did each of you get your deejay name from?

DJ Millierock: I got my deejay name from DJ Nes and the gym teacher named Mr. Martin. It’s a dance, the Milly Rock. I told him my name was Millie. And he was like, “Millie like Milly Rock?” And I was like, “Yeah.” And then they just kinda started calling me that.

DJ Morena: I got mine just coming from a Hispanic background, family, so like my grandparents speak Spanish. They used to call me “Risa” because that means “curls” in Spanish. So I was gonna do DJ Risa, but I just didn’t feel like that sounded right. So kinda just being able to come from a mixed background where I’m African-American and Mexican, I decided to bring “Morena” into the brown effect, but also still being able to put it in Spanish, so kinda just mixing them both.

DJ Morena

Kick The Concrete: Do each of you have a music hero or someone who inspires you?

DJ Millierock: I would say Kali Uchis probably because she came from a Spanish background and was able to open a genre where she not only sings Spanish songs, but also English songs.

DJ Morena: For me, I’d probably say Tyler, The Creator only because he’s like a very diverse type of music artist where he opens up to so many different types of like just songs in general, his energy. He comes from a hard type of background, so I feel like coming from that and knowing where he comes from to the person he is now, it’s very inspiring.

Kick The Concrete: What has the Denver DJ School program here meant to each of you in being able to explore that creativity and hone that skill?

DJ Millierock: I would say it’s really cool how this is really the only school where they’re able to teach and provide opportunities. If I wouldn’t have came to this school, I wouldn’t have had any of these opportunities. The Denver DJ School provides me with a lot of gigs and a lot of new opportunities to meet new people and therefore I get more gigs. So it’s just a really big opportunity that just sprouts at you.

DJ Morena: Yeah, so coming to Lake has been like an obviously big part into that. So very grateful to be able to have came to this school. Also just like I grew up with DJ Nes. I call him my uncle, so he had been able to give me a lot of opportunity into the aspect of deejaying, but also just because of him I was also able to connect more with the DJ School and more deejays. Having him and just the background of the DJ School has gave so much power to me. Even my family, they’re so proud of me now ‘cause of it.

Kick The Concrete: Is there anything else you’d like to share about what inspires you or why you love deejaying?

DJ Morena: I just love deejaying because I feel like again, overall, it’s just like a message that’s able to like go out to so many people without really seeing a clear message. But music, no matter if anybody agrees to it or not, music is something that can bring everyone together no matter what it is. So I think deejaying is a very big part of just community.

DJ Milierock: People are able to see your personality and see who you are through the music even when they know nothing about you. They’ll go up to you during the gigs and be like, “You really seem like a really nice lady.” Even though they don’t know you, you’re showing them into your life.

DJ Morena: Yeah, giving them an overview of what you’re capable of.

Come see DJ Millierock and DJ Morena at Kick The Concrete’s Denver magazine release party on April 9! RSVP here.