DJcity’s “WordLyfe Spotlight” is an interview series which shares the stories of both rising and established radio DJs.

In addition to holding residencies at Tao, Marquee and Drais in Las Vegas, DJ D-Miles is a member of Floyd Mayweather’s “Money Team” and can be heard mixing on 104.3 NOW FM during the weekends. In our latest interview, MikiWAR chops it up with the Los Angeles native about his versatile career, advice for DJs, future direction and more.

What albums are in rotation on your iPod?
Wale’s Ambition, J. Cole’s Born Sinner, and Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall are all in constant rotation right now.

You’ve been DJing in Las Vegas nightclubs during the rise of the dance music era and now hip-hop seems to be making a comeback. What trends have you seen?
I’ve noticed that my hip-hop sets are getting longer. I can play at the 93-100 BPM range a lot longer than I would’ve been able to in the previous couple of years. There was a time when I couldn’t play extended hip-hop sets, it was all about EDM. But with the rise of the trap sound, the twerk sound, and other sub-genres it’s made things a lot easier.

Many people consider you one of the biggest tastemaker DJs in the country. How do you determine what songs get put into rotation at the club?
I honestly try to play accordingly to the crowd. I never go into an environment set on what I want to play that night. As DJs I feel that one of our most important assets is to be able to read the crowd and I pride myself on doing just that. I mean, of course we have to play the bangers, that’s to be expected. But there’s nothing like the feeling of catching a crowd off guard with a track that they had no idea was coming their way.

You’re probably one of the best opening DJs I’ve ever seen live. What’s your advice to other openers?
Never be afraid to play new music. As an opener it’s your responsibility to do a few things: 1) Never burn your headliner. To me, it’s rude and disrespectful. You can easily rock the crowd without playing all the hottest tracks. 2) Don’t be afraid to introduce the crowd to something new. This is your opportunity to see what works, what doesn’t work, and what tracks will eventually be added to my headlining sets based on how the crowd reacts. If the track is a hit the crowd will remember where they heard it first. 3) Always hit the crowd with some hot tracks from years prior. Trust me they haven’t forgotten about what songs were big in 2004.

You open for some of the best DJs around the country every week. Who have you learned from the most?
DJ Five and DJ Crooked are definitely the two that I consistently learn from the most. They never play the same sets; it’s always fresh and they keep the crowd guessing.

You’re the Money Team’s DJ, have you ever spoken to Mayweather? Have you guys talked music?
I’ve spoken to Mayweather a handful of times. Although he may come across as this cocky arrogant dude in the media, he’s actually super cool. We really haven’t discussed music other than what he likes to hear leading up to his fights. From what I’ve gathered he’s a huge east coast hip-hop fan.

You’re a versatile DJ: from playing in-store gigs, world famous boxing matches, radio shows, and nightclubs. How does your formatting change from one gig to the next?
Every gig I do provides its own level of energy and I try to feed off of that as much as possible. Radio is a much more controlled situation, but knowing that an entire city is tuned in really gets me going. And of course the vibe of these mega nightclubs is unlike any other. If you can’t get up for that than DJing might not be for you.

What’s next for D-Miles? Producing? More Radio?
Definitely going to continue with the nightclub scene, more radio for sure is in the works, and breaking into production as well so be on the lookout for some D-Miles bootlegs, only on DJcity.com of course.

Any final shout outs?
Definitely wanna shout out Eric Dlux and DJ Cyberkid, both of these gentlemen years ago gave me the blueprint on how to open big room clubs in Vegas. DJ Five and Le’ Crooked for inspiring me to be better when they really don’t have to. My family, who have always supported my decisions and my journey. And my real friends that are able to criticize me when I’m not on point, we all need that at times. #TheTeam, extremely talented group of DJs and artists that I’m happy to be apart of. And DJ City for looking out since day one…

Follow D-Miles: Facebook | Twitter | SoundCloud