DJ Gates Reflects on Harlem, Mixtape Culture and the DJ Craft in New Pressed Interview

Pressed recently published an in-depth interview with DJ-League VIP DJ Gates, giving the East Harlem DJ space to connect his musical roots with the way he approaches the craft today.

The conversation reaches beyond career credits. It explores how listening, selection, crowd awareness and mixtape culture shaped Gates as a DJ — while also looking toward what he wants to build next. For DJ-League, the story carries another dimension: Gates represents New York City inside an international DJ network that connects local identities with wider discovery.

Selection Before Software

DJ Gates’ foundation was built around listening.

Growing up around Harlem exposed him to different sounds and environments, while music at home showed him early how strongly the right records could affect the mood of a room. Those experiences became part of his approach behind the decks.

The technology has changed dramatically since then, but the underlying skill has not. A DJ still has to understand music, recognize what an audience is responding to and know when to move in another direction.

Pressed gives Gates room to explain that part of the craft through personal experience rather than simply presenting a list of accomplishments.

The Mixtape as a Discovery Tool

Mixtapes became an important part of Gates’ development, particularly through his The Formula series.

One purpose behind those projects was giving independent artists another opportunity to be heard. That makes the mixtape story relevant beyond nostalgia.

The physical format may no longer hold the same position it once did, but the principle behind it remains valuable: DJs can connect audiences with music they might not otherwise discover. In an environment where listeners have access to more releases than they can realistically process, curation still matters.

Harlem Identity, International Network

DJ-League currently lists DJ Gates as a VIP member from New York City.

His place in the network connects him from New York City through the wider New York, East Coast, United States and North American structure.

That relationship between local identity and international visibility is important. A global network does not have to dilute where a DJ comes from. Done properly, it gives that identity more places to be discovered.

For Gates, Harlem remains the foundation of the story while DJ-League provides another international layer around the work he continues to build.

A Career Still Moving

The Pressed interview also looks forward.

Gates says he plans to release his own mixtape album and is working on projects connected to film. The interview does not present a release timetable, but it makes clear that his story is still developing rather than being treated purely as a retrospective on an earlier DJ era.

That is ultimately what makes the conversation worth reading: mixtapes, radio and changing technology provide the history, but selection, discovery and understanding an audience remain part of the job now.

Read the full original conversation at Pressed and discover DJ Gates through the DJ-League network.