Robert Van Liew, known professionally as DJ DX, is an American DJ, producer, and recording artist from Jersey City, New Jersey. Active since the late 1990s, he is known for long-form mixtape series, MPC-based production, his appearance in the 2006 WizTV documentary of the city's DJ scene, and a trilogy of studio albums recorded with DJ Madden. He is the founder of The Jersey City Sound.
Career§
Born in Jersey City, Van Liew spent seven childhood years on Maryland's Eastern Shore during his mother's illness before returning to the city to live with his uncle and attend high school. He asked his uncle to teach him to spin records and make beats, digging for sounds in Manhattan record shops and selling the mixtapes he built at school.[11]
Van Liew began DJing in Jersey City around 1998. His name traces to the Double X Posse — the legendary Jersey City hip-hop group — and was given to him by his peer DJ Walley Katt, son of the group's founder, Peter Barnes. He first performed as DJ Double X, later shortening it to DJ DX.[2] Working in the blend-driven mixtape style that defined the city's scene, he gained early visibility through his professional association with DJ E Double and DJ 007, and in 1999 joined DJ E Double's Double Platinum Entertainment.[1] His peers included DJ P Dub, DJ Wizard, DJ Walley Katt, DJ Strong Vic, and Deejay Luchionney.[1]
He learned the MPC under DJ NEL E NEL, Dirty Fingaz, and Mark Cee — the last credited in the 2006 documentary with schooling a generation of Jersey City DJs.[1] With DJ P Dub he produced several mixtape series, with each tape running more than 70 tracks.[2] He stepped back from the scene for a period before returning, and remains active.[1]
In 2007 DX gained wider recognition with Hood Reggaeton, a mixtape album series, and by 2011 had moved from DJing into writing and recording original material as a singer-songwriter.[4] With fellow Jersey City turntablist and producer DJ Madden he recorded a trilogy of studio albums — This Is Hip-Hop, The Unfortunate Child, and Made From Scratch — carrying his work from the turntables into original production and songwriting.[4][5]
Beyond the albums, DX and DJ Madden have teamed on a series of underground hip-hop and rap singles — among them 1000 Reasons and Keeps Me Going. While the pair's records lean toward classic boom-bap and rap, their live sets are known for folding in reggaeton and Latin-urban textures.[9]
After his grandfather's death, DX relocated to Richmond, Virginia — a move he has described as healing, saying the city “reminds me of Jersey City and Newark, but way laid back.” There he performed the Hourglass Session with Vybe House, home to his track Blessings, which carries the vintage soul of Jersey City's The Catamounts.[11]
He carried that Richmond base into Web3, serving as resident DJ of The Hourglass — a virtual concert venue in the Festival District of Decentraland — where he streams live sets spotlighting Richmond and Virginia artists and collaborators such as producer Highrichbeats, describing the effort as “connecting with the world in a way that I could inspire others to not give up on their dreams because of the times we're in.”[12]
A TED-featured artist, DX brought turntablism to the TEDxYouth@RVA stage in 2022, and continues to release original music, with a catalog of more than 100 tracks across streaming platforms.[7] Among his tracks to find viral traction online are his Dark Paradise remix with Lana Del Rey and Make It a Better Day featuring 2Pac.
Van Liew also performs as one half of Soul Shades, a duo that pairs his turntablism, rap, and production with multi-instrumentalist Julie Schatz on piano and violin — the two trading between the decks and live instrumentation. Their mashup of Nimino's I Only Smoke When I Drink with Sting's Englishman in New York drew more than 10 million views across TikTok and Instagram — including 5 million on Ninja Tune's own TikTok — earned a public co-sign from Nimino, and was posted by Ninja Tune and its Counter Records imprint crediting Soul Shades; the duo followed it with their release Buzz In London.[2][13]
Notable Works§
DX's documented output spans mixtape series and on-camera performance. Selected receipts appear below.
| Year | Title | Type | Receipt |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | I Only Smoke When I Drink × Englishman in New York (as Soul Shades) | Mashup | 10M+ views · Ninja Tune / Counter Records[13] |
| — | Buzz In London (as Soul Shades) | Release | Soul Shades release[2] |
| 2022 | Blessings (with The Catamounts) | Single | Hourglass Session, Vybe House[11] |
| 2020 | 1000 Reasons (with DJ Madden) | Single | Apple Music · Spotify[9] |
| 2020 | Keeps Me Going (with DJ Madden) | Single | Collab single[9] |
| 2015 | Made From Scratch (with DJ Madden) | Studio album | 10 tracks[5] |
| 2015 | Dark Paradise (Lana Del Rey remix) | Remix | Viral traction on YouTube |
| 2015 | Make It a Better Day (ft. 2Pac) | Single | ~7M streams[11] |
| 2010s | The Unfortunate Child (with DJ Madden) | Studio album | DX & Madden LP[4] |
| 2007 | Hood Reggaeton | Mixtape album series | Reggaeton remix series[4] |
| 2006 | The Jersey City DJ Documentary Vol. 1 | Interview & live set | Live belt-drive portable mix on camera[1] |
| c. 2000s | Mixtape series with DJ P Dub | Mix series | 70+ tracks per tape[2] |
Mixtape Appearances§
DX pictured and credited on DJ Madden's blend-mixtape covers.
Photographs§
DX live and on the TEDxYouth@RVA stage, 2022.
Credits & Receipts§
Credits are documented via the 2006 documentary, preserved uploads, and archive oral history. Claims without citation are excluded by archive policy.[3]
In the Community§
In the 2006 documentary, Van Liew credited Ferris High School as a producer of the scene's legends.[1] In 2026 he founded The Jersey City Sound, contributing oral history that has confirmed identities and era details across the archive.[2] A born-and-raised son of the city, his work is rooted in Jersey City itself.
The Van Liew Musical Legacy§
DJ DX belongs to one of Jersey City's most significant multi-generational musical families. The Van Liew–Munford line has shaped American popular music across six decades — from 1960s rare soul to multi-platinum pop and R&B to contemporary hip-hop and turntablism — its two branches anchored by the early-20th-century twin brothers Fredrick and Sheldon Van Liew of Hudson County.[6]
Four figures define the family's reach. MacArthur Munford, grandson of Fredrick, was the 1960s Columbia Records soul voice of The Spellbinders. Siblings Mary Brown and Cool Sir Brown — Munford's niece and nephew, grandchildren of Kathryn Van Liew — carry the family's modern hitmaking, Mary as the two-time Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum songwriter behind hits for Destiny's Child, Jaheim, and Danity Kane. Chill Divine (Gary Van Liew), great-grandson of Sheldon through Kenneth and Ardelle Van Liew, embedded the family name in Jersey City's foundational hip-hop. And DJ DX (Robert Van Liew) — Chill Divine's nephew and great-great-grandson of Sheldon — carries the bloodline into the digital era as a producer, remixer, and TED-featured turntablist.[6] The line extends into a new generation through DX's son Zigimo, a multi-instrumentalist and producer schooled on tuba and piano in the Jersey City Arts Program at Henry Snyder High School.
Sources§
- WizTV Presents: The Jersey City DJ Documentary Vol. 1 (2006). Preserved upload via The Real Mista Quietman channel.
- Oral history: Robert Van Liew (DJ DX), founder interview for The Jersey City Sound, 2026.
- The Jersey City Sound methodology, /about/.
- DJ DX artist biography and discography — three studio albums with DJ Madden; The Jersey City Sound archive, 2026.
- Made From Scratch — DJ DX & DJ Madden, Apple Music.
- Van Liew family history, contributed by Robert Van Liew (DJ DX), The Jersey City Sound, 2026.
- DJ DX — TED-featured artist, TEDxYouth@RVA (2022); djdxmusic.com official site.
- “Jersey City rapper DJ DX shares stories through old, new school sounds,” NJ.com (2014).
- 1000 Reasons and Keeps Me Going — DJ DX & DJ Madden, Apple Music and Spotify.
- DJ DX — samples, covers & remixes, WhoSampled.
- “Keeping It Real in the South: An Interview with DJ DX,” RVA Magazine.
- “DJ DX Leads The Music Industry Into The Metaverse,” Disrupt Magazine.
- Soul Shades — Nimino “I Only Smoke When I Drink” × “Englishman in New York,” credited by Ninja Tune / Counter Records (November 8, 2024).