The Muze Behind the Music
I’m Jason Muse—educator, entrepreneur, and the DJ known as MixMastah Muze. My journey into DJing began in my twenties at Kohala Middle School in Hawaii, where I was teaching. The school didn’t have the budget to hire a DJ, so I stepped in to help give our students a celebration. In meeting that need, I discovered a passion that would grow well beyond the school dance.
Those dances became my first training ground. Teaching had already taught me to pay attention: recognize when people are engaged, notice when the energy shifts, and adjust accordingly. Behind the decks, those instincts found another outlet. Choosing the next track meant listening to the people in front of me as closely as I listened to the music.
As my ambitions grew, I began pursuing weddings, quinceañeras, and private celebrations. I wanted to bring that same attentiveness to occasions where music carries memories, connects generations, and helps people mark something meaningful. That growth became part of my identity as a Teacherpreneur: bringing the creativity, preparation, and resourcefulness of teaching into opportunities beyond the classroom.
The journey has included setbacks, fresh starts, and lessons learned along the way. I’ve worked to turn setbacks into comebacks and flip Ws into $Ms—turning hard-earned wins into paid opportunities that help sustain the vision. Each step has challenged me to become more intentional about my craft and the business I’m building around it.
Today, I’m based in San Francisco, bringing a longtime educator’s experience and a UCLA philosophy graduate’s curiosity to Black Muze Entertainment. BME is the music and entertainment division of Black Muze Global Network LLC, the Black-owned business I’m building around education, culture, and creative expression.
Now, those passions are coming together through DJ classes and tutorial sessions for young, emerging DJs. My goal is to help aspiring artists develop their skills, confidence, and musical judgment while finding a sound that feels like their own. The patience and attention I bring to teaching belong here, too: meeting learners where they are and helping them become increasingly independent.
There’s something especially meaningful about that connection. A need at a middle school opened the door to DJing for me. Now, through teaching the craft, I get to help open that door for someone else.
Music. Culture. Energy.
Driven by passion: the soundtrack of my life
My love for music reaches back to fifth grade, when my parents bought me a used saxophone so I could join the band at Los Serranos Elementary School in Chino Hills, California. That instrument gave me my first chance to move from hearing music to making it. Before the playlists, the headphones, or the DJ decks, there was a young musician learning how to turn breath into sound.
At Townsend Junior High School, also in Chino Hills, marching band deepened that connection. Playing alongside other musicians meant paying attention to rhythm, timing, and how my part fit into the whole. Music became something I could practice, contribute to, and share. Learning to listen was as much a part of the experience as learning to play.
By high school, I was carrying my own soundtrack everywhere. I burned CDs, kept my anti-shock CD player close, and almost always had earbuds pumping music into my ears. My listening was vibrant and eclectic, guided by curiosity and whatever caught my attention. Some songs matched my mood; others changed it. There was always something worth hearing again—and something new waiting to be discovered.
During my community college years, I got my first iPod. Suddenly, the collection I carried could keep growing without another stack of discs. Music accompanied the ordinary stretches of my day and gave them their own atmosphere. Over time, songs became tied to places, people, and versions of myself I can still remember when the right track comes on.
Then, while teaching at Kohala Middle School in Hawaii, I discovered djay by algoriddim. Something clicked: DJing felt like a path I could make my own. Years of listening and collecting music had given me a starting point. Now I could explore how songs worked together, how a transition could shift the mood, and how my choices could bring people onto a dance floor. I still use djay to DJ today.
These days, my wireless Powerbeats and the iPhone 18 Pro Max I recently bought put thousands of songs within reach. The technology has changed enormously since those burned CDs, but the impulse remains familiar: press play, listen closely, and follow whatever catches my ear. Music is still a constant companion.
The music I play today carries that whole history with it: the fifth grader learning his part, the teenager burning another CD, the college student discovering his first iPod. I’m still that listener, curious about the next song and what it might make me feel. DJing gives me a way to share that curiosity—and help someone else find the soundtrack to a moment they’ll remember.