In early 2014 Brandon Douglass aka DJ Trendsetter Sense, one of the founders of one of
the most progressive DJ clique’s in hip hop—according to
Allhiphop.com. The group known as the Aphiliates consists of DJ Trendsetter Sense,
Gangsta Grillz creator,
DJ Drama and newly named
Def Jam VP -
Don Cannon. DJ Trendsetter Sense reached out to Emerson to learn more about his movement and shortly thereafter, set up features with hip hop artists such as
Lil Wayne,
2 Chainz,
Pusha T,
Raekwon and
Birdman for Windy's debut project, Herojuana. On May 13, 2014 Windy released the album
Herojuana on his label Pearl Harbor Entertainment with production credits that includes
Timbaland,
DJ Mustard,
Mike Will Made It, Jazzfeezy,
!llmind,
Sonny Digital and The Nominees. The album was available on Datpiff.com as a free download with the cover art depicting Emerson Windy in an Indian Chief's headdress. The first single "Peace Pipe" was premiered on
WorldStarHipHop.com the same day which created controversy for some within the Native American community. The video shows Windy wearing a traditional Indian Chief headdress and using a peace pipe—two items considered sacred by the Native American Nation. After speaking with his Publicist, Shawnaleah Epps, a decision was made to address this with his fan base. Windy was invited to Z90.com studios by Radio Raymond T to make a response video to speak on the controversy and explain his motivation behind the video after which, Windy decided to pull the video down out of respect for Native Americans. The video went viral reaching over 14 million views in less than a week. Windy donated the headdress and peace pipe, and released new artwork for
Herojuanaand was accepted by a Native Chief in acceptance of his apology. == Current events ==