Sat 29 Aug 2009
Rest in Peace: Adam “DJ A.M.” Goldstein
Posted by Miss Info under concerts , life beyond rap , low point 2009 , not good for hip hop , not good for humanity , photos , quotes , relationships and family , sigh.... , videos[14] Comments
(UPDATE: The Palms Casino in Las Vegas…photo by DJScene1 via DJNessNYC)
Before his tragic passing, DJ AM was working with producer and friend Paul Rosenberg (Shady Records) on a show for MTV called “Gone Too Far,” which featured him, pulling from his own personal experience as a recovering drug addict to help other young people caught in cycles of addiction….he called it “‘Intervention’ for the MTV Generation.” It’s unclear if MTV will still air finished episodes, but taking on a project like that reflects character. Sharing your lowest moments with a stranger with the hope that it’ll help them avoid the same low…takes courage and compassion.
But beyond the struggles that AM fought in the past, and the high-profile romances, and even beyond AM and Travis Barker’s miraculous plane-crash survival…first and foremost, he was a DJ…a student, a fan, and a creator of music. Which is the sentiment that I heard from other deejays all night, in reaction to his death.
Below is DJ AM and DJ Jazzy Jeff spinning side by side at the House of Blues in New Orleans. I also attached a few other classic clips of AM spinning at Undefeated (he was a super sneakerhead), spinning with Travis Barker on drums (I remember being blown away by their show at Crobar NYC), AM and Barker backing up Kid Cudi at the VMA’s last year, and more….this should will be his legacy. The music.
(photo of DJ Drama, DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ Questlove and others at Philly DJ Day last year, wearing DJ AM shirts to show support after AM and Travis Barker’s plane crash. Read more at FiftyoneFiftyOne)
UPDATE 2: I’m noticing that one of the blessings and curses of Twitter is that we can get instant feedback from people both deeply involved and incredibly irrelevant to whatever is happening in the world…I’m trying to ignore all the random celebrity “responses” that are being cited all over the web. If you want to read a real heartfelt message from someone who can tell you something deeper than the fact that they partied in a club to DJ AM’s music, check out:
Diplo’s comment on the MadDecent blog
Justin Warfield’s memories on the Urb blog
August 29th, 2009 at 1:57 am
Was dj am loss do to drugs? if it was herion it always sucks to see someone great fall down into the chase for the dragon. RIP dj am and HAROLD HUNTER one lost to herion
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Miss Info Reply:
August 29th, 2009 at 2:05 am
there is nothing in the preliminary news reports about heroin
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Ehhhhhh........................... Reply:
August 29th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Harold didn’t even die from H bro. Doesn’t look like AM did either. Maybe just the legal equivalent.
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August 29th, 2009 at 1:58 am
Rest in Peace.
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August 29th, 2009 at 2:03 am
Super classy and fly article article/blog page, Miss Info. He will be missed terribly. RIP.
twitter.com/Flyness
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August 29th, 2009 at 2:11 am
always so difficult to handle the deaths of people that you feel are close to you through their art, but at the same time have actual loved ones who are really mourning for them. dude will be greatly greatly missed. what a year its been.
everyone seems to be forgetting that am and trav survived a plane crash in which they really could have died. painkiller dependence becomes a real problem for people recovering from horrid injuries like that. i’ll refrain from speculation beyond that out of respect.. RIP DJ AM
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Miss Info Reply:
August 29th, 2009 at 2:12 am
very astute observation. and thank you for saying something that is very relevant without overspeculating. I totally agree
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H-God Reply:
August 29th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Great post. RIP AM.
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mertz Reply:
August 29th, 2009 at 11:55 pm
thankyou for having that restraint but being articulate. it’s not an excuse but i have seen some of the comments on the web and some of the articles and it just proves that people don’t care enough to research before posting something.
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August 29th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
miss info, do you think you it might be a little presumptuous to assume ricky martin and DJ AM didn’t have a personal (or at a minimum a music industry) relationship of some sort that you might not be aware of?
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Miss Info Reply:
August 29th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
yes. I am presuming. I’m human.
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August 29th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
WILL MISS DJAM A WHOLE LOT JUST SEEN HIM IN HOLLYWOOD LIKE 3 WEEKS AGO .WOW!
MISS INFO THANKS FOR THOSE VIDEOS AND PICS LOVE U HOTTY
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August 30th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
I knew very little about AM..
thx for this well documented post.
scary how the monster called drug never leaves u once u’ve messed with it.
RIP AM
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August 30th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
When I first heard of his passing I first thought pain killers like Fentanyl for example, DJ AM being a surviving burn patient they are given a number of various prescription pain medication to deal with the intense pain when recovering from severe burns but reports if there are accurate stated that drug paraphernalia was found at the seen as far as I know pain killers aren’t really associated with drug paraphernalia. Then I started to think perhaps this show on MTV could have lead to his downfall kinda like an alcoholic going to a bar how can you expect an addict not to fall off the wagon around drugs and other addicts the whole thing although courageous seemed really risky for him to get involved in, maybe the various experiences when working on the show could’ve sparked a moment of weakness in DJ AM I don’t know these are just my thoughts I’m sure the actual facts will be revealed soon but either way this is a great loss for his friends family and the entire music community.
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