(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.
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:
Mikey: Multiple news sources are confirming that Adam Goldstein aka DJ AM was found dead in New York City apartment earlier this afternoon. While details are still limited, sources are saying drug paraphernalia was found at the scene. DJ AM was just 36 years old at the time of his Death. Our prayers and condolences go out to AM’s friends and family in light of this tragic news.
“DJ AM was found dead tdoay in an apartment on Lafayette Street in Manhattan. He was 36.
Sources said drug paraphernalia was found in the apartment and cops are looking into whether it was an overdose.
…
Barker’s ex-wife, Playmate Shanna Moakler, responded to news of DJ AM’s death on Twitter, writing, “My deepest condolences for DJ AM, you were a great artist and will be severely missed. My thoughts and Prayers to his family and friends.”
DJ AM’s last post on Twitter, dated Tuesday, was a line from a Grandmaster Flash song: “New york, New York. Big city of dreams, but everything in New York ain’t always what it seems.”
From TMZ: “Sources tell us he was found in his apartment at around 5:20 PM. We’re told drug paraphernalia was found at the scene.
Our sources say DJ AM had not been seen or heard from for a few days — one of his friends went to check on him, but got no response after knocking on his apartment door.”
“He was just at Rain last weekend. “He never drinks alcohol – ever,” says a source. “Every time he’s there he drinks Fiji water and Red Bull – six Fijis and six Red Bulls every night.”
(Nikki Minaj and Drake from the set of the “Best I Ever Had” video)
On Thursday night, the homie DJ Drama talked to Drake on his Atlanta 107.9 radio show….and MTV quoted this part of the interview, where Drake discusses the epic Weezy/Kanye/Eminem/Drake collaboration “Forever”: “Everybody does their thing on that song….My favorite line on the song, though, is when Wayne says, ‘Life is such a roller coaster and then it drops/ but what should I scream for, this is my theme park.’…Kanye does Kanye. Eminem raps in a way where nobody might have heard him rap in a long time and says some things that are great for his fans to hear… I’m just happy I held my own.”
Elsewhere, Drake tells Drama that he hopes to get Andre3000 and Sade (?!? take that, Chris Martin) on his upcoming album. (Thanks to Drama for the audio, thanks to Dre for asking for it, lol)
PART 1:
[audio:drake break 1.mp3]
PART 2:
[audio:drake break 2.mp3]
PART 3:
[audio:drake break 3.mp3]
PART 4:
[audio:drake break 3.mp3]
(sidebar: this guy is so polished, almost too much so)
Raekwon performs “Catalina” and “House of Flying Daggers”
Last night was one of those perfect hip hop moments….Raekwon (and his brothers Kay and Don) and the Capitol staff (hey Chris Green) set up a listening session for Only Built for Cuban Linx 2 (Sept 8, 2009) on the rooftop of the Capitol/EMI building in NYC. This being the first time a hip hop event has been held on the roof (last week, a rock act threw a drumstick off the roof and has since been banned, lol), everything fell into place: the weather, the crowd (including my old pals Angela Yee, Reef, Hawaii Mike, Mel, and more), the food/drink, and of course, the music.
The sequel to Rae’s holy grail, that Purple Tape 1 (called that because the original cassettes were purple plastic), holds true to the feel of the original…never chasing a 2010 sound, but because of that, sounding unforced and still fresh. It doesn’t recreate the instant hits of OB4CL1 but nothing ever will. (Maybe only The Chronic was successful in hitting twice on the same level?) Needless to say, next week, I hope people support, because this is artisanal rap, not conglomerate rap. And seeing Rae and his brother Kay up on that small stage, with the Empire State Building on the left….reminded me that the music and the fans can grow up and not just apart.
PS: Saw Dallas Penn there, and we discussed how the listening session looked like a Rochesters sale. (Dallas, was the one girl with the double-wide that same chick Bucky from Flavor of Love?)
Peep Dallas’ and BDot‘s RapRadar footage of Rae performing after the jump…. (more…)
My friends at RockStar Games have been hard at work on a videogame that lets you fulfill your producer fantasies…its called Beaterator, and it drops September 29 for the PSP. In the above clip, Timbaland (aka Jay-Z’s least favorite person right now, lol) shows how you can build your own tracks.
Now in other upcoming game releases….along with the DJ Hero game that drop on Oct 27, 2009, there’s also the game Scratch: The Ultimate DJ (dropping in 2010, from my boy QD3) which comes with a much more realistic turntable controller designed by Numark. Judging from the demo video, Scratch is more of a true deejaying experience and much more technically challenging than DJ Hero.
Mikey: Ms. Ventura recently linked with female street wear brand Dimepiece for a photoshoot, and in the process managed to ink a deal to also design some tees and tanks for the brand. Damn, miss her… she moved… (no Diddy)
