straight HEAT!!!

more playoff talk...

it pains me to say this but if the good people of Dallas and Phoenix haven't realized it yet, their NBA squads are goin' fishin after the first round if they don't get it together.

Dirk got punked the fuck out in Game 1. (i'm sorry, any nigga with the gall to touch my face like Dirk is gettin his ass WHOOPED with no delay), then getting tossed like yesterday's trash by Tyson Chandler didn't help matters either. let's not even begin to talk about how Chris Paul has thoroughly DESTROYED Jason Kidd and Jason Terry. the Mavs are playing worse than they did against Golden State last year. Mark Cuban is definitely getting rid of some folk in the off season...

to my Suns. i felt bad for y'all after watching Game 1 cause y'all outplayed the Spurs all game but in the end they just had LUCK on their side, no other way to explain Tim Duncan hitting that 3 pointer. but after watching game 2, it's clear that the Shaq/Shawn Marion trade is gonna go down as the dumbest trade of the season. no disrespect to Shaq cause he's trying, but damn it's about to be a wrap if y'all don't pull off some miracles quick fast and in a hurry...

to my Pistons. Sheed, no more clowning and peeping in the Sixers' huddle during timeouts. them Sixer niggaz ain't even worthy of being on our floor, so it's now time to mop it with them...

to the Hawks. uh, yeah...

to the Wizards. from now on, shut the fuck up before playing the Cavs in the playoffs. and DeShawn please delete the word "overrated" from your vocabulary immediately. it's not a good look for you...

so it's looking like Detroit, Boston, Orlando, and Cleveland will make it outta the first round in the East and in the West it'll be San Antonio, Utah (sorry T-Mac), Los Angeles, and New Orleans...

will someone PLEASE beat the Spurs? i can't bear watching them in another Finals because they're BORING as fuck. yeah they're fundamentally solid but ohw sevig a kcuf??? yuck...

holla...

Reconstruction: "Pizza At Primo's" (The Smoking Section Interview)

on the real, when i made this mixtape i had no idea of the type of reception it would get. one thing that i did know for certain is that i wanted to be known as something other than just "Luda's DJ" because i felt like that put me in a box. not that that's a bad box to be in per se because being "Luda's DJ" has enabled me to do things on a regular and consistent basis that back in 2000 i never imagined i'd be doing, like travel and other "perks" that come with it. and not just here in the States, but the WORLD shawty. if someone had told me back in 2000 that by the end of 2007 i'd have traveled the world and back more than a few times, plus been close enough to Nelson Mandela to actually shake his hand twice AND take a personal picture with him i'd have said, yeah whatever.

but back to that box i was speaking of.

there was a spinning career that i had before becoming "Luda's DJ". one that consisted of winning countless DJ battles, rocking clubs all over Atlanta, and the airwaves of Atlanta's biggest commercial radio station V-103 with my own show "The Late Nite Mixtape" that i hosted and spun on alongside my man Tommy Fixx, that every DJ in the city who's anybody at this current moment used to listen to and study every record, every mix, every cut and scratch religiously because it was dope but yet DIFFERENT from what every other DJ at my station (Greg Street, Frank Ski, DJ Herb, etc) and the other station Hot 107.9 (Nabs, Trauma, Mars, etc.) was doing. yeah i played some mainstream hits, but i also wasn't scared to incorporate hiphop that was considered "hardcore" by my PD and MD into my sets.

ahh, the "hardcore" shit.

Gang Starr, Nas, Common, De La Soul, Tribe Called Quest, Slum Village, Pete Rock, M.O.P., Redman, Busta Rhymes, Big Pun, Rakim, Dilated Peoples, etcetera balanced with a little Eric Benet, Les Nubians, Jill Scott, D'Angelo, Adriana Evans, classic breaks, as well as Master P, Juvenile, Bone, 2Pac, Snoop, Biggie, LL, Nelly, Da Brat and whatever Atlanta shit was crackin at the time. i sounded like NO ONE ELSE on the radio and in the clubs and i wanted to establish my name around the world as a dope ass DJ outta Atlanta that could rock whenever and wherever. matter of fact, i told Chaka Zulu (Luda's manager) when i first started doing Ludacris' promo tours that i wanted to get some love in the clubs wherever we traveled but it somehow fell on deaf ears which is a whole NOTHER story. but anyway, back to this mixtape...

lot of folks think that because i'm "Luda's DJ" that i have no knowledge of what "real hiphop" is. you'd be surprised at the frowns i get when i inquire about spinning at events. a promoter in Toronto even told me that because i'm "Luda's DJ" he didn't think that i was capable of spinning at his party because it was for "real music heads that don't wanna hear any of that south shit".

that shit fucked with me to no end and had me angry as fuck. i started telling promoters to just advertise me on the tables as Jaycee because i wanted to catch people off guard with what i play like okay, you're expecting a buncha crunk shit but watch how i flip from rockin the crunk shit into these breaks or this soul shit or just good hiphop music period. seeing personal DJ heroes like Jazzy Jeff consistently go all over the world playing the shit that he LOVES and getting worldwide acclaim, respect, and VERY GOOD MONEY for it let me know that it's possible so i just said "fuck it" and decided recently to go for what i know.

i felt really good about this mixtape when it was completed because i felt like i'd done right by hip-hop. i had no idea that it was going to be felt the way that it was because i had that "Luda's DJ" stigma that i'd been battling, and i know that fans can hate on shit due to the slightest detail, especially because i'm based out of Atlanta (even though i'm from Detroit). so to one day be browsing the net and coming across djsoulnyc.blogspot.com and seeing my mix being featured for download on his page let me know that i was on the right path so then i just started doing my "Eargasms" joints. i'd sent mixes to sites before like rappersiknow.com but one day figured, "hmm, lemme see if people at The Smoking Section will like my mixes". i'd seen all types of folk promoting their projects so i figured it wouldn't hurt to try. little did i know that Gotty was already hip, lol...

he hit me up and asked if i'd be interested in doing an interview regarding the making of "Pizza At Primo's", of course i was like "hellz yeah!!" he set it up and voila!!!

so before i continue rambling, here's the interview with DJ Sorce-1 from The Smoking Section...

“A DJ Premier mix tape of B-sides, remixes, samples and forgotten tracks? Why not… This was easily one of the best hip-hop mix tapes released last year. I still don’t understand how people slept on this.” – DJ Soul

Can someone DJ for Luda, be a member of DJ Drama’s crew the Aphilliates and be a diehard DJ Premier fan at the same time? Just ask Jaycee, the musical mastermind behind one of 2007’s finest mix tapes, Pizza At Primo’s. Jay, who took a long hiatus from mixtapes after getting burned out on the game in the late 90’s, has come back to the mixtape world with a vengeance in recent months. Since this years NBA All-Star break, he has been dropping tapes on the regular and we’re not talking about run of the mill pause joints they sell at your neighborhood bodega. When you bump a Jaycee tape you can expect blends, cuts, mixing, doubling up, and all the other freshness that you used to get when you copped a mix tape.

While Jay has been busy dropping many hot tapes as of late, his Premier mixtape may be his crown jewel. Spanning 56 tracks and featuring many underappreciated Primo songs and original samples, Pizza At Primo’s plays more like a true fan appreciation tape than a greatest hits compilation. It shows Jay’s in depth knowledge of Primo’s extensive body of work as well as his understanding of the music he chose for the mix. The tape is cleverly laid out so that many of the tracks flow together in more ways than tempo. Songs that sample one another are often played side by side while Jay also shows his digging knowledge by exposing several Premier sample sources. There is a perfect mix of skill display and letting the tracks breathe at the appropriate time, making for the most unique and enjoyable Premier mix tape to date. Luckily for TSS Crew’s DJ Sorce-1, he was able to catch up with Jaycee, hot off of his appearance with Luda at Northeastern’s spring concert, to discuss to conception and creation of Pizza…. Peep the technique as Jaycee gives an up close look at the ingredients that helped make this Reconstruction classic.




TSS: Do you remember the first Premier track you ever heard?

Jaycee: I would have to say it was “Positivity”. I used to watch Rap City back in the day when they had Chris Thomas, The Mayor (Laughs). They used to play “Positivity” a lot and I thought it was a cool record. I liked the sound of it. That record put me on alert to be aware of Gang Starr. Aside from the beat being so dope, I liked Premier’s scratches on the hook. His cuts are so rhythmic and I loved the way he broke down the phrases in the samples he scratched. From a technical standpoint the cuts weren’t that difficult, but he made them sound great. They were simple, but them shits were funky.

In terms of albums, the very first Gang Starr album, No More Mr. Nice Guy, was kind of hard to find in Atlanta. I’ve never had that album in my collection to be honest. I’ve seen it over the years, but I was always more concerned with buying other stuff. It wasn’t a priority record. To this day I don’t own it, and that would probably piss a lot of DJ Premier heads off.

When Step Into The Arena came out, I bought that shit immediately. I studied all of the beats on it and what impressed me about Premier’s production was that his stuff was clean sounding, but he could also flip and do some really gritty shit. If you listen to “Step Into The Arena”, that song sounds kinda clean. You can hear the high hats and the 808’s. But then on a cut like “Precisely The Right Rhymes,” which utilized the Brethren sample and something else that I’m not familiar with…that shit was just dope. It sounded real dirty. You could tell Premier’s production was evolving at that point. By the time Daily Operation came out, it was just like “Aww damn.” I can say that other than The Bomb Squad, Premier was my favorite producer at that time. This was around ’92.

TSS: Have you ever met DJ Premier?

Jaycee: I actually got to meet Premier sometime around ’92. I was part of a group that will remain nameless (Laughs). We put a nice lil’ demo together and hooked up with a promoter who was bringing Gang Starr to town for a show. They performed at a spot called The Warehouse in Atlanta and we were one of the opening acts.

I remember being at soundcheck and wonderin g why Premier was sound checking with other people’s music instead of using Gang Starr material to get the levels correct. I forget the exact reason that he gave me for doing it, but he had just produced “Peer Pressure” by Mobb Deep and he was using the test pressing of that for the sound check. He just kept playing it over and over and over. I was like, “Wow, what the fuck is that?! I gotta get that shit when it comes out!” That was the first time I actually met him. Premier was real cool. “Dwyck” and “Take It Personal” were some of the hottest records out at the time. They were touring to capitalize off of the success of those records.

Around ’94, after Hard To Earn came out, I was hanging with one of my closest friends to this day, Apple Jac. He’s a huge Pete Rock fan. We used to always get into these spirited conversations about who was the better producer - Pete Rock or Premier. Of course you can’t deny Mecca And The Soul Brother and The Main Ingredient. But to me, Premier was the better producer. Pete Rock was doing stuff for people like ADOR, who I thought was suspect. ADOR had a single called “Let It All Hang Out” that got a lot of burn. Pete used the same Marlena Shaw “California Soul” sample that Premier used for “Check the Technique” off of Step Into The Arena.

I remember when Hard to Earn and Jeru’s Sun Rises In The East came out I was going to school at The University of Georgia. Me and Apple Jac would ride around Athens bumping the shit out of Jeru and the Hard To Earn album. I was always like, “For real, Pete ain’t chopping these samples up like Premier.” I was such a Premier fanatic that while I was spinning on a college radio station here we did two free forms dedicated to all Premier production. I spun the entire time for four hours. That was kind of the early foundation of where Pizza At Primo’s came from.

At that time, Premier was doing shit for Jay-Z and people like that. You had to have a Premier cut on your album if you wanted your shit to be street credible. I don’t understand why Nas and Jay-Z won’t record with him today. That shit is stupid to me.

TSS: It’s fucked up man. A few years ago I read that Jay rejected some pretty dope Premier beats for his recent projects.

Jaycee: Yeah. How would you shit on some Premier beats and then accept Swizz Beatz?

TSS: Ha ha, I don’t know man. It’s suspect. What was the first Premier record that you ever bought?

Jaycee: It was “Words I Manifest.” That was the first Premier 12” that I bought. I got it at this record store called Third World Enterprises. I was looking through their singles and found doubles of “Manifest”. This was back in 1990 I believe.

TSS: What kind of environment do you like to work in when you’re making a mixtape?

Jaycee: Generally, I don’t like to be bothered. I’ll get a lot of phone calls that I’ll just ignore. Girls will say, “How come you don’t call me?” I just go, “Look…bitch, I’m focused. Leave me alone. I can fuck with you after I’m done.” When I get focused, I leave the phones and everything else in the other room. Sometimes I’ll zone out with a twelve pack of Blue Moon or whatever I got in the fridge. When I was recording the Eargasm joints, it was Patron and grapefruit juice. I got neighbors, so around midnight or one o’clock I turn it down. I don’t want motherfuckers beating on the ceilings.

TSS: Did you use a mixture of vinyl and Serato for Pizza At Primo’s?

Jaycee: I used vinyl for a lot of the samples. There were a couple that I didn’t have and my boy Apple Jac recorded them to MP3 for me. Serato is dope when you don’t want to burn out your records. I’ve spent a lot of money on records. Even when I was doing commercial radio and getting records for free, I would still go to the store and buy records. I bought a lot of Dilla stuff back in the day, but that’s a whole other interview. I would say about fifty percent of Pizza At Primo’s was vinyl and then some records were recorded to MP3. I’d been looking for the “Return of The Crooklyn Dodgers” sample for years and it just so happened that after I made the CD, I found that album with the sample on it. I was like, “Damn, that would have been an ill ass transition.”

TSS: That gives you reason to do a Part 2.

Jaycee: Part 2 is in the works. I haven’t started recording it, but I’ve been putting records to the side that I’m thinking about using. A lot of people asked me, “Why didn’t you put any of the females that spit over Primo beats on the tape.” I just tell them, “Don’t worry, it’s coming on the second joint.” Paula Perry, Lady of Rage, Charli Baltimore, and Sonja Blade. All of them killed it on their Premier produced tracks.

TSS: Do you have a favorite Premier track?

Jaycee: My absolute favorite? Man, that’s hard to say. I’d say that “Return of the Crooklyn Dodgers” is in my top three. I remember when I got that record in the mail, I played that instrumental nonstop for like three hours. I was sitting in the basement vibing to that shit like, “Wow, this record is fucking beautiful.”

People are so used to Premier chopping records up that they don’t think of his records just being straight loops sometimes. When I found the “Return…” original I was like, “Word, it’s just a straight loop? Oh fuck.” I was a little disappointed, but that shit is still fucking beautiful. Even though it’s a straight loop, you can’t take away from the fact that the track is classic as hell.

TSS: Do you have a favorite slept on Premier track?

Jaycee: “The One and Only” by Snoop and “Brownsville” by M.O.P. He’s done so much shit that it’s hard to narrow stuff down with him. It’s overwhelming to talk about. He did a joint on the Don Cartagena album “That Gangsta Shit.” That song is hard as fuck. He also did a cut for Nenah Cherry called “Sassy” that was also kind slept on.

TSS: Where did the title Pizza At Primo’s come from?

Jaycee: Thank Apple Jac for that title. I was trying to think of a title and he said, “Why don’t you call it Primo’s Pizza.” As much as I travel, I always see pizza joints named Primo’s. So when he said that, I said, “Yeah, that fits.”

TSS: I had never actually heard Pizza At Primo’s it until DJ Soul posted it on his blog. I was like, “How the fuck did I miss this?”

Jaycee: I think it went under a lot of people’s radar. I’m part of the Aphilliates and the main thing that we’re known for are DJ Drama’s Gangsta Grillz. When you put out something that doesn’t feature Lil’ Wayne or Jeezy, it tends to go over peoples heads. I did it right after the mix tape raid situation went down. I was afraid to make the tape to be honest.

Truth be told, it was supposed to be a two part tape. Apple Jac came up with the idea. He wanted to do something called “Pete Rock vs. Premier: The Battle Royal.” It was going to be a double CD. I don’t know why it didn’t happen. I think it took him a little bit longer to get his stuff together. I felt good about my Premier part, so I just decided to put it out. With Apple Jac’s work schedule and my travel schedule, it would have been virtually impossible for us to get together for long enough to knock it out.

The version of Pizza.. that’s out is the third version of it. I accidentally put on a KRS-One joint that wasn’t produced by Premier on the first version. I was all hyped about the first version and gave copies of it to a few friends. One of the people I gave it to was Kaos, who runs the blog The Kaos Effect. He was like, “Yo, that shit was hot, but you had this KRS One joint on there, and I don’t think Premier did that one.” It was a cut off of Return of The Boom Bap. I didn’t want anybody calling me out, so I went back to the lab.

The second version was cool, and I had it done around All Star weekend when I was out in Vegas. Chubby Chubb, who DJ’d for Original Flavor back in the day, was at the same event that I was. We were sound checking, and I was playing the second version. He asked if he could have a copy. The copy that I gave him is pretty much the same as the version that’s out now, but there are some differences. After sitting with the second version for a minute I thought I could improve it. The version Cubby Chubb has is not the version the rest of the world has. But after doing it three times, the third time was a charm.

TSS: Did you re record the whole thing?

Jaycee: Yeah, when I decide to record something over, I scrap the whole shit.

TSS: Wow. That’s insane. I couldn’t scrap an entire tape that I’d been working on.

Jaycee: That’s just me. I’m so hard on myself. If I don’t like some shit, it’s not coming out the crib. I have to be completely ok with what I put out. I’ve seen really good tapes get picked apart by people whose idea of a mix tape is a CD with “None of that DJ stuff on it.” That mentality fucked the game up for me. I used to do mix tapes from 94-97. I would do a mix tape every month. They sold, but people would be like, “You’re doing too much mixing on them.” I got tired of going down in the basement and slaving and making sure everything was perfect when a motherfucka like Clue could make a tape with no mixing and three hot freestyles and have it sell like crazy. I just got frustrated. After ’97 I was like, “This mixtape shit is not what’s up.”

TSS: In terms of Pizza At Primo’s construction, I noticed that you have a definite connection between certain songs. For instance you drop “1, 2 Pass It” and blend in “Bring It On”, which samples “1, 2 Pass It”.

Jaycee: After the second version was done, Apple Jac heard it and said, “Why didn’t you put “1, 2 Pass It” next to “Bring It On”? I totally brain farted and didn’t think to use “Bring It On”. After he listened to it he said, “You forgot about ‘Bring It On’ son.” That was just one more reason I had to scrap the second version.

It wasn’t just that one song though. There were other things. With Royce’s “Boom” I backspun it seven or eight times and I was like, “Damn, this is overkill.” I also ended the tape with Pitch Black’s “It’s All Real”. I didn’t think that song was the best way to end it. I happened to be listening to Black on Both Sides one day while cleaning the house. When “Mathematics” came on I was like, “That’s it. That’s how I’m ending the album.”

TSS: Do you have anything else about Pizza At Primo’s that you want to speak on?

Jaycee: I wonder if Premier has heard the mix. I’d like to know what he thinks of it. People in his immediate circle have it. I’ve given it to Jazzy Jeff, DJ Revolution, and some other people. I know he has to be aware of it, I just don’t know if he has heard it yet and what he thinks.

and there you have it. big shouts to Gotty, Sorce-1 for interviewing me, my folks who assisted me in compiling a few joints for this project: Applejac, Rage, Tommy Fixx, my Aphilliates fam, FWMJ at rappersiknow, DJ Soul, and everybody who bought or downloaded it, and most of all DJ Premier for creating all these dope ass joints to make this mix possible.

"More Pizza" coming soon...

we were onto something, dayummm...

wow, seems like it was only yesterday (January '07 to be exact) that there was a conversation with the homie Applejac about the concept of doing a party around the theme of Pete Rock vs. DJ Premier, where he'd be playing joints by Pete and i'd be representing Premier. it was also gonna be based around our double CD set which was gonna tentatively be called "Battle Royale: Pete Rock vs. Premier" but due to schedules clashing, the double CD was never made and my mix ended up being what the world knows now as "Pizza At Primo's"



i've been interviewed about the making of the mixtape and that'll be the basis of my next post so i won't say too much more about it right now but just know that at this moment, there's no city that i'd rather be in than LA, in order for me to witness what's gonna go down TONIGHT at the Crash Mansion. 2 LEGENDS, battling it out on a pair of turntables in the name of all that is real about HIP-HOP. LA's the PERFECT place for this to go down but trust and believe that i'm gonna do my best to make sure that this event comes to Atlanta. if i gotta put up my own money to make it happen, that's just what i'm gonna have to do shawty...

just watch...

playoff predictions...

kinda sucks that the Warriors didn't make it in this year but oh well...

in the Western Conference Finals i see the Lakers and the Suns battling it out and in the Eastern Conference Finals it's gonna come down to Boston and Detroit...

my hometown allegiance is to the Pistons and the Suns have been a team that i've rooted for for a good while now but i won't be mad if the Celtics go all the way. KG DESERVES a ring after all those unfruitful years in Minneapolis...

as far as the Hawks finally making it to the playoffs after 9 years of being totally wack, i'm happy for em', but Boston's gonna bring that broom out with the quickness...

mo ig'nance...

i don't know about y'all but i think i need a change of pace from my ey'now and then trips to Magic City Mondays.

Bitch Slap Mondays at 24K is that NEW shit shawty.

don't believe me?

check the clip for yourselves...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFOVwOsvuYM

what better way to spend my Monday nights than watchin some bitches slap the absolute shit out of each other?

it gets no better...

yeah i know, i'm going str8 to hell for this one...

but i'm not the only one, y'all are coming with me as well...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKKxPtP6XiO

okay, after a second viewing (i'm just sayin'), i have a couple questions.

all sorts of fuckery to choose from but what the fuck was up with the "host" massaging one of the ahem, judges shoulders during the battle? (PAUSE!!!)

and then the split screen action at around the 2:30 mark...

and then another thing i'm tired of in general which this video brought attention to, is everyone introducing themselves as "ya boy..."

uh, do i know u?

right...

thanks...

dayummm Stacey!!!

okay Ray, u said u were waiting on me to post some ass on my page so what better way to kick off the festivities than with my future wife Stacey Dash on the cover of the latest King Magazine???

i remember seeing her in the movie "Enemy Territory" with Ray Parker Jr and if the steel trap memory serves me correctly that had to be around late '87, the same time i was introduced to "Hollywood Shuffle", right before "Eddie Murphy: RAW". the movie was TERREEEBLAY! i mean, a movie about vampires in the projects with Ray Parker Jr in the lead role, surely they weren't expecting any Oscars, lol...

but anyway, the only memorable thing about that movie was Stacey and even though she was only 20 at the time i saw the potential. i have a knack for this sorta thing lol...

man did she EVER live up to the potential!! what other reason would i have for sitting through "Moving"? or better yet "Clueless"?

and let's not even mention the Playboy spread. whaddaya mean you didn't see it???

i got u shawty...



and my personal uh, fave...



and she's 42.

yessurrr, u think i'm NOT gonna buy more than 1 copy of King this month???

edit: seems the good ol' folk at photobucket felt like the Playboy pics violated their decency standards so they came and took the pics down. i got a trick comin' fa dey azz though...

Kick Rocks...

my latest work. it's a departure from Eargasms, and another example of my versatility but i'm still keeping my natural DJ sensibilities intact. i was never the type of DJ to just let a record play because that would pretty much classify me as a jukebox, and i think that there are enough of those at your local Waffle House. this is pretty much just me having fun with a few of my favorite rock joints from over the years, mainly the classics but a couple recent joints are in there as well as my interpretation of a couple things that diehard hiphop heads should instantly recognize.

whether this becomes a regular series or not will depend on how many of you respond to it with honest feedback after listening so lemme know what's really good...

Jaycee Sez Kick Rocks!!

One 4 Your Archives: Timeless Material: Michael Jackson, The Soulful Years

THIS mixtape right here was a project that i sat with for quite a few months before deciding to go ahead and put it out in January '06. i thought of the idea to do an Michael mix right when his trial was going on in the summer of '05. not that i necessarily needed anyone's approval but i kinda ran the idea by Drama, Jeanise, and the rest of my Aphilliates crew and my dude Applejac first and they all gave me the same response which was "nigga go for it!"

i coulda slapped a buncha cuts from "Off The Wall" and "Thriller" on it and called it a day, which is precisely what a lot of other DJ's decided to do to immediately capitalize off the media circus that swirled around this musical ICON, but i dared to be different, which has always been a creed that i subscribe to. not on some outlaw type shit mind you, but mainly on some DJ shit in general. i mean, who wants to sound like every other DJ in the city that doesn't respect the craft enough to actually put in the blood and sweat and PRACTICE in to be GREAT at it? certainly not this brotha here, but that's a whole nother post shawty...

anyway...

i had ambitious plans (there i go using that word again) of doing a double CD of all Michael joints and my first working title was gonna be "From Black To White". get it???

if not, it's pretty much self-explanatory, given the various shades of color that his skin has been at different times throughout his career but then i decided against that because i respect this man's music so much that it might've been taken the wrong way. also, i felt like even though the whole world absolutely CHERISHES his music (anyone who tells you differently is a fucking LIAR), 3 hours plus might've just been a TAD too much to digest in one sitting.

so what i did was scour the earth for every Michael/The Jacksons/Jackson 5 album that i didn't already have in my collection. no expense was spared and my girl at the time used to always look at me crazy for coming outta Earwax with stacks of dusty ass wax. she got over it though...

everyone knows "ABC" and "I Want You Back" as those are the obligatory "real old" Michael Jackson cuts that i've heard DJ's (including myself at times) spin at damn near every party i've been to for the last decade, and even WAY longer before that. my ambition (there i go again) with this mixtape was to give light to other joints that people either didn't know or just plain forgot about.

after it was done i sent out copies to Jazzy Jeff and Clark Kent and they both told me that i KILLED it. to have LEGENDARY DJ's like them say that about my mix meant the world because they are 2 of the DJ's that i most admire in this biz. personally, i think i did a pretty good job on it. the perfectionist in me wants to go back and revisit it without all the echoing "Jaycee" drops on it (it was my first big mixtape and i didn't want anyone to bite it so i put my name everywhere possible, forgive me lol.)

some people hail it as a classic, some even refer to it as the "illest Michael Jackson mixtape EVAR!" (stuntinonprose.blogspot.com, THANKS!!)

whatever your personal opinion of it is, i know it made sort of an impact amongst the people here in the streets of Atlanta who enjoy this sorta thing because a group of people that i used to associate with had the gumption to do a MJ themed party a few months right after this joint came out, even using the SAME picture from my CD cover as the basis for the flyer but not asking me to spin at the party on some straight bitch ass shit. (side note: not like i'm the authority on all things Michael but how y'all gonna do a MJ themed party but only play 1 hour of Michael shit? it's funny how a party like that had never been thought of to do in Atlanta until AFTER i did the mixtape. as Busta famously said on the Scenario remix "i see my influence still shinin'')

i also know for a fact that it made an impact around different parts of the world because no matter where i go, whether in the States or abroad people who are in the know about these type of things ALWAYS ask me about it and how can they get a hold of it.

although it's one long mp3 right now, here u go. until i dig up the actual cd this'll have to tide y'all over til then. you can thank me now or thank me later...

Michael Jackson: The Soulful Years

One 4 Your Archives: Jaycee "Old To Tha New: Puma All Star Weekend '06 Mixtape" (original version)"

damn, ya boy is on some kind of a roll posting mixes today so here's another one that i came across while digging thru some old records at the crib.

of course i have a story...

3 weeks before All Star Weekend '06 (Houston) and i got asked by Sue Cocca at Puma to do a mixtape to celebrate the re-release of the Puma "Clyde" sneaker that was popular back in the day. i say "cool" since i'd never really had a mixtape out during one of these popular sporting weekends (super bowl, pro bowl, etc...) to be able to give to people. the prerequisite for doing the mix was that i had to feature joints on it that were hot in the era that Walt Frazier played (the 70's) and then since Ludacris was featured in a new Puma campaign around the sneaker, feature joints from the current era of hip-hop hence the title "Old To Tha New". a new DTP album had just come out in November '05 and there were four songs on it that the label heads were trying to get people familiar with which were Shawnna's "Gettin' Some Head", Playaz Circle's "U Can Believe It feat. Ludacris, Shareefa's "I'll Be Around" and a joint by Norfclk that i can't recall the name of to save my life.

now, i could've decided to take the easy way out and be like "aight i'm gonna do 15 minutes of classics and then slap the DTP shit on there" and voila, you have an instant mixtape. but nah, since it was my first "industry" joint i wanted to be ambitious, thinking "yeah i'll do a full blown 80 minutes of mixing and go beyond the call of duty by including songs on it that were poppin in other parts of the country". after all, the whole country was gonna descend on Houston in a couple weeks and 9 times outta 10 at a event like All Star Weekend, if someone hands you a mixtape you at least wanna see some joints on it that you're familiar with right? otherwise it might as well have a pile of shit attached to it, lol...

so i went to Patchwerk Studios and knocked the mix out really quick. drops by Walt Frazier and Ludacris were gonna be added in post-production but even without drops on it i was happy as hell with it and i was like "YEAH, i'm finally gonna have a joint that people are gonna look at and bump during the weekend and then i'm gonna be a big DJ star afterwards!!!" 

yes i'm laughing too...

things didn't quite pan out the way i intended. i turned this joint in for approval at DTP and a couple folks were quite upset, none of whom were Chris Bridges. apparently, even though i had the 4 joints that were label priorities on the mix, i was told that there wasn't "enough DTP stuff on the mix and too much other bullshit was included" so i had to go back and do it over. 

think i was happy about that?

of course i wasn't but i did it over anyway. Walt Frazier never did his drops and the drops that Ludacris did sounded very uninspired, as if he'd rather have been doing something other than drops over the phone for a mixtape so that isn't the version that i'm featuring here. no talking, just mixing. as i was listening to this while cleaning up around the crib i remember my drunken blunted mindstate while in the studio doing it and it was clear that i was really having fun. sounds like it too, enjoy listening...

Puma All-Star Weekend '06 Mixtape OG Version

One 4 Your Archives: "Ludacris: Hits & Otha Shit!" (may '02)

while digging up records to use for Eargasms 4, i came across a few old mixtapes of mine from a few years back. this one has sort of a story behind it, so grab a chair and enjoy...

may '02. i had just learned that Ludacris had been selected to be one of the opening acts on Eminem's Anger Management Tour which was to begin in Buffalo on my birthday (July 18th, 2002)

being the forward thinker that i'm capable of being i asked myself the question "hmmm, what would be a great opportunity to create some buzz around yourself as the DJ for one of the most popular artists in hip-hop?"

myself said, "yo, you should do a mixtape centered around Ludacris' hit records PLUS all his hot guest appearances from other folks records that he's been on at the time. if you feature a couple brand new records from the upcoming Disturbing Tha Peace "Golden Grain" album that isn't scheduled to come out until September '02 and just do your normal thug thizzle on the tables, there's no way that folks outside of Atlanta won't know who the hell Jaycee is and that should help establish you as THAT NEXT NIGGA on the wheels".

Atlanta pretty much already knew of me due to my having pretty much the dopest radio mixshow for a few years on v103, plus there wasn't a club in the city that i HADN'T torn down so the world was about to be my oyster...

sounds good in theory right?

well here's where i began learning that being blessed with way above average skills on the tables really doesn't mean shit if you don't have the right people in your corner to help you navigate through the politics and BULLSHIT of this industry...

my roadblock: Paul Rosenberg (Eminem's manager/guy in charge of what could and could not be sold on Eminem's tour).

when the tour began i was told that i couldn't sell my cd during the tour because Green Lantern (Em's DJ at the time) was the only DJ allowed to sell mixtapes on this 3 month run. trust and believe i tried every imaginable way to sling this mix during the tour but having tour security threaten to confiscate my shit at every other venue just became too much of a headache so i began giving them away. i figured you can't beat getting a FREE mixtape, especially if it's actually good so i gave away HUNDREDS of these joints in every city. artwork was never done for it which is a whole nother story in itself that isn't too flattering towards the people involved but i'ma save that one for my book, lol...

at any rate, here's the tracklisting for it. 

DJ Jaycee presents Ludacris: Hits & Otha Shit! (done in May 2002)

1. Intro/Phat Rabbit

2. What's Your Fantasy

3. Imagination (remix)  Tamia

4. What Means The World To You  Cam'Ron feat. UGK, Ludacris, Trina

5. Roll Out

6. Get It Right  Dutch & Spade feat. Ludacris

7. Go To Sleep

8. Stick Em' Up

9. Welcome To Atlanta

10. One Minute Man

11. Souther Hospitality

12. Jaycee Scratch Break

13. Get The Hell On With That  Fat Joe feat. Ludacris

14. Area Codes

15. Ho

16. Fatty Girl  Ludacris, Keith Murray, LL Cool J

17. U Don't Have To Call (remix)   Usher feat. Ludacris

18. Peaches & Cream (remix)  112 feat. Ludacris

19. Saturdays

20. Break Somethin'  Disturbing Tha Peace (Ludacris, I-20, Shawna, Tity Boi)

21. Dis Bitch Dat Ho  Project Pat feat. Ludacris

22. She Said

23. Catch Up

24. Bia Bia

25. Coming To America

26. That's How I Get Down   Ginuwine feat. Ludacris

27. Why Don't We Fall In Love   Amerie feat. Ludacris

Ludacris: Hits & Otha Shit!

one final humorous note. if you ever wondered why i never say anything on any of my mixes now, THIS mixtape is the reason. i understand the whole logic of shameless self promo and shouting folk out but that was something i was never comfortable with because i think my "mixtape DJ" voice is kinda corny lol...

oh yeah, leave comments you heathens. that was another reason i started this blogspot shit...

straight out the deck, literally...

yeah kiddos, i'm back with the latest installment of Eargasms. this is part 4 in the series that started right after All Star Weekend '08 and at the rate i'm going, i might have about 10 volumes of these done by my birthday in July (at least that's the aim anyway)

music on this joint ranges from this group to that person to yo' momma nem...

what? u thought i was gonna tell u what songs are on it??

no way, that's what your listening skills are for. all i'll say is that if you dig/dug the first three, then you'll DEFINITELY fuck with this. the aim is to get better & better each time out the gate, so holla back and lemme know what you think about it...

while i was digging up records for this installment i came across some old mixes that i did a few years back. one that stood out was this all Ludacris mix that i did in May '02 called "Hits & Otha Shit!" there's a story behind it so i'll save it for the post which is next on deck. once again, enjoy Eargasms 4...

Eargasms Fo! advance mp3

One 4 Your Archives: "Deja Vu" Jaycee & Don Cannon (hosted by Pharrell, summer '06)

i'm really proud of this mixtape and it happened very spontaneously. i was hanging out at the studio with Cannon listening to some new music. next thing you know, record mode!!! voila... 

a few of the songs featured on this mix went on to be HUGE hits, others not so much but overall this is a pretty good joint that you can ride out to without skipping through. Cannon and Pharrell are pretty much the voices throughout the whole affair as i pretty much choose only to speak on tapes with my hands (ala Terminator X)

the tracklisting is featured in the zip file contained and i don't feel like typing it out. call me lazy but oh well, this is good music. fair exchange...

here u go y'all: sendspace.com/file/5ptwxk

gimme a few moments to get the kinks and quirks worked out and then i'll have it so that all u gotta do is click the link and then BAM!

welcome y'all...

i still have my myspace account but i don't really check it that often anymore. that shit has started to get kinda lame to me over the last few months with ey'body blowin' me up tryna be rappers, top models, and what have you. don't get me wrong, i'm flattered that some folk think enough of what i do to even bother asking my opinion on things but, i'm not an a&r man (although i should be) and i'm not on Tyra's payroll. 

the purpose of this site will basically be to offer some insight into things that i'm interested in and make me tick. those of you who've been down with me on myspace already know how i get down with my writing, and those new to the party, i suggest you grab a chair and relax. i'll also be posting a few musical goodies here and there (basically mixtapes, old radio shows and stuff that myspace won't allow since they have this thing about copyright issues and what not) so stay tuned. 

oh yeah, if you're looking for Ludacris album leaks or The Carter 3 or something of that nature, this isn't the place for you. 

holla...