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ALBUMS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE As told to Randy Roper // Photo by Blake Ribbey
NOMINATED FOR TJ’s DJ’s TASTEMAKER, BEST MIXTAPE DJ, & BEST MIXTAPE/STREET ALBUM
dj drama 10 9 8 7 6 5 56 // OZONE MAG
Michael Jackson – Thriller Michael Jackson. What else needs to be said? Run-DMC - Raising Hell Run-DMC was the biggest thing ever in Hip Hop at the time. It was a three man band that pretty much changed the game forever [and] it was my first real introduction to a DJ. Guns N’ Roses - Appetite For Destruction Party like a rock star. A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders During my high school days, there was a lot of weed smoking. A lot of riding around, picking up girls, rocking out to that [album]. The Roots - Do You Want More?!!!??! That was the first time I had seen niggas really do it right in front of my eyes. I knew The Roots before they got their deal, so to see them come out with a major label album right in front of me was quite an accomplishment. From the inside looking out and from the outside looking in, I was real proud of those niggas. Outkast – Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik Me and my dad drove to Atlanta for the first time in ’94, when it came out, on some business trip he had to do. I rode to that album and that was really my first introduction to Atlanta, and one of the reasons I chose to come down there and live.
Wu-Tang Clan - Wu-Tang Forever I was listening to Wu-Tang Forever in ’97 when it came out, after my first year in college. And I made a decision just listening to that album that I was gonna move back to Philly. And I packed my bags that weekend and went home for the summer. And that was the last time I lived in Philly.
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T.I. - Down With The King (Gangsta Grillz) Down With the King was important because that was a coming out party for Tip. Up to that point, it was my biggest Gangsta Grillz. And it represents Hip Hop history because it’s the ultimate Hip Hop battle, where one man’s career took off and another’s was crushed.
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Young Jeezy - Trap Or Die (Gangsta Grillz) If you know anything about Hip Hop, it’s one of the holy grails in the mixtape game.
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DJ Drama - Gangsta Grillz: The Album Long time in the making. I put a lot of hard work into it. I put my recent life into it. I’m just real excited and I can’t wait for the world to see what I cooked up.
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