“Organ Donor” is one of the most well-known and Illest Bboy jams, coming from the legendary DJ Shadow (@djshadow), a hero of production and sampling, and one of the most widely recognized and respected DJ/producers in Hip-hop and Bboy culture:
If you don’t know about DJ Shadow, check this out from his website:
DJ Shadow (born Josh Davis) is widely credited as a key figure in developing the experimental instrumental hip-hop style associated with the London-based Mo’ Wax label. Inspired by hip-hop’s early years, he then grew to absorb the heyday of crews like Eric B. & Rakim, Ultramagnetic MCs, and Public Enemy; groups which prominently featured DJs in their ranks.
Josh “Shadow” Davis had already been fiddling around with making beats and breaks on a four-track recorder while he was in high school in the NorCal cow-town of Davis, but it was during college that he co-founded his own Solesides label as an outlet for his original tracks. Hooking up with Davis’ few b-boys (including eventual Solesides artists Blackalicious and Lyrics Born) through the college radio station, Shadow began releasing the Hip-Hop Reconstruction mix tapes in 1991 and pressed his 17-minute beat-head symphony “Entropy” in 1993. His tracks spread widely through the DJ-strong hip-hop underground, eventually catching the attention of Mo’ Wax.
And some very interesting controversy between DH Shadow and the mainstream club movement, in which DJ Shadow was clearly the victor:
On December 16, 2012 in a Miami Night club called the “Mansion” DJ Shadow was playing his decks when he was approached by a promoter during a spin of Krampfhaft’s “Spit Thunder,” The DJ addresses the crowd moments later, saying: “I’ve waited a long time to play here, but they said this shit is too future for all y’all.” He was then replaced by DJ No Máz.
Shadow later tweeted “I don’t care if I get kicked out of every rich kid club on the planet. I will never sacrifice my integrity as a DJ…ever. Ironically it was drum and bass that broke the camel’s back(!) Note to self…play more drum and bass!!!”
Then on the 23rd the Mansion Nightclub issued a public apology:
“We offer our most sincere apologies to DJ Shadow and his fans for his set being cut short at Mansion this past weekend. This error should not have happened and will not happen again, especially as we pride ourselves on creating an environment that cultivates and respects innovators such as DJ Shadow. We have learned a lot from this error and made changes within our organization to ensure that Mansion’s vision, and the vision of our guests, will never be compromised again.” -Mansion Nightclub, Miami.
Much respect to DJ Shadow for his integrity and for standing firm in the face of the pop culture BS!
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