I, along with millions of other Americans, was completely shocked at the passing of DJ Am last Friday, August 28. I had heard his name previously and new he was in the hip dj crowd, but had never exposed myself to his creative interpretation of music. After his passing, I wanted to listen to some of his work and downloaded Fix Your Face Volume 2, a mixtape that he and Travis Barker released. First, I must make note that the mixtape was free but you had to “pay” to get it by sending a tweet. Definitely a savvy social media move! Back to the music – this mixtape has to be the BEST mixtape I have ever heard! NO LIE! Never have I heard a mixtape in which the dj goes from The Beatles to Biggie to Warren G to Metallica to Jay-Z to The Mamas and The Papas to Lil John + more. I’ve been listening to Fix Your Face Vol 2. nonstop for the last few days and every time I feel as though I need to be in a club with some strobe lights – and I don’t even go out! It was only natural that I had to go back and download Fix You Face Vol.1 too!

Another part of my research informed me that DJ AM, Adam Goldstein back then, was a member of the group Crazy Town. Their most popular single was Butterfly and was one of my jams back in the day. It’s super ironic that in the Butterfly video, one of the band members was rockin a D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) T-shirt :/ DJ AM had previously been addicted to crocaine and ecstacy as was currently working on his own drug recovery series for MTV called Gone Too Far. This whole story is so sad, but serves as an example for other people who struggle with drug addictions. I want to celebrate not only DJ AM’s life, but the impact he has and will continue to have on people’s lives.

We can celebrate the music too! The following is a produced video of TRV$DJAM (Travis Barker + DJ AM) from Fix Your Face Volume 1 = absolutely amazing talent!

I have seen Diddy lend his vocals to his artists’ tracks, with the most recent being Day 26’s Imma a Put it On Her. I previously posted this song, but now that the video has premiered that features a remix, I want to share my opinion of Diddy’s singing. Or, should I say his attempt to sing/rap/perform. Years ago, when Diddy was alongside Biggie and Mase, Diddy could rap and he presented himself as a somewhat talented artist. Now…not so much! It seems like he did a complete 360 and not in a good way. I consider myself a Diddy fan, his number one supporter, and I will always respect his hustle. However, I can not deny that Diddy was a better performer during his early career. I would like for you to watch these two videos to compare his performances and listen closely to his lyrics. In the most recent, it sounds as though he hesitates in a search to find the beat. I’m starting to think that Puffy/Puff Daddy may have taken the lead as performer while P. Diddy/Diddy wins the title of businessman. You be the judge!

Been Around the World:

I’m a Put It on Her:

by The Notorious B.I.G. ft. Diddy and Lil’ Kim: I saw a commercial a few days ago for a biographical movie, Notorious, that will come out in 2009. After reading about 2Pac and his murder yesterday, I became extremely intrigued with the “lack of evidence” to find Tupac’s or Biggie’s assassin(s). I’m a CSI and Law and Order fan and these two cases extremely interest me. I know there was a book, LAbyrinth, written that compiles evidence of an LAPD detective on both murders. Might have to add that to my list of literature to read!… Back to the music, this song must be the lead on the soundtrack because I heard it in the trailer. The track will take you back to the mid/late 90s when everyone was jamming to Juicy and Hypnotize. Thinking back, Biggie’s second album was titled Life After Death and was released just 16 days after he died. Sadly, it was as though he knew he was going to die. Like he knew somebody in his camp set him up and he was just waiting for the day. Fast forward to 2008. Do you hear Jay-Z or Lil Wayne talking about themselves dying? NO! If you think about it, A LOT of “rappers” would not have made it if Biggie and Pac were still alive . I get chills just thinking about it…This is some scary sh*t!?!