DJ Clue Back In Action With "The Professional"

[Damien J.]

After a way-too-long six year break between official album releases on the Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam label, mixtape impresario and Desert Storm mogul DJ Clue? returns on December 19th with the arrival of THE PROFESSIONAL, Part 3, the long-awaited sequel to the all-star-studded The Professional, Pt. 2 (released February 2001).

If it were possible to outdo the guest-list on Pt. 2, then THE PROFESSIONAL, Part 3 has done it – with the Who’s Who of hip-hop’s A-list, starting with “Like This.” The album’s first single pick, co-written and produced by fellow Def Jam artist Kanye West, features Kanye and Fabolous, the newest Def Jam mega-signing. Brooklyn-born Fabolous has been the core artist on DJ Clue’s Desert Storm imprint for his two albums in 2003 (the RIAA platinum Street Dreams) and 2004 (Real Talk, certified gold). His upcoming Def Jam album debut, From Nothing To Something, will drop in early 2007.

DJ Clue? exercises his craft as a producer on a hefty six tracks of Part 3, starting with “Middle Figure U” featuring Camron and Juelz Santana, then “It Was All Good A Week Ago” (Part 1 featuring Mario Winans and Part 2 featuring the Game and Mario), followed by “I Really Wanna Know You” featuring Jagged Edge and Fabolous; “The Gold” featuring Mobb Deep; “Liberty Bell” featuring Beanie Sigel and Cassidy; and the album’s closing track, “Da Animal” featuring Stylez P.

And the guest list doesn’t stop there – that’s just the beginning. There’s Snoop Dogg on “Almost Fucked” (produced by Lt Hutton); Young Jeezy and Juelz Santana on “Fuck Off” (produced by Develop); Lil Wayne, Ransom, and Rick Ross on “Da Scene” (produced by Doughboyz); Jadakiss on “Ugly” (produced by Swizz Beatz); Mike Jones and Paul Wall on “Grill & Woman” (produced by Chops); Fat Joe and Remy Ma on “U Don’t Wanna” (produced By Baby Paul); and M.O.P. on “NY Giant” (produced by the Heat Makerz).

The million dollar dreams of Young Jeezy turned into cold hard major label reality when Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101 (released July 2005) shot to #1 on the R&B and Rap albums charts and #2 on the pop side, and blew up to RIAA platinum in 11 weeks. The break­through hit, “Soul Survivor” took the #1 spot on the R&B chart. Jeezy was named to Rolling Stone's New Faces: Artists To Watch and MTV News' You Hear It First, as a phenomenal seven tracks from Let’s Get It found their way onto radio and the charts – “And Then What,” “Soul Survivor,” “Trap Or Die,” “Go Crazy,” “Tear It Up,” “Trap Star,” and “My Hood.” Let’s Get It went on to top critics’ year-end lists and was named by The New York Times as the Pop Album Of The Year.

It was nearly a decade ago that Jamaica, Queens, NYC native DJ Clue? (Ernesto Shaw) made the transition from the burgeoning mixtape industry to the major label domain of Def Jam Recordings with his first over-the-counter release, The Professional (1997). His parallel career as a New York vj and dj – first on MTV’s “Direct Effect,” then on radio station Hot 97, and later on Power 105 – combined with his imaginative remixing skills gained him access to the hottest new tracks from hip-hop and pop’s most important names.

The Professional (which hit #3 on the R&B chart and #26 on the pop side) spun off a pair of Top 40 tracks, “It’s On” and “Ruff Ryders Anthem,” and was eventually certified RIAA platinum. DJ Clue Presents: Backstage: A Hard Knock Life (released in 2000) documented the touring that accompanied his pal Jay-Z’s multi-platinum album. The Professional, Part 2 was first released in December 2000, propelled by the hit single “Back 2 Life 2001,” featuring Mary J. Blige and Jadakiss. The album also featured new exclusive music from hip-hop notables Jay-Z, Eminem, DMX, Snoop, Foxy Brown, Method Man, Li’l Kim, Busta Rhymes, Miami natives Trick Daddy and Trina, and many others.