Growing up in Massachusetts, I remember traveling to NY/NJ to visit family and being real amped to hear Hot 97 and other NY-based radio stations because they always seemed to be way ahead of things back home. And they certainly were, this is back when there were regional differences in radio & music, and it would take maybe 6-8 weeks for a hit in NY to make it's way to the airwaves in MA on Jam'n 94.5. I used to have a blank tape in my boombox and wait up in my bedroom for the Top 9 at 9 each week...craziness. Anyway, I wasn't the most on top of everything back in the 90's, but I was digging for records at this spot Al-Bums (R.I.P.) on Highland Street in Worcester, and my dude over there this one time gave me the go ahead to check out the basement, where (I would soon discover) there were mad records. From that point forward, each time I visited, I'd check out the first floor, but ultimately make my way downstairs, where things were a bit dusty, dark, wet, and the ceiling had a tendency to bend and dip overhead...a bit hazardous I suppose you might say. But yeah, any DJ knows you gotta dig deep for the real joints, and I definitely found some great records downstairs. One of the coolest things about digging at Al-Bums though was meeting a cat who I would consider a friend, a guy who is definitely a dope DJ and producer, fellow native of the Holden/Worcester area, DJ Shame. For those that don't know Shame (for real though, I didn't know who he was when I met him, or who Edo or L da Headtoucha were when Shame would mention them at the time,) he's part of the acclaimed Vinyl Reanimators crew. Beat-heads and DJs may recall they put out a bunch of remixes back in the day, Fast Life by G Rap & Nas, the Back to the Grill remix, and of course a bunch of dope tracks with both L da Headtoucha and Edo G (amongst others.)
I used to buy records off Shame since he was getting serviced from a bunch of labels. He's got more records than anyone I know. Traveling Through Sampleland is regarded as one of the first (if not the first) sample-based mixtapes; it dropped in '93.
Dude definitely knows a lot about music and has amazing music on his shelves and in his crates...if you were one of the lucky ones to peep his XM show over the past few years, you know how deep it gets ("Vinyl Reanimations" on XM 65 The Rhyme...RIP.) You might still be able to get those mixes over at Shame's site, so hit him up.
Here's a few treats from Shame's catalog to bring you up to speed...and with permission from the man himself, one of my favorite joints from the archives, L da Headtoucha's "Too Complex."
DJ Shame collection - minimix MC Serch - Back to the Grill (DJ Shame remix) Kool G Rap - Fast Life feat. Nas (DJ Shame remix) Scientifik - Jungles of da East DJ Shame - Traveling Through Sampleland excerpt
