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DJ Sorce-1: Before the Internet was big I used to always hear about the גFast Lifeג remix that you did. When I finally heard it years later on a mix tape, I was blown away by how you completely transformed the whole mood of the song. I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about the record you sampled for the remix.
DJ Shame: Well, I didnגt put that beat together specifically for remixing גFast Lifeג. It was just one of those beats that I had come up with that was dope. When we decided to remix גFast Lifeג I said, גI know it will fit that, I have the perfect track.ג I put the beat together on a 4-Track cassette and we mixed it onto a DAT. At the time DATs were big and everyone was using them.
DJ Sorce-1: That remix was close to getting pressed up officially, wasnגt it?
DJ Shame: Well, we gave copies to Bobbito and Stretch, Riz and Mayhem, and Marley and Pete Rock. They all started playing the shit out of it, which is what we intended. As a result of that, we were hoping Epic would pick up our remix. There were people calling up Epic and looking for our remix, but the A & R chic at Epic went with the Salaam Remi remix instead, which wasnגt close to anything we did. It kind of showed us the politics of the whole music game. After that, we went with a few different people that made bootleg records.
DJ Sorce-1: Did you guys see any money from that?
DJ Shame: Yeah, theyגd pay us a certain amount up front, a few thousand dollars or whatever. It was worth doing it like that just to get it out.
DJ Sorce-1: Your remix of Tim Dogגs גBronx Niggaג is another significant remix that deserved more shine than it got. Is that remix one of your most prized records because of what it meant for your career?
DJ Shame: Yeah, being the first record I produced that got pressed up, it means a bit to me. I did the remix in ג91 and I think it ended up being pressed in the beginning of ג92. It was a promo only record. I donגt know whether they pressed up 500 copies or 1000. I know itגs hard to come across and people pay money for it. My boy Jared, who runs Big City Records, had me sign a copy he had in the store, which was really cool.
DJ Sorce-1: Do you have any other records that have special importance to you?
DJ Shame: Yeah, I have a bunch of early rap records that mean a lot to me. I also like my copy of L Da Head Touchaגs גToo Complexג, which I produced. Just the feedback from everybody after doing that was kind of overwhelming. The Don Blackman sample that I used for that immediately became a sought after record. The price went up real quick and everybody wanted it. When we gave the DAT of גToo Complexג to Marley Marl and Pete Rock before it was pressed, the same way we did with גThe Fast Life" Remix, they were just killing it. It caught on quick. People all across the country were killing it.
