{"id":94181,"date":"2015-09-10T15:23:46","date_gmt":"2015-09-10T13:23:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.blackouthiphop.com\/?p=94181"},"modified":"2015-09-10T15:23:46","modified_gmt":"2015-09-10T13:23:46","slug":"rest-in-peace-to-kool-dj-aj-scratch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blackouthiphop.com\/blog\/rest-in-peace-to-kool-dj-aj-scratch\/","title":{"rendered":"Rest In Peace To Kool DJ AJ Scratch"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Kool<\/a><\/p>\n

Rest In Peace To Hip-Hop Pioneer & Kurtis Blow<\/strong> Affiliate Kool DJ AJ<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Kurtis Blow<\/strong>\u2019s seminal 1984 album Ego Trip<\/em>, he made a cult-favored jam in AJ Scratch<\/em>. Featuring his crisp scratches and personal story, that song\u2019s namesake, Kool DJ AJ<\/strong>, has passed away. In addition to his longtime role as Blow<\/strong>\u2019s DJ, Kool DJ AJ<\/strong> is known for his work behind the wheels for Chief Rocka<\/strong> Busy Bee<\/strong>. A pivotal Manhattan, New York Hip-Hop figure since the 1970s, AJ<\/strong> would retain his post at the turntables into the 2010s. Originally born in Manhattan\u2019s Lower East Side, AJ<\/strong> would spend time in Jacksonville, Florida before relocating to New York City\u2019s South Bronx section in 1975. In a 2006 interview with Troy L. Smith<\/strong> and Tha Foundation<\/strong>, AJ<\/strong> recalled enlisting in the US Army, and being stationed in Georgia. Additionally, the comprehensive interview examines A.J.<\/strong>\u2019s history as a promoter alongside Hip-Hop pioneers DJ Kool Herc<\/strong> and Pete \u201cDJ\u201d Jones<\/strong>, before DJ\u2019ing in his own right under the tutelage of Luvbug Starkski<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Before becoming a fixture with Kurtis Blow, Kool DJ AJ<\/strong> famously helped break the Harlem, New York MC\u2019s records in the scene, notably 1979\u2019s Christmas Rappin\u2019<\/em>. In the same 2006 interview, AJ<\/strong> claimed he wrote one of Blow<\/strong>\u2019s biggest hits, If I Ruled The World<\/em> \u2014 a song he said he penned with Busy Bee<\/strong> in mind.<\/p>\n

“I wrote it for Busy Bee<\/strong>, but he couldn\u2019t perform it. He couldn\u2019t rock that shit. Somebody hit me up on MySpace and said they remember when we were in the studio with Busy Bee<\/strong> trying to do If I Ruled The World<\/em>. He couldn\u2019t fit it. Or it didn\u2019t fit him! So I took it back. Then I tried to sell it to Run-DMC<\/strong>. Russell [Simmons]<\/strong> kept saying that\u2019s a song for a solo artist. That\u2019s not for two people.\u201d He continued, \u201cI even tried to sell it to [Grandmaster] Melle Mel. (Sugar Hill Records CEO) Sylvia Robinson<\/strong> said no, she didn\u2019t want to give me any money.\u201d The song would gain new recognition in the mid-1990s, when Nas<\/strong> re-purposed its chorus and structure in a It Was Written<\/em> hit of his own. In that same interview, he explained getting down with Hip-Hop\u2019s first gold album-maker, Kurtis Blow<\/strong>. \u201cI met him through Russell Simmons<\/strong>. I broke up with this girl and it hit me hard so I started using [drugs] big time, and one of the spots I used to hang out at was the Disco Fever<\/strong>. I used to be a member of that back room. Russell<\/strong> was back there one night doing his thing. He was like, \u2018Kurtis Blow<\/strong> is looking for a DJ and he is about to go on tour with Rick James<\/strong> to Europe.\u2019 By this time Kurtis Blow<\/strong> is touring with people like James Brown, Bob Marley, Commodores, Kool & The Gang<\/strong>, so Russell<\/strong> is telling me he needs a DJ with a name. He said, \u2018AJ<\/strong>, you would fit right in.’\u201d AJ<\/strong> and Blow<\/strong> would remain a fixture together throughout the early and mid-1980s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rest In Peace To Hip-Hop Pioneer & Kurtis Blow Affiliate Kool DJ AJ On Kurtis…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t