I can’t believe I’m writing another eulogy for a close friend and icon just a few short weeks after AM’s untimely passing. I apologize for taking a few days to write but quite simply, I had to muster up the strength again. The pain and sorrow that I have felt in the last few days are unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in my life. But I do it out of duty, because I owe so much to Raida and it’s so important for me to honor his legacy, so here goes…

At the very core of me, before all else, before the party rocking, before the producing and remixing, before the record labels, before Kanye, I am a battle DJ; a very ambitious one who strived to be the absolute best. When you’re this passionate about your craft, when it feels like your true calling in life, you have icons in whose footsteps you want to follow. Any battle DJ will tell you about the countless hours that they spent on a daily basis studying videotapes of the champs. When I was 13, 14, 15, that was Roc Raida to me. He was the 1995 DMC World Champion and I won in 97, so he was my direct source of inspiration. I remember the feeling that I got as a kid watching his videos: he had so much attitude and confidence. He was so fast. To this young Jewish whippersnapper from Canada, he was such an embodiment of New York and hip hop! Roc Raida just seemed untouchable. Read More