DJ Riz - In The Mix
The veteran radio and club DJ dabbled in the mixtape game, too.
Real ones know—DJ Riz’s rap radio credits go way back to rocking the dial on legendary shows like ‘The Hip Hop Spot’ with Wildman Steve on WBAU in the early ‘90s, and later in the decade on ‘The Halftime Show’ on WNYU with DJ Eclipse. And he’s still at it today, killing it every Sunday night on Shade 45 with Eclipse on ‘Rap Is Outta Control.’
Riz is also ½ of Crooklyn Clan, the duo behind some of the most beloved and spun party breaks of all-time, like Fatman Scoop’s “Hands Up…Now Get Your Hands Up.” Yes, the same one you hear on the radio and in the clubs literally all the time.
Amidst his time DJing in NYC (fun fact: he used to open up for Funkmaster Flex at The Tunnel before becoming a headliner himself), Riz dipped his toe in the mixtape game, too. On In The Mix, Riz gets biz with a fresh-ass intro cutting up the three letters in his name, before lacing listeners with an onslaught of street and underground heat, all stitched together with precision.
Riz even manages to sneak in some turntablism routines, too—peep how he takes a break from playing new music on the flip side to juggle Das EFX’s classic quotable, “The boogedy-woogedy Brooklyn boy’s about to get his dig.”
As for the imagery on the cover, well, Riz clearly was not shy about his support of what he describes as “lovely filth” during the shout outs on the inside cover of the tape. Peep the porn skit that sets off Side B for more audio horniness.
Stream In The Mix below, and stay tuned for more 50 TAPES posts as we celebrate the release of Do Remember! The Golden Era of NYC Hip-Hop Mixtapes, out now via Rizzoli.
DJ Riz - In The Mix (Side A)
DJ Riz - In The Mix (Side B)
*Bonus*
On Sunday, November 12th, we were fortunate enough to be guests on DJ Eclipse and DJ Riz’s Shade 45 radio show Rap Is Outta Control alongside Kid Capri, his artists The Hoodies, and PF Cuttin. Check out some pics and listen to the episode below. Big shout for Capri for blessing us with our group name live on the air too: The Do Remembers!
Rap Is Outta Control (Shade 45) - 11/12/23
And as a cherry on top, here’s a gem from the Eclipse and Riz mixtape vaults. Don’t ever say your boys The Do Remembers never laced you.
DJ Riz & DJ Eclipse - The Halftime Show (April ‘99)