Right about now, there's two things you should know about DJ GREEN
LANTERN aka "The Evil Genius." Number 1: He's at the top of his
game. His creatively innovative and intricately assembled mixtapes
have established him as a leading hip-hop tastemaker and sound
scientist, while his job manning the turntables for Eminem has given
him worldwide mainstream recognition. Number 2: He's about to do a
whole lot more. The LOX-laced and DJ Green Lantern-produced street
heater "2 Gunz Up" (from Sheek Louch's upcoming D-Block LP) is a
startling first shot of what to expect from the Evil Genius' own
upcoming album for Shady Records. And you'd better believe that the
hype is real.
2003 was undoubtedly the Year of the Mixtape for hip-hop (thanks
mostly to labelmate 50 Cent), and DJ Green Lantern has been right at
the forefront of this revolution. His underground
"for-promotional-use-only" joints like the two Invasion tapes (which
showcased Eminem's well-publicized verbal squabbles with Ja-Rule and
Benzino) and The Best of In The Lab Volume 1 (a collection of his
unique, original mixes featured on NYC radio station Hot 97) have
outshined the majority of rap albums released this year. In a game
based on exclusivity, Green has prevailed by placing priority on how
things are put together over simply what he plays.
"My style is what's exclusive, that's how I look at it," he
explains. "You're exclusively only gonna get the way the shit is put
together over here. I'm putting the Œmix' back in mixtape on a major
level. I'm trying to step it up and fill a void and do shit that no
one else could do. But really what it is more so is just me doing
what I wanna do."
When the Rochester, NY native first stepped into the hip-hop game
back in 1990, what he wanted to do was produce tracks, but it was
his exceptional DJing skills that paid the bills. He made a name for
himself rocking parties through the first half of the '90s, and by
'95 he dropped the first of many tapes. Pioneering the creative side
of mixtapes with an unmatched production quality, DJ Green Lantern
has won multiple Justo Mixtape Awards over the past five years. With
the streets already embracing his uncommon creations, the industry
soon followed ‹ Green's skills have been tapped by the likes of
Heineken, Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam, Loud, JCOR, Cornerstone Promotions,
Ecko Clothing, Dr. Pepper Blok Shaker tour, Fridge Magazine, VIBE
Magazine, Burton Snowboard, among others. DJ Green Lantern is also
the mastermind behind "In The Lab," a weekly radio show on Hot 97
every Sunday, while his "Evil Genius Mix Pick of the Week" is played
daily Monday through Thursday.
Green connected with Slim Shady back in spring of '02 when the Evil
Genius became Em's DJ and hit the road on the Anger Management tour
along with Ludacris, Xzibit, the X-Ecutioners and Papa Roach.
Looking to expand his empire, Marshall signed DJ Green Lantern to
Shady, and the album scheduled for release in 2004 is currently
being carefully formulated ... in the lab, of course. Green offers a
preview: "You can expect the same quality of performance and crazy
shit you've heard on a Green Lantern tape ‹ with all the twists and
turns. The difference is now I got a bigger canvas to work with and
I get to use all the paint and paintbrushes I always wanted to use,
ya dig?"
Getting back into the street-shaking production he set out to do 13
years ago, Green will be handling the bulk of the beatwork on his
major full-length debut, while his devastating musical talents can
also be heard on upcoming tracks from Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, Fat
Joe, and the late great 2Pac.
"At the end of the day, the bottom line is that I have a passion for
the way I put things together," says DJ Green Lantern. "And it's
obvious or else it wouldn't sound like that. You know this guy's got
a real love for what he does to do wild shit like that."
- To download Green Lantern - Invasion pt.3 click here.
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