DJ Clue

b. Ernesto Shaw, 8 January 1975, Queens, New York City, New York, USA. Alongside his peer Funkmaster Flex one of New York’s most prominent hip-hop DJs, Shaw made his national breakthrough in the late 90s with the platinum-selling, star-studded mix set, The Professional. He started off selling mix tapes on the streets of Queens, earning a hot reputation with his 1990 debut Clue #24. A relentless series of bestselling tapes followed, characterised by his ear for digging out unreleased material. He graduated to radio in the mid-90s as host of Hot 97’s nationally syndicated show. In 1998, he signed a recording contract with Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella imprint, and was employed as in-house DJ. His major label debut The Professional called on a highly impressive cast of east coast MCs, including DMX, Nas, Method Man, Foxy Brown, Cam’ron, and Ma$e among others, and featured several exclusive tracks. A DJing slot on Jay-Z’s Hard Knock Life tour followed, captured for posterity on the Backstage Mixtape set. Released in late 2000, The Professional 2 was an equally star-studded follow-up. His remix clients include Mariah Carey, *NSYNC, Usher, Frankie J and Danity Kane. In addition to his DJing and mixing duties, DJ Clue? also runs his own Desert Storm Records label.