Stretch Armstrong Remembers DJ AM

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DJ Stretch Armstrong, a longtime friend of AM’s, told MTV News: “I was trying to think of an analogy in music to AM and the only group I could really think of is the Beatles. Everything the Beatles did, they knocked down a door. Every year there was something new, whether it was what they were recording or the technology and techniques they were employing. And it’s kind of like that with AM. He knocked down and opened so many doors that had never even been knocked on by DJs. These doors might be open but there’s no one that can walk in them right now, and who knows if there will be? He was a singular talent in that way.”
DJ Premier said he’d known AM for over 14 years and spoke about their relationship on his radio show.
“I met him when he was 14 years old at a Cypress Hill, House of Pain, Whooliganz show. He was with Alchemist and Scott Caan, James Caan’s son … and we took pictures. The other day, he sent me the pictures, and I’m gonna make a T-shirt of that.
“I already heard people are trying to hate like he wasn’t important, like he wasn’t a dope DJ,” Primo added. “Let me tell you something: He is the fuckin’ shit. This dude’s a fuckin’ maniac on turntables, for real. You have to experience this dude’s tactics on turntables — he’s sick with it. And if I cosign it, fuck any DJ who disagrees. You either haven’t seen him spin … and this dude’s history, his knowledge of music, was intense.”
“AM was really dope,” DJ Green Lantern told MTV News. “He was dope on another level. He innovated the live DJ experience a bunch of ways. His transitions from song to song were clever to the point you might be like, ‘Damn, why didn’t I think of that?’ He did that while rocking the crowd.”
“AM just brought a crazy energy to his parties,” Just Blaze agreed. “The way he’d put together the perfect blends of hip-hop, rock, dance and so many other genres is what gave him such a mass appeal. He was one of the few DJs that knew how to cross genres and boundaries without losing the crowd. That’s one of the hardest things to do as a DJ. You please one part of the crowd, and then end up losing another. He knew how to keep the energy at 10 for the entire night. And while his team-ups with Travis weren’t the first time a DJ teamed up with a musician for live sets, it was their common understanding of knowing how to blend genres that made their combination so great and easy to appeal to the masses. You’ve got to play for the people but separate yourself from the thousand other DJs out there. And he’d mastered that.”

Courtesy of MTV. I demand you check out part 1 and 2 of AM's Fix Your Face series with Travis Barker.