Kool D. J. A. J.
“Ah, That’s the Joint” (White Diamond Records) (1982?)

After AJ Scratch recorded “Rappin’ All Over” with Busy Bee and DJ Small for Terry Lewis’ The Younger Generation concept in 1980, Lewis gave the Bronx artist a chance to make a record by himself. “He came to me after the first record I did with Busy and [DJ Small] Son of Hollywood and said A.J. I am going to give you $5,000 and let you rap by yourself,” he told Troy L Smith in 2007. In the same interview, he refers to the resulting “Ah, That’s the Joint” as “trash.” But there’s a lot of charm in this 12-inch, from the way he flows over a funky interpolation of the Ohio Players’ “Skin Tight,” to ridiculous boasts like, “One day I picked a number and it must be told/I won a million dollars and 10 bags of gold!” AJ Scratch went on to collaborate with Kurtis Blow and co-write “If I Ruled the World” before passing away in 2015.

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