How many Eminem lyrics do you have bouncing around in your head? It’s probably more than you think, but however many it is, it’s unlikely anywhere near as many as celebrated producer, DJ, and radio personality Scram Jones. Jones has, of course, collaborated with Em, producing “In Your Head” for Revival, as well as performing the scratches on Em’s “Berzerk” and “Kamikaze,” but he was a fan long before he became a collaborator. “When I was in college, I stumbled on a random unlabeled cassette with two of his songs on it [‘Just the Two of Us’ and ‘Just Don’t Give a Fuck’],” Jones says. “‘Just the Two of Us’ has to be one of the most clever records ever written; rapping in baby talk to his infant daughter about her mother being in the trunk on the way to dumping her in the ocean—beyond clever. And once I heard ‘Just Don’t Give a Fuck,’ I realized this guy really don’t give a fuck. I was an instant fan.” Jones’ support never wavered, and he’d go on to host a show on Em’s Shade 45 radio, a platform that has allowed him to deliver an untold number of “scramble mixes,” some of the finest thematically curated collections of rap music available today. Jones’ own history as a creator, pedigree as a DJ, and undying passion for Em’s music make him the perfect person to have put together a mix celebrating the Rap God. “I took my time to find the rarest and rawest Em rhymes I could find and made my own blends and remixes with them,” Jones says. “I’m all about creativity as a DJ, just like Em is as an MC. Not a lot of DJs these days think out the box—it’s more of a hustle to them than an art form. Me and Em are from the same era, where you really had to prove yourself and show out, and that’s what I tried to do here.”
- 2024