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Ernesto Shaw (born January 8, 1975), better known as DJ Clue, is an Panamanian-American disc jockey (DJ), record producer, and radio personality.

Early Life and Career

DJ Clue was born in Queens, New York City to Panamanian and Jamaican immigrants. Clue was born as Ernesto Shaw to his parents Donna and Ernesto Shaw, as their fourth kid. His father was a professional basketball player in the second division league, while his mother was a percussionist, who had played only in a church by D.J’s birth. However, his parents got separated when he was just twelve. Citing this, Clue stayed with his father and started to work on his own. He grew up around his siblings in Queens, New York, United States.

Clue completed his high school education from a local school and he never went to college. Upon graduating, he started to work for a radio company through which he climbed his way up and was recognized by people by his late teens.

DJ Clue has his own program, every Monday to Friday 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm, on Power 105.1 in New York entitled "Desert Storm Radio". Prior to this, until 2006, he disc-jockeyed at Hot 97.

One of the handful of DJs to make the jump from mixtapes to the major labels, DJ Clue? hooked up with Jay-Z's Roc-a-Fella Records camp for a bit in the late '90s, then moved on to his own camp, Desert Storm Records. The Queens native built his reputation with street-level mixtapes and quickly became one of the city's leading DJs, graced with the latest tracks by the biggest names. Popular New York hip-hop station Hot 97 brought him aboard for a while in the late '90s alongside fellow DJ heavyweight Funkmaster Flex. The air time furthered his reputation, and Jay-Z in turn invited him to join forces with Roc-a-Fella, which released Clue?'s major-label debut, The Professional (1997). The album featured primarily exclusive tracks, each boasting one of New York's top rappers, everyone from Nas and Mobb Deep to DMX and Ja Rule. In 1999 DJ Clue took part in the Hard Knock Life Tour, including a stop in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre.

A second volume followed in 2000, and in the meantime Clue? toured with Roc-a-Fella in support of Jay-Z's Hard Knock Life album as documented on Backstage (2000). He then parted ways with Roc-a-Fella and embarked on his own path, establishing Desert Storm Records and debuting Fabolous in 2001. Years later, once Jay-Z ascended to the position of president of Def Jam, Clue? recorded The Professional, Pt. 3 (2006).

Controversy

In July 2020, 50 Cent accused DJ Clue of refusing to Play Pop Smoke’s (then) new single “The Woo” because it premiered on rival DJ Funkmaster Flex’s radio show. DJ Clue responded that it was not the case, and that he had a planned tribute to Pop Smoke that was weeks in the making prior to the supposed snub.

In a Drink Champs interview, Clue revealed how he may have had a hand in the diamond-certified success of Biggie Smalls’ Life After Death double album. “I went to the studio a couple weeks before I got hired [by HOT 97] and listened to the Biggie album [Life After Death], ’cause [Puff Daddy] wanted me to pick two joints to put on a mixtape,” Clue says at 17:00. Earlier in the interview, he explains that both Puffy and Biggie were initially upset with Clue for leaking songs earlier in his career. By 1997, they recognized the impact the DJ had in an artist’s success. “So I listened to the whole album; Puff was like pick two songs you want, and put ’em on a mixtape. I said, ‘Aight.’ So I picked ‘Hypnotize’ and ‘Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems.’ So I picked them two songs; I put ’em on a mixtape [with me talking over the songs]. Like two weeks later, HOT 97 had [‘Hypnotize’] in rotation—with my voice on it—screaming, [giving] shout outs, everything.” HOT 97 went from playing Clue’s tapes on air to seeking out the artist as a prime time on-air personality and DJ. “That was [how the] Monday Night Mixtape [Show came to be].”

Funkmaster Flex said DJ Clue is a wack DJ during an interview with ThisIs50. Both DJs have been longtime rivals, since they're both affiliated with two different New York radio stations, Hot 97 and Power 105.1.

"You know the funny things is about Clue? I respect Clue and Clue's a good guy," said Flex. "But you know what he has trouble with? He's a wack DJ. You know how you play music? He's a wack DJ. He should make an effort to change that perception ... When the battle stuff comes up, they're doing that to you because they know you're wack on the set. You could never battle Flex ... If you do not take your craft serious enough to practice it, then it's cool ... He's a mixtape DJ and he's a great producer."

Supposedly, Swizz Beatz (2017) was attempting to arrange a beat battle between DJ Clue and Funkmaster Flex, but it has yet to materialize.

GTA

DJ Clue voiced himself as the host of The Liberty Jam radio station in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, in 1998. In-Game Songs include

DMX feat. DJ Clue, Drag-On, Jadakiss, Styles P & Eve - Ruff Ryders Anthem (Remix) (The Liberty Jam, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories)
The L.O.X feat. DJ Clue - Chest2Chest Freestyle (The Liberty Jam, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories)

Sources: Wikipedia, HotNewHipHop, GTA Fandom, AllMusic, Wiki.NG, Ambrosia for Heads, Hip-Hop Lately, XXL

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