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DJ Green Lantern

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DJ Green Lantern
DJ Green Lantern in 2010
DJ Green Lantern in 2010
Background information
Birth nameJames Christopher D'Agostino
Born (1975-07-07) July 7, 1975 (age 49)
OriginRochester, New York, U.S.
GenresHip hop
Occupations
  • Disc jockey
  • record producer
Labels

James Christopher D'Agostino (born July 7, 1975), professionally known as DJ Green Lantern, is an American hip hop DJ and producer from Rochester, New York. In 2002, D'Agostino was signed by American rapper Eminem, to become the official DJ for Shady Records, after DJ Head stepped down for undisclosed reasons.[1]

Biography

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Rise to fame

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DJ Green Lantern came to prominence in the late 1990s–early 2000s with his signature brand of mixtapes. The creativity of these tapes caught the ear of many industry power players, one of which was Eminem. The first set of officially sponsored mixtapes from Eminem's Shady Records. On the series, spanning three mixtapes (later to be spun off into the Armageddon series), the DJ broke several diss records, furthering the issues between Eminem and Benzino/The Source, as well as the entire Shady camp and Ja Rule/Murder Inc.

He is also recognized as a producer, featuring on his own mixtapes several "Green Remixes," including, most notably, a remix of the Nas and Tupac Shakur collaboration, "Thugz Mansion." He also produced D-Block's "2 Guns Up", an acclaimed street single, which originated as a freestyle rap on his Hot 97 radio show, "In the Lab" (the most memorable of which has also appeared as a mixtape, "The Best of In the Lab"). "In the Lab" is formatted as a one-hour (with commercials) mix show, in which DJ Green Lantern blends a cappella and instrumental tracks from various artists, as well as breaking new and underground music (such as the Ghostface Killah and El-Producto collaboration "HideYaFace").

"Bin Laden"

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D'Agostino also produced Ludacris' "Number One Spot," the second single from his album The Red Light District, and Immortal Technique's "Bin Laden" single, which blames the Reagan Doctrine and U.S. President George W. Bush for the September 11, 2001 attacks.

With the Shady Records family

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As a member of the Shady Records family, D'Agostino also hosted a show on Eminem's Sirius Satellite Radio channel, Shade 45, along with an accompanying mixtape named "Shady Times: Invasion Part I," released in the fall of 2004. As Eminem's DJ, D'Agostino was responsible for touring with him and spinning at shows such as the Shady National Convention and The Game's album release party. D'Agostino's much anticipated album Armageddon was set to be released under Shady Records, but controversy and an eventual parting would put the release in limbo.

Hip-Hop Nation

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In summer 2007, D'Agostino returned to Sirius Satellite Radio on the Hip-Hop Nation channel. He hosts a show called The Invasion.

Bar Exam 2

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D'Agostino recently put together and mixed the highly anticipated Bar Exam 2 mixtape by acclaimed Detroit MC Royce da 5'9". Green took over for DJ Premier and Statik Selektah who hosted and mixed Royce's first Bar Exam Mixtape. The Bar Exam 2 was pushed back several times because of Green Lantern's inability to mix the tape due to his touring. After several stated released dates, Bar Exam 2 was finally released on September 15 as a free download on HipHopDX.com. Due to the high anticipation of the mixtape, Royce gave the mixtape the slogan "Happy Bar Exam 2, It's a Holiday" prior to its release.

Pulse of the People

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D'Agostino collaborated with Dead Prez on their latest album, Pulse of the People: Turn Off The Radio, Vol. 3, released in June 2009[2]

GTA IV

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Together with Mister Cee, he is featured as host of the hip-hop radio station "The Beat 102.7" in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV. The station is essentially a parody of Hot 97.[3] Instead of using existing songs, Green Lantern produced the songs exclusively for "The Beat 102.7".[4]

Discography

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Mixtapes

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  • 1998 Superthug - The Jump Off Begins
  • 1999 It's Just Us and The Guns
  • 1999 Rookie of the Year
  • 1999 Blaze
  • 2001 New World Order
  • 2002 New World Order pt. 2 - The Saga Continues
  • 2002 Shady Times: Invasion Part I
  • 2003 Invasion Part II: Conspiracy Theory
  • 2004 Invasion Part Three: Countdown to Armageddon
  • 2005 5 Star General
  • 2005 New World Order
  • 2006 New York State of Mind
  • 2006 Throwback Classics, Vol. 1
  • 2006 You'll See
  • 2006 Team Invasion: Best of DJ Green Lantern and Dipset
  • 2006 Pre-Release Therapy: The Truth Shall Set U Free (with Ludacris)
  • 2007 Alive On Arrival
  • 2007 Hood Rules Apply
  • 2007 R.O.C. Stars Street Leak: American Gangster
  • 2007 The Myspace Invasion
  • 2007 I Produced That
  • 2008 Grand Theft Auto IV: Liberty City Invasion [soundtrack]
  • 2012 Invade the Game
  • 2012 YAP EM
  • 2012 IRENE (with Mitchelle'l)[5]
  • 2014 "Che Rhenosonce – Unforgettable Memories"
  • 2017 Hitler On Steroids (with Westside Gunn)

Other releases

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Singles produced

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List of singles produced, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name [9]
Title Year Peak chart positions [10] Certifications Album
US US R&B US Rap US Bubbling
UK
"Number One Spot"
(Ludacris)
2005 19 21 6 30 The Red Light District
"In the Ghetto"
(Busta Rhymes featuring Rick James)
2006 50 The Big Bang

References

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  1. ^ "Lighting the way: DJ Green Lantern rocked the Roc before landing with Eminem". Rochester City Newspaper. December 23, 2003. Retrieved December 10, 2007.
  2. ^ DeadPrez.com – Official Website Archived July 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Stephen Totilo (May 2, 2008). "'Grand Theft Auto IV' Music Man Explains How Those 214 Songs Made The Soundtrack". MTV. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
  4. ^ Antony Bruno (April 26, 2008). "Crime pays for music biz with new Grand Theft Auto". Reuters. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
  5. ^ "Mitchelle'l – IRENE – DJ Green Lantern". LiveMixtapes.com. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  6. ^ "Inherited Beef Vol.1 Mixtape by Ronald Hosted by Dj Green Latern [sic]". Datpiff.com. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  7. ^ [1] [dead link]
  8. ^ "beng803". December 16, 2013. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  9. ^ "Cardo – Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  10. ^ "Billboard – Music Charts, News, Photos & Video". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
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