I recently had a conversation with my brother about DJ Shadow: unaware if he was familiar with him or not. He mentioned that all of his coworkers, whether they were into indie rock, techno, or other things aside from DJs and hip-hop…they all knew and liked DJ Shadow. He then went on to say how great Entroducing was, and fully agreed, both excited and somewhat (but not entirely) surprised that DJ Shadow has come such a long way to become this DJ, hip-hop icon. Is it deserving? Well that is what his newest mix, The 4-Track Era: Volume 3 (Best of Original Productions 1990-1992) is all about. A test, almost…one that Shadow took in 1990-1992 and proves his deservingness 17 years later.

This musical essay’s hook is “Shadow T-Mor Beat,” the first track off Volume 3: an incredibly smoothing and relaxed rhythm that establishes the tone of the album, and the quality of Shadow’s early endeavors. And it only gets better. With 22 tracks, I wouldn’t bore you all with details on each individual one, but the album is so striking that I actually could do just that. “Track the Groove” has a great sample in the beginning of the song mentioning hip-hop names such as Pac and Paris, reminding us of Shadow’s earlier days, and then bleeds into a classic ’90s jungle break beat that allows some good jigglin’ for at least four minutes. “Preacher Beat” samples, well, preaching, as a synth track rains in the background like it was lost in the golden era of hip-hop and found its way to Shadow’s home studio before his infamous MPC became part of his arsenal. “Cult of Brutality” is a wonderful display of aggressive, stand-tall hip-hop beatery. “Beat for Paris” has scratching that holds no hostages, and “Ain’t That a Bitch” is as funky as it is attractive…like a Shaft theme song if he time-traveled to 1991.

Most of the tracks on Volume 3 were previously unreleased, and now we get to have them all to ourselves. Volume 3 is a history lesson: a look into the what some call the glory days of hip-hop by one of the most praised DJs around. DJ Shadow has never been one to hold back, and here his roots are on full display. To get a peek into Shadow’s early work is like exploring the very culture of turntablism, vinyl, hip-hop, etc. Of course, Shadow did not pioneer it’but he took what he knew at a time when the sound was becoming increasing popular, and kept it (reasonably) underground. MAking himself an icon in the process. Volume 3 is a special viewing of a time that should not be forgotten in hip-hop culture and Shadow’s career.

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