07/07/2025
Keith Grayson, known to the world as DJ Kay Slay, was more than a mixtape king — he was a living monument to hip hop’s rawest spirit. Born and raised in Harlem, he learned early how to move through the shadows of the train yards, spraying his tag, Dez, across the walls of New York. Graffiti was just the beginning. As the 80s gave way to the 90s, that same kid who dodged transit cops started cutting records instead of steel, swapping paint for wax.
He mastered the turntables with the same intensity he once put into wildstyle letters, forging a path through mixtapes that turned local battles into global wars. You could feel the street in every scratch, every fade, every word he roared into the mic. The industry called him “The Drama King,” but on the blocks of Harlem, he was simply a truth-teller with no fear of breaking boundaries.
Kay Slay's legacy didn’t come from playing it safe — it was about preserving the authentic voice of the culture. That same voice still resonates today, echoing in every breakbeat that dares to wake up the concrete. And that’s why a record like 70’s Samples & Breaks for Turntablism matters so much right now.
This album is a time machine, a box of dusty crates reborn, carrying the drums and basslines that once made kids with no money feel unstoppable. If Kay Slay were still here, you know he’d flip these breaks into something ferocious, slicing them on the 1s and 2s to light up a thousand block parties.
For every beatmaker, every turntablist, every soul who ever dreamed of battling with the spirit of a Harlem pioneer — 70’s Samples & Breaks for Turntablism is your weapon. It’s not just music; it’s the raw clay to sculpt your own legacy, exactly the way Kay Slay would have wanted.
If you want to carry that fire forward, dig into these sounds. There’s no truer tribute to the Drama King than keeping the breaks alive, one scratch at a time.
https://rmdbeatmaker.bandcamp.com/album/70-s-samples-breaks-for-turntablism
Photo Credit: Henry Chalfant
3 track album
