Funkmaster Flex had something to say after JAŸ-Z referred to the longtime Hot 97 personality as his “local DJ” while revisiting the rollout of The Black Album in his new HBO docuseries, JAŸ-Z in 8.
The moment comes as JAŸ-Z sits down with producer Rick Rubin to look back on the making of his 2003 album. During the conversation, the Brooklyn rapper admits that, in hindsight, he would have handled the project’s rollout differently — particularly when it came to choosing its first single.
JAŸ-Z reveals that he originally had bigger plans for “Encore.” According to a recap of the episode, he believed “Encore” could have been the album’s first single, but reactions from then-Def Jam executive Kevin Liles and longtime engineer Young Guru created some doubt. When it came time to take new music to Funk Flex, JAŸ-Z ultimately gave the DJ “Public Service Announcement” rather than both “PSA” and “Encore.”
That decision helped alter the album’s rollout, with the Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo-produced “Change Clothes” eventually becoming The Black Album’s official first single. Contemporary radio-industry coverage from November 2003 also identified “Change Clothes” as the album’s first single as it became one of the most-added records at Rhythmic and Urban radio.
But it was JAŸ-Z’s description of Flex that caught the DJ’s attention.
Flex reposted the clip on Instagram and jokingly took exception to being reduced to a “local” DJ.
“HAHAHAHA! ‘FLEX THE ‘LOCAL’ DJ AT HOT97! I LOVE NEW YORK!’” Flex wrote, adding a long string of laughing emojis.
He followed that up by tagging JAŸ-Z and calling him the “KEEPER OF OUR CULTURE,” while writing, “MAN I LOVE THIS GAME! NUTS! UNREAL!”
Despite Flex having some fun with the wording, his relationship with JAŸ-Z goes back decades and played a significant role in the rapper’s early New York radio history. Flex was among the influential DJs who championed JAŸ-Z during his rise in the 1990s, including heavily supporting “Ain’t No Nigga.” Hot 97 subsequently became an important platform for JAŸ-Z throughout his ascent.
The history makes the “local DJ” description particularly funny from Flex’s perspective. While technically rooted in JAŸ-Z recalling taking records to a New York radio DJ, Flex had already become one of the city’s defining hip-hop tastemakers by that period.
The exchange arrives as JAŸ-Z in 8 gives fans a new look at pivotal decisions throughout JAŸ-Z’s career. The eight-episode HBO series pairs him with Rubin for conversations about his catalog and personal history and premiered its first two episodes on September 18.
