DMX’s “Ruff Ryder’s Anthem” Remix Is A “Swagged-Out Air-Raid Signal”

Producer Ken “DURO” Ifill remembers the making of 1998’s biggest remix

Here’s the story of an iconic hip-hop single, its remix, and how that led to a mixtape becoming a platinum-selling album. Or rather, how incredibly successful DMX was in 1998.

From Grandmaster Flash blending David Mancuso’s Loft favorites to Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Garcia debuting Nas or 50 Cent teaching hardcore rap fanatics “How To Rob,” street mixtapes have played an integral role in hip-hop. For aspiring artists, paying a DJ to compile your best underground singles with freestyle raps over industry-known beats was a surefire way — in the pre-internet age — to build a fanbase.

By 1998, all things hip-hop culture were crossing over into the mainstream with significant success. That acclaim necessitated an even deeper dig into the culture’s roots for intriguing content. Enter DJ Clue. While also serving as Jay-Z’s tour DJ, Clue had co-founded Desert Storm Records, his own label distributed via Elektra and Atlantic Records. Furthermore, while experiencing this appeal for his curatorial work, he was asked to create a mainstream version of a street-ready mixtape. Ken “DURO” Ifill, a Grammy-award winning engineer, current senior vice president of A&R at…