Grand Master DJ Double Duty

FROM THE ISLAND OF FORGOTTEN MUSIC

Clarence Curtis Coleman, Jr.(January 28, 1987-August 5, 2020), professionally known as Grand Master DJ Double Duty, is an American rapper and DJ. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Jackson began performing as a DJ when he was 14, under the name DJ C-Cubed Junior. He was well known in his community for his skills as a DJ, and performed at parties. In March 2004, when he was 17, he entered a talent show at his high school. along with his friend Lamont Gordon, a rapper who used the name MC Animal Style(named after how he liked burgers from In-N-Out). Just minutes before they were supposed to go on, Lamont was rushed to the hospital with appendicitis and had to have his appendix removed. Clarene was forced to go on alone, and while performing as a DJ, he improvised a rap that lasted 4 minutes, to which the crowd responded with thunderous applause. A record executive was in the audience, who convinced Coleman he has something there, as very few rappers acted as their own DJ, and encouraged Coleman to perform as both rapper and DJ. Coleman took that advice, taking the name Grand Master DJ Double Duty, a name he explained as he was doing double duty as both rapper and DJ. While he never had mainstream success, he received praise for his unique style, acting as his own DJ, and was known as a cult figure in the hip-hop world. Unfortunately, his career and life were cut short in August 2020, when he died of complications from COVID-19, just as he was on the verge of his mainstream breakthrough. His final single, "Street Poetry"(a tribute to the rap scene of the past), released posthumously in January 2021, became his only mainstream hit single, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. He received praise not only for doing double duty as both rapper and DJ, but also for his family friendly lyrics, which he explained simply: "I wanted to make music I would be proud to have my grandma listen to, so I didn't like to use a bunch of dirty words, glorify drugs and crime, or disrespect women. It's just like comedy, some comedians prove you don't need a bunch of dirty words to be funny. In fact, the funniest comedian I ever heard kept it G-rated."