DJ Clue: Summatyme Shootout, Part 1 (1996)
A-Side
The Foulness Freestyle Part 2 - Nas
Affirmative Action - Nas feat. AZ, Cormega, Foxy Brown
Brooklyn’s Finest - Jay-Z feat. Notorious BIG
Big Momma Thang - Lil’ Kim
Wu Wear - RZA feat. Method Man, Cappadonna
The Set Up - Nas feat. Havoc
Payin’ Dues - Keith Murray, Smif ‘n Wessun, Busta Rhymes
Daytona 500 - Ghostface Killah feat. Raekwon, Cappadonna
High School Rock - KRS-One
The Bitch in Yoo - Common
Stick You - Capone-N-Noreaga feat. Tragedy
Gimme Minez - A+ feat. AZ
Da Wiggy - Heltah Skeltah
B-Side
Stay with Me (Remix) - Shai feat. Jay-Z
Things You Do for Love - Horace Brown
Only You - 112 [b/w] Use Me - Steady B. and All 4 One
The Things You Do - Gina Thompson [b/w] Make the Music - Biz Markie
D’Evils - Jay-Z
Stick to Ya Gunz - M.O.P. feat. Kool G. Rap
Can’t Knock the Hustle - Jay-Z feat. Mary J. Blige
Focus Your Mind - Lost Boyz feat. M.O.P.
Street Dreams - Nas
Started Something - The Lox feat. Mase, DMX
Out For Da Gusto - A+ feat. Mobb Deep
I remember picking this tape up at the Roosevelt Raceway Flea Market in Westbury, Long Island. It was a massive weekend flea market held in the parking lot of the former Roosevelt Raceway—once considered one of the largest in the nation, drawing thousands of vendors and visitors. It was a destination spot for antiques, collectibles, records, toys, and all kinds of secondhand treasures. Today, the site is home to a shopping center.
This tape dropped in the summer of ’96 and remains one of my all-time favorites. Nearly 30 years later, the tracklist still holds up. Many of the songs featured here went on to become monumental classics, and for a lot of us, this was the first time we ever heard them.
A-Side
The tape kicks off with a banger: Nas’ “The Foulness Part 2” freestyle. This was the sound many of us expected It Was Written to deliver. Whether that album ultimately lived up to expectations is still hotly debated. Still, this freestyle captures Nas in peak form, effortlessly shifting from gritty street imagery to glossy, mafioso-inspired references. He sets the tone immediately with his opening bars:
“Splittin’ Phillies, sippin’ on Bailey’s with three Israelis
We willies, but still pack millies ’cause we affili, with thug shit throughout the city”
At the time, we didn’t realize it, but this juxtaposition would come to define Nas and much of his post-Illmatic output over the next decade.
Beat-wise, Nas floats seamlessly over three classic instrumentals: Big Daddy Kane’s “Young, Gifted and Black,” Biz Markie’s “Nobody Beats the Biz,” and EPMD’s “You Gots to Chill.”
Another standout moment on Side A comes just a few tracks later with the original version of Lil’ Kim’s “Big Momma Thang.” In the summer of ’96, Kim’s debut album Hardcore was still months away from its November release. The version that eventually appeared on the album featured Jay-Z on the second verse—one that awkwardly cuts off just shy of the chorus.
The original version included on this mixtape has no Hov feature, but it does contain Kim taking direct shots at both 2Pac and Faith Evans. When it comes to Pac, she doesn’t mince words:
“Who shot ya? Who knows but they gotcha. Fed up, wet up.
Maybe next time your punk ass will Keep Your Head Up.”
Given the long-standing narrative that Biggie wrote much of Kim’s early material, many assumed these bars came from BIG himself. However, producer Stretch Armstrong later cleared that up:
“For the record, though, Kim DID write this song with some editing by BIG. Jay was hired to replace Kim’s verse where she was popping a lot of sh*t, and as a result, Puffy said the verse had to go. Remember, Atlantic, Kim’s label, needed to be on Puffy’s good side because the Junior M.A.F.I.A. deal wouldn’t have made much sense without the ability to get clearance for BIG from Bad Boy.”
Interesting indeed. Now let’s flip to the B-side…
B-Side
The B-side opens like many of Clue’s tapes from this era, leaning into smooth R&B blends. As the tape winds down, it delivers some of the best guest verses of ’96 (in my humble opinion). Mase and DMX both drop memorable appearances on “Started Something,” years before either became household names. And to close things out, Prodigy steals the show on his Hempstead brethren A+’s “Out for Da Gusto.”
A fitting ending to a tape that captures a moment in hip-hop history, perfectly frozen in time.
