James Christopher D'Agostino (born July 7, 1975), professionally known as DJ Green Lantern, is an American hip hop DJ and producer from

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

. In 2002, D'Agostino was signed by American rapper

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

, to become the official DJ for

Shady Records Shady Records is an American record label founded by rapper Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg, after the highly successful release of Eminem's ''The Slim Shady LP'' (1999). Shady has seen negative times when being part of the unsuccessful ...

, after DJ Head stepped down for undisclosed reasons.

Biography

Rise to fame

DJ Green Lantern came to prominence in the late 1990s–early 2000s with his signature brand of mixtapes. The creativity of these tapes caught the ear of many industry power players, one of which was Eminem. The first set of officially sponsored mixtapes from Eminem's

. On the series, spanning three mixtapes (later to be spun off into the ''Armageddon'' series), the DJ broke several diss records, furthering the issues between Eminem and

Benzino Raymond Leon Scott (born July 18, 1965), better known by his stage name Ray Benzino, is an American urban contemporary, urban media proprietor, television personality, rapper, and record producer. He produced records (as part of the production t ...

/''

The Source ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...

'', as well as the entire Shady camp and

Ja Rule Jeffrey Bruce Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule (), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in New York City, he debuted in 1999 with ''Venni Vetti Vecci'' and its lead single "Holla Holla". Durin ...

/ Murder Inc. He is also recognized as a producer, featuring on his own mixtapes several "Green Remixes," including, most notably, a remix of the

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

and

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

collaboration, "Thugz Mansion." He also produced

D-Block A block of the periodic table is a set of elements unified by the atomic orbitals their valence electrons or vacancies lie in. The term appears to have been first used by Charles Janet. Each block is named after its characteristic orbital: s-bloc ...

's "2 Guns Up", an acclaimed street single, which originated as a

freestyle rap Freestyle is a style of improvisation, with or without instrumental beats (Mystrodamus), in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure and with no prior memorization.Kevin Fitzgerald (director), '' Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme' ...

on his

Hot 97 WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding and operated by Emmis Communications under a shared service ...

radio show, "In the Lab" (the most memorable of which has also appeared as a mixtape, "The Best of In the Lab"). "In the Lab" is formatted as a one-hour (with commercials) mix show, in which DJ Green Lantern blends

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

and instrumental tracks from various artists, as well as breaking new and underground music (such as the

Ghostface Killah Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 C ...

and

El-Producto Jaime Meline (born March 2, 1975), better known by the stage name El-P (shortened from his previous stage name El Producto), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Starting his career as a member of Company Flow, he has been a ...

collaboration "HideYaFace").

"Bin Laden"

D'Agostino also produced

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...

' "Number One Spot," the second single from his

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

The Red Light District ''The Red Light District'' is the fourth studio album from American rapper Ludacris. The album was released on December 7, 2004, through Disturbing tha Peace and Def Jam Recordings, and was eventually certified double platinum by the RIAA. It d ...

'', and

Immortal Technique Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper. Most of his lyrics focus on controversial issues in global politics, from a radical left-wing perspective. Immortal Techn ...

's "Bin Laden" single, which blames the

Reagan Doctrine The Reagan Doctrine was stated by United States President Ronald Reagan in his State of the Union address on February 6, 1985: "We must not break faith with those who are risking their lives—on every continent from Afghanistan to Nicaragua—to ...

and U.S. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

for the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

With the Shady Records family

As a member of the Shady Records family, D'Agostino also hosted a show on Eminem's

Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Holdings. Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Sirius ...

channel,

Shade 45 Shade 45 is American rapper Eminem's hip-hop station on Sirius XM Radio channel 45 and Dish Network channel 6045. History Eminem established his own channel, Shade 45, that plays uncut hip hop. Eminem also established a new morning show, ''Sway ...

, along with an accompanying mixtape released in the

fall Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southe ...

of 2004. As Eminem's DJ, D'Agostino was responsible for touring with him and

spinning Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

at shows such as the Shady National Convention and The Game's album release party. D'Agostino's much anticipated album ''Armageddon'' was set to be released under Shady Records, but controversy and an eventual parting would put the release in limbo.

Hip-Hop Nation

In summer 2007, D'Agostino returned to

on the ''

Hip-Hop Nation Since 2008, Sirius XM Radio has had a similar channel lineup, with a few differences based on whether the individual has a Sirius, XM, or SiriusXM radio. For technical reasons, separate radios continue to be manufactured for the separate services ...

'' channel. He hosts a show called ''The Invasion''.

Bar Exam 2

D'Agostino recently put together and mixed the highly anticipated ''Bar Exam 2'' mixtape by acclaimed Detroit MC

Royce da 5'9" Ryan Daniel Montgomery, known professionally as Royce da 5'9" (or simply Royce 5'9"), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Montgomery is currently one half of the rap duo Bad Meets Evil with fellow Detroit rapper Eminem, and ...

. Green took over for

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop duo ...

and

Statik Selektah Static may refer to: Places *Static Nunatak, a nunatak in Antarctica United States * Static, Kentucky and Tennessee * Static Peak, a mountain in Wyoming **Static Peak Divide, a mountain pass near the peak Science and technology Physics *Static e ...

who hosted and mixed Royce's first Bar Exam Mixtape. The Bar Exam 2 was pushed back several times because of Green Lantern's inability to mix the tape due to his touring. After several stated released dates, Bar Exam 2 was finally released on September 15 as a free download on

HipHopDX.com ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

. Due to the high anticipation of the mixtape, Royce gave the mixtape the slogan "Happy Bar Exam 2, It's a Holiday" prior to its release.

Pulse of the People

D'Agostino collaborated with

Dead Prez Dead Prez, often stylized as dead prez, is an American hip hop duo composed of stic.man and M-1, formed in 1996 in New York City. They are known for their confrontational style, combined with lyrics focused on both militant social justice, sel ...

on their latest album, ''Pulse of the People: Turn Off The Radio, Vol. 3'', released in June 2009

''GTA IV''

Together with

Mister Cee Calvin LeBrun (born August 17, 1966), better known as Mister Cee or DJ Mister Cee, is an American DJ, broadcaster, record executive and radio personality on New York's RADIO 103.9. He was the DJ behind rapper Big Daddy Kane's debut in 1988. H ...

, he is featured as host of the hip-hop radio station "The Beat 102.7" in the video game

Grand Theft Auto IV ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', and the ...

. The station is essentially a parody of

. Instead of using existing songs, Green Lantern produced the songs exclusively for "The Beat 102.7".

Discography

Mixtapes

* 1998 ''Superthug - The Jump Off Begins'' * 1999 ''It's Just Us and The Guns'' * 1999 ''Rookie of the Year'' * 1999 ''Blaze'' * 2001 ''New World Order'' * 2002 ''New World Order pt. 2 - The Saga Continues'' * 2002 ''Shady Times: Invasion Part I'' * 2003 ''Invasion Part II: Conspiracy Theory'' * 2004 ''Invasion Part Three: Countdown to Armageddon'' * 2005 ''5 Star General'' * 2005 ''New World Order'' * 2006 ''New York State of Mind'' * 2006 ''Throwback Classics, Vol. 1'' * 2006 ''You'll See'' * 2006 ''Team Invasion: Best of DJ Green Lantern and

Dipset The Diplomats (also known as Dipset) is an American hip hop collective formed in 1997 by childhood friends Cam'ron and Jim Jones in Harlem, New York. The group was originally composed of Cam'ron, Jim Jones and Freekey Zekey, all of whom grew ...

'' * 2006 ''Pre-Release Therapy: The Truth Shall Set U Free'' (with

) * 2007 ''Alive On Arrival'' * 2007 ''Hood Rules Apply'' * 2007 ''R.O.C. Stars Street Leak: American Gangster'' * 2007 ''The Myspace Invasion'' * 2007 ''I Produced That'' * 2008 '' Grand Theft Auto IV: Liberty City Invasion oundtrack' * 2012 ''Invade the Game'' * 2012 ''YAP EM * 2012 ''IRENE'' (with

Mitchelle'l Mitchelle'l Sium is an American singer and songwriter from Houston, Texas. He was discovered on Myspace.com and brought to Grand Hustle Records by general manager, Hannah Kang. In 2008, Sium signed a record deal with Atlanta-based record lab ...

) * 2014 "Che Rhenosonce – Unforgettable Memories" * 2017 ''Hitler On Steroids'' (with

Westside Gunn Alvin Lamar Worthy (born July 27, 1982), known professionally as Westside Gunn, is an American rapper. He is a co-founder of independent hip-hop label Griselda Records. He is the brother of rapper Conway The Machine and cousin of rapper Benny the ...

)

Other releases

* ''DJ Green Lantern,

Russell Simmons Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. Simmons' ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

: Yes We Can (The Mixtape)'' * ''

Grafh Philip Anthony Bernard (born August 22, 1982) better known by his stage name Grafh, is an American rapper. He has released a collection of mixtapes and an album, ''Autografh'', which was released through EMI Records and Virgin Records. He is c ...

and DJ Green Lantern: The Oracle 2'' * ''

and DJ Green Lantern: Bar Exam 2'' * ''07-07-08'' (with

Cassidy Cassidy may refer to: Personal names * Cassidy (given name) * Cassidy (surname) People * Cassidy (musician) (born 1979), lead singer of Antigone Rising * Cassidy (rapper) (born 1982), American rapper * DJ Cassidy (born 1981), New York DJ * Jame ...

and Team Invasion) * '' DJ Evil Dee & Green Lantern: Analog Mixtape Volume No. 2'' * ''DJ Green Lantern and

The 3rd World ''The 3rd World'' is the third studio album by American rapper Immortal Technique. It was released on June 24, 2008, through Viper Records, following a five-year absence since '' Revolutionary Vol. 2''. Recording sessions took place at Viper Stud ...

'' * '' Charles Hamilton & DJ Green Lantern: Outside Looking'' * ''

& DJ Green Lantern: The Nigger Mixtape'' * ''Monster Mash Part 2'' * ''Grow Season'' (with

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 200 ...

) * ''07-07-07'' (with

and DJ Thoro) * ''The Myspace Invasion, Vol. 3'' * ''Cocaine On Steroids'' (with

N.O.R.E. Victor James Santiago Jr. (born September 6, 1977), better known by his stage names Noreaga and later N.O.R.E., is an American rapper. Born and raised in Queens, New York, Santiago first rose to prominence as one half of the East Coast hip hop du ...

) * ''The Myspace Invasion, Vol. 2'' * ''Respect the Shooter'' (with

Uncle Murda Leonard Grant (born July 25, 1980), better known by his stage name Uncle Murda, is an American rapper from East New York, Brooklyn. He is Afro Panamanian of his mother's side. He is currently signed to G-Unit Records. He is known for his annual ...

) * ''Monster Mash'' * ''The Sirius Invasion'' * ''Myspace Takeover'' (with Team Invasion) * ''Say Uncle'' (with

) * ''SMASH AND GRAB Mixtape'' (with

¡MAYDAY! ¡Mayday! (stylized in all caps as ¡MAYD∀Y!) is an American hip hop group from Miami, Florida. The group comprises rappers Bernardo "Bernz" Garcia and Ben "Wrekonize" Miller, along with producer and percussionist Andrews "NonMS" Mujica. Unti ...

) * ''

AND 1 Streetball ''AND 1 Streetball'' is a streetball video game for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, developed by Black Ops Entertainment and published by Ubisoft. The game was released on June 6, 2006, in conjunction with the AND1 Mixtape Tour. A scaled-down, mobile ...

– The Official Video Game Mixtape'' * ''In the Kitchen'' (with

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ, record executive, record producer and rapper. Khaled first gained recognition as a radio host in the 1990s on the radio station WEDR, 99 Ja ...

and Team Invasion) * ''On My New York Shit'' (with

DJ Kay Slay Keith Grayson (August 14, 1966 – April 17, 2022), professionally known as DJ Kay Slay, was an American disc jockey (DJ) from New York City. He is referred to by ''The New York Times'' as "Hip Hop's One-Man Ministry of Insults". He released fou ...

) * ''This Ain't No Greezy Talk'' (with Team Invasion) * ''The Internet Invasion'' (with

) * '' Fort Minor: We Major'' (with

Mike Shinoda Michael Kenji Shinoda (; ja, 篠田賢治, Shinoda Kenji; born February 11, 1977) is an American musician, singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. He co-founded the rock band Linkin Park in 1996 and was the band's collaborative vocali ...

) (2005) * ''Razor Tag'' (with

Styles of Beyond Styles of Beyond was an American underground hip hop group from the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The group consists of MCs Ryan Patrick Maginn (Ryu) and Takbir Bashir (Tak), Colton Raisin Fisher ( DJ Cheapshot), and produce ...

) (2007) * ''Ain't No Greezy Talk: Team Invasion Edition'' (with DVD / with Team Invasion) * ''The Green Lantern Instrumentals'' (hosted by Team Invasion) * ''Team Invasion Presents:

Keyshia Cole Keyshia Myeshia Cole Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Born and raised in Oakland, California, Cole began her career as a backing vocalist for MC Hammer. After signing with A&M Records ...

'' * ''The Best of Green Lantern and

'' (hosted by Team Invasion) * ''The Best of Green Lantern and

'' (hosted by Team Invasion) * ''Shade 45: Sirius Bizness'' (hosted by

) * ''Public Enemy Number One'' (with

Beanie Sigel Dwight Equan Grant (born March 6, 1974), better known by his stage name Beanie Sigel, is an American rapper from South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He first became known for his association with Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella Records, releasing his debut ...

) * ''The Oracle'' (with

) * ''The Champ Is Here'' (with

Jadakiss Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss, is an American rapper from Yonkers, New York. He began his career in the 1990s as a member of the rap trio The Lox, managed by Ruff Ryders and signed with Bad ...

/ hosted by Big Mike) * ''Countdown to Armageddon 2: Back to the Lab'' (hosted by

Dame Dash Damon Anthony Dash (born May 3, 1971) is an American entrepreneur and record executive. Dash is best known as co-founder of Roc-A-Fella along with Jay-Z and Kareem Burke. Early life Born in New York City, Dash swept the floors of a local barb ...

) * ''The Best of In Da Lab, Vol. 1'' * ''Rap Phenomenon II:

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

'' (with

Dirty Harry ''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates ...

and

DJ Vlad Vladimir Lyubovny (russian: Владимир Любовный; born June 28, 1973), commonly known as DJ Vlad, is an American interviewer, journalist, and former disc jockey. He is the CEO of video and news website VladTV.com. His YouTube channel ...

) * ''Invasion, Part 1'' * ''Get in Where U Fit in'' (with the

Young Gunz Young Gunz is an American hip hop duo from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, composed of rappers Young Chris (born Chris Ries in 1983) and Neef Buck (born Hanif Muhammad in 1983). The group is part of Beanie Sigel's State Property collective and wa ...

) * ''The Chosen One'' * ''Takin' it to the Streets'' * ''Inherited Beef, Vol.1 ''(with Ronald) * ''In Too Deep'' * ''Coming of Age'' * ''Millennium All-Stars'' (with DJs

Tony Touch Joseph Anthony Hernandez (born July 2, 1969), professionally known as Tony Touch, is an American hip hop break dancer, rapper, record producer and DJ of Puerto Rican descent. Career Tony Touch began as a B-boy during the rap music renaissance ...

, Ron G,

Funkmaster Flex Aston George Taylor Jr. (born August 5, 1968), professionally known as Funkmaster Flex, is an American DJ, rapper, record producer, and host on New York City's Hot 97 radio station. In 1992, he became host of the first hip hop radio show on Hot ...

, Doo Wop, DJ Enuff, Spinbad, and DJ Dale) * ''

The Green Ghost Project ''The Green Ghost Project'' is a collaborative album by American rapper Styles P and record producer DJ Green Lantern. It was released on February 2, 2010, via DJ Green Lantern's label Invasion Records. The album features guest appearances from ...

'' (with

Styles P David R. Styles (born November 28, 1974), better known by his stage name Styles P (also known mononymously as Styles), is an American rapper, best known as a member of hip hop group the Lox, alongside childhood friends Sheek Louch and Jadakiss. ...

) * ''Man vs Many'' (with Nefew) * ''Back to School EP'' (with Ronald) * ''Cak-ill-ack Muzik'' (with Ben G)

Singles produced

References

External links

DJ Green Lantern
on Myspace {{DEFAULTSORT:Green Lantern, DJ AND1 Living people American hip hop musicians Place of birth missing (living people) American hip hop DJs Mixtape DJs Musicians from Rochester, New York 1975 births American people of Puerto Rican descent American people of Italian descent