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DJ GQ

Let Em Know Vol. 19 (Q Music Group)

By Jonathan Cunningham

Published on August 15, 2007 at 9:15am

As far as South Florida is concerned, nobody else is cranking out mixtapes with the quantity and quality of Fort Lauderdale's DJ GQ. The longtime resident mixmaster of Broward County clubs like Voodoo Lounge, Art Bar, and Whyte Noise is known within the mixtape circuit for his lush blends of the freshest hip-hop and dancehall tracks on the market. His latest banger, Let Em Know Vol. 19, is the best in his series so far and features a strong balance of the newest club hits (think T-Pain, Jr. Reid, and T.I.) mixed with various exclusive tracks from reggae and hip-hop luminaries that have yet to be released. His multigenre attack on listeners' eardrums is perfect for South Florida. Couple that with the knowledge that he's got Miami's Pitbull hosting the mixtape and Let Em Know bangs out like the soundtrack to your daily Latin/Caribbean/urban lifestyle. Blending that many genres in one project without an audible falloff isn't easy, but GQ does it seamlessly. Cuts like Notch's "Guaya Dub" bring the raga/reggaeton vibe to the forefront, and Lil Wayne's Miami-made jam "I Feel Like Dying" is here too. The ultimate testament to GQ's mixing prowess comes toward the end of the disc during a Sean Kingston and Ben E. King mashup of "Beautiful Girls" and a reworking of DJ Khaled's "We Taking Over" with the fucking Temptations on the hook. How he pulls it off legally is beside the point, but let it be known that DJ GQ is representing the sound of Miami stronger than anyone else in recent memory.