The Professional Pt. 3
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Album Summary
The Professional Pt. 3 came rolling out in 2006 on Roc-La-Familia Records, and baby, it was DJ Clue doing what DJ Clue does best — holding down New York City with that curatorial hand that only the most seasoned selectors possess. This was the third installment in his celebrated Professional series, and it found Clue deep in the pocket of the mid-2000s East Coast hip-hop landscape, pulling together a roster of New York talent under the Roc-La-Familia imprint. The project carried that unmistakable energy of a man who had been in the trenches of mixtape culture long enough to know exactly what the streets needed to hear, and he delivered it with the confidence of someone who never once forgot where he came from.
Reception
- The album maintained DJ Clue's standing as one of the most respected tastemakers in East Coast hip-hop, reinforcing his reputation as a curator whose ear for talent was second to none in the mixtape world.
- As a mix album operating outside the traditional retail release structure, The Professional Pt. 3 found its audience through mixtape channels and underground distribution rather than mainstream chart performance.
- The Professional series as a whole carried more weight within hip-hop culture than any chart position could measure, and this third chapter was no exception to that truth.
Significance
- The Professional Pt. 3 stood as a testament to the legitimacy of the mixtape format in the mid-2000s, a moment when the streets were beginning to understand that some of the most vital hip-hop wasn't coming from major label studios but from the hands of DJs who lived and breathed the culture.
- The album served as a platform for New York artists operating within the Roc-La-Familia orbit during a transitional era for East Coast hip-hop, preserving a snapshot of the city's sound at a specific and significant moment in time.
- DJ Clue's role as compiler and presenter on this project underscored the irreplaceable function of the DJ as a cultural gatekeeper — not just a spinner of records, but a voice that shaped how an entire generation understood what New York hip-hop could be.
Tracklist
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A1 War 98
1:57
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A2 Clear Da Scene 157
3:53
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A3 F*ck Off —
2:47
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A4 The Gold 82
4:26
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B1 I Really Want To Know You —
6:12
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B2 A Week Ago, Part 1 90
4:15
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B3 Like This 92
5:28
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B4 Almost Fucked 114
2:47
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C1 Grill & Woman 143
4:33
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C2 Liberty Bell 93
2:48
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C3 Da Boss 169
3:12
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C4 The Animal 99
3:18
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C5 Middle Finger U 154
3:44
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D1 Giantz Of NYC 89
4:19
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D2 You Don't Really Wanna 82
3:22
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D3 Ugly (Thug It Out) 167
4:00
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D4 A Week Ago, Part 2 89
4:16
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D5 Uptown 90
3:43
Artist Details
DJ Clue, born Ernesto Shaw, rose out of the vibrant New York City mixtape scene in the early 1990s, becoming one of the most influential figures in hip-hop as a DJ, mixtape architect, and record label founder whose Desert Storm imprint helped launch the careers of some of rap's finest voices. His signature style of dropping mixtapes packed with exclusive freestyles and unreleased heat made him a heavyweight connector between the streets and the mainstream, bridging borough rivalries and giving hungry artists a platform before the internet changed the game forever. As a pioneer of the mixtape culture that would go on to shape the entire hip-hop industry, DJ Clue's legacy is woven deep into the fabric of how rap music gets heard, felt, and spread across the culture.
