Back in September, Benny the Butcher and the Black Soprano Family released Long Live DJ Shay, a record filled to the brim with Griselda mainstays. The album was titled in memory of DJ Shay, who passed away in 2020 after contracting COVID-19.
Benny and his collective have continued to keep Shay's name alive beyond naming their most recent record after him. In an interview with HopHopDX, Benny and the crew talked about Shay's massive influence on the Buffalo scene and beyond.
Demetrius Chawton Robinson, who later adopted the name DJ Shay, was a champion for the Buffalo hip hop scene long before it had established itself on the national stage like it has now. Shay was a mentor to many rap groups in the city, including B$F. He would do whatever it took to help artists get the success he thought they deserved.
"That’s the epitome of Shay right there. He going to correct you because he take pride in mentoring the young n***as,” said Benny. “So I’m saying, correcting you, pointing you in the right direction. Shay taught me, gave me my routine, too."
Benny credits much of who he is today to the lessons Shay bestowed on him. "He taught me that I need to be in that studio every day," Benny recalled. "And I was a young n***a: I was 21, 22, going to the studio every day with Shay. That kept me out the street so much. That’s what Shay meant to us."
Other members of B$F have similar stories. Said Rick Hyde, "DJ Shay was almost like a dad, a pops in a sense. He just wanted the best out of everybody that was around. And he knew what we all was capable of together. He was like the machine, the reason, you know what I’m saying?"
It's clear DJ Shay's legacy isn't going to fade any time soon.
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