DJ Clue is a Hip-Hop superstar.

His debut album `The Professional', was a critical and commercial success.

He doesn't rap, he doesn't provide soundscapes for any particular group or crew exclusively and he's not even a traditional battle DJ like Q-Bert or the Executioners.

DJ Clue is that rare breed of DJ that came to fame through the ever-ubiquitous mix-tape. He is one of those legendary New York mix-tape gurus who made it big through word of mouth and mounds and mounds of street credibility.

He is one of three New York DJs that have recently released `mix-tape' CDs on major labels to the sound of fervent applause and turning cash registers (Funk Master Flex and Tony Touch being the other two).

Clue has more recently produced the soundtrack to the Hip-Hop documentary `Backstage' and his popularity is at an all-time high as legions of dedicated Hip-Hop heads await his next installment -- 'The Professional Part II' -- with bated breath.

It is this kind of anticipation and credibility that drew hundreds of Bermudian 20-somethings down to Club Azure on Friday night to party with the man who's riding on clouds at the moment.

I arrived late, perhaps later than a workingman should, but Clue wasn't on yet.

I guess that's okay because it's not like he's an entertainer who is expected to perform and make us sing along to his own songs .. . he's a DJ who plays other people's songs in such a way that makes us move involuntarily and sweat profusely.

That's what was happening when I entered the club at some hour after twelve, but it was our own Juggling Jason who was dropping the bombs on our ever-moving heads.

I entered to the hit sounds of `Shake it Fast' and watched as the crowd moved in unison for the duration of Jason's set, which began to lean heavily toward dancehall music soon after I entered.

Perhaps it's unfair to compare performances when Jason had so much of an advantage ... Bermudians have always had a tendency to favour Jamaica's national sounds to those coming out of the US. Jason Juggled heaping helpings of Capleton with devastating dashes of Elephant Man, Harry Toddler and Beenie Man to massive effect as the crowd fell over themselves to keep up with the mad juggler himself.

Oh, and have I mentioned the size of the crowd? If you've been to Club Azure, you know how many people it would take to fill it up right ... it was packed! Cars were everywhere outside, which usually means a good mature crowd, and this crowd was pretty consistent with that rule, as with many other rules (the glamorous life was definitely being lived on this night at Southside).

Jason worked the crowd lovely until about 1.30 a.m. when Clue took the stage to the instantly recognisable chords of Jay Z's current anthem, `Hey Papi'.

This was the first of a slew of Roc-A-Fella bangers that Clue launched at us throughout his set. The music was good throughout, but there were problems that left Clue looking a bit tarnished at the end of the night -- some out of his control, some well within his reach.

The first glaring problem was that soon after Jason left, the system seemed to lean heavily toward highs, and lost the thunderous bass that the dancehall tunes demanded (and got).

The only exception to this was the bass heavy Mobb Deep classic `Quiet Storm', which was very well received by an audience that has traditionally been less open to Hip-Hop than other musical genres.

This was a pleasant surprise for me in fact. It seemed from the start of Clue's set that this crowd was one that had finally found the value of Hip-Hop and decided to give the music it's props (propers, i.e. proper respect). I've always been a Hip-Hop fan, but the clubs here cater to the masses and the masses just don't do Hip-Hop too tight! And that rule came to pass eventually too ... because by the time Clue dropped the current Roc-A-Fella hit `I Just Wanna Love You (Give it to me)', the locals seemed to have lost their Hip-Hop stamina.

That was another problem -- the crowd stood around far more often than they did when Jason was playing (they never stood around when Jason was playing).

That was perhaps a symptom of culture more than Clue's ability to move a crowd, and besides, the turntables were -- er -- messed up. Records were skipping, people were complaining, the stage was over-crowded and a whole bunch of other little things conspired to make this a very rough outing for the critically acclaimed DJ Clue.

But, for the most part, the hundreds of souls that travelled all the way to the wild wild East and spent $25 a pop to party with New York's finest seemed to enjoy themselves immensely. So who am I to judge? Hope you can flex better next time Clue. Congratulations on a great party Trevor, and Jason ... it's you son! Oh, and be sure to pick up `The Professional Part II', it's gotta be hot! Vejay Steede REVIEW REV