Steinski (advertising writer, DJ, and record collector Steve Stein) produced his first record in 1983. In response to a nation-wide remix contest by Tommy Boy Records, he and partner Double Dee produced ‘The Payoff Mix.’ A panel of ten judges—including Afrika Bambaataa, Shep Pettibone, Jellybean Benitez, and Arthur Baker — unanimously chose the mix as the winner. Within two weeks ‘The Payoff Mix’ became a Top 10 request on urban radio nationwide, but the release never saw official status and was subsequently bootlegged countless times. ‘The Payoff Mix’ became the first record in a series now known as ‘The Lessons’. Double Dee and Steinski followed up with cut-and-paste landmark ‘Lesson Two: The James Brown Mix’, Then came ‘Lesson 3: The History of Hip Hop’ - all are collected here. Since The Lessons, Steinski has produced a variety of tracks, and this Illegal Art retrospective collects everything from his hip-hop narrative about the Kennedy assassination to the 1998 remix of Afrika Bambaataa’s “Jazz” with Double Dee. Besides the completist archive, the release will also includes the critically acclaimed “Nothing To Fear: A Rough Mix,” an hour-long mashup that was produced for Solid Steel/BBC London.