Our former writer Ruben Diaz had the opportunity to interview DJ AM close to five years ago, before he became one of the most sought after celebrity DJs in the biz. With his untimely death this August, Ruben asked to pen a piece about his experience with AM, so here's what he wrote:

Close to five years ago I, along with my buddy Ramon Guzman, Jr. (DJ Avenue) had the privilege to meet and interview one of the biggest club and party DJs out there. Now, granted at the time, I honestly had never heard of or seen DJ AM spin, and was oblivious to even knowing who Nicole Ritchie was at the time (yes, I lived under a Hollywood rock). Nonetheless, I was up to interview the guy and see what he was about. Now keep in mind, neither myself or my friend Ramon, were "known" journalists or industry folk, but it was quickly evident that AM didn't care about any of that. We set up the interview and he invited both of us to his home, not knowing who either of us were. That just goes to show you a glimpse of who the man, born Adam Goldstein, was.

So we arrive to his house in Hollywood before taking off to a Grammy afterparty where he'd be later controlling the decks. Upon entering the house, AM had a couple of friends over and Nicole Ritchie was there as well. We greeted everyone and soon after, took off to the club. Once at the club, we got the interview going with myself, Ramon and AM in a room backstage with a door cracked open. AM was a straight shooter and you could tell his passion for music and his occupation ran deep. His eyes would light up when talking about how he first got started, joking around and reminiscing on his career, non-chalantly talking to me as if he'd known me for some time, lighting up his cigarette.

After the interview, we followed him up to the DJ booth and after plugging in his mixer, he quickly got down to business. AM ran through everything from Top 40 at the time, as well as pop, hip-hop, rock, and of course mashing genre's together in the process. This was a Grammy's afterparty in Hollywood, so you know a good majority of the crowd was pompous rich folks. Wyclef (even Cannabis was there) was set to perform as well as a few other artists, and I know Clef and 'Bis had have been nodding their heads crazily, as was everyone else in attendance as AM never missed a beat. Rarely can I say I've seen a DJ play a classic hip-hop record then go into some pop record with such ease and it not sounding wack. It's no wonder why AM was co-signed by hip-hop vets like DJ Premier, and tons of industry who's who and played for the top celebrities and had such a successful DJing/producing career. While we were in the booth watching AM rock the crowd, I asked him if he wanted anything to drink and he said a Red Bull would suffice. After a few hours at the spot, we headed back to AM's spot, thanked him and then hopped back in the car and made our way home to Orange County. Right before that, AM thanked us for our time and doing the interview as if we did him a favor, really. That's the type of guy AM was.

A few days later when I was getting ready to write up the interview and article, I realized the voice recorder picked up the extremely loud music in that was crashing through the cracked door when we were conducting the interview. You could barely hear AM's answers, so I emailed AM and told him what happened and asked if we could just just e-mail me the answers. Now by this point, a lot of Hollywood-types would have automatically written me and the whole deal off. But Adam obliged and returned the answers he typed up himself within a short period of time and told me whatever I needed to just ask him, and it was cool.

I wrote up the article and turned it into BallerSatus. It was the feature story for that week (read the 2005 interview here). I thought it was clear to anyone who read the article that AM was a passionate guy who loved his job. He was an absolute music enthusiast, sneaker junkie, and all around good dude. I feel I'm a good judge of character, and from all the people I've met, I can tell you he was as down to Earth as they get. So as his popularity grew years since then, as did his high profile girlfriends. I still will never forget that night and interview. When news broke of his plane crash survival alongside Travis Barker, I was shocked, but glad to hear they made it out alive.

However when the news spread of his body being found in an apartment in New York, I felt some numbness and disbelief. They say the good die young, and that's exactly what can be said about AM And as I went back to read the article I wrote on him, it was even more eerie to catch how the interview ended. It was AM talking about one of his fondest memories DJ'ing. As he told it:

"Right after JMJ was murdered, I was DJing a party in San Diego with Mix Master Mike (Invisbl Skratch Piklz and the Beastie Boys). Run and DMC walked in, in their RIP JMJ jackets. I threw on 'Jam Master Jammin',' and I cut up 'then take a count ... 1,2,3 ... Jam Master Jay ... ' and I cut up the Jam Master Jay part then slammed in 'REST IN PEACE!' from Gangstarr's 'Full Clip.' DMC put a fist in the air, looked at me, and a tear came out of his eye. I was frozen. Knowing I touched someone who helped inspire me to be what I am was an AMAZING feeling. Like I could die right there and be cool," recalled A.M.

So by his own words, to me, AM was fulfilled and went out doing what he loved. And now he's up there with Jam Master Jay telling him about the day he was playing a party in San Diego and how he made DMC shed a tear and felt that feeling of knowing you impacted someone with your music.

Rest In Peace, DJ AM