Joyce “Fenderella” Irby – Mr. D.J. (US 12″) (1989)

Burning The Ground Exclusive

“Mr. D.J.” marked the solo breakout for Klymaxx founding member Joyce “Fenderella” Irby—bass player, songwriter, and all-around groove generator. Coming off her years of success with “I Miss You” and “Meeting in the Ladies Room,” Joyce hit the late ’80s club scene with this funk-driven jam featuring none other than the Original Human Beatbox, Doug E. Fresh.

Released in 1989 as the lead single from her debut solo LP Maximum Thrust, the track kicks off with Doug E.’s unmistakable vocal percussion before sliding into Joyce’s sweet and soulful plea for the DJ to keep her dancing. It’s an early example of R&B merging with hip-hop elements—before it became the mainstream formula.

The track was co-produced by Dallas Austin, who Joyce helped launch into the industry. He’d go on to produce hits for TLC, Boyz II Men, and Madonna—but this is where it all started.

“Mr. D.J.” hit #2 on the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart and cracked the Dance charts too. It’s infectious, smartly produced, and undeniably funky.

This 12″ mix stretches the groove for the dancefloor, extending Doug E.’s beatbox breakdowns and giving the instrumental room to breathe. If you love that New Jack swing/R&B/hip-hop crossover sound of ’88–’90, this one deserves a spot in your rotation.

SIDE A:
Mr. D.J. (Extended Version) 6:32
Featuring – Doug E. Fresh

SIDE B:
Mr. D.J. (Radio Edit) 4:07
Featuring – Doug E. Fresh

Mr. D.J. (Instrumental) 6:10

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1989 Mr. D.J. U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles #2
1989 Mr. D.J. U.S. Billboard Dance Music / Club Play #23

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Motown – MOT-4634
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1989
Genre: Hip Hop, Funk / Soul
Style: Contemporary R&B

CREDITS:

NOTES:
Produced for Diva I Productions

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus:  Ortofon Concorde Music Black
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp:
Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
DAC:
Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning
: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans
: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 25 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!


Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by donating using PayPal. I appreciate your help.


Subscribe
Notify of
guest

16 Comments
Newest
Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
William
William
July 24, 2025 9:35 am

Thank you for this classic.

Retro Hound
Retro Hound
July 10, 2025 7:10 pm

Welcome back Paul!! I’m a day behind here… I don’t think I was aware of this back in the day. But, I love Klymaxx and this is a funky groove. Love the Doug E. Fresh raps interspersed throughout. This is definitely deserving of the spotlight again. Thank you Paul!

Toxicaudio
Toxicaudio
July 10, 2025 8:05 am

Hi Paul , hope you had a nice holiday and thanks for this great track.I have a request. Perhaps you or someone else here on board has the following 12″: DISCONET Volume 5 / Program 12. Especially Side-C1 : Endgames-First, Last-For Everything and the dub release from US on Flip Records (remixed by Ray “Pinky” Velazquez). I have the original 12″ and still looking for these 2 rips in high quality.

Mark
Mark
July 9, 2025 5:26 pm

Hey Paul Jams Like This Is Why This Site Is # 1 . Hey Paul How About This Lost Gem!! Jane Child – Don’t Wanna Fall In Love?? Thanks!!

Fred
Fred
Reply to  DjPaulT
July 10, 2025 9:38 am

If you do post it, please post the Shep Pettibone remixes: https://www.discogs.com/release/184796-Jane-Child-Dont-Wanna-Fall-In-Love Personally I feel the Teddy Riley were horrific (and can be found easily on tons of cd singles unlike Shep’s mixes). Pretty please? 🙂 Thanks if you can!

Fred
Fred
Reply to  DjPaulT
July 10, 2025 10:40 am

Right. 1)But they are 256 MP3 format on iTunes. 2)I have no idea if/where to buy 100% true lossless versions of them and 3)Your rips are always fantastic!

CAPankow
CAPankow
July 9, 2025 11:34 am

many thanks!

ING
ING
July 9, 2025 10:48 am

Shut up and slap me alongside the head- this is exactly why I follow this site! Write ups that shine the light often on gems I almost forgot about and give me details I don’t always know! Loved this track almost forgot- thanks a million…again!

Jeff
Jeff
July 9, 2025 10:47 am

Hey Paul!! Welcome back!! We missed you!! I hope you had a nice vacation!!

I’m too excited about this release!! I haven’t heard it in ages. Thanks again!!

Jeff

Don Julian
Don Julian
July 9, 2025 10:30 am

Welcome back Paul,
hope you had a nice vacation, and everything is well!

Thanks for sharing this slamming hip hop/new jack swing tune,
it’s been awhile since i last heard it.
peace,
dj