DJ Needles did more spinning in 2008 than Barack Obama's PR team. Needles (given name James Gates) hosted weekly hip-hop nights at the Gramophone and the 609 Lounge. He was one of the house DJs at Café Soul, the city's premier open-mic night at the Lucas School House. He backed up several of St. Louis' top emcees on the cutz, including Black Spade and Vandalyzm. He produced a mixtape, JazzyPhatNappy, and a mash-up, American Gangstarr. He teamed up with local legend G. Wiz to host The Remedy, an old-school hip-hop program on KDHX (88.1 FM). To put it another way: If you're a fan of any variety of hip-hop, soul or funk in St. Louis, Needles provided the soundtrack to your evening at least once this year.