Jim 'Shaft' Ryan

Jim "Shaft" Ryan rose to prominence in the U.K. as a Miss Moneypenny's resident and helped initiate the glamorous club's line of CD mix albums. He derived his nickname from Isaac Hayes' song of the same name, alluding to his passion for early-'70s soul, funk, and proto-disco artists such as Hayes, Marvin Gaye, and George Clinton. After his modest beginnings as a funk and rare groove DJ, he eventually began integrating more house records into his sets; by the time he was at the helm of Miss Moneypenny's, he spun primarily house, preferring disco-house and garage/house. In the e...