DJ Premier
Christopher E. Martin (born March 21, 1966), better known as DJ Premier (or Primo by his fans, fellow musicians, and critics), is a prominent American hip hop producer and DJ, and the instrumental half of the duos Gang Starr and PRhyme.
Contrary to popular belief, he did not found nor even co-found Gang Starr.
He was introduced to DJing while attending school at Prairie View A&M in Houston, Texas. DJ Premier's original stage name was Waxmaster C Read Full BioChristopher E. Martin (born March 21, 1966), better known as DJ Premier (or Primo by his fans, fellow musicians, and critics), is a prominent American hip hop producer and DJ, and the instrumental half of the duos Gang Starr and PRhyme.
Contrary to popular belief, he did not found nor even co-found Gang Starr.
He was introduced to DJing while attending school at Prairie View A&M in Houston, Texas. DJ Premier's original stage name was Waxmaster C, the "C" taken from his first name, Chris, although he had already changed it to DJ Premier at the time he joined Gang Starr.
Considered by many fans to be one of the greatest hip hop producers, DJ Premier has produced countless tracks, for many groups and solo artists since the early 1990s. These include notable tracks for artists such as Jay-Z ("D'Evils", "So Ghetto"), Big L ("The Enemy"), The Notorious B.I.G. ("Unbelievable", "Kick In The Door", "Ten Crack Commandments"), Nas ("N.Y. State of Mind", "Nas Is Like"), Pitch Black ("It's All Real"), M.O.P. ("Downtown Swinga"), Jeru the Damaja ("Come Clean", "My Mind Spray"), KRS-One ("MC's Act Like They Don't Know"), Mos Def ("Mathematics"), Non Phixion ("Rockstars"), and Royce da 5'9" ("Boom").(Full list: djpremiertrackology.8kilo.com)
Collaborations
Outside of Gang Starr, some of Premier's most lauded work is his collaborations with Jeru the Damaja and Group Home. With the former, Premier crafted one of the East Coast's landmark albums in the form of The Sun Rises in the East, released in 1994. Their follow up to this, 1996's Wrath of the Math, was regarded as a solid effort but not on par with its predecessor, although it did contain Jeru's biggest hit to date, "Ya Playin' Yaself". Group Home's Livin' Proof (1995), although greatly overlooked at the time of its release, has eventually come to be critically acclaimed.
In 1994, DJ Premier collaborated extensively with jazz musician Branford Marsalis's experimental group, Buckshot Lefonque, for their debut album. During the making of music video director, Hype Williams' 1998 film, Belly, DJ Premier collaborated with neo soul leader D'Angelo for a song called "Devil's Pie", which was originally intended only for the film's accompanying soundtrack. However D'Angelo soon changed his mind and decided to include the song on his sophomore album Voodoo (2000) In 2006 he co-produced Christina Aguilera's Back To Basics album.
Samples
DJ Premier's style of production epitomises the New York sound from his earlier peers. He is known for sampling jazz, funk, and soul artists, as well as sampling an artist's past work, when he is creating a new track for that same artist. In addition, his photographic memory of rap lyrics allows him to distinctively "speak with his hands" by scratching in lyrics from several different songs to construct new phrases [1]. Premier's non-Gang Starr collaborations are well-known for his often-imitated signature of combining short vocal samples, often from multiple artists, to create a chorus. For example, for the chorus of Mos Def's "Mathematics", Premier cuts, in quick succession:
"The Mighty Mos Def..." (from Mos Def's "Body Rock"),
"It's simple mathematics" (from Fat Joe's "John Blaze"),
"I revolve around science..." (from Ghostface Killah's verse on Raekwon's "Criminology"),
"What are we talking about here..." (unknown origin),
"Do your math.." (from Erykah Badu's "On & On"), and
"One, two, three, four" (from James Brown's "Funky Drummer")
On certain artists' work the vocal samples will all be vocal samples of the artist from the artists' past work; "Nas Is Like" and "2nd Childhood" with Nas are two well-known examples of this.
On Jeru the Damaja's "Physical Stamina," however, Premier sampled and chopped up recordings of seminal electro-acoustic music from the 1960s.
Melodies
Premier usually creates a two-bar melody that repeats itself throughout the song. The aim of this is to showcase the MC's skills by bringing focus away from the beat, while creating the song's mood and a solid backdrop. Premier often changes speeds, filters and chops his breaks and adds scope to the melody with chimes and strings.
He has also shown innovation by playing rarely-used elements into a rap song (such as the xylophones on Biggie's "Kick in the Door" or the ambient nature sounds on Nas' "Nas is Like"), and his wide range of instruments (the piano loop on Jay-Z's "D'Evils" versus the strings on Rakim's "New York (Ya Out There?") and production techniques (he played the melody backwards during the second half of Jay-Z's "A Million and One Questions (Rhyme No More)").
Drums
Premier's drums have been known for complimenting his melodies. For example, during Nas' "NY State of Mind", two bars have a simple round of kicks and snares; in the following two, a complementing second set of drums plays out. This is repeated throughout.
Label ownership and future projects
DJ Premier currently owns two record labels. "Year Round Records" was founded in 2002 and has so far released several DJ Premier mixtapes as well as two 12" vinyl singles for NYG'z and Blaq Poet. "Works Of Mart", which is also the name of his publishing company, was founded in mid 2006 and released 12" vinyl singles for artists Tef (aka Teflon) and F.A.B.I.D. (H. Stax and Mike Rone).
Since 2001, DJ Premier mentioned several times the plan to release a solo album entitled "A Man Of Few Words", which has yet to be released. Other confirmed upcoming projects are a full-length colaboration with Nas, Blaq Poet's long delayed album "The Best That Never Did It", Tef's (aka Teflon) long announced album "Contraband" and last but not least protegés NYG'z long delayed debut album "Pros and Cons".
Contrary to popular belief, he did not found nor even co-found Gang Starr.
He was introduced to DJing while attending school at Prairie View A&M in Houston, Texas. DJ Premier's original stage name was Waxmaster C Read Full BioChristopher E. Martin (born March 21, 1966), better known as DJ Premier (or Primo by his fans, fellow musicians, and critics), is a prominent American hip hop producer and DJ, and the instrumental half of the duos Gang Starr and PRhyme.
Contrary to popular belief, he did not found nor even co-found Gang Starr.
He was introduced to DJing while attending school at Prairie View A&M in Houston, Texas. DJ Premier's original stage name was Waxmaster C, the "C" taken from his first name, Chris, although he had already changed it to DJ Premier at the time he joined Gang Starr.
Considered by many fans to be one of the greatest hip hop producers, DJ Premier has produced countless tracks, for many groups and solo artists since the early 1990s. These include notable tracks for artists such as Jay-Z ("D'Evils", "So Ghetto"), Big L ("The Enemy"), The Notorious B.I.G. ("Unbelievable", "Kick In The Door", "Ten Crack Commandments"), Nas ("N.Y. State of Mind", "Nas Is Like"), Pitch Black ("It's All Real"), M.O.P. ("Downtown Swinga"), Jeru the Damaja ("Come Clean", "My Mind Spray"), KRS-One ("MC's Act Like They Don't Know"), Mos Def ("Mathematics"), Non Phixion ("Rockstars"), and Royce da 5'9" ("Boom").(Full list: djpremiertrackology.8kilo.com)
Collaborations
Outside of Gang Starr, some of Premier's most lauded work is his collaborations with Jeru the Damaja and Group Home. With the former, Premier crafted one of the East Coast's landmark albums in the form of The Sun Rises in the East, released in 1994. Their follow up to this, 1996's Wrath of the Math, was regarded as a solid effort but not on par with its predecessor, although it did contain Jeru's biggest hit to date, "Ya Playin' Yaself". Group Home's Livin' Proof (1995), although greatly overlooked at the time of its release, has eventually come to be critically acclaimed.
In 1994, DJ Premier collaborated extensively with jazz musician Branford Marsalis's experimental group, Buckshot Lefonque, for their debut album. During the making of music video director, Hype Williams' 1998 film, Belly, DJ Premier collaborated with neo soul leader D'Angelo for a song called "Devil's Pie", which was originally intended only for the film's accompanying soundtrack. However D'Angelo soon changed his mind and decided to include the song on his sophomore album Voodoo (2000) In 2006 he co-produced Christina Aguilera's Back To Basics album.
Samples
DJ Premier's style of production epitomises the New York sound from his earlier peers. He is known for sampling jazz, funk, and soul artists, as well as sampling an artist's past work, when he is creating a new track for that same artist. In addition, his photographic memory of rap lyrics allows him to distinctively "speak with his hands" by scratching in lyrics from several different songs to construct new phrases [1]. Premier's non-Gang Starr collaborations are well-known for his often-imitated signature of combining short vocal samples, often from multiple artists, to create a chorus. For example, for the chorus of Mos Def's "Mathematics", Premier cuts, in quick succession:
"The Mighty Mos Def..." (from Mos Def's "Body Rock"),
"It's simple mathematics" (from Fat Joe's "John Blaze"),
"I revolve around science..." (from Ghostface Killah's verse on Raekwon's "Criminology"),
"What are we talking about here..." (unknown origin),
"Do your math.." (from Erykah Badu's "On & On"), and
"One, two, three, four" (from James Brown's "Funky Drummer")
On certain artists' work the vocal samples will all be vocal samples of the artist from the artists' past work; "Nas Is Like" and "2nd Childhood" with Nas are two well-known examples of this.
On Jeru the Damaja's "Physical Stamina," however, Premier sampled and chopped up recordings of seminal electro-acoustic music from the 1960s.
Melodies
Premier usually creates a two-bar melody that repeats itself throughout the song. The aim of this is to showcase the MC's skills by bringing focus away from the beat, while creating the song's mood and a solid backdrop. Premier often changes speeds, filters and chops his breaks and adds scope to the melody with chimes and strings.
He has also shown innovation by playing rarely-used elements into a rap song (such as the xylophones on Biggie's "Kick in the Door" or the ambient nature sounds on Nas' "Nas is Like"), and his wide range of instruments (the piano loop on Jay-Z's "D'Evils" versus the strings on Rakim's "New York (Ya Out There?") and production techniques (he played the melody backwards during the second half of Jay-Z's "A Million and One Questions (Rhyme No More)").
Drums
Premier's drums have been known for complimenting his melodies. For example, during Nas' "NY State of Mind", two bars have a simple round of kicks and snares; in the following two, a complementing second set of drums plays out. This is repeated throughout.
Label ownership and future projects
DJ Premier currently owns two record labels. "Year Round Records" was founded in 2002 and has so far released several DJ Premier mixtapes as well as two 12" vinyl singles for NYG'z and Blaq Poet. "Works Of Mart", which is also the name of his publishing company, was founded in mid 2006 and released 12" vinyl singles for artists Tef (aka Teflon) and F.A.B.I.D. (H. Stax and Mike Rone).
Since 2001, DJ Premier mentioned several times the plan to release a solo album entitled "A Man Of Few Words", which has yet to be released. Other confirmed upcoming projects are a full-length colaboration with Nas, Blaq Poet's long delayed album "The Best That Never Did It", Tef's (aka Teflon) long announced album "Contraband" and last but not least protegés NYG'z long delayed debut album "Pros and Cons".
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DJ Premier Lyrics
At the end of 1974, when daddy dukes went raw
The chosen sperm to explore and reach the egg for sure
A child through the birth canal on the nine mo' trial
Released on this wild earth, my generation hit worst
Will my development arrested by the government
Younga niggas strugglin', livin' life got me wonderin'
New shit I'm discoverin', yo son I can't sleep
Situation so deep, my niggas drownin' in the streets
Another rapist'll stalk, a younger murder is walked
They got shit locked in a fort, a buck fif' if you're tossed
Verbalizin' hard times, findin' ways to recline
Dedicated to the rhyme brought your shades and your wine
I survived hard times prime time, as I rewind
My thoughts and remmeniss, sippin' O.E. quarts
Rest in peace to my peeps who died up in the streets
Fuck Halloween treats cause ain't shit sweet
Change, my life has changed
Change, (change) and I will never be the same
Change, my life has changed
Change, (change) and I will never be the same
Growin' up on the Brooklyn streets
It was hard for Black T to make these motherfuckin ends meet
The first store that closed up got stuck
and if you didn't gimme your cash
I'd put one in somebody's gut
I ran buckwild through these streets with this group of individuals
committing crimes well performed like a ritual
Until one day my momz tried to send me up-state to job core
I didn't know what the fuck for
So I, pulled out my pals
And called up the nigga Al
What's the deal son it's been a fuckin' long while
He said yo Black T, I had this dream about this cream
I'm going all out for mines by any fuckin' means
We grabbed our pen and pads
And wrote about this world gone mad
And how times was getting real bad
But what we need to do
Is connect with them other two
And make that dream you had come true
I'm out the front door
Don't want to deal with this bullshit no more
What for? I'm ready to throw this heart on the floor
Back in the days, yo, Ty had it all
Women on call, sex and all
Summer, winter, spring, and the fall
Then my momz broke out to get away from men why no doubt
Then I settled down and made one girl a spouce
Should of known, couldn't replace momz
My heart rang the alarm, situation was da bomb
I roamed the streets, started smokin weed
Drinkin Heinie's tappin' hinies
Writin' words to rich beats
Became an everyday stuggler
Stereotyped a hustler
Constant bother
Resided with my father frequently talked with my mother
Reactions crazy, revenge thoughts, maybe
Asking what am I doin here
Someone come save me
'Cause I feel I got no purpose
Dabilatino surface
There's different type moves
With an attitude that's nervous
And nothing can help me maintain my mind frame
Now I'm doing shit I never did before
Change, my life has changed
Change, (change) and I will never be the same
Change, the world has changed
Change, (change) and it will never be the same
Brought up on green and patch
You'll never have no ash
and everyday I find myself in the same old fashion
Saddened, my same fuckin' Pumas and Lees
Tore up at the knees
That would always squeeze
My buns, I have no funds
I'm young and dumb
Left school at three o' clock
To face an eviction
In tears as it appears my crib for years
Has just been rented to the landlord kids
No rhythm, cause my rep grows rather rash
Surpassed third class quick to stash, when the photo flash
In contrast, I was labeled as an outcast
Afraid to tell the cast
Cause chicks can tell me kiss they ass
Low self esteem but mom dukes kept me clean
Swayed from Spalding, Paydays and madman drinks
Shantlell my princess, she will live to be a queen
And as the moonbeam
Me and my team we'll be countin' cream
Change, my life has changed
Change, (change) and I will never be the same
Change, the world has changed
Change, (change) and it will never be the same
Change, you should make a change
Change, (change) and you must never be the same
Change, Evil Dee has changed
Change, (change) and he will never be the same
Change, Beatminerz change
Change, (change) and it will never be the same
Change, yes the world has changed
Change, (change) and it will never be the same
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, BIRD WINS PUBLISHING
Written by: Alexander Rubin, Jeffrey B. Franzel
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on specific lyrics, highlight them
Daria Galal
At the end of 1974, when daddy dukes went raw
The chosen sperm to explore and reach the egg for sure
A child through the birth canal on the nine mo' trial
Released on this wild earth, my generation hit worst
Will my development arrested by the government
Younga niggas strugglin', livin' life got me wonderin'
New shit I'm discoverin', yo son I can't sleep
Situation so deep, my niggas drownin' in the streets
Another rapist'll stalk, a younger murder is walked
They got shit locked in a fort, a buck fif' if you're tossed
Verbalizin' hard times, findin' ways to recline
Dedicated to the rhyme brought your shades and your wine
I survived hard times prime time, as I rewind
My thoughts and remmeniss, sippin' O.E. quarts
Rest in peace to my peeps who died up in the streets
Fuck Halloween treats cause ain't shit sweet
Growin' up on the Brooklyn streets
It was hard for Black T to make these motherfuckin ends meet
The first store that closed up got stuck
and if you didn't gimme your cash
I'd put one in somebody's gut
I ran buckwild through these streets with this group of individuals
committing crimes well performed like a ritual
Until one day my momz tried to send me up-state to job core
I didn't know what the fuck for
So I, pulled out my pals
And called up the nigga Al
What's the deal son it's been a fuckin' long while
He said yo Black T, I had this dream about this cream
I'm going all out for mines by any fuckin' means
We grabbed our pen and pads
And wrote about this world gone mad
And how times was getting real bad
But what we need to do
Is connect with them other two
And make that dream you had come true.
Jonathan Cain
ALL OF HIS BEATS ARE ON FIRE I LISTEN TO THIS SONG EVERYDAY LOVE IT
MrYberr
Polar music-price.
His whole career should be taken for what it is. A musical genius.
MrYberr
A genius.
karizma johnson
Love this beat😀😀😀😀
MiG 35
Youre not alone
Edo Abso
The french trumpets and vio strings on the breakdown is amazing its what makes it hypnotic to listen to
socal
One of the best beats I've ever heard! Primo=Legend, RIP GURU!
thapoint09
I love the bounce this beat has.
Donovan Patrick
I think this would go great with the "new gang Starr" Guru would sound great on this if he were still alive, imagine a 2011 gang Starr that would be so dope
Atem Kuek
theres something about this beat..i cant stoppin listening to it