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".
100 to 1
DJ Premier Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Of clueless blues,
Pays the views,
And no-mans news.
Blades will fade from blood to sport,
The heroin's cut these fuses short,
Smokers rode a colonial pig, [Smoke is rolling colonial pink,]
Drink and frame this pain i think.
You bleed your wings and then disappear.
The moving scenes and pilot lights, [...pyre lights]
Smithereens have got 'em scaling heights.
Modern times come talk me down,
And battle lines are drawn across this town.
Parisian boys without your names, [...with obscure names]
Ghetto stones instead of chains,
Talk 'em down cause it's up in flames, [Talk me down...]
And nothing's changed.
Parisian boys without your names, [...with obscure names]
Riot like 1968 again.
The days of rage yeah nothing's changed,
Well pretty flames.
In school I would just bite my tongue,
And now your words they strike me down. [But now your words have struck me dumb.]
The flags are false and they contradict,
They point and click which wounds to lick,
On avenues this christian breeze,
Turns it's heart to more needles please.
Our eyes roll back and we beg for more,
It frays this skin and then underscore.
The case for war you spin and bleed,
The sales you feel screensavers feed,
The girls you breed the soaps that you write,
The graceless charm of your gutter snipes.
The moving scenes and suburbanites,
And smithereens got 'em scaling heights.
Modern times come talk me down,
The battle lines are drawn across this town.
English boys without your names, [...with obscure names]
Ghetto stones instead of chains,
Hearts and minds and US Planes,
Nothing's changed...
And english boys without your names, [...with obscure names]
Riot like the 1980's again,
The days of rage yeah nothing's changed,
More pretty flames.
The lyrics of DJ Premier's song 100 to 1 weave together a powerful commentary on the state of society, particularly in urban areas. The first verse seems to describe the disconnect between those in power, represented by those wearing "city shoes" and "clueless blues," and those living in poverty, or "no-man's news." The mention of "heroin's cut these fuses short" speaks to the opioid epidemic that is ravaging communities across the world, while "smokers rode a colonial pig" seems to suggest that people are being taken advantage of by larger systems.
The chorus of the song brings in a global perspective, mentioning "Parisian boys without your names" and "English boys without your names." The rhyme scheme of these verses, which both end with "nothing's changed" and "more pretty flames," emphasizes the cyclical nature of violence and unrest.
The second verse turns more inward, with the singer reflecting on their own experiences in school, where they felt forced to "bite my tongue." The flags mentioned earlier in the song reappear, with the suggestion that they are "false and they contradict." The religious imagery of a "christian breeze" turning its heart to "more needles please" is haunting, speaking to the desire for escape and the need for some to turn to drugs in order to cope with the harsh realities of life.
Overall, DJ Premier's lyrics in 100 to 1 evoke a sense of helplessness and frustration, while also pointing to the larger systems of power that are at play. The song is a call to action, urging listeners to recognize the cycles of violence and unrest and to work towards meaningful change.
Line by Line Meaning
In city shoes,
Walking in the city with no real direction
Of clueless blues,
Feeling blue and somewhat lost
Pays the views,
The city's beauty is a currency that has to be paid for
And no-mans news.
The city has a lack of real news or information
Blades will fade from blood to sport,
Violence has become an expected part of the city's entertainment
The heroin's cut these fuses short,
Drug addiction is destroying lives
Smokers rode a colonial pig,
People became enslaved by their addiction
Drink and frame this pain i think.
Alcohol is used as a way to deal with emotional pain
I'm melting silver poles my dear,
He is using drugs and they are destroying his life
You bleed your wings and then disappear.
She is self-destructive and leaving
The moving scenes and pilot lights,
The lights of the pyres keep moving through the city
Smithereens have got 'em scaling heights.
The broken pieces of the city have made people desperate, leading them to do crazy things
Modern times come talk me down,
The stress of modern life is overwhelming
And battle lines are drawn across this town.
Everyone is fighting for what they want in the city, resulting in conflict
Parisian boys without your names,
People without any real identity
Ghetto stones instead of chains,
Poor people have nothing to lose but their property
Talk 'em down cause it's up in flames,
Try to talk them out of rioting and destroying the city
And nothing's changed.
The situation is always the same
Riot like 1968 again.
Referring to the student-led protests in France in 1968
The days of rage yeah nothing's changed,
The situation never gets better
Well pretty flames.
Even though everything is burning down, it still looks pretty
In school I would just bite my tongue,
As a child, he didn't speak up or rebel against authority
And now your words they strike me down.
Now, he is affected by what others say to him
The flags are false and they contradict,
Nationalism and patriotism are often hypocritical and contradicting
They point and click which wounds to lick,
The media chooses which problems they will highlight
On avenues this christian breeze,
Religion is often used as a way to justify questionable behavior
Turns it's heart to more needles please.
The culture is addicted to drugs
Our eyes roll back and we beg for more,
People are addicted to the drugs and the culture of violence
It frays this skin and then underscore.
The violence is starting to show on people's skin and in their actions
The case for war you spin and bleed,
The media portrays violence as necessary and justified
The sales you feel screensavers feed,
The media sells a culture of violence and addiction
The girls you breed the soaps that you write,
The media creates a hypersexual culture
The graceless charm of your gutter snipes.
The people who benefit from this culture are without morals or class
The moving scenes and suburbanites,
The violence and addiction has spread to the suburbs
And smithereens got 'em scaling heights.
People are doing more and more dangerous things to get their fix
Modern times come talk me down,
The stress of modern life is overwhelming
The battle lines are drawn across this town.
Everyone is fighting for what they want in the city, resulting in conflict
English boys without your names,
People without any real identity
Ghetto stones instead of chains,
Poor people have nothing to lose but their property
Hearts and minds and US Planes,
The war on terror has affected everyone
Nothing's changed...
Things only get worse, despite any attempts to change them
And english boys without your names,
People without any real identity
Riot like the 1980's again,
Referring to the race riots in various UK cities during the 1980s
The days of rage yeah nothing's changed,
The situation is always the same
More pretty flames.
Even though everything is burning down, it still looks pretty
Contributed by Levi C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@DJFurio
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@jeffreygardner801
Your next video should be “Ennio Morricone Sampled In Hip Hop”
@DJFurio
Maybe. I’ve got so many on my list
@lamontricks1074
This was awesome good job on this I watched this about 3 Times 😆
@DJFurio
Glad you like it. I’m not sure YouTube sent out notifications when I changed it from a Members Only video as the views are really low
@messiahblack2295
Keep reppin that Chain and that Starr king!!!! I'm definitely gonna shout you out on my project...
@DJFurio
Appreciate it 👍
@Oldskoolhunter
Great stuff DJ Furio! Love Them comes under Van McCoy 1978, I think Tommie Young features?
@DJFurio
Ah ok my bad. Thanks for watching
@Oldskoolhunter
@@DJFurio No thank you!