Christopher E. Martin (born March 21, 1966), better known as DJ Premier (or… Read Full Bio ↴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, 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, 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".
It's Getting Hectic
DJ Premier Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'It's Getting Hectic' by these artists:
The Brand New Heavies I set if off by letting you know that I…
The Brand New Heavies & Gang Starr I set if off By lettin' you know that I can…
the brand new heavies feat. gang starr I set if off by letting you know that I…
The Urge Check it, I set it off by lettin' ya know I…
Urge the Check it, I set it off by lettin' ya know I…
We have lyrics for these tracks by DJ Premier:
100 to 1 In city shoes, Of clueless blues, Pays the views, And no-man…
2 LOVIN U I pled my case with the Gods, woman Just place your…
Book of Rhymes I don't smile, I don't frown, get two up or…
Change At the end of 1974, when daddy dukes went raw The…
Dear Hip Hop This shit's special DJ Khaled! And if I cry two tears for…
Get Down ("Get nothin' but a beat down!") Refrain 4x Punks jump…
Head Over Wheels I guess I troop, honey, what the scoop? You're kinda…
Headlines Okay (okay) Yeah You know what's up, nigga (My team) living …
Hip Hop This shit's special DJ Khaled! And if I cry two tears for…
Hold The City Down "I got to hold down the city" "Got to let you…
I Damn, here we go again Common passed on this beat I made…
Lettin' Off Steam Joey Bad and Big Preem and we lettin' off steam And…
Mortgage Free What up Preem? That nigga Statik told me start sayin' 2…
Our Streets Ferg, Ferg Check it, check it, check it Pull up, pull up,…
Premier 19-motherfuckin' 1985, I arrived 33 years, damn, I'm gratef…
Remy Rap With the def female Let's rap Remy Ma No lie, it's only…
Runway That ol' real shit, that ol' real shit, that ol'…
Sing Like Bilal [Joell Ortiz] (Sample Of Lil' Fame) Uh! Uh! Y-Y, Y-Y-Y-YAOOO…
Terrible 2's Run your, run your Run your, run your damn jewels Run your,…
The Life It's always about money, It's always about money because... …
The Premier 19-motherfuckin' 1985, I arrived 33 years, damn, I'm gratef…
The root of all You know this ain't a game to us My future's lookin'…
WUT U SAID Yo what's good two time? What up g'z how were you? Ain't…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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KOooOKOooOmaROooO
Times are critical, although I kick the metaphysical
Sometimes my rhymes flow kind of political
All the real B-boys make noise
Here comes the bomb yo, please stay calm yo, see I'm though
Happy chappy wind up and slap me one hitter, critter
Each year, I'm bigger, thicker, lyrics moving quicker
It's true, I got more styles up there
So I'll put it together and come out with an album every single year
Listen here, something new is going on
So of course Blast Master says it faster in a song
As you noticed the Bush Administration
Dealt with foreign affairs through the United Nations
In the UN, the Europeans have seniority
Yet in the world of nations, whites are the minority
This doesn't balance out for no nation
Check it, the UN is like the world plantation
There's more dark skin force than white forces
But Europeans are raping their resources
To be more specific while I'm rhyming
Resources mean oil, gold, minerals, diamonds
Anything to make the European riches a minority
They need this but there's one glitch
They concentrated much on international
But not enough on the thinking of the national
So while the Bush administration was outside
Yes the Clinton administration will be inside
Anything that affects the way you think
In music, in television, in writing, or out of the shrink
Cause if you start bugging within the nation
That messes up with what goes on in other nations
Not only Blacks but whites are starting to see the hypocrisy
Cause they're fed up with the economy
They're not uniting Europe for Europeans
They're uniting Europe to enslave the world of human beings
So rise up, there's little time to dance
To the youth in Great Britain, U.S., and France
Never forget, you might have to set it
Yo, things are getting hectic
If I can make you think there's something's wrong in my song
Then my song is a threat to what's going on
We've had years of free debate
Now they're gonna clean out rap in every single state
You'll see less and less on your television
And you'll see more and more violence and tongue kissing
Before I leave this point, I'll give you more
Explicit lyrics stickers is supported by Tipper Gore
Al Gore's wife, a White House resident
Vice president to the president, I think you're getting it
Rap music has the most influence yet, you bet
So now, it's a military threat
Anything that changes how you feel changes how you act
That's a threat, and that's rap
Racist mothers and fathers hate Black
But their children be chilling with Black kicking that rap
More and more White kids feel what we feel
You'll see more White kids with a mic on the wheels of steel
And that ain't the global plan
I haven't even discussed Japan
Japanese youth love Black youth
In Japan, there's no racists in the DJ booth
Just truth, screaming from the microphone
So the object is to shut down the head right here at home
Never forget it, you might have to set it
Yo, things are getting hectic
Phillip Brown
Dj Premier is a Master of Hip Hop music. This should have been on the album.
KOooOKOooOmaROooO
Times are critical, although I kick the metaphysical
Sometimes my rhymes flow kind of political
All the real B-boys make noise
Here comes the bomb yo, please stay calm yo, see I'm though
Happy chappy wind up and slap me one hitter, critter
Each year, I'm bigger, thicker, lyrics moving quicker
It's true, I got more styles up there
So I'll put it together and come out with an album every single year
Listen here, something new is going on
So of course Blast Master says it faster in a song
As you noticed the Bush Administration
Dealt with foreign affairs through the United Nations
In the UN, the Europeans have seniority
Yet in the world of nations, whites are the minority
This doesn't balance out for no nation
Check it, the UN is like the world plantation
There's more dark skin force than white forces
But Europeans are raping their resources
To be more specific while I'm rhyming
Resources mean oil, gold, minerals, diamonds
Anything to make the European riches a minority
They need this but there's one glitch
They concentrated much on international
But not enough on the thinking of the national
So while the Bush administration was outside
Yes the Clinton administration will be inside
Anything that affects the way you think
In music, in television, in writing, or out of the shrink
Cause if you start bugging within the nation
That messes up with what goes on in other nations
Not only Blacks but whites are starting to see the hypocrisy
Cause they're fed up with the economy
They're not uniting Europe for Europeans
They're uniting Europe to enslave the world of human beings
So rise up, there's little time to dance
To the youth in Great Britain, U.S., and France
Never forget, you might have to set it
Yo, things are getting hectic
If I can make you think there's something's wrong in my song
Then my song is a threat to what's going on
We've had years of free debate
Now they're gonna clean out rap in every single state
You'll see less and less on your television
And you'll see more and more violence and tongue kissing
Before I leave this point, I'll give you more
Explicit lyrics stickers is supported by Tipper Gore
Al Gore's wife, a White House resident
Vice president to the president, I think you're getting it
Rap music has the most influence yet, you bet
So now, it's a military threat
Anything that changes how you feel changes how you act
That's a threat, and that's rap
Racist mothers and fathers hate Black
But their children be chilling with Black kicking that rap
More and more White kids feel what we feel
You'll see more White kids with a mic on the wheels of steel
And that ain't the global plan
I haven't even discussed Japan
Japanese youth love Black youth
In Japan, there's no racists in the DJ booth
Just truth, screaming from the microphone
So the object is to shut down the head right here at home
Never forget it, you might have to set it
Yo, things are getting hectic
Leonardo Plasencia
This song gave me goosebumps.
chazfilez
Rap as a tool to speak on culture and social injustice...imagine that!
Míchele Cobré
indeed
Míchele Cobré
This should have been on the album
Frédéric Lamy
gros son à la premier, Krs au controle, ça démonte tout.
Biz Denardo
Dope 🔥 that didn't make the album.
☮ to Jeru the damaja on the hook.
Brandon Brown
Dope!
most-def
Just had an epiphany and looked up this song. This was unreleased, right?