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".

The Life
DJ Premier Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

It's always about money, It's always about money because...
That's just the way life goes, everybody wants to appear to be rich
Ain't nobody tryin to appear to be broke, you know
'Cause at the apperance of money, you know it's the deception
That everybody wants to put out there
That's the way they live their life

It's the life that we live, it's not by the rules

The lessons that we learn is not by school
Any boy, that wants to be man before his time
Is out his god damn mind, fiendin for the life
Full of pain full of strife, full of guns, full of knife
Full of good when your a nigga's girl, full of shit when you his wife
Full of dope fiend's dopin, full of crack fiend's smokin
Full of niggas who think the cops ain't watchin
Jokin full of Jesse Jackson hopin, we can be free
Full of niggas in the jailhouse that look like me
Full of pimps full of players, full of thugs full of macks
Full of hardcore rappers with a car full of gats
Full of fake ass niggas that rap
That will get exposed when they run into a real live scrap
Full of little green paper, with dead people on 'em
Got the graveyard full of flowers, with dead people on 'em
Full of them that don't like me 'til I figure how to stack around taxes
Full of loved ones that ain't comin back
Full of snitches full of rats, check the stats
We losin real bad in this game that we call the life

(Bumpy Knuckles)
L-L-L-Livin on the line-"Inspectah Deck"
(The Life!) E-Everything your hands could touch
(The Life!) Let-L-L-L-Let's all be professional-"C.L. Smooth"
(The Life!) You-You-You gotta respect the game

I sit and listen to the preachers talk about fair play
And that nigga knows the game don't play that way
This life is full of niggas that can't buy a tank full of glass
And sleep behind the buildin that's a bank full of cash
Temptation, they got sunshine
While niggas feel Bill Withers, "Ain't No Sunshine"
The life, for the niggas that got the funniest jokes
And the biggest diamond rings and the longest mink coats
And the best lookin houses, and they put 'em on cribs
And show the god damn feds where the fuck they live
Full of niggas with too many kids, they can't feed!
Full of niggas who went to college, and still can't read
Full of fake friends smilin in your face
Plottin on a safe, full of money while they keep it full of grace
Full of poorly runned government, that stole this land from the red man
Now we celebrate thanksgiving
Friends taken, fuck 40 acres and a mule
Gimme 40 million and I'm cool, then it's back to the motherland
Not to live but to buy diamonds, flawless
Shinin, not this fake shit that niggas wear rhymin
It's life full of niggas climbin, from the bottom to the top
Full of niggas fallin back to the bottom
Urbanized culture got 'em, check the stats
We losin real bad in this game that we call the life

(Bumpy Knuckles)
Live-Live-Live-Live-Livin on the line-"Inspectah Deck"
(The Life!) E-Everything your hands could touch
(The Life!) Let's-Let's-Let's-Let's all be professional-"C.L. Smooth"
(The Life!) You-You-You gotta respect the game

The life! Struggle for survival, watch the game
That's why I'm glad pop left me this, glock to aim
Watch yourself now you can be reckless
And feel your whole body get snatched like, Marbury's necklace
I know we on the government check list
And soon they be droppin all the bombs and all our lives will be Flex less
This life is full of fake saints that won't start prayin
'Til they see this big room full weak nuns payin
What's the message I'm relayin?! It's all in your head
He say givin it to God, we say givin it to rev
This life is full of people who wouldn't give a fuck if I was dead
'Cause it means that they could come out from under they bed
Why they scared?! Life is full of dudes like me
Niggas rude like me, takin food like me
Full of jazz, full of soul, full of new, full of old
ASCAP full of publishin that people that done stole
Full of life love, but people won't share it
It's responsibility, and people won't bare it
It's the hardcore truth, but people can't wear it
That's why they all lose in this game that we call the life

(Bumpy Knuckles)
L-L-L-Livin on the line-"Inspectah Deck"
(The Life!) E-Everything your hands could touch

(The Life!) Let's-Let's-Let's-Let's-Let's all be professional-"C.L. Smooth"
(The Life!) You gotta respec-respec-respect the game

Overall Meaning

The song "The Life" is a collaboration between DJ Premier, Bumpy Knuckles, Inspectah Deck, and C.L. Smooth. The lyrics focus on the harsh realities of life and how people are often consumed by the desire for money and material possessions. The chorus repeats the phrase "The Life," which serves as a phrase to encapsulate the various aspects of the song that relate to the struggles of life.

The lyrics paint a bleak picture of society, with references to drug addiction, violence, poverty, and corruption. The line "full of guns, full of knives" represents the harsh reality of inner-city violence, while the line "full of loved ones that ain't comin back" speaks to the pain of loss that is all too common in society. The song also addresses the topic of social injustice and the legacy of racism, with references to "poorly run government" and "stolen land from the red man."

Line by Line Meaning

It's always about money
The focus is always on wealth and material possessions

It's always about money because...
The reason is that everyone wants to appear rich

That's just the way life goes, everybody wants to appear to be rich
In this life, people constantly strive to portray themselves as wealthy

Ain't nobody tryin to appear to be broke, you know
No one wants to be seen as financially struggling

'Cause at the appearance of money, you know it's the deception
Because when people see money, it often masks the underlying truth or reality

That everybody wants to put out there
That's the image they want to project

That's the way they live their life
It's how they choose to live and present themselves

It's the life that we live, it's not by the rules
We don't abide by conventional rules in the life we lead

The lessons that we learn is not by school
We acquire wisdom and knowledge outside of traditional education

Any boy, that wants to be man before his time
Any young man seeking to mature prematurely

Is out his god damn mind, fiendin for the life
He's irrational, craving a lifestyle not suitable for his age

Full of pain full of strife, full of guns, full of knife
The life is filled with suffering, violence, and danger

Full of good when your a nigga's girl, full of shit when you his wife
When you're a man's girlfriend, things may seem positive, but as his wife, it becomes problematic

Full of dope fiend's dopin, full of crack fiend's smokin
It's populated by drug addicts using different substances

Full of niggas who think the cops ain't watchin
There are individuals who believe they can evade law enforcement

Jokin full of Jesse Jackson hopin, we can be free
Referencing civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, some people hope for freedom and equality

Full of niggas in the jailhouse that look like me
There are many individuals similar to me in prison

Full of pimps full of players, full of thugs full of macks
The life is populated by various types of people, including pimps, players, and criminals

Full of hardcore rappers with a car full of gats
It includes hardcore rappers who carry weapons in their cars

Full of fake ass niggas that rap
Many individuals in the rap industry are inauthentic

That will get exposed when they run into a real live scrap
Their true nature will be revealed when faced with a genuine conflict

Full of little green paper, with dead people on 'em
Money is circulated, featuring images of deceased individuals

Got the graveyard full of flowers, with dead people on 'em
Cemeteries are adorned with flowers for the deceased

Full of them that don't like me 'til I figure how to stack around taxes
There are people who dislike me unless I find a way to dodge taxes

Full of loved ones that ain't comin back
The life is filled with individuals we have lost and cannot regain

Full of snitches full of rats, check the stats
It's populated by informants and betrayers, evident from the statistics

We losin real bad in this game that we call the life
We are experiencing significant losses in this life we are living

L-L-L-Livin on the line-'Inspectah Deck'
Living on the edge, taking risks, as mentioned by 'Inspectah Deck'

(The Life!) E-Everything your hands could touch
Everything within reach is part of the life

(The Life!) Let-L-L-L-Let's all be professional-'C.L. Smooth'
Let's strive for professionalism in the life we lead, as suggested by 'C.L. Smooth'

(The Life!) You-You-You gotta respect the game
It's essential to have reverence for the lifestyle and its dynamics

I sit and listen to the preachers talk about fair play
I observe as preachers discuss the concept of equality and justice

And that nigga knows the game don't play that way
However, we understand that the game of life doesn't operate on those principles

This life is full of niggas that can't buy a tank full of glass
Many individuals in this life cannot afford a full tank of gasoline

And sleep behind the building that's a bank full of cash
They resort to sleeping near a building where large amounts of money are stored

Temptation, they got sunshine
These individuals face temptation and desire a life of luxury

While niggas feel Bill Withers, 'Ain't No Sunshine'
Meanwhile, others are dealing with struggles and hardships, just like in Bill Withers' song 'Ain't No Sunshine'

The life, for the niggas that got the funniest jokes
The life appeals to those who possess a great sense of humor

And the biggest diamond rings and the longest mink coats
Those with extravagant jewelry and luxurious fur coats are attracted to this life

And the best lookin houses, and they put 'em on cribs
They showcase their beautiful homes on the television show 'Cribs'

And show the god damn feds where the fuck they live
They willingly expose their residences to law enforcement

Full of niggas with too many kids, they can't feed!
Many individuals in the life have more children than they can financially support

Full of niggas who went to college, and still can't read
Even individuals who attended college struggle with illiteracy in this life

Full of fake friends smilin in your face
The life is rife with false friendships and deceitful smiles

Plottin on a safe, full of money while they keep it full of grace
They plan to steal a safe full of money while maintaining an appearance of innocence

Full of poorly run government, that stole this land from the red man
The life is governed ineptly, with authorities having taken land from Native Americans

Now we celebrate thanksgiving
Despite this history, we now celebrate Thanksgiving

Friends taken, fuck 40 acres and a mule
Despite our people being mistreated, the promised 40 acres and a mule were never received

Gimme 40 million and I'm cool, then it's back to the motherland
I would prefer to receive 40 million dollars and return to Africa

Not to live but to buy diamonds, flawless
However, it's not to reside there but rather to purchase flawless diamonds

Shinin, not this fake shit that niggas wear rhymin
I aim for genuine, high-quality gems instead of the fake jewelry rappers wear to rhyme

It's life full of niggas climbin, from the bottom to the top
The life is filled with individuals striving to rise from the bottom to the pinnacle of success

Full of niggas fallin back to the bottom
However, many others end up falling back to their starting point

Urbanized culture got 'em, check the stats
Urban culture has greatly influenced and impacted these individuals, evident from the statistics

We losin real bad in this game that we call the life
We are experiencing significant losses in this life we are living

Live-Live-Live-Live-Livin on the line-'Inspectah Deck'
Living on the edge, taking risks, as mentioned by 'Inspectah Deck'

(The Life!) E-Everything your hands could touch
Everything within reach is part of the life

(The Life!) Let's-Let's-Let's-Let's-Let's all be professional-'C.L. Smooth'
Let's strive for professionalism in the life we lead, as suggested by 'C.L. Smooth'

(The Life!) You gotta respec-respec-respect the game
It's essential to have reverence for the lifestyle and its dynamics

The life! Struggle for survival, watch the game
The life is a constant struggle for survival, a game to be observed

That's why I'm glad pop left me this, glock to aim
That's why I'm grateful my father left me this pistol to protect myself

Watch yourself now you can be reckless
Be cautious as one wrong move can have severe consequences

And feel your whole body get snatched like, Marbury's necklace
You may end up losing everything, similar to Marbury's stolen necklace

I know we on the government check list
I'm aware that we're under surveillance by the government

And soon they be droppin all the bombs and all our lives will be Flex less
In the near future, they may detonate bombs, leaving our lives in ruins like Funkmaster Flex

This life is full of fake saints that won't start prayin
The life is populated by hypocritical individuals who don't genuinely practice religion

'Til they see this big room full weak nuns payin
However, when they witness weak nuns offering large sums of money, they suddenly begin to pray

What's the message I'm relayin?! It's all in your head
The message I'm conveying is that it's all a mental construct

He say givin it to God, we say givin it to rev
Some advocate surrendering to God, while others believe in giving money to reverends

This life is full of people who wouldn't give a fuck if I was dead
Many individuals in this life wouldn't care about my well-being or existence

'Cause it means that they could come out from under they bed
My death would remove the fear they have, allowing them to emerge from hiding

Why they scared?! Life is full of dudes like me
Why are they afraid? The life is filled with individuals like me

Niggas rude like me, takin food like me
People who are as defiant as me, taking what they need like me

Full of jazz, full of soul, full of new, full of old
The life encompasses various genres of music, both classic and contemporary

ASCAP full of publishin that people that done stole
ASCAP, an organization representing songwriters, is filled with publishers who have stolen intellectual property

Full of life love, but people won't share it
Although the life is abundant in love, people aren't willing to share it

It's responsibility, and people won't bare it
Love requires responsibility, which people are reluctant to take on

It's the hardcore truth, but people can't wear it
The harsh reality exists, but people struggle to confront it

That's why they all lose in this game that we call the life
This is the reason why everyone ultimately fails in this game we refer to as life

L-L-L-Livin on the line-'Inspectah Deck'
Living on the edge, taking risks, as mentioned by 'Inspectah Deck'

(The Life!) E-Everything your hands could touch
Everything within reach is part of the life

(The Life!) Let's-Let's-Let's-Let's-Let's all be professional-'C.L. Smooth'
Let's strive for professionalism in the life we lead, as suggested by 'C.L. Smooth'

(The Life!) You gotta respec-respec-respect the game
It's essential to have reverence for the lifestyle and its dynamics

Contributed by Mila C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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