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 Premier
DJ Premier Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
1985, I arrived
33 years, damn, I'm grateful I survived
We wasn't s'posed to get past 25
Jokes on you motherfucker, we alive
All these niggas popping now is young
Everybody say the music that they make is dumb
Money, pussy, parties, I was on the same thing
You gotta give a boy a chance to grow some
Everybody talkin' like they know somethin' these days
Niggas actin' woke, but they broke, umm
I respect the struggle but you all frontin' these days
Man, they barely old enough to drive
To tell them what they should do, who the fuck am I?
I heard one of em' diss me, I'm surprised
I ain't trippin', listen good to my reply
Come here lil' man, let me talk with ya
See if I can paint for you the large picture
Congrats 'cause you made it out your mama's house
I hope you make enough to buy your mom a house
I see your watch icy and your whip foreign
I got some good advice, never quit tourin'
'Cause that's the way we eat here in this rap game
I'm fuckin' with your funky lil' rap name
I hear your music and I know that rap's changed
A bunch of folks would say that that's a bad thing
'Cause everything's commercial and it's pop now
Trap drums is the shit that's hot now
See, I've been on a quest for the next wave
But never mind, that was just a segue
I must say, by your songs I'm unimpressed, hey
But I love to see a Black man get paid
And plus, you havin' fun and I respect that
But have you ever thought about your impact?
These white kids love that you don't give a fuck
'Cause that's exactly what's expected when your skin black
They wanna see you dab, they wanna see you pop a pill
They wanna see you tatted from your face to your heels
And somewhere deep down, fuck it, I gotta keep it real
They wanna be black and think your song is how it feels
So when you turn up, you see them turnin' up too
You hit the next city, collect your money when it's due
You gettin' that paper, swimmin' in bitches, I don't blame you
You ain't thinkin' 'bout the people that's lookin' like me and you
True, you got better shit to do
You coulda bought a crib with all that bread that you done blew
I know you think this type of revenue is never endin'
But I wanna take a minute just to tell you that ain't true
One day, them kids that's listening gon' grow up
And get too old for that shit that made you blow up
Now your show's lookin' light cause they don't show up
Which unfortunately means the money slow up
Now you scramblin' and hopin' to get hot again
But you forgot you only popped 'cause you was ridin' trends
Now you old news and you goin' through regrets
'Cause you never bought that house, but you got a Benz
And a bunch of jewels and a bunch of shoes
And a bunch of fake friends, I ain't judgin' you
I'm just tellin' you what's probably gon' happen when you rappin'
'Bout the type of shit you rappin' 'bout
It's a faster route to the bottom
I wish you good luck
I'm hoping for your sake that you ain't dumb as you look
But if it's really true what people sayin'
And you call yourself playin' with my name
Then I really know you fucked, trust
I'll be around forever 'cause my skills is tip-top
To any amateur niggas that wanna get rocked
Just remember what I told you when your shit flop
In five years you gon' be on Love & Hip-Hop
Listen to my niggas so-so you can wake up
The-the way I play the rap game, call it prophecy
Or understand the intelligence that Jay has, 1985
In DJ Premier's song, "Premier," J. Cole raps about his experience in the music industry and offers advice to the younger generation of rappers. His lyrics reflect on how he's been able to survive in the industry despite the fact that many rappers his age haven't made it past 25. Cole also addresses the issue of young rappers being criticized for making "dumb" music while acknowledging that he too was once guilty of creating the same type of content when he was 18.
He then offers advice to the new generation of rappers, urging them to never quit touring and reminding them that that's how they make money in the rap game. Cole also critiques the current hip-hop climate, saying that everything is commercial and pop now. He encourages young artists to think about their impact on society and not just focus on getting money and fame. He highlights the fact that white kids love to see black rappers act wild and that they often only care about surface-level things like getting tattoos and popping pills. In the end, Cole warns young artists that if they don't change their ways, they'll eventually become old news and no longer relevant in the industry.
Line by Line Meaning
1985, I arrived
I came into the world in 1985
33 years, damn, I'm grateful I survived
I'm 33 years old and grateful that I am still alive
We wasn't s'posed to get past 25
It was not expected that we would make it past the age of 25
Jokes on you motherfucker, we alive
Surprise, we are still alive and have surpassed the age of 25
All these niggas popping now is young
Most of the popular rappers today are young
Everybody say the music that they make is dumb
Most people say that the music that young rappers make is not good
I remember I was 18
I recall being 18 years old
Money, pussy, parties, I was on the same thing
At 18, I was focused on money, sex, and parties, just like many young people
You gotta give a boy a chance to grow some
We must allow young people to mature and develop
Everybody talkin' like they know somethin' these days
Many people are acting like they know everything nowadays
Niggas actin' woke, but they broke, umm
Some people may be pretending to be socially conscious, but they are not financially stable
I respect the struggle but you all frontin' these days
I appreciate the struggle, but some people are pretending to care for their own benefit
Man, they barely old enough to drive
These young rappers are not even old enough to drive
To tell them what they should do, who the fuck am I?
Who am I to tell these young rappers what they should and should not do?
I heard one of em' diss me, I'm surprised
I am surprised that one of these young rappers has disrespected me
I ain't trippin', listen good to my reply
I am not angry, but you should listen to my response
Come here lil' man, let me talk with ya
Young man, let me have a conversation with you
See if I can paint for you the large picture
Let me give you a big-picture perspective
Congrats 'cause you made it out your mama's house
Congratulations on moving out of your mother's house
I hope you make enough to buy your mom a house
I hope you earn enough money to buy your mother a house
I see your watch icy and your whip foreign
I notice your expensive watch and foreign car
I got some good advice, never quit tourin'
My advice to you is to continue touring, as that is how you will make money in the rap game
'Cause that's the way we eat here in this rap game
Touring and performing is how we make money in the rap industry
I'm fuckin' with your funky lil' rap name
I like your unique rap name
I hear your music and I know that rap's changed
I have heard your music and know that rap has evolved
A bunch of folks would say that that's a bad thing
Some people think that rap's evolution is a negative thing
'Cause everything's commercial and it's pop now
Some people believe that rap has become too commercial and pop-oriented
Trap drums is the shit that's hot now
Trap beats are popular now
See, I've been on a quest for the next wave
I have been searching for the next trend in rap
But never mind, that was just a segue
That topic was just a brief aside
I must say, by your songs I'm unimpressed, hey
I'm sorry, but I'm not impressed by your music
But I love to see a Black man get paid
I am happy to see a Black man making money in the music industry
And plus, you havin' fun and I respect that
I appreciate that you are having fun with your music
But have you ever thought about your impact?
Have you considered the effect your music has on your audience?
These white kids love that you don't give a fuck
White kids like that you appear rebellious and carefree
'Cause that's exactly what's expected when your skin black
Unfortunately, society expects Black people to be rebellious and carefree
They wanna see you dab, they wanna see you pop a pill
Your audience wants to see you do the latest dance move and take drugs
They wanna see you tatted from your face to your heels
Your fans want you to have tattoos all over your body
And somewhere deep down, fuck it, I gotta keep it real
Honestly, deep down, I must be truthful
They wanna be black and think your song is how it feels
Your young, white fans want to feel like they are Black and believe that your music represents what it is like to be Black
So when you turn up, you see them turnin' up too
When you get excited, your fans also become excited
You hit the next city, collect your money when it's due
When you perform in the next city, you will make money
You gettin' that paper, swimmin' in bitches, I don't blame you
You're making a lot of money and enjoying many women, which is understandable
You ain't thinkin' 'bout the people that's lookin' like me and you
You're not considering the people who look like us and how your music impacts them
True, you got better shit to do
I understand that you have other priorities
You coulda bought a crib with all that bread that you done blew
You could have invested your money in real estate instead of wasting it
I know you think this type of revenue is never endin'
You may believe that this type of income will last forever
But I wanna take a minute just to tell you that ain't true
I want to let you know that this is not necessarily the case
One day, them kids that's listening gon' grow up
One day, your young fans will mature
And get too old for that shit that made you blow up
They will no longer be interested in the music that made you popular
Now your show's lookin' light 'cause they don't show up
Now, your concerts are not popular because your fans no longer attend
Which unfortunately means the money slow up
This means that your income will decrease
Now you scramblin' and hopin' to get hot again
Now, you are in a panic and hoping to be popular once more
But you forgot you only popped 'cause you was ridin' trends
You forgot that you only became popular because you followed the latest trend
Now you old news and you goin' through regrets
Now, you are no longer relevant and feeling regretful
'Cause you never bought that house, but you got a Benz
You did not buy a house, but you purchased a luxury car
And a bunch of jewels and a bunch of shoes
You bought many pieces of jewelry and many pairs of shoes
And a bunch of fake friends, I ain't judgin' you
You have many fake friends, and I'm not judging you for that
I'm just tellin' you what's probably gon' happen when you rappin'
I'm warning you about what may happen as you continue to rap
'Bout the type of shit you rappin' 'bout
I'm specifically talking about the content of your music
It's a faster route to the bottom
This type of music will only lead you to the bottom
I wish you good luck
I hope you are successful
I'm hoping for your sake that you ain't dumb as you look
I hope that you are not as foolish as you may seem
But if it's really true what people sayin'
But, if the rumors are true
And you call yourself playin' with my name
And you're disrespecting me in your music
Then I really know you fucked, trust
Then, you are in serious trouble
I'll be around forever 'cause my skills is tip-top
I am confident that I will remain relevant in the rap industry because of my skills
To any amateur niggas that wanna get rocked
I challenge any inexperienced rapper who wishes to compete with me
Just remember what I told you when your shit flop
Remember the advice I gave you when your music was not successful
In five years you gon' be on Love & Hip-Hop
In five years, you will likely be a cast member of the reality TV show 'Love & Hip-Hop'
Listen to my niggas so-so you can wake up
Listen to my friends so-so, as they can help you wake up
The-the way I play the rap game, call it prophecy
The way I approach the rap industry is like a prophetic message
Or understand the intelligence that Jay has, 1985
Or, recognize the intelligence that Jay has in his message from 1985
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Jermaine Cole
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Melvin Johnson
Damn, i discovered this guy when it was way too late. Rest In Peace, Ryan. We'll all be joining you at some point in time.
Uncle.saMC47
This is why I love DJ Premier🔥
RJM Multimedia
feeling this in all aspects! Video, Lyrics, Beat all fire!
Nath Jones
Dope flow over a dope beat, props Ryan.
Da HTown Hustla
This beat is frigging SICK!!! 😳
Karim Otic
Rest easy Ryan! One of the most talented musicians i´ve spotted the last years! what a loss!
GaFFLe
Damn Preemo... you honestly MADE Hip-Hop for me and fully exemplify the sound. This is dope!
henry trevino
Smooth ass delivery and word play, beat was bad ass. I just heard this dudes names on a where are they now on fb. No mumble here, straight heat!!
drtabe
Damn... This shit goes hard !!! RIP ... SD RAPPER
Aaron Spohn
Props young man. Keep it rollin' You'll get there.