DJ Premier Discusses Classic Records

I came across this over the weekend and spent over an hour reading through it and listening to some of the tracks and watching the videos. Premier offered Complex magazine a look behind some of his best work - some really well known, others a little more obscure. He gave background as to how the collaboration came about, the construction of the track, problems with labels and execs, and who may have passed on the beat first.

In my mind, Premier's signature sound is synonomous with Hip Hop. If someone asked me what Hip Hop sounds like, I think I'd go for a Premier record first. Before even thinking of an MC, I would probably think of Premier. And, I know I'm not alone on this. This is why so much buzz can surround an album if word gets out that Prem "might" have a track on it. Whenever a MC throws up a tracklist to their upcoming album, heads are looking and hoping for a Premier production.

He has countless classics in his catalog, and this interview gives a much needed look at a handful of them. Link to the article is below. Also make sure you listen to his latest compilation Get Used To Us.

http://www.complex.com/music/2011/02/dj-premier-tells-all-stories-behind-classic-records/

"Get Used To Us" - Before I Listen

"I'll let my record talk for me like a Preem hook" - Royce Da 5'9"

I'm about to check out this DJ Premier album. I'm a little disappointed in the track list though. He can literally get anyone he wants, but NYGz are on there like 5 times. Plus, "Sing Like Bilal" with Joell Ortiz has already shown up enough on Joell's mixtapes this year, and should have been left off of this album. I guess it's a producer's album to promote his label. But, still.

Actually, with someone like Premier, I have absolutely ZERO interest in him breaking new talent. I really only want to hear established MCs that I respect over his beats. I mean, think about it. When you talk about your favorite MCs, if they haven't worked with Premier yet, you say how great it would be if they did. If they have worked with Premier that work is pretty much always hailed as their best. So, is it too much to ask that he do albums for my handpicked artists?

Anyway, I'm sure this album turned out great, but hopefully not too short of what it could be. I am looking forward to the Teflon/Styles P. match up, and Premier cutting up records on the hooks. But, in terms of Premier v. Pete Rock, this has to hold up to Soul Survivor!

In all likelihood I'll probably end up making the purchase to support. If Premier doesn't earn your money, who does? As long as he leaves off all his drops. Maybe I'm crazy, but he has some of the most annoying drops of any DJ, and they haven't changed in like 15 years.

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Bun B & DJ Premier Studio Video

I'm kinda looking forward to this new Bun B album. I've been a UGK fan for a long, long time. I haven't been appreciating a lot of Bun's collaborations in the last few years. Not because of him, but because of the caliber of rapper he lets record with him sometimes - but, hey he's spreading his talent around and turning on more people to his skill, so overall it's a good strategy. Anyway, this isn't one of the aforementioned collabs. This is Bun and Premier. Trill O.G. should be in stores tomorrow (Aug. 3rd).

New Visuals

These are a couple of videos for songs I like that caught my eye the past couple of days (oh, and make sure you check out Erykah Badu's video for "Window Seat" if you haven't yet). The black & white is a coincidence...I think.

The first is "Project Boy" by Joell Ortiz and Produced by DJ Premier. I guess this is going to be on Ortiz's solo album Free Agent (date??)



Next is the video for Strong Arm Steady's song with Phonte (Little Brother), "Best of Times" off of their entirely Madlib produced In Search Of Stoney Jackson which dropped last year. Make sure you listen to the album if you haven't yet - a favorite of mine from '09.

Gangstarr - Take It Personal

I just got a chance to listen to the half-hour long 'Guru Respect Mix' by DJ Wonder that I posted a few days ago. It's nice to hear for anyone not familiar with Gangstarr, or those who just haven't pulled their music out in a while.

This isn't the case for me. Gangstarr is not only one of my favorite groups of all time, they're actually one that I still listen to all the time despite having a constant selection of new stuff in my posession. I keep Full Clip in my iPod because it covers a lot of the best material (it may actually be the best Greatest Hits collection of any hip hop artist), and rotate the actual albums whenever I'm in the mood to hear more.

I first became aware of Gangstarr by seeing the video for "Take It Personal" from their third album Daily Operation. My brother and I used to record Hip Hop videos and watch them over and over, and this is one video that got a lot of play. Check it out below, or else I'll B.Y.S.

Which Way Is West

So, word is that DJ Premier will be Executive Producing MC Eiht's upcoming album, Which Way Is West and releasing it independently on his own label this summer. I'm not sure how this will turn out. I never thought of these two together at all. So, I'm not gonna get excited.

They both have classic material under their belt, so the potential is there. MC Eiht's no lyrical mastermind, but that doesn't mean he can't craft some great songs, especially with Premier and other talent like Marco Polo backing him up. We'll see what happens.

It's probably about time to break out some old CMW.

Thoughts?

Original Samples

There was a time when DJ/Producers kept the samples they used under wraps whenever possible. They took the time and made the effort to dig through crate after crate listening for that one perfect sound to create a new song around, and they'd be damned if someone else went and piggy-backed on their hard work and used the same sample.

I may be a little off with my history here. But, I guess shortly after hip hop artists started being sued for sampling records without permission, we began to see the original music being credited in print in the album's liner notes. It's funny to think about, but this could very well have been what helped to introduce me to various forms of music from years past. I've been listening to hip hop since around the age of five, so that is what I knew. But, after a combination of seeing the original songs credited in print, and hearing these classic songs played on the radio (the big soul and funk records anyway), I began to pay attention to where this music called hip hop actually came from. It was original, though not completely. James Brown, The Isley Brothers, Curtis Mayfield, etc. As well as countless jazz musicians, especially when it comes to producers like Pete Rock, J Dilla, and DJ Premier. All of these were used as the foundation for a lot of hip hop records. So, I started picking up these albums as well, and playing them whenever I wasn't playing a hip hop record. To this day I have an ever-expanding appreciation of music that comes mostly from hip hop.

Today, a lot of hip hop albums credit the orginal artist that is sampled for a track. But, some don't. I'm not sure if this is a choice (as long as you pay the fee), or if the rule only applies if you use a certain amount of the song. In other words, if the sample is short enough then no royalty is required. I don't really know how it works - feel free to educate me if you know. I've noticed that Gangstarr CDs don't usually have the sample listed.

I'm not sure how long ago, but within the last ten years I became aware of DJ Neil Armstrong, a DJ that beautifully blends hip hop tracks with their original samples (among many other things). His albums amaze me and are EXTREMELY enjoyable. In the last few years, I have come across several DJs doing the same thing. Some with specific artists/albums like DJ Parler for his Sampology series, and some that release CDs of their crate digging exploits that are chock-full of famous samples - Dj Muro and the legendary Lord Finesse, for instance.

This week, I came across 'Originals' by DJ Premier, a collection of Funk and Soul records that the man himself had sampled for various tracks that he produced over the years. "Better Luck Next Time", "Memory Lane", "Betrayal", "Moment of Truth", "Code of the Streets", "So Ghetto", "Follow Instructions", "Friend or Foe", "A Million and One Questions", countless others. They are all here. All kinds of hip hop classics, and I could give a fuck about a radio single. This right here is what hip hop is about. Listening to this collection is a real experience. It's like taking a journey through the man's secret music collection. How nice of him to let us in to experience them as he was able to. Well, kind of anyway.

If you didn't know before, after hearing this collection, you will agree that DJ Premier is a world-class crate digger. And, if you heard a collection of what he actually did with all of these samples, you would know (if you didn't already) that Preemo is possibly the greatest hip hop producer that has ever lived. Very few are even in contention. And, it's really incredible sometimes to hear the one tiny little sample of a whole song that Premier uses to construct a track around. The sample for "Moment of Truth" is a great example. And listen to how he completely restructures the sample used for "Above The Clouds", or "Skillz". Amazing. This isn't Puffy-type sampling. This isn't jacking a whole song, and sometimes the concept too. This is using existing music to make entirely new music. And, it's a beautiful thing.

After hearing all that I've heard over the past 5-10 years of these "original sample compilations", you cannot tell me that sampling - when done right - is not an art. It takes a lot of difficult and meticulous work, and the finished product usually is a completely new song. DJ Premier is at the head of it all. Do yourself a favor, and take the time to listen to 'Originals' by DJ Premier. Also try to pick up some work by people like DJ Neil Armstrong and DJ Muro. They will give you a much-needed history lesson while you enjoy some unbelievably great music.

'Nuff respect to the Crate Diggers of the world. You are appreciated.


http://rapidshare.com/files/277234487/DJ_Premier-Originals_2009_.zip