DJ Premier Recalls Producing For Biggie

Nothing we don't know already, only I thought it was 10 000 dollar price.

DJ Premier Talks Sampling With Grind Music Radio

"The second beat I ever made in my life was 'Take It Personal' but I never played it for Guru until 1992" -DJ Premier

DJ Premier interview with Examiner.com @ All Star Weekend

If you’ve ever listened to Hip-Hop music then you should know who DJ Premier is. Premier was one-half of the legendary group Gangstarr and arguably the greatest Rap producer of all time. Primo has made classic beats for the likes of Nas, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, Rakim, KRS-One, and The Notorious B.I.G.

Word has it that he’ll be behind the boards for the next release of a certain tantrum throwing MC from Chicago.

I had the honor of meeting DJ Premier at an event sponsored by 944 Magazine during NBA All-Star Weekend in Dallas, Texas—the pleasure was all mine.

SS: What has All-Star Weekend been like for you so far?

DJ Premier: It’s been really great. We just got here today. The funny thing is I’m from New York and we just got a little rough snow but I’m used to it. I shovel my own drive-way, I shovel the side walk, take care of all my neighbors, and make sure all the old ladies get their drive-ways shoveled and get taken care of with salt and all of that. I’m from Texas originally but I’ve been living in New York for 22 years. My sister lives out here and to come out to 9 inches of snow is funny. I’m used to 36 degrees but everybody out here is panicking, flights were cancelled and all of that. We made it here safely.

Big shout out to 944 magazine for having us out here, we appreciate it. Shout out to The Boardroom for having us, Russell Simmons, Melanie Fiona, Paul Pierce, Snoop Dogg, DJ Reflex, and Doug E. Fresh. It’s a beautiful thing to be out here. Shout out to Nick Javas who ripped it with me. He’s on my label Year Round Records. Also shout out to all the people that came through, Amare Stoudemire, LeBron James, Chris Tucker, Magic Johnson and also Allen Iverson who couldn’t be here who I’m a big fan of.

SS: I read that you were working with MC Eiht on his new album, how did that come about?

DJ Premier: We’ve been friends for a long time. I’ve known him since the 90’s; we came up in the same era. When the West Coast was strong with Death Row MC Eiht had his own lane—he also became an actor in the film Menace II Society. I did my first gig in L.A. in 1989 with Gangstarr, Compton’s Most Wanted, WC and the Maad Circle, and Ice Cube. This was when Ice Cube first left N.W.A. He got into a big beef backstage. All the action wasn’t out in the crowd it was backstage. It was crazy to witness that and see how many people were mad at Cube for moving and taking that step. It turned out to be one of the best moves that he made.

The first person I met in Long Beach at the show was MC Eiht. He had two beepers on his hip, a big fresh jheri curl, and black khaki’s. He said, “What’s up DJ Premier my name is MC Eiht,” and we’ve been friends ever since. I just love his style. He has a unique voice and a unique flow—he has his own lane. That’s what it’s all about, having your own lane. Everybody always wants to sound like everybody else but when you’re different you always prevail even if it takes a minute to get there. He never switched that up.

When I put out an artist named Blaq Poet on my label Year Round Record in June of 2009 we wanted to do a remix. Eiht and I were on the phone talking about new music he was working on and I let him hear the song and he loved it. He was like, “Yo let me get on it.” I let him get on it and then my man Young Maylay who’s down with Dub C WC and Crazy Toones who is also from the west coast let me hear his stuff and he’s a great MC. He’s going to be on my label too. I asked him to get on it too and he sent it to me in a day—done! I said let’s shoot a video because I was working with Christina Aguilera on her new album out in L.A. Gordon Franklin who runs my label said, “Yo I got some cheap tickets we can get. Let’s bring Poet, fly out to L.A., shoot the video, and go back to New York the next day.” I stayed out there and worked with Christina. I snuck away…she don’t even know I broke away. I’m going to get in trouble now. I broke away from a session that she’s paying me to be out there for to go and shoot the video with Poet, MC Eiht, and Maylay. It came out really good, it’s called “Ain’t Nuttin’ Changed.” Then they came to New York and did the show for our release party. We flew them up, put them in nice hotels, and took care of them—we’re old friends. I said you know what, we should do an album. Eiht gave me like 40 songs and he doesn’t know how to mix. He gave me like 40 songs all sparse and crazy but the beats and lyrics were dope. I said, “Yo man we could do two albums together! I’m gonna put you on my label and do a couple of one-offs.”

That’s what my label represents, pure Hip-Hop from the bottom up! You gotta start from the bottom and work your way up. Everybody now is so caught up on first week sales and soundscan. Forget soundscan and forget first week sales, it’s all about integrity and quality music. We care about our fans and we care about giving them their money’s worth. That pays more than a payola record. Paying for a record means you’re buying your friends. I don’t have to buy my friends to like me. I want you to like me because I’m real and I’m me. So all those other expletives let them pay for their records, we know that they don’t hold water next to what we do. I don’t care if they get 20 million spins they can’t stand next to us when we drop our stuff. Play yours then play mine—ours is better (laughs).

SS: Pete Rock is in town, I think 9th Wonder just left town…

DJ Premier: Family man…all family.

SS: I recently saw clips from the show that 9th did to honor you and Pete in North Carolina….

DJ Premier: Yeah man. That’s one of the dopest things I’ve ever experienced. To be honored…. Man I feel like I got so many more miles to go. I’ll be 44 years-old this year. The love that 9th Wonder gave me and Pete was so incredible. The band that played for us mimicking our records and sounding just like the beats we produced from out heart and soul, it was one of the biggest, dopest events ever in my lifetime. I love 9th Wonder, I love Pete. Big shout out to both of them.

SS: Are you still using the SP 1200?
DJ Premier: No I’m using the S950 which is one of the old, old 1984-85 machines. And I’m still using the MPC60! The first MPC! Roger Linn, big up.

SS: I watched you deejay tonight, what’s your opinion of Serato?

DJ Premier: I used to be against Serato just because vinyl is the essence of how we’ve developed Hip-Hop culture. Shout out to Kool Herc the father and Afrika Bambaataa the godfather. I was against it for a long time and then DJ’s I respect like Jazzy Jeff and DJ Jazzy Jay from the Zulu Nation were like, “Preem this is what you’ve earned. You’ve carried records, amps, and speakers for years; bruising your legs, being tired, sore, paying overweight fees on planes for your record crates on tour. This is a gift to you--utilize it, learn it, and master it and you’ll be incredible.” I finally mastered it and I can do the same thing I wanted to do which is what I was afraid of losing—the integrity of what makes me great when I do vinyl.

I own all of these records that are actually played on Serato. I have every one in storage with the artwork and the credits showing who produced it, engineered it, mixed it, and shout out to my man Ronnie, Ra-Ra, and Rollo! All that means a lot to us so I don’t want that to go away. I like all the rock artists like Katy Perry, Pearl Jam, U2, and Radiohead that put out vinyl. Jay-Z still puts out vinyl, Blueprint 3 is on vinyl. I love that because they don’t neglect what made our culture great which was the DJ. Before there was an MC there was the DJ and we are the reason why you dance and party. I stay true to the essence. I can play these types of party’s where it’s cross-over music but I’m really deep rooted in the 80’s, 90’s era of Hip-Hop. I like the grown and sexy stuff, 70’s funk, Parliament, Curtis Mayfield, Al Green, Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole you name it, all of that stuff.

SS: When you deejay at a club do you try to avoid playing Primo records?

DJ Premier: Nah, ‘cause I know that’s what they want. I didn’t do it tonight. The gig’s I usually get that’s all I do is do a big segment of Premier and Gangstarr. Then I go into other stuff like breaks and the original records that we sample from. At the end of the day it’s all about your knowledge and respect for music. As long as your knowledge and respect for music is there you will always prevail because I can do any gig from House, Folk, Country, Rock, and everything. We really, really respect music. We don’t just listen to it and love it, we respect it. You gotta respect it to love it and take it to the next level and that’s what I do.

SS: I interviewed MoSS a few weeks ago and he said that you guys had a surprise coming this year. Can you drop a hint for Examiner.com?

DJ Premier: If it’s a surprise then it’s gotta remain that. Shout out to MoSS, Works of Mart, Toronto, Canada. He’s one of the illest, fiercest, original producers that I really respect. That’s why I signed him to my production company because he brings another piece to the puzzle. And plus I give people their credit. You have a lot of producers that take the credit but other people produced the song—that’s just how they’re structured. With me if MoSS produced it, it will say produced by MoSS for Works of Mart. If Gemcrates produced it, it will say produced by Gemcrates for Works of Mart. If it’s produced by Premier, it’s Premier for Works of Mart. I’m not gonna take it and put my name on it but they did it. Plus my sound is already embedded and I don’t want people to say, “Ah man now you getting other people to do your beats?” I worry about that stuff. We all have our own style; they’re just another added piece to making solid albums. It’s all about albums, I love making solid albums.

SS: This is the 20 year anniversary of Just to Get a Rep. That’s my favorite Premier beat of all time.

DJ Premier: I appreciate it man, thank you.

SS: Go back and talk about Just to Get a Rep and how you made that beat.

DJ Premier: We made that record based on that fact that Guru and I had just got our record deal for Step in the Arena on EMI and Chrysalis Records. We both bought brand new whips, he had a 4Runner and I had a brand new MPV. He was actually robbed for his car and he wrote a song about it. The crazy thing is, the guy who robbed him for his car, we found the guy. We chased him and he ran into an ice cream truck crashed and died. God bless his soul. He crashed into an ice cream truck and died, what can you do? Guru wrote the lyrics based on that incident. That’s a very, very sacred and deep record. I remember the day that we went to the precinct to see the car and it was smashed up like an accordion. There was no way he would have survived that crash. It’s unfortunate that the guy got lost but at the same time it’s unfortunate that he took it upon himself to take Guru’s car. At the end of the day we prevailed. God bless his soul and God bless his family. We don’t wish death on anybody.

SS: You have over 20 year’s of experience beat-making. Do you have a favorite Primo beat?

DJ Premier: Nah. I’m not into riding my own expletive. It’s not my style. You know? Not my style.

SS: So what’s up for DJ Premier in 2010?

DJ Premier: Year Round Records is my label for 5 years strong. We have a NYG’z album coming out. They have an album that came out in 2008 called Welcome to G-Dom, more of a compilation type of an album with me bringing up the body of it and they did their own thing while I was on tour with Big Shug of Gangstarr Foundation. We’re also working on his album called Blue Collar. Also Nick Javas from Jersey, his album is called Destination Unknown—a very good album. I got Khalil from Houston, Texas--Missouri City to be exact. His album is called My MC Name is.… I’m also doing my DJ Premier album, MC Eiht, and Young Maylay. Also KRS-One and DJ Premier, we’re doing Return of the Boom Bip. Not Boom Bap, Boom Bip. Shout out to Q-Tip who is already on it. Grand Puba and Ice-T who are on it, it’s going to be one of the illest album’s of 2010!

Source: Examiner

DJ Premier Talks Nikes with BoBo

DJ Premier Interview with Da Beatseeker

Here is some old but interesting interview with DJ Premier, props to Da beatseeker:

You’ve mentioned that when you were a kid, you’re mother had a record player that would play several records one after the other. Did that plant the seed for your lifelong relationship with records?

DJ Premier: Oh, without a doubt! Without a doubt because I mean, I was amazed at how a machine could do something like that and I was also fascinated by the way labels looked on the record when it spun around. Back in that day, it was Atlantic and Motown. When you looked at the label, the way it was designed, and then you heard the record, it sounded like the way the label looked. Everything matched. The label looked and felt like the way the music sounded.

What do you mean by that?

DJ Premier: It’s like Eric B. and Rakim. When you hear them, then you look at the cover and see them, it’s like “damn, they really look like what they sound like.” It’s almost like I already knew what they looked like before seeing it. And when they were on Zakia Records, the label they were on before 4th & B’way, that logo was so unique, with the pyramid and the hand. It wasn’t a standard label or anything like that. They were new and they sounded so raw. And then you saw them with the chains on and the Dapper Dan clothes and it was like “damn, everything matches.” Just like Boogie Down Productions, and their label B-Boy Records, the way they looked and the name, everything went together. That’s what amazed me with the earlier records as well. When it said Marvin Gaye “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” it matched the Motown logo. Same with Diana Ross and The Supremes. And Stevie Wonder was on Tamla, which was his label through Motown. It sounded like they were all tied in together.

I’ve heard you say that you can tell the way a record is going to sound like just by looking it.

DJ Premier:Without a doubt. And sometimes I’m wrong. Sometimes I’ll take a record to the studio and listen to it and start hunting around for sounds and it’s nowhere near what I thought it was gonna be. Because I was brought up in an era of album covers where a lot was put in to the artwork. Today, the artwork doesn’t have as much care and passion. I wanna destroy that by being one that cares about artwork and make sure that everything’s gotta match. The way I look and the way I carry myself, my music matches me.

Do you remember the first record you heard as a kid that made you say “this is my favorite song”?

DJ Premier: “What’s Goin’ On” by Marvin Gaye. Just the way it felt and, you know, all the little adlibs he was doing like “right on” and “whooo.” For the era I grew up in, it was just dope. That’s one of the first, as a kid, that I could remember. And anything James Brown! I didn’t care what it was, I was just…hypnotized. Totally hypnotized. Nothing better than James Brown. What James Brown, George Clinton, and Bootsy did, all that stuff really put me in a whole different perspective.

You’ve talked about visiting New York as a kid and seeing your first ever break dancing performance. Can you describe the scene and your reaction to it?

DJ Premier: Well, I’m the only boy in my family because I have two sisters, so my grandfather used to always be so proud to have me around with him. He was really into showing me New York, the football games, the baseball games, and showing me the whole town, you know. He saw how much excitement I got from it. I saw the breakers in Times Square and they had the huge boombox and they all had matching outfits with the names in the back, and the Pro-Ked sneakers. The whole rhythms of what they were doing just had me amazed. They were performing songs that I had already collected like “It Just Begun” from Jimmy Castor. They played “Take Me to the Mardi Gras” and even had someone cutting it up. To see them do all that stuff and earn some money, everybody was so blown away, especially at that time. We’re talking like 1977, I was in New York during the Blackout. Hip hop was already in full effect but it just wasn’t on wax yet. I was just like “man, this is the greatest shit ever.”

Do you remember the first beat you ever made by yourself? What did it sound like and what did you use?

DJ Premier: The first one I ever made was DJ Premier and Deep Concentration, it was a demo. I’m actually sitting here looking at my demo right now. The same exact tape that I ran my copies on to get me a deal. I’m about to digitalize all that stuff because it’s on cassette. It was called “Let My DJ Get Hype.” I took a sample of “People Make The World Go Round” and did a new beat to it. It came out good. I was just a new jack trying to take something and see if I could cut it. When I look at it now, I kinda laugh. I had a SP 1200 drum machine and a four-track machine that I borrowed from my neighbor who use to do house music, right when I moved to Brooklyn. I use to go to his house and he taught me how to overlap beats. That’s how I made my demo. I did another one called “Up Another Level” and that’s the one that made the label actually wanna sign me. That’s when everything started to kick in.

Will you ever make that stuff available?

DJ Premier: I’m not gonna make it available. I just wanna be able to have it digital so I can have it in my archives.

How did you begin making a name for yourself in the already well-established hip hop scene in New York?

DJ Premier: I was just so excited that I didn’t care about anything else but just having EPMD, Rakim, KRS-One, and Marley Marl who was my idol, to just say “yo man, you’re dope.” And they all did. I knew the money would come eventually but I just wanted them to say that I was dope. They all did and they all approached me that way. To this day, I’m just like “wow, I made it. All the great ones I wanted to like me, liked me.”

What inspired you to start incorporating jazz samples and samples from other music in your production?

DJ Premier: Because everybody had been using James Brown in the era we were in and it just got to the point where I just wanted to find something different to sample. We had already used and re-used everything. I went to Jazz right away. My grandfather was a Jazz player. He was very much an influence for me from an early age.

How did you develop your trademark scratch chorus?

DJ Premier: Just experimenting and trying new things. That’s how all my hooks come about anyway. I experiment until I get what I think is gonna fit. That’s really my approach to everything to this day. A lot of things come into my head because of the DJing and the fact that I remember a lot of rhymes. I’ll be like “so and so said this line, and then so and so said this line” and it goes down the line until I find what I need. I search it, pull it up, and see if I can make it fit. If it fits then I start attaching other things to it or I’ll fix that one line and make it a complete hook.

Do you catalogue all these different rhymes in your head that you chose from at any given time, or do you go back and listen to music to find something to fit your beat?

DJ Premier: Most of them I can remember from just so many rhymes. My memory of rappers is vast enough that I usually remember a line right away. Or I’ll call Panchi from NYGz, he’s very knowledgeable about rhymes. I’ll ask him and he usually finds it. Then I’ll pull the record or find the mp3 and I just make it happen.

Who would you say has been the most memorable MC you’ve ever worked with?

DJ Premier: Um…definitely Biggie, Rakim, and KRS-One. KRS-One in an amazing way because for him to put his trust in me to do “Return of the Boom Bap”really shocked the hell out of me. That he wanted me to do that project and to work with him was just so much fun. Working with Biggie because I never seen nobody go in the booth and do what he did lyrically and not write it. I was always amazed at that. Working with Jay-Z was cool. Working with Nas was cool. And Christina Aguilera too, that was an amazing experience. I didn’t know what to expect because I had my way and she had her way but I definitely learned things from her that I never did in production before. I’m glad we clicked because it made her album a double platinum success.

Having worked with him on several tracks, what would you say made Biggie such a remarkable MC?

DJ Premier: He was just a witty guy and he was fun to be around when we were in sessions. He would just go in with no paper, no nothing, think it all through, and just do it. He did it with attitude and cadence to it too, it was amazing to watch. Even when he was doingLife After Death, he was in a wheelchair and was still being funny and cracking jokes. In a wheelchair spitting verses. I got to see a more vulnerable side of him then, and also the earlier days because we were neighbors. I use to see Big all the time before he had his record deal. Puff would come pick him up to go to the studio and he was like “yo, if it ain’t getting me money, then I ain’t goin’ nowhere. I need money.”

Can you tell us about the track you did with Eminem?

DJ Premier: It never came out. I had a big mouth and jumped the gun on doing a song with him. Some songs were brought to me that he would favor me remixing or doing some scratches on, and the first one I heard was a song called “Keys to the City.” When I heard the song I thought it was dope. He made the beat and I liked it as it is, I didn’t need to mess with it. I said if I redo it, I want it completely stripped down and I want Eminem to rhyme to my beat. The problem was that I spoke to people on his staff who were bonafied, but I’m not gonna expose them. I did an interview around that time and the guy was like “word on the street you might be working with Eminem.” I didn’t know it was a secret so when I spoke on it, it got back to Eminem and I guess he got upset. I never heard back from him. I apologize to him because I was excited to work with him and there was no way I would’ve given him weak shit, I would’ve given him something really hot. On top of that, the song had a certain rhythm, it was like the next step up. “Crack A Bottle” sounds like regular Eminem but this song sounds like a new Eminem and it had more ill rhymes and more creative beats to put out to the public. I thought he was on the right track with that one.

What are some of your dream collabos that you haven’t done yet?

DJ Premier: Eminem. Busta. DMX. I’d love to work with U2. I would love to work with AC/DC. Angus Young playing with me and having Brian Jonhson sing over some hard drum break. I’m a big AC/DC fan, I went to their concert a few months ago. I flew to Texas just to go with my brother-in-law and two of my homeboys I grew up with and we had the best time. Angus is in his late fifties and Brian Jonhson is sixty-one years old but they were tearing it down. Angus really kept it hard rock and true to his audience that wants to see that. He inspires me to keep doing what I do and all of that trickles down to my take on hip hop and staying true and raw.

Are there any newer guys you’d like to work with?

DJ Premier: Not really. I’d mess with Lil Wayne, he stepped his rhyme game up a lot. He says clever stuff. I’m not with all the other stuff, though. I ain’t mad at T-Pain, he can do it, he brought it back out, and now everybody wants that because it’s successful for them. I wasn’t even mad at Kanye for doing it. I mean, it was boring but Kanye takes risks and that’s what makes him so great. That’s what I do too, I take risks. I’m not into the whole Auto-Tune thing but I thought “Heartless” was dope and I like what he did with “Love Lockdown.” I remember meeting Kanye on the Electric Circus Tour, when Gang Starr went on tour with Common. Talib brought him on tour and we were like “yo, why you bringing him?” and he said “because that guy gave me a beat for free and it’s my first big hit” and I thought that was dope. Nobody knew who Kanye was then but it was ill because he said “I’m gonna do an album called College Dropout and it’s gonna be double platinum.” I thought “damn, that’s a really cocky thing to say. Double platinum. You’re just a producer.” But he did, he went double platinum on his first album. But I really love the old Jay-Z albums with the straight hard, gutter beats and I hope he brings it back to the old days. Hopefully, I can get on this new album he’s doing Blueprint 3.

What is the dynamic between you and the artists you work with when you do a song? Are you very hands-on with the vocals?

DJ Premier: Yes, very hands-on. If you didn’t like the way the vocals sounded, blame me. If it’s recorded with me, it’s gonna be done the right way.

Who are some of you favorite up and coming producers?

DJ Premier: Moss from Toronto. He’s definitely original and unique. I really like his style and he’s so clever with the music that he samples. Another guy named Gem Crates who’s actually my assistant, he makes really original beats and I’m signing him as well. Oh No, Krysis, Marco Polo. That’s what comes to mind.

Since we recently celebrated Dilla, I’d like to ask you what are your favorite songs of his?

DJ Premier: “Love” where he uses The Impressions “We Should be in Love,” I love that. Definitely “Players.” And I love “Stakes Is High,” he really tore into that one. And that joint he did for Ghostface too, that one’s crazy.

What was the relationship between you and Pete Rock in the 90s, when you guys were the two giants of New York hip hop?

DJ Premier: It was competition, man. We were all trying to outdo each other. RZA once came to me and was like “yo, I got this joint called ‘C.R.E.A.M.’ that’s gonna be on my album.” I was like “I got a joint for Jeru called ‘D. Original’ wait till you hear that.” We’d catch each other and be like “yo, you got me on that one.” It was very healthy competition. Same with Q-Tip, Large Professor or Pete. If they came with a banger, I went right to the studio to make another one too. I was like “I’ll be damned if they’re gonna be the next one to come up with a better beat than me.” It was always friendly competition and we always hung out together so it was, and still is, a mutual friendship.

Have you ever heard a track that you wish you made? Or a sample that you had but never touched and then heard it in another song?

DJ Premier: Pete Rock and Public Enemy “Shut em Down” remix. I wish I made “We Gon Make it” that Alchemist did for Jadakiss. I wish I made “Worst Comes to Worst” that Alchemist did for Dilated Peoples . That one was amazing. I wish I made “Nobody Beats the Biz.” To take “Fly Like An Eagle” like that and to do what Marley did, it was so sick. In terms of samples, not really. Pete Rock did a hell of a job for his remix of Adore “Let it all Hang out” and I used the same sample. Well, actually he used a different artist. To use “California Soul” for Adore, I thought his version was really good. It was a different artist than for “Check The Technique” but it’s the same tune.

What is your displeasure with people putting together sample archives on the net?

DJ Premier: I think they’re wack because there’s still a lot of sample police out there and they are definitely out to get people like me. They see it as a payday and a way to collect for the artist and get some money. I totally respect clearing samples now because I understand it in a different way. But the ones that tell on us, I have no love for. Because snitching is snitching no matter how you put it and I can’t respect that. When Ultimate Breaks and Beats came out, it didn’t say “used by Salt N Pepa, used by Marley Marl,” it just said the song the artist and that was it. They were just making it available because these are the key components of breaking and DJing and parties that Kool Herc and them used to play all the time. Those were the choice cuts that were put on Ultimate Breaks and Beats. Now, everybody is trying to expose everybody and it’s getting out of control. You’re making it harder for us to do what you love to hear from us. You can make them available but don’t say that we used them. It’s better to find out on your own or to communicate with someone that knows and then go get that record and own it like we own these records. People download them and say “hey, I got the original to so and so” but me, I actually have the record.

Here we have DJ Premier talking about his 5 favorite songs:

Gang Starr feat. Inspectah Deck - Above the Clouds:

DJ Premier: I remember Guru telling me “everybody always wants to work with Raekwon and Ghostface and nobody gives Inspectah Deck the collabo on a record.” He already had the title for this. He always gives me the titles first and I make the beats to match the titles. He’ll give me a description like “You Know My Steez” should be the first single and for “Above The Clouds,” it said “do it with Inspecta Deck.” We got him on the phone and he asked Guru “yo, what’s the song about?” Guru said “your mental…”

It was funny because the way my studio is constructed, Guru and Deck were at opposite ends of the control board as if they were on a seesaw. They just had their pads out and they started writing. I let the beat run and pieced together the intro on my headphones so I wouldn’t disturb them. I did the intro last. I just didn’t want it to start with that beat. I felt that it needed to build so it could be even more unique. After I heard what they spit to it, I took the sample and kept playing that little stab at the beginning. I felt like it needed some talking to match that astronaut type sound. That’s what I heard in my head. I found the stuff like “Flight to the Moon” and the voice of John F. Kennedy and all that. All I needed to do was fit all these pieces together in order. All that “up in the sky” and the guy talking about the galaxies was from the same record. Those lines just happened to work. Back in those days, we didn’t have Pro Tools where you can grab stuff, push it back, and replace it. You needed a blank space on the reel and you had to guestimate at what time the beat should come in. But it came out good and that was definitely one of my favorite records I’ve ever done in my life.

Notorious B.I.G. - 10 Crack Commandments:

That was actually a promo that me and Jeru did for Angie Martinez on Hot 97. Back then she did a show called the “Hot 5 at 9″ where she would play the top 5 records at 9 o’clock. If you listen to the scratches, before I added “ten” later on when Biggie got it, I just keep going to five right after the beat drops because it was for the top 5 at 9. Puffy was guest hosting the show and when he heard the promo he was like “what the hell, who did this?” and Angie told him I did it. So he goes live on the radio like “yo Premier, if you’re out there, call me.” One of my homeboys paged me and told me that Puffy was on the radio telling me to call him. I turn on Hot 97 and right before I was about to turn the dial off, I hear “Premier, Premier, please call me if you hear me on the radio.” He told me he wanted to buy the promo. I told Jeru and he was like “yo, it’s hip hop. No big deal.” So I sold it to him and Biggie already had a concept, he wanted to call it “Ten Crack Commandments.” I took the “Ten” from a spaceship count down when they go “ten, nine, eight, seven…” And Biggie just rapped over it right there.

Jay-Z - So Ghetto:

That was the first time me and Jay got back in the studio together after a long time. We ran in to each other at his concert. We hashed out our differences and stuff we had in the past, so he was like “yo, let’s go to the studio and work on something.” I did the “So Ghetto” beat off the head, like everything I do with Jay, and he loved it. He said “I’ll be back in an hour” and he came back an hour later ready to do his vocals. The Steve Cropper intro, I don’t mind saying it because I cleared it, that opening riff, I wanted to hit it twice before I let it roll. And Jay was just like “Preemo/ how we do/ history in the making/ let’s go…” naturally. Him and Biggie use to always say “yea, do the Premier thing” because they always trusted me. They would just say “do the Premier thing” and they would leave. And they never had a complaint.

Devin the Dude - Doobie Ashtray:

Doobie Ashtray was already done, it was really a remix, but they ended up putting it on the album. I think it was an Alicia Meyers or One Way sample that they couldn’t clear and they needed something identical to that, and they thought I could do it. I’ve known Devin the Dude for a long time because I’m from Houston. They reached out and asked me if I could remix it. I basically followed the original and played it on a keyboard with no sample at all. I stayed in the same key so he would harmonize and I remixed it while staying in the confines of the original. That was around the time I started playing keys a little more. I quit piano lessons as a kid but I learned the basics and I still know how to find what I need.

Jeru the Damaja - Jungle Music:

Jeru already had the concept, he wanted to call the song “Jungle Music.” I had the jungle sounds blended in from some sound effects records to really make it sound like they were out in a safari. When I found the sample, it just hypnotized me. I knew it worked but I didn’t know if Jeru would like it. When I played it for him he was like “that’s it, man” and he wrote it right on the spot. Showbiz, to this day, always tells me “jungle music, man, jungle music” when I see him in the studio. He’ll just say that out of the blue every now and then.

Source: kevinnottingham.com

Exclusive J Rock Interview from 2007

I found this interesting interview of J Rock, for those who don't know him, he was in one of my first articles here. You can click on the picture for better quality:

And to correct my previous article, J Rock never went to prison and Jeff Murphy is a free man now working in a community activist group in Newburgh. It's also a false myth that Jeff's mom has a lot of copies left of "Streetwize". To make everything up, I have my hands on that demo tape that J Rock won with Source magazine. I'll post that up tomorrow!!

DJ Premier Interview in Juice Magazine (German)

Here I typed out a brand new interview from the latest issue of Juice Magazine from Germany. Sorry for the language, but DJ Premier Blog got a pretty large fanbase in Germany. Feel free to translate lol.

Diesen man braucht man nicht vorzustellen. Um sich vor Augen zu führen, wie viele Klassiker das in Texas geborene Aushängeschild der New Yorker Beatkunst auf dem Kerbholz hat, muss man im Prinzip nur einem seiner DJ-Sets lauschen. Wer kann schon von sich behaupten, ein zweistündiges Set mit fast nur selbst produzierten Klassikern zu bestreiten? Dem Soundentwurf, mit dem Premier mindestens eine nachkommende Generation von Produzenten maßgeblich geprägt hat, ist er mit minimalen Abweichungen treu geblieben. Auch mit mittlerweile 43 Jahren aud dem Buckel denkt er noch längst nich daran, MPC und Turntables in den Schrank zu stellen. Sein Terminkalender ist auch 2009 prall gefüllt, zahlreiche Releases stehen auf der Pendenzliste, und selbst eine Gang Starr-Reunion scheitert zumindest nicht an ihm.

Dabei ist der 'Man Of Few Words' nicht unbedingt dafür bekannt, dass Interviews zu seinen bevorzugten Freizeitbeschäftigungen gehören. Doch als er kurz vor seinem Gig im Backstage-Bereich der Roten Fabrik in Zürich auftaucht, nimmt er sich bereitwillig die Zeit, um dem Schweizer Juice-Korrespondenten Fabian Merlo einmal mehr seine Definition von echtem HipHop ins Aufnahmegerät zu diktieren. Und selbst wenn seine Antworten nicht immer unbedingt direkt auf den Kern der Frage zeilen, hat Premo immer noch genügend Anekdoten aus seiner unvergleichlichen Laufbahn auf Lager, Kurz nach dem Gespräch übernimmt Premier dann die Turntables, um in seiner nie endenden Mission der Party-Crowd zu demonstrieren, wie echter HipHop Klingt. Denn wer sollte das wissen, wenn nicht er?

Juice: Für viele bist du so etwas wie eine Institution für echten, traditionellen HipHop. Wenn du jemanden unterstützt, wissen die Leute, was sie erwartet. Siehst du dich selber als Bewahrer des echten HipHop?
Premier: Bis zu einem bestimmten Grad, ja. Ich bin aber nicht der Einzige. Jeder, den ich anerkenne, ist ebenfalls ein Bewahrer. Es gibt viele von uns, und jeder trifft andere Maßnahmen, um HipHop am Leben zu erhalten. Ich mache es mit meinem Label Year Round Records, meiner Radioshow, den DJ-Gigs, oder auch mit so etwas wie dem Videoclip, dan ich für die Roc Raida-Tributeshow gemacht habe. Es gibt einfach diese Events, da weiß ich intuitiv, dass ich dabei sein muss. Ich respektiere die Kultur und weiß, was dazu gehört und was nicht.

Juice: Bald wird auf deinem Label Year Round das neue NYGz-Album erscheinen. Dies ist, abgesehen von den Gang Starr-Platten, das erste Album seit Jerus "Wrath Of The Math" von 1996, das du komplett produziert hast. Wieso gerade mit den NYGz?
Premier: Wir waren bereits Freunde, bevor wir Geschäfte miteinander gemacht haben. Eigentlich waren sie Künstler von Guru bei desse Ill Kid-Label und nannten sie sich schon immer NYGz, aber wegen der ähnlichkeit des Namens zu den New York Giants waren sie als Operation Ratification unterwegs. Eines Tages sagte ich ihnen, dass sie den Namen doch einfach anders als das Football-Team schreiben sollen, Panchi lernte ich kennen, als ich an die 183th Street in der Bronx zog, wo ich mit Guru zusammenlebte, Gurus damalige Freundin ging für einige Zeit nach Kalifornien und wir konnten für diese Zeit ihre Wohnung haben. Die erste Person, die ich kennen lernte, war Panchi und wir waren sofort cool miteinander. In seiner Gegend war er eine respektierte Person auf der Straße - jeder kannte ihn. Es ist eine großes Ding in der Hood, wenn alle Leute dich respektieren. Außerdem liebte er die Lyrics im HipHop und rappte immer alle Texte mit. Ich sagte ihm irgendwann, dass er doch seine eigenen Lyrics schreiben solle und dass es mit der richtigen Hilfe im Studio dope klingen würde. Daraufhin meinte er, dass ich sein Lehrer sein soll, Ich zeigte ihm also die verschiedenen Schritte des Aufnehmens. Shabeeno hingegen wollte schon von Beginn an rappen, Panchi hatte damals jedoch keine Ahnung davon. Mit der Zeit wurde er immer besser und besser. Eines Tages kam er zu mir und meinte, dass er eine Sache im Leben unbedingt machen wolle: ein komplett von mir produziertes Album. So kam es dazu, dass ich nun die ganze Scheibe produziere.

Juice: Bevorzugst du es sonst, nur einen oder zwei Beats auf einem Album zu platzieren?
Premier: Es kommt darauf an, Es hängt von meiner verfügbaren Zeit ab, auch davon, wer sonst noch an einem Album mitwirkt und von diversen anderen Punkten, Wenn ein Album aber bei Year Round erscheint, produziere ich zumindest die Mehrheit der Songs.

Natürlich ist es erheulich, dass sich DJ Premier nach langer Zeit wieder eines kompletten Albums annimmt. Base Zungen würden die NYGz wehl aber shei als seine Weed Carrier bezeichnen, als von einer Traumkolabo zu schwamen. In einschlägigen Kreisen hofft man weiterhin auf ein Kornplett von Premier in Szene gesetzten Nas-Album. Dies schien eigentlich bereits beschlossene Sache, als die beiden 2005 das Cover des "Scratch Magazine" zierten und eine Zusammenarbeit ankündigten. Seither hat Nas aber bereits "HipHop Is Dead" und "Untitled" ohne Premos Hilfe veröffentlicht, und momentan hängt er lieber mit Damian Marley ab als im HeadQcourterz-Studio Beats zu picken. Und so dürfte diese Konstellation weitherhin ein Feuchttraum zahlreicher TrueSchool-Heads bleiben. Selbst Premo scheint nicht mehr wirklich daran zu glauben, schlug er doch Nas kürzlich in einem Interview vor, dass er ein Album mit dem Producer-Lineup von "Illmatic" - also neben Premier auch Pete Rock, Large Professor, Q-Tip un L.E.S. - aufnehmen solle. Schlussendlich muss Nas entscheiden, ob er nochmals zu seinen Ursprüngen zurürckkehren will. Dafür plant Premo eine Kollaboration, bei der besonders ältere Heads aufhorchen werden.

Juice: Ich sah ein Interview, in dem du gesagt hast, dass du ein komplettes Album mit KRS-One aufnehmen willst?
Premier: Wir sind ständig in Kontakt. Wenn ich wieder zurück in dem Staaten bin, wird er in meinem Studio an einem anderen Projekt arbeiten, und dann werde ich ihm sicherlich einige Beats vorspielen. Wir wollen das definitiv machen. Absolut!

Juice: Du unterstützt aufstrebende Künstler wie Termanology, arbeitest mit verdienten MC's wie Blaq Poet oder Royce da 5'9", aber auch mit Christina Aguilera. Hast du bestimmte Kriterien, nach denen du dir die Künstler, mit denen du arbeitest, aussuchst?
Premier: Bei Christina Aguilera war es so, dass sie mich angefragt hat. Ich wollte unbedingt etwas im Pop-Bereich machen, um zu zeigen, dass ich auch das beherrsche. Es sollte gleichzeitig nach dem klingen, was ich im HipHop mache und auch Christina und ihr Label zufrieden stellen.

Juice: Und was sind die Kriterien bei MC's?
Premier: Sie müssen einfach über genügend Skills verfügen, so dass ich sie mit den MC's aus meiner äravergleichen kann. Sie müssen nicht klingen wie die MC's von damals, aber ein technisches Level haben, bei dem ich sage: Du hast es verdients, dass Leute dich wahrnehmen. So wie bei Termanology - ich habe sein Demo gehört und war sofort bereit, mit ihm zu arbeiten. "Watch How It Go Down" war eigentlich ein Beat, den ich für das Album von Blaq Poet zur Seite gelegt hatte. Es hätte ein Song mit Alchemist werden sollen. Beide hatten ihre Rhymes bereits aufgenommen, aber sie haben den Song nie fertiggestellt und der Track wurde langsam alt. Als Statik Selektah bei mir im Studio war und des Beat hörte, fragte er mich, ob er ihn für Termanology haben könne. Term schrieb seine Raps, ich machte die Cuts und so kam dieser Song zustande.

Juice: Du hast mal gesagt, dass der echte HipHop niemals verschwunden, sondern nur zurück in den Untergrund gegangen ist. Nun ist zum Beispiel das Raekwon-Album in die Top 5 der US-Charts eingestiegen. Ist dies ein Zeichen, dass echter Rap wieder im Mainstream ankommt?
Premier: Es ist eine sehr gute Sache, dass Raekwon so erfolgreich ist. Der Mainstream musste irgendwann auseinanderfallen, um den ganzen Müll loszuwerden. Es wurde zu groß und irgendwann geht es bergab. Wir hingegen sind immer da, weil wir uns treu bleiben und es raw halten. Uns geht es gut. Die großen Künstler jammern, dass sie nicht mehr so viele Platten verkaufen und nicht mehr auf Tour gehen können. Wir sind immer noch unterwegs und nehmen Alben auf. Ich bin sogar froh, dass die Industrie bröchelt, denn nun muss man wieder mehr Zeit investieren und richtig gut sein, um eine Chance zu bekommen. Eine Zeit lang wurde jeder gesignt, das konnte nicht gut gehen.

Juice: Meistens weiß man nach wenigen Sekunden, dass es sich bei einem Beat um eine Premier-Produktion handelt. Wie wichtig ist dir dieser Trademark-Sound?
Premier: Sehr. Teilweise ändere ich meinem Stil auch ein wenig, wie z.B. für "Shake This" vom neuen Royce da 5'9"-Album oder bei dem Track auf dem neuen M.O.P.-Album, der eher nach einem Dilla-Beat klingt. Ich wollte mal ausprobieren, einem Beat im Stil von Dilla zu produzieren, und als Lil Fame ihn hörte, wollte er ihn für "Foundation" haben. Eigentlich war es nicht meine Absicht, dass sie einem solchen Beat von mir picken - ich hatte vor, einem typischen Hardcore-Song mit ihnen aufzunehmen. Sie meinten aber, dass wir noch nie etwas in diese Richtung gemacht hätten, also willigte ich doch ein. Es gibt zwei Versionen von dem Song, einem mit gesunger Hook und die richtige Version mit Scratches. Die Scratch-Version ist dope, aber leider nicht auf dem Album gelandet.

Juice: Guru sagte in Interviews unter anderem, dass du nun ein Pop-Produzent wärst. Du betonst aber immer, dass du jederzeit ein weiteres Gang Starr-Album machen würdest. Seine Aussagen machen dich nicht wütend?
Premier: Es gibt keinen Grund dafür. Wir haben zu viele Jahre miteinander verbracht, um wütend zu werden. Wir waren eine Gruppe von 1988 bis 2004, wir lebten fünf Jahre zusammen, waren immer gemeinsam auf Tour. Es gibt zu viele Erinnerungen. Wenn ich daran zurückdenke, auch an unsere Streits, muss icht einfach darüber lachen. Wenn er in der Stimmung ist, lasse ich alles andere liegen und mache ein neues Album mit ihm. Wenn nicht, wird er meinem Arbeitsfluss nicht bremsen. Ich liebe es einfach, Musik zu machen.

Juice: Hast du dir die Alben von Guru angehört?
Premier: Natürlich, ich halte die Ohren immer offen. Ich bin mir ganz sicher, dass Guru, egal wo er gerade steckt, ebenfalls immer abcheckt, was ich mache.

Juice: Was hältst von Solars Beats, über deren Qualität ja viel diskutiert wird?
Premier: Sie sind okay. Seine Sachen sind cool, aber natürlich höre ich mir lieber an, was wir als Gang Starr erschaffen haben. Die Alben, die er mit Solar macht, sind natürlich keine Gang Starr-Alben, denn das geht nur, wenn Guru and Premier zusammenkomen. Aber letztlich hat er ja schon immer eigene Projekte verfolgt wie "Jazzmatazz" oder das Album bei Ill Kid Records.

Juice: Dein Soloalbum "A Man Of Few Words" wird ja langsam zu einer Eastcoast-Version von "Detox".
Premier: (lacht) Ich habe gesagt, dass ich es nächstes Jahr mache. Die Alben von NYGz, Nich Javas und Khaleel werden zuerst erscheinen. Erst dann bin ich bereit, es fertig zu stellen. Es muss verrückt werden.

Juice: Du Hast einem Remix für den Song "Go Slow" des Schweizer Soulsänger Seven mit Talib Kweli produziert. Wie kam es dazu?
Premier: Das was dope, Sie schickten mir das Original mit dem Verse von Talib Kweli und fragten mich, ob ich einem Remix davon machen könnte. Wenn ich gesungene Songs produziere, spiele ich gerne selber Sachen ein - ich beherrsche ja auch einige instrumente. Ich spiele die Keyboards ein, füge dann Cuts und meine regulären Drums kinzu und stelle sicher, dass der Beat bouncet. Ich bin sehr zufrieden damit.

Juice: Kannst du uns noch ein kleines Update über deine kommenden Projekte, deine Produktionen und die Veröffentlichungen bei Year Round Records geben?
Premier: Als nächstes kommt das NYGz-Album. Wir haben den Titel von "Pros N Cons" in "Hustlers Union - Local NYGz" geändert. Nick Javas aus New Jersey arbeitet an seinem Album "Destination Unknown". Haltet danach Ausschau! Khaleel, ein Künstler aus Texas, arbeiter ebenfalls an seinem Debüt. Er hat einen sehr eigenen Stil. Alle künstler von Year Roud werden auch auf dem NYGz-Album zu hören sien. Ich habe wieder mit Christina Aguilera gearbeitet, aber keiner der Songs wird auf dem Album sein. Nächstes Jahr liegt meine Priorität bei den Veröffentlichungen auf Year Round. Checkt außerdem das nueu Royce da 5'9"-Album "Street Hop", das ich als Executive Producer betreut habe.

Juice: Wenn du fünf Songs aus deiner Diskografie aussuchen müsstets, die nicht so bekannt sind, die man aber unbedingt checken sollte - welche wären das?
Premier: "Goldyn Chyld" von Ras Kass. "Extra Extra" von Paula Perry. (überlegt) Weißt du, eigentlich denke ich nie über meine eigenen Platten nach. Sobald ich einen Song gemacht habe, denk ich bereits an den nächsten. Ich bin gewöhnt an meine Routine und denke immer schon an das nächste Projekt.

Exclusive interview with Top (of ICP)

Y'all probably wondering who Top is, and why he get interviewed by me? Simple, he was the member of the group ICP (where also DJ Premier was a member of before Gang Starr started in NY). You will find out more in this short but interesting interview I took with him for DJ Premier Blog. He's a very friendly man.

- Could you tell us something more about your background with DJ Premier?
Preem and I met in College...started DJing a lot of frat and Sorority parties together...we both DJ, but he couldn't even cut when we met, he could only mix. I showed him a little something on the scratching… but just a little.. he took it upon himself to study other DJ's scratching and got his shit tight. I was DJing but really focusing on being an MC... so during parties he'd mix and I'd keep the crowd hype... once the party was in full swing we'd go in on a few routines we had... I'd rock rhymes and he'd cut hooks and keep the beat knockin’...We were killing it all over the Texas college circuit and decided to take it to the next level.

- You told me some hooks and some lines on Gang Starr’s first album are from you and Premiers demo send to Wild Pitch, could you explain that?
The original Gang Starr was Guru, Smitty, Damo D, and DJ One Two Be Down... they had a fall out at the time we (Preem and I) got to Wild Pitch and the rest of the original members came back to Boston. The label had invested in the Gang Starr project and Guru stayed in New York and needed to get the album done… Since he didn't have a DJ the label asked Preem to step in... since our demo was blaze and heads were on a time schedule cats went with what was available... Guru was fam and that album was completed in 2 weeks...

- Who of the members were on the demo tape?
Just me and Preem... I wrote every line and came up with every hook

- The beats that DJ Premier did on the demo, were they different than those on the No More Mr. Nice Guy album?
Yeah, we were broke… Preem was spinning breaks back and forth for 4 minutes on our 4 track... another track we'd use for the cuts and the last two for vocals and adds... 45 King did a lot of work on the No More Mr Nice Guy album.

- What was the reason you didn’t become a Gang Starr member?
No, Preem and I moved to NY together with other ICP members. I wasn't in Gang Starr because my Crew was ICP (Inner Circle Posse) that’s what I was representing… that was MY shit... Gang Starr was Guru's... I didn't go to New York to sign a deal for someone else's crew… I went there to sign MY crew.

- You said DJ Premier still has those demos, any chance it will ever see the daylight?
LOL... probably not… that shit is old... I will say our shit was HOT for the time period... Maybe one day when Preem is feeling nostalgic we'll get together and drop a quick EP.

- In an old interview with vinyladdicts.net Premo told us that the crew ICP had other members like Sugar Pop and Styly-T, what happened to them?
Man, there were more than Just Suge and Stylee in ICP... There was Biggas Gord (who is the only member still working with Preem), El Cazel, Ray Rock, HL Rock the dancer from the early videos and our man Chase... Suge is in Dallas TX doing his thing, as well as, Stylee... but I don't know what Stylee is up to really, he did some fed time for some bullshit but he's out now, we kinda lost touch he and I but I talk to Suge all the time... Gord works for Preem's label Year Round... HL Rock is still in NY in the fashion industry, we still holla on a reg. Ray Rock is working for the NY school department and we still holla here and there... El Cazel is a family man now and holding it down, while Chase is who knows where, last I heard he had mad kids and was doing the family thing as well.... We were all fam back then... I was the only real MC in the crew, not that Suge and Cazel didn't grab the mic from time to time, but I was the main event on the mic... when we went to NY, Preem and I were trying to get the deal.

- Now more than 20 years later, what have you been up to? Are you still rhyming?
I can still eat a flow if need be but that’s not my real focus anymore... I'm more into production now and may get into some management at some point, so I can show some of these new heads how NOT to get fucked.... I also do a weekly internet underground hip hop mix show every week called SOUPKITCHEN EXCLUSIVES which you can hear at my blog page as well as on a couple of internet radio sites, SWURVRADIO.COM and FLAVOURRADIO.COM but if you want to download the show you have to go to the blog page... Getting a lot of action on the mix show, trying to get into the satellite radio thing... In all honesty, I thought Preem and I would hook back up at some point... I'm not bitter or anything like that I still love my dude, but I expected that after all the shit we had gone through he would open a door for me at some point, it's just human nature to expect some gratitude from those you've elevated along the way, but that hasn't happened... Heads are always too busy. But I'm a firm believer of remembering how you got there and who you came with... Don't get me wrong, I did some things along the way that caused my music career to take some detours, but when I got back on my bullshit I expected a little boost from my dude... it’s all good, you live and learn... hopefully one day we'll meet again at the TOP, no pun intended!

- Here’s my last question, what are your top 3 producers in hip-hop?
As far as my top 3 producers in Hip Hop I love me number 1 of course... but to be honest there are way too many nice producers in the game.... I mean, I like Endemik, Jake One, True Master, Snowgoons, Blue Sky Black Death and a gang of other obscure cats out there grinding... I've got some young protégé’s Avi & Reez who are just sick with it... Really when you look at what’s out there commercially, many of the so called "big named" producers... man, many of them have hit their ceiling, meaning that most of their shit sounds the same... You hear one Timbaland beat, you've heard ‘em all yah mean... or you got all these new corn ball, skinny jean wearing, fruity loop producers... who can play 3 keys and get a deal... LMAO, the game is fucked nowadays... I'm still a huge Primo fan of course... my dude stays consistent... but I like me... My cousin Jaysaun of Special Teamz has a project out now with DJ Revolution called Game of Breath... I did a joint that Rev remixed called One, Two... But Jay's using my original production of the song for the video, my shit is more street which really reflects the lyrics, so be on the look!

END

I would like to thank Top for his time and honest opinion. It was a great time talking to him. Peace to everybody. Maybe one day... one day, we will hear those demos!

No DJ Premier on Christina Aguilera's Next Album

Yes, it's true! No DJ Premier on Christina's Aguilera next album! From the 9 records Preem recorded with Aguilera none of them will be featured on the upcoming album, that is what he said in an interview with Conspiracy Radio last night. The reason why the tracks won't be featured is cause it won't fit with the idea and concept of the album, which is futuristic. But DJ Premier assured us that further collaboration is possible in the far future, like with her upcoming movie project "Burlesque". God please, leak those tracks. A lot of people will be pissed I think.

Premo also told us that Nick Javas is getting ready to drop his 12inch and that Gemcrates is signed to Works of Mart. Ow yeah, interesting note about the "Mr. Magic Salute Intro" he did last week: it was created in 20min, he took the beat from his "Beats That Collected Dust Vol. 2" and did his thing. No notes on when that is going to be released. Further Conspiracy Radio discussed -in the 30min interview on the phone- the deaths of Mr. Magic, Roc Raida and DJ AM. After that we got the interesting questions about the KRS-One "Outta Here (Demo)" track, Royce's "Street Hop", and wondering if their were any updates on the Nas and Gang Starr project. Hear it yourself:

DJ Premier on Conspiracy Radio

Big shout out to the people of Conspiracy Radio, thank you!

DJ Premier Interview at Slaughterhouse Show

DJ Premier Interview for Back2Basics (2005)

Now, I did say earlier on that it was a pleasure to interview Preem... but in all honesty, it was one of the most daunting assignments I've ever had (next to an Outkast interview - but I'll save that story for another time). It's not that DJ Premier wasn't approachable - quite the opposite, in fact. It's just that he isn’t one to mince his words, and he certainly doesn't suffer fools lightly.

Thankfully, I made it through unscathed, as Premier happily offered up very frank opinions on a range of subjects. But what really came across loud and clear was that Premier was as passionate about hip hop as his beats are banging. His energy was infectious, and he really came to life when recalling the musical influences that shaped him while growing up in Texas, the golden era of hip hop that he encountered on moving to New York in the mid-80s, and his work with the greats of the game (including some classic studio stories).

Of course, not everything from these two sessions made the final cut for my article. During one of the moments when the tape recorder wasn’t rolling, Preem delved into a subject that was clearly near and dear to his heart – porn. Hell, he's such a fan that he even produced a track for porn actress Heather Hunter.

While being driven to his final interview, Premier decided to conduct a quick porn devotion poll amongst the other people rolling with us in the minivan (the vehicle of choice for all touring hip hop stars, don't you know). He eventually turned his attentions to me, asking me in his trademark deep, gravelly voice: “What about you? You like porn?” Not really a topic I'd thought we'd be covering in the interview, to be honest.

As I fumbled for an answer, Premier obviously picked up on my 'uneasiness' (that’s a nice way of saying I’m really a prude). He quickly followed up with a statement that still rings in my ears to this day – “You ain’t a real man if you don’t like porn”.

That was pretty much the moment the interview ended. My memory is a little clouded, but I vaguely remember jumping out at the next set of traffic lights (while considering launching a feeble face-saving mission by saying I was heading to the nearest news agent to stock up on porn). Shameless... anyways, read on for more from the man himself.

You can read how Puffy didn't liked "Kick In The Door" in the interview here.

Source: A Grumpy Old Man With A Beard

New DJ Premier Interview

I got a chance to chop it up with DJ Premier briefly @ Fat Beats NY. We discussed the role of vinyl & local record shops like Fat Beats in the hip-hop culture, Blaq Poet's new album, Eternia & MoSS's new album, "At Last," as well as Royce Da 5'9 & NYGz's new albums. I also got a chance to discuss the situation between DJ Premier & 50 Cent over "Shut Your Bloodclot Mouth," DJ Premier's tattoo, his goals when he first entered the industry and his consistency over the years. Get some insight into the mind and times of the greatest producer in hip-hop!!!

Source: TheUnderGroundComeUp.com

DJ Premier Interview in The Source '91

(Click on the picture to read...)

Source: Frank Blvd

Behind the Scene at LUSSW Magazine

Guru: "There is a black president"

Last week TROY Blog did an interview with Guru and Superproducer Solar, there is now a discussion again about Gang Starr on TROY Blog. As we know Guru in 2009 he always get mad when people ask him about Gang Starr and DJ Premier, or is it Superproducer Solar who gets mad? Premo always said he's ready for a new Gang Starr album, but Guru isn't obviously. Even Guru's loyal fans are questioning him now with his recently made auto tune track, it seems like he is destroying his legacy. But I bet he won't make a second one now Jay-Z made a hate track towards auto tune?

Now when TROY Blog asked him if there is a change he would work with DJ Premier again he answered mysteriously "We have a black president". I still think Preem and Guru just need to call each other and talk everything out, life is sometimes that simple...

Here you can hear the full interview. Big shout to them, love their blog!!

Blaq Poet Interview with HipHopDX

As New York’s Blaq Poet readies for his Blaqprint release, HipHopDX catches up with the battle rapper from Queensbridge whose dark side and honest delivery drew support from none other than DJ Premier (who executive produced Blaqprint). A veteran of the culture and a warrior in The Bronx/Queens battle of the '80s, it is no surprise that Blaq Poet regularly enlists none other than the veterans of rhyme (including Marley Marl, Freddie Foxxx, KRS-One) in his choice of collaborations, which is elaborate in his previous work. In the Blaqprint, Poet paints a picture of his story, which he asserts is a similar tale of many young men growing up in the projects. DX probes further with Blaq, as the veteran offers advice to the youngsters, explains his love for boom-bap, and vindicates why he calls them “bitch.”

HipHopDx: Blaqprint’s content illustrates hopelessness and negativity. Is that a fair description?
Blaq Poet: No. Blaqprint is…streets. Hip Hop with street reality. All mixed in. Everything is not "shoot-em-up, bang-bang, kill everybody." It’s not all about the drugs. It’s all about hood tales. And bragging a lot on a lot of songs – all of that that’s part of Hip Hop; telling people I’m the best. But it’s mostly hood tales and things that go around in the hood, every hood around America. And if it sounds like I’m trying to be negative or trying to stay negative, if you’re a real dude and you from the streets, you gonna know what I’m talking about, you gonna appreciate it. If you’re not, you’re not gonna get it.

DX: You refer to women as bitches often enough in the album. Why is that?
Blaq Poet: I mean you got ladies and you got bitches. You got niggas and you got homeboys. It’s the same thing. [Laughs] If a girl acts like a bitch then she’s gonna be a bitch in my eyes. And I’m not being disrespectful, some girls want you to know, “Yeah, I’m a real bitch. Don’t fuck with me ‘cause I’m a real bitch.” [Laughs]. I’m talking to the bitches when I say “bitch.” And when I’m talking to the ladies, I let them know I’m talking to the ladies.

DX: In comparison, do you refer to the ladies as much as you refer to the bitches in your album?
Blaq Poet: Nah, ‘cause I haven’t gotten to that point yet. I’m still referring to what they show me they are. There’s still a lot of bitches in the world.

DX: I think you’re hanging around with the wrong crowd.
Blaq Poet: [Laughs].

DX: DJ Premier executive produced the album. Your involvement with him goes back to the Y2K album, with Screwball. What is it about Preem that makes you want to be a part of what he does?
Blaq Poet: He makes the beats that makes me want to rhyme. He has the funkiest beats I think in the game right now and he makes me want to rap. The beats that he makes, the hardcore beats, you never know what he’s gonna come up with but you believe it’s gonna be creative, it’s gonna be gritty.

DX: What do you think is about Blaq Poet that makes Preemo want to be a part of what he does?
Blaq Poet: Preemo got a dark side like anybody. I think I bring out his dark side. [Laughs] He likes the hardcore and he knows I come through with that hardcore, no doubt.

DX: What is it about boom-bap that makes you a continuous believer?
Blaq Poet: It’s the boom-bap, boom-boom-boom bap. [Singing] It’s the old school feel of the boom and the bap. You can even hear it in the beats that the new guys are making. They got the boom bap in their beats, every beat has the boom bap in itself. It’s all about the head nodding and the boom bap that makes you want to just start shaking your head and start coming up with lyrics and rhymes.

DX: Why do you want to preserve that?
Blaq Poet: That’s the era I come from. That’s the best years in Hip Hop. I really want the young good dudes to hear and see how we was doing it so they can improve on it, make it better, make it iller. We want them to build off it…

DX: You’ve done collaborations with a lot of OG’s like KRS-One, Marley Marl, Freddie Foxxx. Judging from that, is it fair to say that you’re attempting to conserve an art form prevalent in the '90s?
Blaq Poet: If I’m doing it, I’m doing it not knowing I’m doing it. I’m doing it just because I love it, that’s what I love. And I want people to continue to go on with that. but I also want people to get creative too. Don’t just stop at the boom bap, expand on the boom bap.

DX: What do you mean by “expand?”
Blaq Poet: Like Kanye [West], he has boom bap in his beats and all that but he also gets creative. He might sample something a little different – just different forms of sampling and different ways of making beats. It’s all boom bap, but I just want people to make the new boom bap, call it the “new bap.” [Laughs] I don’t want people to get stuck in one era; I want that era that get spread and expanded and people just take it to where it’s never been before.

DX: What would the “new bap” be composed of?
Blaq Poet: The youngsters. The youngsters doing what we did and doing what we did and building off of it. I can’t even explain it; it just has to be done. It would be the hardcore, the hard base; then live instruments mixed with sampling. Keep me interested, I’m a fan of this too. I love listening to new stuff and checking out the new dudes and all that. I just want them to keep me interested.

DX: Any new dudes you’re checking for?
Blaq Poet: I like Cory Gunz. That’s my youngsta from New York. Cory Gunz is gonna have them wylin'. Ain’t too many, man. [Laughs]

DX: You stated that availability of Internet and technology increased people’s desires to pursue Rap. Why is Hip Hop and Rap so appealing?
Blaq Poet: It’s an outlet to just let loose. Everybody got things on their mind, stresses. Even if you want to have a party, a good time, then you can just let loose, Hip Hop is the best way to let your hair down. [Laughs]

DX: Why is it appealing for a career choice?
Blaq Poet: It’s like the NBA these days and professional sports – it’s a multimillion dollar game.

DX: How is it affected by the recession?
Blaq Poet: People are always gonna want to hear good music and always wanna hear their best artist and eat good food. So I don’t think the recession really bothers music or food. [Laughs] People are always wanna eat good and people are always gonna wanna hear good music.

DX: What is the essence of Hip Hop?
Blaq Poet: Graffiti, turntables, deejaying. Beating on the wall. [Laughs] You might have your homie beat on the wall while you spit some rhymes. You feel it in your bones. It’s not a money thing, it’s not a being cool thing, it’s something you feel.

DX: The changes we see today reflected in mainstream Hip Hop – can we call it “evolution?”
Blaq Poet: No doubt.

DX: Why?
Blaq Poet: Everything evolves. Hip Hop is no different than anything else. It’s gonna evolve and come back to the same way it was before and evolve from there. So it’s gonna stay evolving and getting different and staying current at the same time. Hip Hop is crazy.

DX: What keeps you rhyming?
Blaq Poet: I keep going ‘cause I grew up with music. When I hear a beat that makes me want to rap, I’m gonna always want to rap to it. It just gets me open. it’s something in my blood; when I hear it, I want to rhyme, I want to rap, I want to say what’s on my mind and express what’s on my mind.

DX: Anything you’d like to add?
Blaq Poet: I’ve been doing this for years, years and years. And I’m gonna keep doing it until the wheels fall off of it. And for the O.G.s out there, if ya’ll are gonna make the joints, then make the songs that youngsters want to hear or you’re gonna die off in the "Jurassic Rap Park." Or you’re gonna stay current and pop off like I plan to do. And to the youngsters, pay attention to O.G.s ‘cause the O.G.s are gonna break it down for you the right way to follow. If your Hip Hop starts at Lil Wayne, you gotta do some history and find out what’s going on. I talk to a lot of good dudes in Europe and a lot of dudes in America and the average European 17 year-old knows more about Hip Hop than the 20 year-old American kid. [Laughs] What’s going on here? There’s a problem.

DX: Good advice.
Blaq Poet: Thanks a lot. And I will try to clean it up…

Source: HipHopDX

Another new Blaq Poet interview with DJ Premier

In an exclusive interview with Audible Treats, Blaq Poet and DJ Premier opened up about the "Hate" track and the current state of hip-hop and the music industry.



AT: Tell me in your own words what this song is about.

Blaq Poet: "The song is about hate, about how people always be hating on people, especially when they start doing good."
Premo: "The song is about the state of mind that black people face in the wake of their success when you come from the projects. They support you until you have officially made it, then here comes the HATE from those same people that smile in your face."

AT: How did you link up with N.O.R.E. on this track?

Blaq Poet: "Me and N.O.R.E. been tight since way before he popped off, you know, so it was only a matter of time before we got together for a track like this."
Premo: "N.O.R.E. Has been a longtime friend in the industry, and the talk of doing a song one day finally came to light with a quick phone call. Plus he is from the Lefrak Projects and both from Queens... AUTOMATIC YES !!!!"

AT: What is your take on leaking songs?

Blaq Poet: Nowadays, leaking your track is a form of promotion. If your track leaks, it's all good, you have to get it out there. What it comes down to is if your track don't leak, it's not hot!"
Premo: "I think that leaking songs depends on who understands the knowledge of WHEN a leak should go out, and to what DJ's they are leaking out to. The majority of the DJ's on my personal list started at 36 and has now increased to 200 DJ's. I communicate with the ones that are not handcuffed to play what they think is a HOT record, not a playlist from the Program Director; that kills the progress of a good record's set up for more anticipation from the supporters to want to spend money on an album that they can trust will be worth their investment."

AT: Do you think leaking tracks helps or hurts your career?

Blaq Poet: "Before it blew up it used to be seen as hurting. Once it started getting big though, and the labels started seeing it happening it became a tool, they saw they could use it to promote your music. You want your tracks to get leaked."
Premo: "Hip-hop has ALWAYS based on leaking new shit early. It was all originated from what real DJ's call MIXSHOW (cutting, scratching, mixing) and being the tastemaker of breaking new records. If the hip-hop culture had a union of some sort, there would not be so many problems within its structure. My timing of leaking records is great because I have an outlet such as my weekly radio show that is dedicated to sticking to that script."

AT: What do you think about the current status of the music industry?

Blaq Poet: It's poppin! Hip-hop and RnB are still thriving and mixing, you've seen what people like Rick Ross and 50 (Cent) have been doing using the RnB influence in their music. Everything is healthy, hip-hop is good, and the recession didn’t even effect the industry; people are always going to want to eat and listen to their music."
Premo: "The current status of the music industry is very bad for major labels (they stopped caring about the quality of the product and the A&R's at hip hop labels have lost their minds on picking the next good artist to sign). Independent labels have a lot more to offer since hip-hop started from here. Majors were so late signing rap labels to joint ventures after they saw dollar signs. It was good for a while until majors started to kill our culture off by telling us that we are too old to do this after the age of 30. I saw it coming and went right back to independence. We truly care about our customers and we can make what we want, when we want; any indie label that puts out quality product will totally survive.Year Round=QUALITY !"

AT: Where do you think the music industry and hip-hop are heading? What's next for the industry?

Blaq Poet: "With hip-hop, the sky is the limit, you can't say which way its gonna go. Who knows, maybe country hip-hop is going to be the next big thing, I have no idea, I'm waiting to see, too."
Premo: "With the Internet, we are working on a website that will deliver all of the interesting things that I feel that my audience would love to see and buy, from T-shirts, to mix CD's, to rare footage that NO ONE HAS, DVD's,etc. I have been a music junkie since my birth, and I am following in the footsteps of the ones that came before me by making valuable availability of all sorts to the masses and thinking like they think. Just because I am of celebrity status, does not mean that I can't come down from my throne and be amongst the little people, they make the world go round. I never take that "I am above you" approach and stay humble throughout. Only when I'm on stage live is when I flip out, and rightfully so. The supporters spent their money to come out and see a great show. After the last song is played, I'm right back to humble, I win regardless."

and gimantalon says "that's the goddamn truth".

Audible Treats is the company who helps the promote "Tha Blaqprint". It's coming babyyy!!

New (Interesting) Blaq Poet Interview

You just got back from touring overseas. Do you get a better response overseas than in the U.S?

We get a crazy response in the overseas more because it’s not everywhere. Over here in New York and America, it’s everywhere. Everywhere you turn, everywhere you look, hip-hop is all over the place so it’s not really no big thing. You could see LL Cool J walking down the street and it’s not a big deal. But over there, they go crazy. Over there they really appreciate it more ‘cause it’s kind of still fresh over there. It ain’t get watered down over there yet so they’re still under that hardcore shit over there and the response is crazy. They never forget and they really support who they like.

From the show footage that went online, it looks like you have a lot of Screwball fans over there.

Oh no doubt. They come up to me all the time with the Y2K album and want me to sign it. They’re really, really into their hip-hop and they love it over there. I’m here to bring it to them all across the world.

Are you getting the response you wanted from fans for your new music?

Every time I hit the stage, I don’t know what the crowd is gonna do. I don’t care. I just want them to pay attention to what I’m doing and listen to the music and check me out. I don’t care if they just stand there and look and don’t say nothing as long as they’re inhaling all of this fury. That’s all. It don’t matter. 5,000 motherfuckers or five people, it don’t matter. I’m going hard no matter what.

The fury has always been a staple for who you are as an artist. How do you think that’s made you a great MC?

That’s what kept me alive in this game, the fury of it. I can’t let these bitch-ass niggas win. I gotta win, yo, and before it’s all said and done, I’m gonna win. Word. It’s all about that hardcore. That fury is not gonna go nowhere. That fury kept me alive all these years and I’m trying to stay current with what’s going on without falling into that pit, man, that fucking pit that they call “pop.” “Pop” is short for “popular” and I do want to be more popular so people can get that fury but I ain’t gonna change that sound up.

Has changing your sound up ever been an issue for you?

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Back in the day Marley Marl was telling me I was nice but I had to stop cursing so much. I was listening to him like, ‘Word, word.’ Next thing you know, who comes out? Fucking N.W.A. and they’re cursing up a storm and they’re wilding and I talked to Marley again a couple of months later and he told me, “Hey Poet, keep doing what you’re doing, man.” I was like, ‘All right.’ I already knew I was on the right path. I don’t curse just to curse. I curse because it’s necessary to the part that I’m saying. I ain’t trying to water shit down and I ain’t trying to cover up nothing. If a curse deserves to be in that spot, that’s where it’s gonna be at. It ain’t gonna be all “fuck fuck fuck, shit shit shit, bitch bitch bitch.”

How did you approach your new album The BlaqPrint?

You know, you ease into it. You can’t hit them too hard because they’ve been partying for years and have been having fun partying. The next thing you know you wake up sober and I’m standing here like, ‘Whaddup?’ Fuck that partying shit!

Your lead single is “Ain’t Nothin’ Changed.” What was your writing process like for that cut?

You know, Primo makes that fire and I was asking if he would give me something to smooth it over and I was like, ‘Find a beat that you can sample and everything.’ So he went through his stacks of shit and found that Akon sample and I was like, ‘All right, that sounds hot.’ So he chopped that shit up over the bear and he just started chopping that shit up and he put it together crazily. And I just started thinking about how when I go through the ‘hood in Queensbridge how shit be with my dudes. I just got the vibe of being out there with my dudes and everything just came together.

The video has a really organic vibe to it. How important was it to have a grassroots vibe to the video shoot?

Me and Primo stressed that. We just wanted a regular video, like how Rakim and Eric B. did “Paid in Full.” They were just on the block with it and they were with the people and we were just going to take it back to being with the people because everybody doesn’t have $200,000 chains on around their neck. We were just going to bring it to the people and be with the people.

Why is that vibe so rare to find these days?

I think it’s the labels, man. They go with what they think is popping. The labels, they don’t understand that the streets really decide what’s hot and what’s not no matter what. Everything comes from the street. All the slang and all that comes from jail and the streets. They’re just following what they think is hot and that waters down the product that they accept. I’m not trying to diss him or nothing, but Soulja Boy is out there doing his thing and he sold a million ringtones and they’re trying to go with that, the next Soulja Boy or Lil’ Wayne. They’re not trying to experiment with people like they did back in the day. They’re just trying to hit the lotto and they’re trying to water it down with the music. Once the labels open up, they’re going to fuck with everybody and they’ll see what everybody brings to the table because more hardcore shit will be coming out and that will be promoted down your throats but until then, independent dudes like us will be going in and bringing the value to you this way.

You and Premier have worked together for a long time. Why do you think you two work so well together?

Well, you know, that’s my son. He’s my son and I’m his son. He do what he do and he do it the best. And I do what I do. People who buy that shit will get nothing but fire. You’re gonna get nothing but fire. There’s no choice but to have fire. It’s all about how the people want it. We’re for the people, man, straight up.

What’s it like working with Premier on music?

Oh, it’s crazy watching Preem. That dude, he’s just amazing with the sound bank. You don’t know what’s going through his mind. You might pick a record up and you’ll think he’s doing it this way and he’ll go to the left with it. If you think he’s going to go right, he’s going to go left and he uses his records like they’re instruments, man. His records are like instruments. Primo don’t play no keyboards or nothing like that but he listens to all kinds of music and he can do all types of shit and there’s music that you wouldn’t even know he knows about and he’s a record master. He’ll go through one record and find something and go through another record and find something else. He’ll go through five different records to make a beat and he’s crazy with it.

What’s your favorite track that you’ve recorded with Premier?

Oh, man. “F.A.Y. B.A.N.”’s hard. I like the really hardcore shit. We got a song called “I Get It In” that’s got a real slow, sinister beat and it’s just crazy. I love that. I love “Let the Gunz Blow.” That’s another crazy joint on the album. There’s a lot of shit that we did that I like. There’s mad shit. (laughs) Everything’s my favorite, man. Every new one we make is my favorite. There’s a record to my cousin K.L., who died last year from asthma, it’s called “Never Goodbye.” That’s the last song on the album, the last song that was mixed and handed in. That one really gets me and I think that’s the favorite-favorite one. If I’m gonna pick one, I gotta pick that one.

How did K.L.’s untimely passing affect you?

Oh, man, I’m still going through it. It’s been a year. March just passed. It’s been a year. That was my dude. That was my cousin. That was my brother and my best friend. That was my everything. When I lost him I lost a piece of me but I know I got extra strength upstairs now and that’s a reason to go ahead and take care of this here rap game and get this shit done.

K.L. left an unfinished body of work behind. Do you and the rest of Screwball have to carry the torch for him?

Oh, no doubt! Just like my man Screwball. We created the Screwball group in honor of my slain friend Louis Chandler. I made sure that the world knows who he was and his name and it’s going to be the same thing with K.L. We ain’t gonna never let people forget about K.L. Word.

How does the chemistry of Screwball change without K.L?

Oh, man, it changes everything. It’s a whole new ballgame. We gotta sit down and really attack this the right way. It’s just like Wu-Tang because I basically structured the whole Screwball thing right behind Wu-Tang. There was all of the rapping and all of that. If you lose one then you kind of lose the whole feel of everything. It’s going to be hard. You don’t replace K.L. We’re just going to add on to everything and try to make it better.

What did K.L.’s rough, grimy flow add to Screwball?

We’re going to miss that right there, K.L.’s raspiness. And his wordplay was crazy. We just have to sit down and decide how we’re going to do this, man. We’re still in the process of doing that.

Will we get another Screwball album sometime in the near future?

Oh yeah. No doubt. We’re working on that right now and we’re about 60% complete with that. It’s just a matter of going over everything with a fine-toothed comb and making sure everything is right. We don’t want to disappoint our fans and we don’t want to disappoint anybody that’s a K.L. fan. So we just gotta step on eggshells around this but it’s on the way. It’s coming.

There’s no running and there’s no rushing. You can’t rush a good feel. You gotta let it cook with love. Let it cook and then serve it up hot. The Screwball platter will be ready in a minute. You just gotta hold on, eat a appetizer.

Is a new Screwball album overdue at this point?

I mean, everything has a time, man, and there’s a place for everything, man. I feel we should always be working hard and coming out with more and more projects behind each other. We’ll catch up. But to answer your question, yeah. The Screwball album is way overdue.

Getting back to the album, how important was it to have the classic QB sound on “Don’t Give a Fuck”?

It’s not just QB. It’s that classic hip-hop hardcore sound. When I heard the song I knew it was time to attack for all the O.G.s, like the Kool G. Raps and the Kanes and the Rakims and the Kool Moe Dee’s. It’s time and I’m all of them wrapped up into one.

In the song you talk about how rap critics need to give it up for you. Have you been slighted by the critics?

You know, out of sight, out of mind. You’re out of sight, you’re out of mind. You hit ‘em with something and they will respond. I’m not mad at them for me being out of sight. I just been out of sight for a minute so of course you’re going to fall out of people’s minds. People forget about you until you come out and everybody remembers, like, ‘Oh shit, such-and-such is home.’ So that’s what it is for me. It’s like I’m coming out of jail and hip-hop, here I come.

Primo described The Blaqout as being the weakest songs you guys recorded. Is that accurate?

Half of the songs people have already heard so we did another quick five joints that nobody’s heard before. You’ll be getting a full taste of this.

What are you holding onto right now?

Primo said it’s the weakest stuff but everything is powerful and everything is strong. We’re holding onto some songs that people haven’t heard yet. That’s the knock ‘em in the head, beat ‘em in the head-type shit that you just can’t deny. It’s just that hardcore shit that you’re not going to forget. You throw that shit in your CD player and you’re just never going to take it out.

And just because we got so many good responses from joints that are older, we can’t just let them die. We got joints like “Voices” and there’s no place for nobody to get that from. This is why we leaked this. Shit was leaked for a reason, to build up the anticipation so now motherfuckers got what they like with a whole bunch of other shit that they like. Once Primo played one joint on his show, it’s automatic that they’re going to throw it up on YouTube or somewhere because they want that hip-hop. It’s all gravy but now we got everything coming out that people have heard before and they liked and some new shit that they haven’t heard before. It’s just going to be crazy, man. You’re going to get everything on one platter.

Did you put The BlaqOut together or was that an unofficial release that found its way into the stores?

That was a mixtape. That was something that I put together just for the streets. Matter of fact, motherfuckers did jack it and put it up on the web and all that shit for free downloads. It’s all gravy. All the people know what it is. That’s all I want – for people to understand what we’re doing and this hardcore street shit. I don’t care if they gotta free download it. I don’t care if they gotta steal it. Just get it. Listen.

And sooner or later, there’s going to be a time when you just give music away, period. Free albums. The only way a motherfucker can eat is through touring and merchandising. It’s going to get really deep in a minute unless they come up with some laws but I don’t got no problem with it because your real, true people are going to buy it and they want to support. You got the people who are going to download it or steal it out their man’s car and that’s cool too, as long as they’re listening and getting the message, man. I don’t give a fuck, yo. It’s like when Biggie came out with his first album. What’d he do? He went home and made mad copies and gave it away to people in the ‘hood. Puffy was fucking furious but the ‘hood had it and they were promoting it and dudes were going to school with it and going home and making copies for other dudes and Biggie put Brooklyn on his back, just like that, man, and the whole New York too.

And let me clear something up to for all your readers. Everybody who’s trying to be the King of New York, you gotta leave that shit alone. That title belongs to Frank White. Biggie took that long ago. I would love to call myself the King of New York but I can’t do it. The throne, it died with Biggie. Don’t forget that, kids. The crown, it died with Biggie. Everybody else is talking about how they’re the king. That shit is nonsense, man.

Why do you think it’s like that?

Because everybody wants to be that No. 1 dude in everybody’s eyes. If you really want to be the king of New York right now and there can be any king, it would be 50 Cent. He’s from Southside and he’s been doing it worldwide. You can’t look over Fif like that.

Do you think 50 gets an unfair amount of flack for what he does?

I mean, you know, 50’s a smart dude. It’s hard to decipher it. He goes to war on the mixtapes but when you hear his albums, he don’t mention none of that shit. He’ll go to war on the mixtapes and on his albums he’ll be talking to the girls and he’ll be having a good time. He might have a couple of gangsta joints but he’s not mentioning anybody’s names. On his mixtapes he’ll shit on you but on his albums he won’t go near you. 50 knows what he’s doing. He know. When you disrespect motherfuckers, they’re going to catch feelings and try to get at you and all of that. That’s how it is in Queens. Niggas ain’t scared of that shit, man. Bring it. I know how 50’s thinking, man.

Who can carry the torch for QB in the future?

You got Queens and then you got Queensbridge. We’ve always been kind of separated from the rest of Queens. There’s a thousand of them out there. I got my little nigga SSR and J-Hood. We call him Hoody. He’s coming out. We got Arab Money. He’s the first Arab coming out rapping from the bridge. We call him Yassar. He’s locked up but he’ll be home. A.C.B., they’re still out there. There’s a lot of dudes from the Bridge that can carry the torch, but as far as Queens in general, I don’t know, man. They’re probably somewhere out in Cali right now. (laughs) Word. There’s a lot of dudes that I gotta see and listen to before I can even make that judgment. But for right now, I’m terrorizing shit.

You and KRS-One have had a bumpy relationship. What’s it like working with him?

Oh, we’re good money now. There was disrespect and if we saw each other his crew B.D.P. and my crew, we might fight and get it on. But now we met and we chilled and he’s a cool dude and he sees that I’m a cool dude and it was me, Kris, Joey Crack and all of us backstage right before a show and we were just chilling, all of us. So all the beef shit with us is dead. There’s new niggas to get at.

And working with Kris in the studio is crazy. I did my verses and Primo pieced it together. We wasn’t in the studio together but it sounds like that. I’m gonna keep it a hundred but I don’t got no problem with Kris or being in the studio with him or him rocking on my album or me rocking on his album. What we did back in the day was real hip-hop. We didn’t really battle face-to-face but we got shit out. Go back to making your songs because you’re going to waste the whole rest of your career talking about this nigga? Nah. Get it over with. Let the fans decide who won the battle. It’s not like you’re going to stop selling records. There’s too much pride and people are getting punked. Get up there and battle. Are you going to take out your guns and start shooting? No. Get it on.

Are a lot of rappers scared to battle today?

First of all, a lot of these dudes ain’t that nice. They don’t want to get embarrassed. That’s the thing right there. Nobody wants to get embarrassed. But if you’re nice and you’re popping all of that shit, you must be ready to fight or something. I don’t want to hear records talking about all of that when I originally liked you in the first place. I might have liked the songs you made but now that you have beef with this guy every song is a battle? Do your songs, man. Do what you do. You might say something but don’t keep going on and on and on. That shit is corny. Word.

Can fans still find your first album Without Warning these days?

On Tuff City Records? If they go hard. I’m pretty sure Aaron Fuchs has it for you to cop for $1000 but he got it. He’s definitely got it.

You were one of the first rappers to work with Cormega. What did you see in ‘Mega back in the day?

‘Mega was hot! ‘Mega was fire! It was only right. I think he did one joint before we worked together but I don’t think people really heard that. Everybody wants to say they first heard him on my album. Yeah, man, ‘Mega, that’s my little brother. He’s been supporting since day one.

What should we be expecting from you in the next few months?

There’s going to be more touring. I’m trying to get together a little surprise EP for the fans too. And the motherfucking BlaqPrint will be out there, man. We might do a whole promo tour around the U.S. so we can solidify the U.S. We gotta let niggas at home know what it is too. We can’t just do it for all of Europe. We have to preach it here too. We can’t expect the dudes around here to forget about it. There’s going to be a whole lot of heat and terror coming out of here, dude. I’m going to have to get in their face and I’m pretty sure they know what it is. Other than that, we taking over.
Source: HipHopGame.com