Best DJ Premier tracks

Melchior

Taking History Too Far
A friend and I were talking about DJ Premier tracks on the weekend and I realised I probably know next to none of his stuff.

Anyone got any tracks they'd recomend? NY State of Mind is clearly a stone cold classic. Any rarer stuff?
 

STN

sou'wester
A bit off-topic but I have this LP at home called something like 'DJ Premier's Breaks vol.1' - it's a compilation of funk tunes etc that he's sampled and a list of the tunes he used them for. To be honest it's a pretty boring LP as most of the tunes are a bit rubbish. Of course this makes me appreciate the man even more for turning bass (harr harr) metal into gold, so to speak.

What ever happened to Afu Ra? I remember not liking him, then liking him, then not liking him again. Oh, fickle teenager that I was.
 

nomos

Administrator
primo was my favourite producer bar none in the early 90s. my top bunch would be something like...

words that i manifest (no more mr nice guy)

just to get a rep (step in the arena)
check the technique
who's gonna take the weight
as i read my s-a
... actually, just about all of step in the arena

take it personal (daily operation)
no shame in my game
the illest brother

dwyck (12" and hard to earn)

come clean (jeru)

his tracks on illmatic were alright but i thought large professor's were the highlights.

by the time hard to earn came out i was losing interest.
 

hint

party record with a siren
Some of my favourites:

Jeru - Me Or The Papes / Come Clean
Gangstarr - You Know My Steez / The ? Remainz / B.Y.S.
Rakim - It's Been A Long Time
Screwball - F.A.Y.B.A.N.
Notorious B.I.G. - Kick In The Door
 
G

grosun

Guest
I like a lot of his more noisy abstract stuff... "come clean" usually gets props, but there's loads more, specially on the Jeru albums (in fact, I think those two are probably his best work overall, much better than most gang starr albums)...

in that harsh industrial vein:

"Mental Stamina" (jeru)
"Tonz 'O' Gunz"
& the first two beats of "Speak ya clout"

In others...

"Ya Playin Yaself" (jeru)
"Return of the crooklyn dodgers"
DWYCK
"Kick In the Door"

Damn, too many really... he did fucking loads of great beats. I like all the step in the arena beats too, even tho' they're not really that different from what anyone else was up to at the time.

Has he done anything decent recently? Haven't heard anything good out of him for a while, but then haven't paid that much attention to hiphop as a whole recently.
 

dHarry

Well-known member
Has he done anything decent recently?

not heard X-tina Aguilera's Ain't No Other Man? Stripped to the bone breakbeat, stax-esque brass & "Do yo' thing, honey" sample fill, tambourine in verse 2, , perfect really, if it wasn't for X-tina over-Aretha-ing over the top
 

Poisonous Dart

Lone Swordsman
Dj Premier

Originally Posted by grosun
Has he done anything decent recently?

Production on Big Shug's "Who's Hard?" LP, Little Vic's "The Exorcist", several Blaq Poet singles, 2 new songs for Cormega, "Wonder Years" by MC Lyte, "The Format" by AZ, a few new NYG'z songs, Termanology's underground hit of 2006 "What How It Goes Down", etc.

One.
 

daddek

Well-known member
Group Home "Living Proof" LP . To me, this is the pinnacle of Premo's beat making. It represents everything i love about mid nineties NY hip hop production. Stone cold classic.

its also features some of the worst rapping of all time. listening to malachi "da nutcracker" trying to rap is a truly depressing experience. but its totally worth it.
 

Blackdown

nexKeysound
Group Home "Living Proof" LP . To me, this is the pinnacle of Premo's beat making. It represents everything i love about mid nineties NY hip hop production. Stone cold classic.

its also features some of the worst rapping of all time. listening to malachi "da nutcracker" trying to rap is a truly depressing experience. but its totally worth it.

i spent ages trying to find this LP, never did. is it around now?
 

viktorvaughn

Well-known member
i spent ages trying to find this LP, never did. is it around now?

i can up a zipped version of it, or is this banned/frowned upon on dissensus?

it is a heavy lp.

i rate 'above the clouds' and 'work' as sick gangstarr beats, and let's not forget some mainstream bangers for MOP also.
 

hint

party record with a siren
i spent ages trying to find this LP, never did. is it around now?

http://www.juno.co.uk/ppps/products/195187-01.htm&highlight=group home

Perhaps the best option ;)

Otherwise... the LP was reissued not so long ago. Here's a copy for £16:

http://www.musicstack.com/item.cgi?item=144410501&find=

The-the The Realness-ness-ness-ness

===

As far as recent stuff goes... Primo produced Lost Ones for Jay-Z, didn't he?

The last Gangstarr track I liked was Skillz. That's a great beat.
 

Poisonous Dart

Lone Swordsman
Huh?

I could've swore The Beatminerz produced Finsta Bundy's "Sunnyside" and Godfather Don produced "Properties Of The Steel" HIMSELF...of course, Premo did include this song on one of his compilations but Godfather Don produced his own material (unless Kool Kieth and Ced Gee were around). One.
 

viktorvaughn

Well-known member
And not to forget one of the greatest Gangstarr tune ever made (imo) 'I'm The Man'. Preem switches the beat twice and unleashes jeru on the world for the first time.

His verse on this track is a serious contender for my faverouite ever hip-hop verse, or at least top 5.
 

crackerjack

Well-known member
Gang Starr - The ? Remainz - for a b-side that was one killer beat. Also, Biggie's Unbelievable. Primo at the time was coming out with these incredible stiletto-sharp beats no one else could touch
 

Woebot

Well-known member
I could've swore The Beatminerz produced Finsta Bundy's "Sunnyside" and Godfather Don produced "Properties Of The Steel" HIMSELF...of course, Premo did include this song on one of his compilations but Godfather Don produced his own material (unless Kool Kieth and Ced Gee were around). One.

i dug those out of the ego trip book of rap lists. apparently they're "covert" premier productions, but i wouldn't really be the authority to confirm that ;)
 
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