DJ Premier

DJ Premier原名Chris Martin，1966年3月21日出生。他的童年是在Houston和Brooklyn渡過的，當他搬家到Brooklyn后對HIP HOP產(chǎn)生了濃厚的興趣，開始自己嘗試著制作，之后不久他就遇到了同樣熱愛HIP HOP的Guru，當時的Guru已經(jīng)組建了Gang Starr，當時成員Mike Dee的離隊使團隊有了一個空缺，就這樣，Premier加入了Gang Starr，他們將爵士和HIP HOP融合的特殊風格十分討巧。90年他們?yōu)镾pike Lee的電影Mo' Better Blues制作了原聲，一下使得很多人認識了Gang Starr。
在Gang Starr取得巨大成功的同時，Premier也沒有停下前進的腳步，他為很多RAPPER制作專輯，90年他為Lord Finesse和DJ Mike Smooth制作了他們的經(jīng)典專輯Funky Technician（沒聽過的真的是要強烈推薦一下）。漸漸的，越來越多的人請Premier為他們制作專輯，他成為了整個HIP HOP界的偶像。94年絕對是每一個HIP HOP迷必須記住的一年，這一年中出現(xiàn)了太多的經(jīng)典，我無意中發(fā)現(xiàn)，這些經(jīng)典專輯大半都出自Premier之手，Gang Starr的Hard to Earn,Nas的Illmatic, the Notorious B.I.G.的Ready to Die,Jeru the Damaja的The Sun Rises in the East), 甚至連Big Daddy Kane的Daddy's Home他都參與了制作。
Dr. Dre, RZA和Prince Paul是圈內(nèi)公認的超級制作人，他們締造了無數(shù)張經(jīng)典專輯，即使有了如此的成績，他們也只是能夠與DJ Premier比肩的人物。DJ Premier是何許人也？聽HIP HOP的人幾乎無人不知，如果你還不知道他，那真是該好好惡補下功課了。爵士說唱天團Gang Starr成員（說實話Guru的能力著實有限，如果沒有DJ Premier，他也沒有今天的成就）。再看看這些經(jīng)典唱片吧，Nas的Illmatic, the Notorious B.I.G.的Ready to Die, Jay-Z的Reasonable Doubt, Jeru the Damaja的The Sun Rises in the East, Mos Def的Black on Both Sides，無一不是出自DJ Premier之手。
by John Bush
No more than three producers (Dr. Dre, RZA, and Prince Paul) can test DJ Premier's status as the most important trackmaster of the '90s, and no style is more distinctive. Aggressive and raw, a Premier track was an instantly recognizable soundclash of battling loops and heavy scratching -- all of them perfectly timed -- that evoked the sound of Brooklyn better than anyone. Besides helming tracks for his main concern, Gang Starr, since their 1989 debut, Premier's productions appeared on many of the East Coast's most important records: Nas' Illmatic, the Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die, Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt, Jeru the Damaja's The Sun Rises in the East, and Mos Def's Black on Both Sides.
Premier, born Chris Martin, spent time in Brooklyn and Houston while growing up, and studied computer science at Prairie View A&M outside Houston. Known as Waxmaster C, he'd already learned to play a variety of instruments and also managed a record store. After moving back to Brooklyn, around 1987-1988 he came into contact with Guru, a Boston native. Guru had already formed a group named Gang Starr two years earlier (and recorded with the 45 King), but his former partner, Mike Dee, had returned to Boston. DJ Premier and Guru signed to Wild Pitch and released a debut single ("Manifest") and album (No More Mr. Nice Guy). Gang Starr's interest in melding hip-hop with jazz informed the record, and they were invited to add to the soundtrack for Spike Lee's 1990 film Mo' Better Blues. Their subsequent work was much more mature and unified, with a pair of instant East Coast classics (1991's Step in the Arena and 1992's Daily Operation) arriving in short order.
DJ Premier had been working with other vocalists for years, and his productions for the 1990 landmark Funky Technician by Lord Finesse and DJ Mike Smooth cemented his status as one of the best producers around. He soon began recording exclusively at D&D Studios, a spot soon to become a shrine for hip-hop fans (thanks in large part to his own work). The year 1994 was a huge one for Premier, probably the best year for any rap producer ever; in addition to dropping another Gang Starr classic, Hard to Earn, his productions appeared on five-star, all-time classics by Nas (Illmatic), the Notorious B.I.G. (Ready to Die), and Jeru the Damaja (The Sun Rises in the East), as well as Big Daddy Kane and Branford Marsalis' Buckshot LeFonque project. Though his workload dropped off considerably during the late '90s, he still managed to place tracks on three of the first four Jay-Z albums, and returned in force with the new millennium, including shots with Common, D.I.T.C., D'Angelo, Jadakiss, and Snoop Dogg.