Since it seems we’ve become obsessed with lists, here’s a topper: DJ Premier. Hailing from Houston, but more famously half of Brooklyn’s Gang Starr, Primo helped pioneer New York hip-hop alongside MC Guru, and has worked with nearly every emcee worth mentioning since 1990. But after the death of Guru back in April, and the subsequent controversy, 2010 just didn’t turn out the way the producer had anticipated.

The legendary producer maintained a steady stream of talent through his studio, but the vast majority of the tracks have yet to be released. That is, until Get Used to Us dropped this week (December 7th) via Primo’s own Year Round Records. Featuring Blaq Poet, NYGz, Freddie Foxxx plus newcomers Khaleel and Nick Javas, the album is just one of at least three Primo will be releasing in the next few months. With a few minutes to spare during a stop in Chicago, Consequence of Sound caught up with Primo to discuss the releases, future collaborations, where he hides his Grammys, and if there is still any emotion left in hip-hop. And in the time CoS shared with Primo, is was clear there was an honest humility, and respect for the game, prominent in his thick, raspy voice.

So, when was the last time you rolled through Chicago?

It was the last Red Bull Big Tune Event. Na, Na, Na. I remember it was with 9^th Wonder, and we went in through the back way.

Road Manager: No man, that was [the Nationals] in Atlanta.

Have any of the contestants landed on your label, Year Round Records?

No, right now the only three artists I have on my label are Nick Javas, NYGz, and Khaleel. I want to start slow, and grow independent.

You’re introducing some of the guys on your upcoming compilation. Is the title Get Used to Us a challenge to the rest of the hip-hop community?

Shabeeno from the NYGz says it all the time, ‘Get used to us, get used to us. There ain’t nothing you can do than just get used to us.’ And I was like … really sticking out my head, because that is what I really want all my people to do.

And you’ve known the guys from NYGz for years now.

Yah, they’ve been friends for a while. Even though it is business when we do music, they were already friends of mine because I lived on Panchi’s block on 183^rd St in the West Bronx – which is really where hip-hop started, not the South Bronx. We were where it was all getting started.

The new compilation album contains tracks from everything that you have been working on during 2010. How have you gone about compiling the tracks, and artists for your label?

Good music, period! What it is … I have always tried to be different. And I really think that is what I got some fame from. With the label, instead of having strictly East Coast, I have one New Jersey artist who happens to be Italian (Nick Javas). I have one street-gutter group, NYGz, who are from the Bronx and Uptown. Then I got Khaleel, (looking at phone) who’s hitting me up right now, from Texas. They are really the only artists I got right now, but I also got what I refer to as “specialty projects”. Projects like KRS-One and Premiere: The Return of the Bap, Pete Rock vs DJ Premier, and Freddie Foxx’s The Kolexion (The Collection).

And really that is a collection of stuff we already did years ago. Freddie and I did a lot of throw away beats in the past, stuff that just never went anywhere. Freddie asked for what we did, so I gave him a whole batch of ‘em. And like the next day he had six or seven songs. But it’s like, take whatever you want, because I want to keep workin’ on the newer stuff’. And then I have Beats That Collected Dust, which is my instrumental series. Volume II will be dropping the first week of January.

With that Pete Rock joint dropping soon, you have multiple releases on the horizon.

Yah, that we’ll be wrapping up early next year. That was really easy to do. We’re each doing six tracks with six underground artists. But we’re not telling each other who we got.

I know! But can’t you give us any more details?

I am teasing with GZA from Wu-Tang and Beatnuts. But the other four I am not going to say.

With all the releases and your own label, you must be getting more demos than you know what to do with. Everyone wants Primo to be their producer. What drew you to the initial recruits?

With NYGz, it’s just picking up the slack where Guru left off because they are Gang Starr Foundation to begin with. And then on top of that, they were signed to Guru’s Ill Kid label first and they came out as Operation Ratification. They were NYGz to begin with, and then went back from Operation Ratification to NYGz.

What struck you about Khaleel?

Khaleel actually, is really a look out deal. He was signed to another label called 24 Hundred Records. He had done a record with Lord Finesse and Showbiz while he was in New York visiting to do some records with us. He paid us a heap of money and everything came out good. Then after that label folded, and after I had just done some production for them, the owner asked if there were anyway I could help him get in the business or find a deal with somebody. But since I liked him, I agreed to do one album. We already wrapped up the recording, and of course the entire Year Round family will be on it.

The only release you have coming up that is 100% Primo-production is for NYGz. Have you made a conscious decision to focus on singles?

They came to me with the idea of an all-Premier album, that way we wouldn’t have to do it again. And given that our friendship is that close, I agreed to it. Both [the releases] by Nick and Khaleel are 90% me. Marco Polo is helping out doing a couple tracks on each album.

M-Phazes did a lot of Nick Javas’ album. You ever heard of M-Phazes? He’s from Australia, and he’s dope. He was doing all the beat battles here in the States. We actually did a show recently in Australia, and we brought him out on stage. The crowd gave it up for him, because I guess he is popular out there for making beats.

Yah, you just got back from an international tour. How are you received by international fans?

It’s insane. It’s like a pile of ants… I’m from Texas so I’m used to seeing ants. They are never laid back, their always moving. Not like here, where the entire audience is just chillin. Even in the early days, fans here were more into it. In the days that I came up in, when you said ‘Say Ho’ the crowd would be like ‘HOOOOO’. Now it’s hard to get that response.

So, you still find more of that connection internationally?

They just don’t get as much action over there. Here everybody is spoiled by it, so they don’t think that they have to move and dance.

So, do you plan on continuing to produce all your Year Round artists or do you see yourself more as a label manager in the future?

I want to keep my hands on everything. Just like [Dr.] Dre over at Aftermath; he’s the label but he also produces a lot … and he let’s a couple of other cuts come in.

Back when you started, you crafted verses unlike any other producer out there. You could chop hooks from multiple artists, then bring them all back together and still be super-smooth. Now, producers can just cue it all up in the computer. How do you feel technology has changed the landscape – who comes into the game, and the quality of what is coming out?

My main thing is: Just respect the music and where it originated from. If you’re into hip-hop, you have to know what was out there before you. We didn’t have rap records to use as a guide. It wasn’t even called R&B yet, it was soul music that we were finding in the bins. When it was soul, it sounded like Gladys Knight and the Pips, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Barry White… that was soul. Then we had James Brown and funk, guys like Parliament, Ohio Players, and Rick James. This is all we had to build hip-hop. All we did was take the records we partied to, and extend the parts that we liked. Then the emcees would find the beat they like, and just start saying a little something. That’s really how it happened.

You’ve mentioned in the past about a possible joint with Chaka Chan.  Do you two still plan on working together?

I would love to. We haven’t talked in a while, but for a minute we were communicating on the regular. I know that she has been doing some shows, and I had to tour a bit, but next year we definitely want to lock in with her. She mentioned that she needed a studio to work in, so I called up Christina Aguilera and asked if there was anyway I could use her studio for ten days. And she agreed, no problem.

She might owe you a little, you two did win a Grammy together.

Yah, for “Ain’t No Other Man”. That was my first Grammy for a single. I won album Grammys for Jay-Z’s Hard Knock Life and D’Angelo’s Voodoo. But to get one for a single means a lot more. They single out everything else, and say that one’s a Grammy winner.

So, do you have them on display in your crib?

Right now, we hung up a lot of my plaques at the studio, but we still have a bunch more to do. I got the Grammy frames that they give you that I might hang up at the studio. Everything else I just keep at the house.

Any young guns out there that you could see bringing into your studio?

I like J. Cole and Drake. They come to mind right away, but there ain’t that many out there. I would like to work with Lil Wayne, he’ll do something ill. I’d also work with Nicki Minaj. I like when people dare to be different. I know people are calling her the Lady Gaga of hip-hop, but you know so-what. She’s not afraid to jump outside of the box, and you have got to love that.

Last month, Jay-Z said that hip-hop needs to find true emotion. What has been your reaction?

That’s the reason why the album I’ll be dropping in December touches more on the ghetto perspective. The music came from the ghetto, it’s more of a latino and black oriented music. I’m glad that it has spread worldwide, and now white, black, pink, yellow, and everyone it doing it; I think it’s dope. But when everyone has taken the grasp of it, someone still has to keep the core in existence. And the truest emotion is the core. So, being that the core is that straight, gutter-hard beats and just hard ass rhymes and talking about how shit still is. But you don’t want to just rap about bad times, there can still be fun. But, I like to let the have-nots know that we are still thinking about them. I can’t take care of them all financially, but at least I can take care of them musically. It’s like creating a medicine that makes them feel better. I’m making and giving the prescription.

Do you see yourself in another long-term collaboration, something similar to Gang Starr?

I don’t think I ever want to be in another group after losing Guru. I wouldn’t mind doing collaboration projects. Like me and Royce (da 5’9”) do a whole album, or Jay-Z and Nas do a whole album. But not, where we are a group. I won’t say never… but I don’t see that.

Can fans expect you to hit the road the spring/summer with the new recruits?

Yah, sure. I would like to start off with a Year Round Tour, where they can get their feet wet. I know that I’ll draw and that can help them get set up. And then they can branch out and help new artists, and I can just stay in the studio and record some more shit.

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While making his rounds doing press for his new album (Year Round Records Presents Get Used To Us, out tomorrow), DJ Premier has revealed a lot of interesting things. His sit down with TheWellVersed was no exception, where he spoke about Jay-Z original plans for the The Black Album and on working with Eminem.

“I’ll give you a funny story. Jay-Z reached out to me when he was going to do The Black Album — this was years before he put it out because he postponed it, ended up working on other stuff, and then he came out with the album and decided to retire. Way prior to that he called me and said he was going to do an album and that he wanted me to do the whole thing. But he said, “I know how busy you are, Premo, but I want you to not have anything to do with anybody for the whole time we make this album. I need like a two week window, and we just do it.” And I understood where he was coming from, because he knows it had to be that deep of a situation to get it to be right and to call it The Black Album. Prince already made The Black Album. If you’re going to make one, it better be top notch. There’s a lot that goes along with that. So to approach me about that? That’s the same way I look at the Cold Crush, Fantastic, Kool Moe D, all that. LL and I have tried two or three times to work on stuff. He’s somebody you gotta sit down with and really focus on because he deserves that type of attention. And I’m proud to give him that type of attention. I wouldn’t want to do a quick little rush job. And then you have ones like Termanology that can do a one night thing because they’re the new hungry artists that are ready to just write on the spot and get it over with. You know Jay always just writes on the spot off his head, and then he leaves the work up to me. A project like that is just that delicate. I treat my stuff based on the level of what it’s going to take to really make a masterpiece. I’m proud of all my work, but there are certain artists that just deserve a whole different special attention.”

He also spoke about the Eminem collaboration that was supposed to happen in 2008 when Slim was making Relapse. “Me and Eminem spoke about a year ago when he did the ciphers with BET and we finally got to kick it face to face,” Prem said. “We had a good conversation. There’s a uniqueness about certain artists, so with him? I have to put certain things aside to work with him, and I gotta be realistic with what my schedule already allows me to have going on. I knew if I was going to work on Eminem tracks, I can’t be working on anything else. Strictly Eminem. That’s how much I want to give him the illest, what-the-fuck-is-that type shit, where everybody is like “yo, did you hear the Eminem and Premier shit?!” I know it will be great. But he’s still alive, I’m still alive, and hopefully I will keep breathing, and in that time frame we’ll get around to that.”

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In Part 1 Premo gave insight on his wish list of collaborations, critiquing the critics and an unreleased Jay-Z record. For the second half of TWV’s exclusive sit down with DJ Premier, we get the goods on the producer working with Eminem, Gza, Jay-Z‘s Black Album being an entire Premo production and continuing Gang Starr‘s legacy.

TWV: How do you feel about Hip Hop now as opposed to it, say, fifteen years ago?

DJ Premier: I miss all the styles that made me great and made me want to do it. There are a lot of old school artists that are constantly complaining and are mad. But what are you doing to make hot shit? We need y’all to make hot shit too, and the stuff y’all make is corny. I can’t do everybody’s record at one time, even though I want to…I’d love to do a record with Cold Crush or the Fantastic 5 to this day, and make it still classic with the break style. I would know how to orchestrate it because I understand and respect what they did. I know their rhymes and what type of breaks they use, just as a fan and a consumer and someone who respects those guys. Those projects demand your undivided attention. All projects do, but to do an album with say, Slick Rick or Cold Crush? You gotta set everything aside.

I’ll give you a funny story. Jay-Z reached out to me when he was going to do The Black Album — this was years before he put it out because he postponed it, ended up working on other stuff, and then he came out with the album and decided to retire. Way prior to that he called me and said he was going to do an album and that he wanted me to do the whole thing. But he said, “I know how busy you are, Premo, but I want you to not have anything to do with anybody for the whole time we make this album. I need like a two week window, and we just do it.” And I understood where he was coming from, because he knows it had to be that deep of a situation to get it to be right and to call it The Black Album. Prince already made The Black Album. If you’re going to make one, it better be top notch. There’s a lot that goes along with that. So to approach me about that? That’s the same way I look at the Cold Crush, Fantastic, Kool Moe D, all that. LL and I have tried two or three times to work on stuff. He’s somebody you gotta sit down with and really focus on because he deserves that type of attention. And I’m proud to give him that type of attention. I wouldn’t want to do a quick little rush job. And then you have ones like Termanology that can do a one night thing because they’re the new hungry artists that are ready to just write on the spot and get it over with. You know Jay always just writes on the spot off his head, and then he leaves the work up to me. A project like that is just that delicate. I treat my stuff based on the level of what it’s going to take to really make a masterpiece. I’m proud of all my work, but there are certain artists that just deserve a whole different special attention.

TWV: Speaking of people you’ve been working with, there are a couple rumored collaborations I’ve heard about. For instance Eminem…

DJ Premier: Me and Eminem spoke about a year ago when he did the ciphers with BET and we finally got to kick it face to face. We had a good conversation. There’s a uniqueness about certain artists, so with him? I have to put certain things aside to work with him, and I gotta be realistic with what my schedule already allows me to have going on. I knew if I was going to work on Eminem tracks, I can’t be working on anything else. Strictly Eminem. That’s how much I want to give him the illest, what-the-fuck-is-that type shit, where everybody is like “yo, did you hear the Eminem and Premier shit?!” I know it will be great. But he’s still alive, I’m still alive, and hopefully I will keep breathing, and in that time frame we’ll get around to that.

TWV: You keep saying that you need to give your undivided attention to things, and that’s understandable since you have your hand in a lot of projects right now…Teflon, Freddie Foxxx?

DJ Premier: Well with Freddie Foxxx, he’s always taken my beats that people won’t use or turn down. Our collaboration is a collection of all the stuff we’ve worked on that have never seen the light of day. Some have been on his albums before, then we have seven new songs that will be on there. It’s a compilation, a collection of stuff that I’ve made specifically for him and things that he took that had been turned down by others.

Tef had a deal with Def Jam a few years back, then when the regime changed from Lyor [Cohen] to Kevin [Liles] to Jay, Jay gave me a new situation. I never did take the situation but Jay allowed me to take my music and do something else with it elsewhere, and I thank him so much for that. I ended up keeping it under wraps until I figured out what to do with it. Tef is a personal trainer now. If you ever need to get in shape he’s the man. He’s training Wendy Williams, getting her in shape now. He will knock you out, but he’s so into health and people getting their bodies and minds right. I’m so proud of him. That album sounds so much like what’s needed now, and I updated it. I got Joell Ortiz and a lot of new artists on it now. I produced majority of the album. He’s really into the personal training now, so I was like “I’ll put this out myself and really make it crack.” MOP is on it. They gave me a real good banger. Papoose, Saigon…Papoose gave us one of the dopest verses I’ve ever heard. He laced it on a song with him, Saigon, and Tef.

TWV: What about Pete Rock and KRS?

DJ Premier: KRS is on tour in Europe so when he gets back we’ll pick up where we left off. We did two songs already, so that album is going to be easy to do because I’m already used to how he works. That’s going to be the quickest album I do. He’s just so automatic. Pete vs. Premier we started already. We’re not supposed to tell each other who we’re working with, we’re supposed to just do it and surprise each other. He left one of the sessions in my studio and I got to hear it and I was like “oh my God, ok, that’s how you coming?” It’s a battle. But the artists I got so far? Oh man, I can’t even say the names. Only one I’ve already given up is the Gza. We gonna go in. We haven’t done the song yet, but Gza is such a lyricist. We’re only doing six songs each, so I got four, and have to come up with two more. I don’t know who to get. Everyone is throwing stuff at me. Whoever it is, it’s going to turn out to be bangin’ regardless.

TWV: Is Get Used to Us still looking at a December 7^th release?

DJ Premier: Absolutely. I’m very excited about the album. I’m definitely going to make sure it delivers. There’s nothing lightweight on it, it’s just nonstop bang, bang, bang.

TWV: As a child, did you always see yourself doing music?

DJ Premier: Nah, not until junior high school. I was just a regular guy doing all the same old shit kids do growing up. I played baseball and football when I was young. We did the Cowboys and Indians, Batman and Robin, Red Light/Green Light…all that stuff. Where I lived we used to have this open field where these ponds people would drown in used to be. A friend of mine died trying to play a game in one of those ponds. He lied and said he could swim and he couldn’t, and we didn’t know that. He jumped in there and we had already gone home. Someone had told us he was out there, so we went out to dive in and help him. When I was in the 8^th grade I took a class with my sister on how to save lives; I have certifications in lifeguarding. We went down there to go get him, but those type of ponds have a whirlpool that can suck you under, and you can drown from the current. We kept trying up until the wee hours of the night, and he ended up getting caught on some things underwater, so they had to call in the divers with the tanks to go look for him. I’ll never forget when they were like “I think I found something.” They dove one more time, and when they raised him up it was like when Jesus was born and they held the baby up before putting him up in the manger and all that. That’s exactly how they pulled him out of this pond. Mad mud and muck and stuff. I still remember how he looked. That was my first time seeing a dead body, at eleven years old. Bugged out. It just put a whole different perspective on valuing life, too.

TWV: Do you consider yourself successful? Are you satisfied, and what goals do you still have for yourself?

DJ Premier: To climb a new mountain. I’m more than halfway there but I’d like to be like Kevin Dillon on Entourage yelling “Victory!” I will be doing that soon. And I might make a song called “Victory” the day that I get there. Maybe getting into film and movies down the line. And continuing the Gang Starr legacy, too. I plan on doing a few Gang Starr projects that I’ll be in charge of along with [Guru’s] son and family, and we’ll do it right and make sure that we put all of our history out there. Guru always wanted a DVD. That was one of his biggest complaints in the last couple years of our career. When we came out with our last two albums he said, “Man, everybody got DVD’s, but we don’t.” So that’s when we started getting videographers to travel with us and collect footage. I had already been doing that for a while, really since day one. I have tapes from ’89 of us, of our Daily Operation tour — there’s just so much footage. We’ll probably do volumes of Gang Starr DVD’s, because we have that much stuff. It will be coming soon.

TWV: Is there still unreleased Gang Starr music?

DJ Premier: Not really. We did a few things that we didn’t finish that I have a few vocals on, but I have been getting calls from outside people saying they have vocals and they don’t even want money but would be proud to let me have it and to let me do what I need to do. So I’m working on communicating with that. They haven’t sent it to me yet, but if they do arrive and they’re official vocals that I can mess with? Then of course I’m going to make ‘em hot, that’s a no brainer. I do have one or two vocals that we didn’t finish that he had laid down, and I’ll see what I can do with them. There will be stuff down the line.

TWV: What do you listen to in your spare time?

DJ Premier: Rock. New Age. AC/DC, U2, The Cure, Psychedelic Furs. I like Iron Maiden, Pantera, classic Van Halen, Zeppelin. I listen to that a lot, more than Hip Hop, because Hip Hop is automatic. It’s like speaking Spanish. Like I can speak English one day and Spanish on another day. Hip Hop is my Spanish. Not everyone understands the language, but I do.

TWV: Where do you turn for inspiration?

DJ Premier: Anything. My parents, who are my biggest inspiration. And my oldest sister. I used to follow everything she did. She was very popular in school, very hip, she was always telling us what the new slang and dances were. To this day we’re really close. Honestly, I really have always been into watching people do interviews, on TV and in magazines, to see how they answer questions. I know Christina Aguilera called me the “tabloid whore.” I study it all. KRS said it on “BDP-Ism”, “I like to study, I like money, I like eating wheat bread with honey.” I love watching interviews. I don’t care if it’s an actor, a producer, I just love to see what makes other people tick.

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Considered by many to be one of the greatest producers Hip Hop has seen, DJ Premier’s name is one that speaks for itself. With over two decades in the game, which is longer than some Hip Hop heads have even been alive, his mind is essentially an encyclopedia of the culture, with firsthand accounts of untold stories involving Rap’s biggest names. With his upcoming LP Get Used to Us nearing its December 7^th release date, Premo dropped knowledge to TheWellVersed about his unreleased tracks, childhood, how he will continue the Gang Starr legacy, the demise of Fat Beats, and more. Check out part one of this two part feature.

TWV: Are there any songs you’ve produced that haven’t seen the light of day yet?

DJ Premier: There was a record I did with Sinead O’ Connor –a remix to “Famine,” about the potato famine. But right before it came out she went through her breakdown and controversy and she shut down completely. We were label mates at the time so that’s the reason why I got the gig. She was also a Gang Starr fan, and a fan of my production. It never came out and I really, really wanted it to. It was a really good record. There was also a record with MOP. We did one for their last album. We should have talked about maybe revamping it and doing it, but that record was so raw. It never came out and I don’t know if it ever will, but hopefully one day it will see the light of day.

There’s a Jay-Z one where he was getting a little slick at a lot of people. I won’t even say their names. He said a lot of slick shit about a lot of people from the era he was coming through when he was just coming out with Reasonable Doubt. He was airing them out and doing it properly. If he had done it, he would have been respected for it. He did it so dope, and so cleverly, and he was so witty with it. But he erased it, so it’s going to be a memory I take to the grave. But it’s all gravy because Jay and I are good friends so I would never violate him like that.

TWV: Is there someone that you haven’t worked with yet but would like to in the future?

DJ Premier: I’ve always wanted to work with Ghostface of the Wu Tang Clan. I was a big fan ever since I heard him on “Bring da Ruckus.” Something about the way he just introduced that verse… Just the way he said his name. He and I actually spoke at the Rock the Bells tour this year and he said that he wants to work together very soon. I really was surprised that he said that “Mass Appeal” inspired him to write “Criminology.” That’s one of my favorite records with him and Raekwon, and for him to say “Mass Appeal” inspired that? That’s still one of the greatest Hip Hop records to ever be made by Gang Starr. I really want to work with Mary J. Blige. We’ve linked up to try to get some things poppin’, and they haven’t come to light yet, but I’m going to keep working on stuff. She played a few cuts off her new album and what she’s played me has sounded great so far. She’s amazing. Busta (Rhymes) and I are working on something, finally. I want to work with Q-Tip, too — with A Tribe Called Quest, period. I’d love to work with Chuck D of Public Enemy.

TWV: Can you recall a project in particular that you had difficulty working on?

DJ Premier: “Project Boy” by Joell Ortiz. That’s a record that took a minute to get right. I still don’t think I got it 100% right. I been mixing my own records down lately just to get sharper and be a good engineer, even though I already have some of the greatest engineers. When they touch up my music I still come in and do the final finishing touches. I’m now learning how to do it all on my own, period, so that when I’m in that type of situation I can fully engineer and record a section, the whole nine yards. Joell’s record was one of my favorite records that I’ve ever produced because it was so different and left field. I like left field stuff. I don’t like to do the basic stuff that everybody else does all the time. I still couldn’t get it right where I wanted it. It’s knockin’, but it still isn’t where I’m a million percent happy. I really care about the listeners getting the playback the way it should sound from the way I envisioned it. I put that much pride and love into that, so yeah, “Project Boy.”

The only album that was difficult to get correct was the last Gang Starr album, The Ownerz, because a lot of people were dying at the time in our lives. D&D was closing, so we were like, “damn, where the fuck are we going to record?” Where were we gonna go? To take that away was like getting kicked out of the house you’ve lived in all of your life and now you’re homeless. Thanks to Avatar studios, and thanks to Rakim actually who put us up on Avatar, we were able to finish the record there. Then, of course, Headquarterz died, and Jam Master Jay died, and we had other personal deaths – my engineer’s daughter died. It was just back-to-back deaths, wakes, and funerals. We had to pack all our stuff and get our reels out of D&D. We still had to get the album done because we had a deadline to meet. That time period was the first time I had to request to dress my friend in their casket, and I did it only because his mother asked me to. All that was going on, and we still pulled that album off and got it out there, and I’m proud of that. We were going through label problems. The staff that worked our previous albums had just been cut and they started a new staff who didn’t understand what we were doing, and we felt bad about that as well. It was like, we been in this house for years, how are you gonna tell us where the bathroom is when we can tell you what the trick is to flushing the toilets? Nah, that’s not how it’s gonna work. It was just problems, and we still prevailed and got that album done. And I feel it was a great album.

I remember reading reviews that said Snoop’s verse was lackluster. I was like did you hear what he said? That’s some dope ass lyrics right there. When I saw that review of him being lackluster…I wish I could find the person that wrote that and I would literally smack them. I wouldn’t do it now, but back then I would have smacked them, just like that. All of that had me in anger mode at the time. Still, I’m so proud of that album. Guru was on fire like he always was. We got the proper results from our work. It’s just the critics don’t know how to judge a Hip Hop record. It’s like what do you listen to and look for to get the results that make a great album? Because we’re obviously not on the same page, and that’s fine, but how do you get a job as a journalist? I’d like to have a one-on-one quiz about Hip Hop face-to-face. I bet you they won’t be able to take it as far as I can take it.

TWV: To take it back to Joell Ortiz for a second, I noticed when the Free Agent track list was released that “Project Boy” wasn’t on it. Was that due to your lingering dissatisfaction with the final sound?

DJ Premier: Nah, it was the label. The guy at the label, didn’t want to clear the Flavor Flav sample. But you ain’t gotta clear that. The fact that they think that’s is a problem and they don’t want to clear it? I think that’s some weak fuckin’ shit. That’ll just be a song we had.

TWV: You were the last of the last to rock at the Fat Beats store in NYC when it closed. Explain your connection to the legendary storefront and what it meant to you.

DJ Premier: It meant a lot because first of all, I’m a DJ, so that’s one of my sources to shop at. It’s my Bloomingdales or Barneys. They were like the Saks Fifth Avenue of Hip Hop. Their forte was vinyl. I better be a part of that even if they didn’t even know me personally. I’ve done more for vinyl than almost anybody in the industry because I respect the culture as a whole, from graffiti to everything else. So being asked to do that on the last day is more than an honor. I remember deejays you would never see in public much would be like “yo, come up to the store, buy ‘Shook Ones.’” “Shook Ones” is probably one of the biggest 12-inches that moved out of that store on the regular. You could cut it up so much that you’d wear [the vinyl] out. You’d have to stock up on about five or six more copies. That and “Incarcerated Scarfaces” by Raekwon, with Ghost, were the biggest movers in the store, I guarantee it. There was nowhere else you could really find them. I remember going to Fat Beats in Amsterdam, L.A., all of them. It’s a monument. Especially the store in New York.

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During a recent conversation, TheWellVersed inquired about DJ Premier‘s work with Brooklyn emcee Joell Ortiz. Considering the favorable reception of “Project Boy” and “Sing Like Bilal” by fans of both artists, upon suggestion of a collaborative album between the two, DJ Premier was welcome to the idea.

“I’d love to do that,” Premier said. “I know it would be one of the most dangerous records ever. And you know what? That’s a good idea. I’m going to have to talk to [Joell Ortiz] about that. If it’s meant to be, I’m totally down to do it.”

Premier has been known to take an artist to the next level with his stellar production. It is often argued that some of the finest emcees have had their best moments when paired with the extraordinary producer. Considering that Premier is a fan of Joell’s work, the producer/DJ will now actively seek the Slaughterhouse member to see if the idea can be brought to fruition.

“I love Joell, I think he’s a great dude,” Premier continued. “He’s so humble and he doesn’t change who he is. He stays Joell. That’s why he’s going to prevail. Showbiz from D.I.T.C. is the one who put me up on him and told me he’s great. And yeah, he’s great. At the end of the day I’m going to definitely check on that. I would love to do an album with Joell, strictly me and him. It would be insane. And I’m going to address that situation.”

While “Project Boy” is absent from the Free Agent track list, DJ Premier’s production will be present on the anticipated Joell Ortiz LP via “Sing Like Bilal,” which is set for a November 30th release date through E1.

via 2dopeboyz and thewellserved.

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source: WIMH

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