DJ Premier facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
DJ Premier
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DJ Premier in 2019
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| Birth name | Christopher Edward Martin |
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| Born | March 21, 1966 Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop, boom bap |
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| Years active | 1987–present |
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Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known as DJ Premier (or Preemo), is a famous American record producer and DJ. Many people say he is one of the greatest hip hop producers ever. He helped create the hip hop group Gang Starr with rapper Guru. They released seven albums together.
Later, in 2014, he started another hip hop group called PRhyme with rapper Royce da 5'9". They have released two albums. DJ Premier has produced all of Gang Starr's music. He has also made songs for many other artists. Some of his songs, like "Ain't No Other Man" by Christina Aguilera, even made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
In 2010, Martin started his own record label called Year Round Records. He has signed new artists like NYGz, Nick Javas, and Khalil. His label also released Tha Blaqprint by Blaq Poet in 2009.
Contents
Who is DJ Premier?
Christopher Edward Martin was born in Houston, Texas on March 21, 1966. He grew up in Prairie View, Texas. Later, when he was a teenager, he moved to Brooklyn, New York.
He went to Prairie View A&M University. There, he became very good at music by being the campus DJ. He also sometimes played with the school's Marching Storm band.
His Music Journey
In the 1990s, DJ Premier worked with a group of artists called the Gang Starr Foundation. This group included Jeru the Damaja, Group Home, Big Shug, and Gang Starr. Premier produced all the songs for Jeru the Damaja's first two albums.
He also worked with other artists connected to the Gang Starr Foundation. These include Afu-Ra, Bahamadia, Krumbsnatcha, Big Shug, Smiley the Ghetto Child, and NYGz. He produced songs for Afu-Ra's first album and KRS-One's first solo album.
Besides the Gang Starr Foundation, DJ Premier is also very close with the group M.O.P.. He says they are one of his favorite groups. Their work together started in 1994 with a remix of "Rugged, Neva Smoove." Since then, Premier has produced many songs on M.O.P.'s albums.
In 2006, the pop singer Christina Aguilera asked DJ Premier to produce songs for her album Back to Basics.
In 2008, DJ Premier appeared in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV. He played himself as the host of a radio station called The Classics 104.1.
He produced most of Blaq Poet's album Tha Blaqprint in 2009. He also made a song for Game's album in 2011. In the same year, he was on a song called "Gangster" for Bushido's album.
In 2012, DJ Premier was part of a documentary called Re:GENERATION. The film showed him creating a song using a live performance by the Berklee Symphony Orchestra.
In 2014, Premier worked with Christina Aguilera again. He also produced a song for the group Slaughterhouse. He collaborated with the Korean hip-hop group Dynamic Duo on two songs, "AEAO" and "Animal."
In 2015, DJ Premier moved his famous studio, D&D, to a new location in Astoria, New York City.
DJ Premier helped choose the music for the video game NBA 2K16. He worked with DJ Khaled and DJ Mustard on this project.
In 2019, DJ Premier released a song called "Headlines" with rappers Conway The Machine, Westside Gunn, and Benny the Butcher. In 2020, he produced a song for Public Enemy called "State of the Union (STFU)."
DJ Premier used to host a weekly radio show called Live From HeadQCourterz on Sirius Satellite Radio's Shade 45. The show ended in 2022. In 2023, he released a clothing collection with AMIRI, featuring his nickname "PREEMO."
His Unique Sound
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DJ Premier's music style helped define the sound of New York hip hop. He is famous for using samples from jazz, funk, and soul songs. He also sometimes samples an artist's older songs to create new ones for them. For example, he used parts of an old Jay-Z song for a new Jay-Z track.
He is also known for scratching in lyrics from different songs to make new phrases. His beats often combine short vocal samples from many artists to create a chorus. Premier has even used unusual sounds, like from 1960s electronic music, in his songs.
In an interview, DJ Premier said that Marley Marl is his biggest inspiration. He also mentioned other famous DJs like Jam Master Jay, Grandmaster Flash, and Afrika Bambaataa. He learned from watching them and wanted to make music that honored the raw, real feeling of hip hop from the streets. He is a major creator of the boom-bap style of hip-hop music.
Why He's Important
In 2008, The Source magazine named DJ Premier one of the 20 greatest producers in its history. He also came in second place in Vibe magazine's search for the greatest hip hop producer of all time in 2010.
His Albums
- DJ Premier Presents Get Used To Us (2010)
- Kolexxxion (with Bumpy Knuckles) (2012)
- PRhyme (with Royce da 5'9") (2014)
- PRhyme 2 (with Royce da 5'9") (2018)
- Hip Hop 50: Vol. 1 (2022)
- Untitled album (with Nas) (To Be Announced)
See also
In Spanish: DJ Premier para niños
