Nas & DJ Premier - Define My Name (new single out now, album releasing later this year)

[Mike the Executioner]

Premier's said mad times that when he was living in the Bronx and when he moved to Brooklyn, he used to "just get high and make beats" everyday.

Finesse used to be at his crib in the Bronx when he was roommates with Guru, and he said all Premier did was make beats all day. That's how Premier ended up doing all those tracks on Funky Technician. When he was working on Jeru's first joint, B.I.G. was always hanging with Jeru and B.I.G. also told him he needed beats for RTD. Premier said he was making beats daily, so he gave B.I.G. tracks that he heard while just hanging around, but Puff didn't like any of them. So B.I.G. told him to just make something using "Impeach the President" and that's how we got "Unbelievable". Premier was always making beats everyday. Dude was working with 25+ different artists at a given time. That was his thing when he was in his prime.

Was Premier smoking crack/dust around that time, or was that before Gang Starr?

Also, what did you think about One of the Best Yet? Sounded like classic Premier to me, and it seemed like he put a lot of work into it.

 

[L $ C]

what happend to this album?

 

[Awesome Wells]

Was Premier smoking crack/dust around that time, or was that before Gang Starr?

Also, what did you think about One of the Best Yet? Sounded like classic Premier to me, and it seemed like he put a lot of work into it.

LOL!! He said he was doing that in the mid-to-late 80's. So that was around when he first got with Guru.

I liked about a little more than 1/2 of the project, when it dropped. I honestly haven't revisited it, in years. Some of the vocals seemed off, but I could tell he put mad work into it. He said he was piecing together vocals to make it work, so he did a dope job with that. The production definitely had that classic Premier sound though, like you said. I think Guru brought the best out of him, in that way.

 

[Mike the Executioner]

LOL!! He said he was doing that in the mid-to-late 80's. So that was around when he first got with Guru.

I liked about a little more than 1/2 of the project, when it dropped. I honestly haven't revisited it, in years. Some of the vocals seemed off, but I could tell he put mad work into it. He said he was piecing together vocals to make it work, so he did a dope job with that. The production definitely had that classic Premier sound though, like you said. I think Guru brought the best out of him, in that way.

Damn, so it was just pure talent during that 90s run. Hard to Earn has this otherworldly, spaced out feeling, at least in the first half. But that was when he had something to prove to critics who thought Gang Starr was jazz rap.

I definitely agree with Guru bringing out the best in him. Their chemistry shined through in all of their albums (at least after No More Mr. Nice Guy). I always felt like people didn't give Guru his props. Because Premier became so popular and had the run that he did, I think the narrative became that he was carrying Guru and it spread. Even on here, when we did the Classics Discussion in 2016, some people (including the OP) felt like Guru was the sidekick and Premier made him sound better than he was. But then I read about the making of Step in the Arena and Guru telling Premier that he needed to elevate as a producer and do more work. Him writing out the titles of songs so Premier had something to work from, the fact that it was Guru's group first and Premier wasn't even in the original lineup. Guru even produced a couple Gang Starr songs. To me, they're both top five candidates in their fields.

 

[Awesome Wells]

Damn, so it was just pure talent during that 90s run. Hard to Earn has this otherworldly, spaced out feeling, at least in the first half. But that was when he had something to prove to critics who thought Gang Starr was jazz rap.

I definitely agree with Guru bringing out the best in him. Their chemistry shined through in all of their albums (at least after No More Mr. Nice Guy). I always felt like people didn't give Guru his props. Because Premier became so popular and had the run that he did, I think the narrative became that he was carrying Guru and it spread. Even on here, when we did the Classics Discussion in 2016, some people (including the OP) felt like Guru was the sidekick and Premier made him sound better than he was. But then I read about the making of Step in the Arena and Guru telling Premier that he needed to elevate as a producer and do more work. Him writing out the titles of songs so Premier had something to work from, the fact that it was Guru's group first and Premier wasn't even in the original lineup. Guru even produced a couple Gang Starr songs. To me, they're both top five candidates in their fields.

Hard to Earn is still my favorite Gang Starr album. Right there with Daily Operation.

He said he went into Hard to Earn with a chip on his shoulder because the critics were saying the group was a one-trick pony and that's why the beats were more aggressive on there. I probably throw that album on a couple times a week. Still, lol.

You're right. To me, Guru is one of the illest MC's ever. But he's always been overlooked, for whatever reason. But Premier said that a lot of the songs and sample ideas came from Guru, and that he would also help on the beats. And I was super into his Jazzmatazz projects too. So Guru kinda got written off, like people did with C.L. Smooth. Those groups were true partnerships where the MC and producer really brought greatness out of each other.