What makes someone a legend? You’re a legend when people are still fascinated by untold stories of your life and work 20 years after your death. Tupac is a legend.

You still can’t talk hip-hop without at least occasionally talking Pac, but for reasons of fate or cosmic coincidence, it seems like there’s been a spree of Pac related news lately. A powerful, previously buried MTV interview recently surfaced, we just learned from Angie Martinez that he wasn’t going to settle for peace with Biggie and Bad Boy until he had his revenge, and now his close friend Greg Nice has revealed that he was working on a “One Nation” album that, as the name suggests, was all about unity. While it didn’t involve anyone at Bad Boy, there was too much bad blood already spilled for that, he was talking to DJ Premier, Buckshot and had even reached out to Outkast for the project when he was killed.

I’d heard whispers, snippets, of the almost mythical One Nation album before. Buckshot mentioned it briefly in a previous interview, some studio footage briefly emerged that’s now been removed, there was that handwritten note where Pac wrote that he was aiming for a summer release of a, “…group album with me, Greg Nice, Buckshot, Smiff & Wesson, Outkast, The Outlawz, Scarface & E-40.” But to the best of my knowledge, we’ve never heard such a complete accounting of the project from Greg Nice himself, the man who was fundamental in making it happen.

Pac’s legacy, like the legacy of any hero that dies so young, is filled with “what if?”s. It’s tempting to say that if he had lived and put out the One Nation album it would have changed everything, maybe he and Biggie would both still be alive, but who knows how events would have played out? Fatal events had been set in motion long before Pac and Nice began to seriously work on One Nation, but at the very least an album like that could have easily gone down as a hip-hop masterpiece.

Just when you think you’ve reached the limits of Tupac Shakur’s legend, it continues…

Props: DJBooth.net

The musical career of DJ Premier includes creating sound beds for some of the most accomplished performers in Hip Hop history. While Premo is widely known for his work with Gang Starr, Nas, The Notorious B.I.G., Jay Z, and other rap stars, the legendary producer has also put his stamp on records by D’Angelo, Janet Jackson, and Brandy.

In addition, Premier’s catalog includes the East Coast representative teaming with the likes of Jeru the Damaja, Bumpy Knuckles, and Royce da 5’9″ to forge complete bodies of work. Surprisingly, Preem has yet to produce an entire project by a female vocalist. That omission is about to be corrected.

Singer-songwriter Torii Wolf is joining forces with Premier for the upcoming album Flow Riiot. The duo offered a hint about the direction of the collection with the new single “1st” which premiered last week. It has already collected over 24,000 plays on SoundCloud.

“‘1st’ came very naturally, just lots of raw emotion,” says Wolf. “I really let it go in the booth. Preem’s beat brought a heartbroken animal out of me, and that is a common theme we’ve really held on to throughout the entire album.”

The track features Premo’s signature scratches as well as Wolf lamenting about a lost love. With a sample from Dilated People’s “Good As Gone,” the single effortlessly seams together an underground Hip Hop feel with a modern Sade-esque lyrical approach.

“Working with Preem is the nonpareil. It’s all about the feel, which is how I find myself doing everything I do in this life,” states Wolf. “When it comes to expression, I don’t believe there are any right or wrong ways to do it, and creating with Preem falls right in line with that way of living for me. We have great chemistry in the lab, and I think of our creations like language and our genres are our dialects.”

The Wantagh, New York native adds, “Our conversations flow beautifully. We understand each other, and I feel so grateful to have found each other here and everywhere and even more excited to share our sound babies with the world.”

Source: Allhiphop.com

Peace Primo, this is Lobito representing Zulu Nation out here in the Middle East, this is your second time in Dubai if I’m not mistaken, what was your first impression of the city?
It is a beautiful city and I had a good time seeing the sights. Beautiful women there also.

It’s an understatement to say I’m a fan of your work and primarily the consistency you’ve held in your output quality and production style regardless of the genres and artists you’ve worked with, are there any new projects you’re excited about creatively?
Yes I have an independent underground label called Year Round Records. I have a group called the NYGz who have been a part of the Gang Starr Foundation for many years. They are from New York and we will be releasing a new LP that I produced entirely called (Hustlaz Union: Local NYG).  I am Executive Producing an album with the legend MC Eiht of Compton’s Most Wanted which I Produced 3 tracks.  His album is titled (Which Way Iz West). There’s a new female artist by the name of Torii Wolf who is releasing a new project LP that you will hear from this year. She is very different and unique from anything I have produced and she will be a new sound in my production style. I produced the entire album and I co-produced 4 songs with the legendary King Of Chill (MC Lyte, Audio Two, The Family Stand). I started a new band (The Badder Band) and we are currently recording a new EP. Then there’s a DJ Premier solo LP in the works. There’s more but we will start there.

I grew up on Gang Starr which defined me in my early days as a DJ getting into the music so I have to ask you about the state of rap and hip hop culture today. You were pivotal in developing the New York sound after people like Marley Marl, so whats your opinion on where things are now for the youth and where things are going?
The sound of what the younger generation is doing is different from how I was raised in music, but their generation is made for them and I welcome it. I just prefer to stick to the purest form of how the pioneer’s taught me. There is plenty of room for everyone to do what they do and I do what I am good at which is the Boom Bap style of beats.

I also love lyricists that have something to say., although I love to party at times but I love a dope rhyme most of the time.

A local group The Recipe collaborated recently with Talib Kweli when he was here, do you look out for local collaborations when you travel?
Sometimes I do depending on my schedule. I like to dig for records in other cities and I take the time out to listen to artists as well.  I’ve produced many artists from London, Poland, Korea, Germany, Japan to name a few.

What would you like to see more of and less of in the industry?
I’d like to see more respect for the pioneers from the younger generation and less disrespect for the people who opened doors for them to get into this industry. What goes up always comes down.

I’m still bumping your track “Animals” with Anderson Paak for the recent Dre album. Are there any other new artists you’re excited about or any new producers you follow?
Definitely Anderson .Paak, HXLT, Conway, Westside Gunn, O.G.ology, E.L.B., Jakk Frost…

Props to Infusion Magazine