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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With all due respect to the late Godfather of Soul James Brown, DJ Premier might be the current hardest working man in show business. In between DJ gigs, his radio show on Sirius Hip Hop Nation and producing for various artists the legendary DJ Premier is out promoting his upcoming compilation, DJ Premier Presents Year Round Records: Get Used to Us.

Premier is also scheduled to appear at the 2010 Red Bull Big Tune National Finals with Just Blaze taking place tonight (November 18, 2010) at Chicago’s Metro. What better person to politic with the next generation of beat makers than one of the greatest producers of all-time?

Nineteen up and coming producers will duke it out for the Red Bull Big Tune title which includes the chance to record at the Red Bull Studio in Los Angeles with an A-list emcee. Before that, all 19 producers will get the chance to pick the brains of Just Blaze and DJ Premier—they’re winners already.

Before the event I got the chance to pick the brain of DJ Premier and as usual the pleasure was all mine.

SS: Tell me about the new compilation album.

DJ Premier: I actually put it together because I have three artists on my label that I was trying to get out, NYG’z is my gutter group from the Bronx and Manhattan, Nick Javas is an Italian emcee from New Jersey, and Khaleel from Houston. Long story short I was trying to get the NYG’z and Nick Javas’ album up and running for the summer but, we weren’t ready yet. As we got closer to the end of the year it didn’t make sense to try to rush it. So I wanted to have some type of product out so I said let me just do a compilation album in the meantime. I pulled songs from all the projects that I have coming in 2011. I compiled it to give everybody a taste of everything to let people know that we mean business with what we’re bringing. The compilation album is really just to stall while I get my albums finished. I figured let’s call it DJ Premier Presents Year Round Records. I have so many projects lined up and this is the best way to give a little taste of everything. It’s like when you order appetizers, you can order just chicken fingers or you can get the combo platter where you can order chicken fingers, shrimp, soup, everything! That’s pretty much what it’s going to be.

SS: When I listen to Not A Game and Opportunity Knocks from Get Used to Us by Nick Javas his originality is what stands out the most. He rhymes about things that a lot of cats don’t rhyme about. Talk about how you discovered Nick; his style, and his upcoming album in 2011.

DJ Premier: Well what happened was I met him at a Big Shug’s listening party for Street Champ. Since Shug is Gangstarr Foundation I had to make sure I was there to represent that. This guy named Spence that I know in the industry brought Nick to shop his demo. He brought him to a lot of different events to get him recognized so he introduced me to Nick and he was a little overconfident in my opinion. He was like, “Yeah man, I’m nice.” I’ve heard that about everybody. He had the same little cocky attitude and I’m used to that. When he came off like that I wasn’t impressed because I’ve heard that from so many other people. Every time someone tries to impress me like that I hear the same old bullsh*t and their demo turns out not to be hot. When it came down to that I said you know what, I’ll take a listen to it later. When I walked away he was staring at me with this stalking look. I’m wondering why he’s staring at me like that but I just let it go.

Fast forward, I ended up moving to a new house and when I was unpacking all my stuff I had a box of all my demos that I hadn’t listened to. It was like ten of them and most of them were trash. Nick Javas was the guy who was talking about he was nice. I popped it in and I was impressed with his wordplay and wittiness. He used a lot of sports references and I like sports. I liked the cleverness of how he said what he said. I called the number on the CD to see if it worked and he picked up the phone. He was having a Super Bowl party at the time. He was sweeping the floor and putting food out and all of a sudden I call. He was like, “Is this really DJ Premier?” From there we ended up talking for two hours. We took it to the next level and I told him, “I’m very picky about white artists being that you’re not from the ghetto. This is a black culture but I welcome any race. You’re coming under Premier and my level of the game so you’ve got to come off differently from the other white emcees that I like.” I like Eminem, Apathy, Esoteric, Ill Bill, Slaine, Everlast, Necro, Vinnie Paz, and JoJo Pellegrino but how can I make Nick stand out differently? He started throwing out all these ideas, “Hey man, we should do a record where I’m trying to convince you to sign me to the label! We should call it Opportunity Knocks.” I was like, “Alright, I like that idea.” That’s why I made the beat with the knock on the door as reference to him trying to get my attention to be recognized as one of the great ones that’ll go down in the books eventually. We cut the record and it came out good. I graded him on his lyrics by responding in scratches instead of me talking to him. In the first verse he’s too cocky like the day when I met him that’s why I’m knocking him down because I don’t want him to easily get a deal. We just shot the video which came out great.

Not A Game was just a B-side for the single. He heard the beat and came up with a concept of how life is not a game but equating it to sports. He told me he wanted to use the Allen Iverson sample and I just started doing it by hand. I hit the record button to remind me of how I referenced it and ended up liking it like that. I leaked it out and a lot of deejay’s liked it but wanted scratches on it. I did two versions, one with me cutting on it and one that says “not a game” throughout. He’s working on his album Destination Unknown and his album is incredible. He’s very unique and he’s definitely going to be a star.

SS: Another joint on the album is Hot Flames by an artist on your label Khaleel. He also has a unique style, talk about Khaleel and that Hot Flames joint.

DJ Premier: I did that record back in 2002 and just never released it. Khaleel was on another label and signed with me because that label fell apart. The owner asked me if I would find a way to get him plugged into the business and he’d appreciate it. I said, “Alright, I’ll do one album with him—I’ll do one,” and I did it. That’s what it turned out to be. At the end of the day I’m very happy with the way that came out as well. Being that the other label shut down I just made sure that I wasn’t going to release it until I was ready to because I thought it was a good enough single to help introduce him. I’ve been sitting on it for years and now we’re ready to launch it and it sounds like something we just did.

SS: It does, it does. The last time we spoke in Dallas you let the cat out of the bag that you and KRS were hooking back up for Return of the Boom Bip. KRS & Grand Puba have a joint on Get Used To Us called 5%, talk about how that song came together.

DJ Premier: I originally did that beat for Rakim when he was on Dr. Dre’s label, Aftermath. Rakim moved on and we ended up saying that we’ll work on stuff later on down the line. We were just building in the studio and I played KRS some of the beats that I had on stash which I usually don’t do because I make my tracks on the spot. I played it for him and he said he wanted to do a record about the 5% [Nation of God’s and Earths] on this! I said, “OK, we can do that.” He said he wanted to get somebody to guest on it and right as he said that Ice-T knocked on my door. Ice-T was upstairs doing a session and he heard I was in the studio. We started kicking it with Ice and told him about the song and Ice said, “You need to get somebody like Brand Nubian or Grand Puba who can talk that God talk.” Right then we all looked at each other and said, “Puba!” I called Lord Finesse because he was with Grand Puba the night before and Finesse gave me his number. I called Puba and told him the deal and he totally liked the idea. I picked him up at a bar and he slid the drink in the sleeve of his jacket and snuck out of the bar. We drove and I let him hear the first verse and he came in and blazed it.

SS: You’re also working on a joint album with Pete Rock. What made you two decide to get together to work on a joint project?

DJ Premier: We were in Tokyo doing a Pete Rock vs. Premier concert for Manhattan Records. It’s a famous record store that was celebrating their 25-year anniversary. They asked us to do this concert as a one-off and on the way home Pete and I were talking sh*t and it turned into almost a battle. His manager was like, “Yo, y’all should do an album.” Me and Pete looked at each other and said, “You want to do it?” We said. “Yeah let’s do it,” and Pete said let’s call it Pete Rock vs. Premier. He said, “I’ll get six artists and do six songs and you do the same thing.” We aren’t telling each other which artists we’re bringing to the table but I’m bringing six and he’s bringing six and we’re going to combine them. We’ll see who has the hottest stuff at the end of the day but the main aim is to put out a solid body of work.

SS: Is there a timetable for the release of that album because it sounds crazy, man!

DJ Premier: We just started but we’re going to actually do it, do it right after Christmas. I have to get my album out on December 7th and take a break and Pete is doing touring. We both started the project already. I got my first one in the can but I still have five more to do. Pete already started his so we’re going to go full throttle and make this sh*t pop.

SS: Gangstarr means so much to so many people. With the passing of Guru will we ever hear some unreleased Gangstarr joints on Year Round Records?

DJ Premier: Absolutely, absolutely we will. I have the rights to Gangstarr along with Guru’s son so everything is gravy. I’m working with them and I’ll be dropping DVD’s of behind the scenes stuff from 1989 to 2010. Nobody has that footage but me and nobody has the music but me. I have people contributing tracks of Guru’s vocals that I didn’t have and I also have stuff on lock. We’re going to do a Gangstarr Foundation album and a couple of other things but the DVD’s are definitely going to be popping. I have hundreds of hours of footage that no one else has so you will be seeing that.

SS: On December 7th DJ Premier presents Year Round Records: Get Used to Us drops and you’re dropping several albums in 2011. What are your overall goals and plans for Year Round Records?

DJ Premier: Just to elevate music the way it’s supposed to be elevated, man. Everybody is so wack these days. It’s not enough stuff for adults. I’m an adult, I don’t want to hear kiddie rap. So in order for me to get some stuff that I can relate to I need to hear some stuff that’s on my level. The only way to do it without being the person that wishes it can happen is being the producer that makes it happen. I’m like a car that pulls up to another nice car at the light. As soon as you see me at the light you gotta be like, “Nice, nice car.” Even if yours is nice you gotta give me thumbs up on mine.

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