..When people think about D&D,one name comes to mind.DJ Premier.His contribution to Hip Hop and music in general is without doubt well documented and appreciated.What he did to build the D&D sound and mystique is also undeniable.I mean GangStarr,Group Home,Jeru and countless other artists made their landmark albums and names there thanks to him.However there were other patches in the D&D quilt,and they should never be forgotten.Mr.Walt and Evil Dee collectively known as Da Beatminerz were a big part of the D&D sound, as well as the sound of the culture..period.. then and now.Shit, even Kanye had to admit he used to get dressed to “Got U Open” remix before he went to school..listen close you can here Da Beatminerz influence on “The College Drop Out”.We’re getting ahead of ourselves a bit,or should I say I am.I met E first, as most of you should already know.Walt I met a week or so later.Around this time”How Many EMCees” was in heavy rotation on the radio and on “The Box”.(damn did I just mention “The Box”)..and they were just about to get started on “Dah Shinin'”.Like KRS,Evil was one of the few dudes that knew what it was to be an intern and would constantly look out for me when he was up there…”Yo man I used to be an intern so I know what it is already!”.Walt on the other hand was more of the big brother/bully type.Never subtle and always quick to punch the crap out you.
..One late night session during the making of “Dah Shinin'”, Walt runs out the “A” room and into the main lounge area, where I was sitting watching one of three VHS tapes that were there(cable didn’t appear in the studio till much later).I knew for sure this fool was gonna mess with me..”Hey what you doing..Nothing?..Good get in here!”..me..”Huh?!”..him..”C’mon, c’mon I need you to do something for me real quick.”..me..”Aight”..I follow him into the “A” room,past the usually smoked out “A” room lounge that was almost always was filled with BCC affiliates.Today there weren’t any PNC’s there,just Tek, Steele and Dru Ha..who is sitting behind the board with Kieran Walsh the engineer.”Is he gonna do it?”..Dru asks Walt..”Nah I aint ask him yet”..me(to self)..”What The Fuck?”..Walt..”OK look we need you for this chorus,its only the five of us on it but we want it to sound like a big crowd..you feel me?”..me..”Yeah..what you need me to say..”..him..”BuckTown!”..me..”Cool”.We…meaning me ,Tek,Steele,Walt and Dru,pile into the vocal booth and get behind the mic.Several misfires of “BuckTown!” later we get the right energy and takes that Walt and E were looking for..”Yo yall sound like some bitches!”..one Evil’s many comments during the process.”Good lookin out”..Walt goes..”No doubt”..I reply and go back into the main lounge to finish watching the movie that I’ve seen like a thousand times before.Few seconds later Walt comes back out..laughin..”Yo!..you gotta hear this”..we go into the control room and Walt says to Kieran..”Play it for him”..they play me the chorus..”BuckTown!”..it sounds like a stadium now..what they wanted..but I’m confused..what’s the beef?Walt to me..”Duke you don’t Hear That?!..me..”Nah what?”..Evil..”Money..YOU are the Loudest nigga in the bunch!”..I’m like(ahhhh shit!)..they rollin..I’m thinkin I fucked the shit up..their like..”Son all we needed was you in there like twenty times for real”..me..”Yeah aight”..now I’m laughin’ cause Walt is on the floor..”Play it Again!..This nigga goin crazy!”..me..”OK I’m out”.Later on that night Walt comes back out..”For real good lookin out on that,that shit was funny as hell..You’re still a nigga though.”..
..So like I said,Walt was a big brother and a big bully..and he made it his business to mess with me.Being the” intern boy” at the time,I had clean up duty on a daily basis,and on a daily basis,Walt would come in and purposely wreck what I took an half hour to clean.Kick over the tables…toss the magazines..topple over the trash cans..then look at me and say..”Clean this shit up now!”..and walk away chuckling.I would be fuming mad at this dude.Is He Crazy?!One day after he is routine “Hurricane Walt” impression he then asked everyone in the room..”What’s For Lunch?”(that became a part of Da Beatminerz session routine,before we started to work we’d ask “What’s For Lunch?”).Anyway..I was like..”Wait…What?..Yeah he’s nuts!”.Evil took me aside one time and was like..”Yo you gotta whup his ass B…”..me..”Huh?”(This is a set up)”..Evil..”Nah he does that shit all the time,he just wanna see how much you gonna take before you snap and bug out…Next time just smack him..”..me..”hmmm”.Saturday rolls around and Beatminerz have a session and I’m on my clean up duties as usual.Walt and E arrive and enter the “A”room lounge…Evil..”Sup Dex!”..me..”Sup E”..Walt..” What’s Up Nigga!”..and scans the room and focuses on the coffee table with neatly arranged magazines on it…and smacks them all onto the floor..”Clean that sh..”..before he can finish I’m on him,choke hold city..Evil..”Oh Shit!He’s Wildin'”.I got Walt in what has got to be the best choke hold ever!He can’t get free..”Stop messin wit me Walt!..him(tappin on my arm)..”Aight Nigga I’m Done…”I let him go..he catches his breath..and says..”We good?”..me..”Yeah we good”..him..”Good nigga..What’s For Lunch??”…
Written by Dexter Thibou
Bram, DJ Premier, Panjabi MC, Todd and Pablo.
drunk as fuck. Spike Lee had directed this movie called Inside Man, he wanted Panjabi MC on the soundtrack, so Panjabi MC flew from London to New York to record this track. Spike Lee probably though that DJ Premier was the right guy for the recording so Panjabi MC went to DJ Premier with the other musicians for the soundtrack of the movie. They made this track called “Chaiyya Chaiyya Bollywood Joint”, it’s a remix to the original “Chaiyya Chaiyya” (some famous Indian soundtrack) and the credits say produced and scratches by DJ Premier. I guess everybody had his influence on the track. You can find the track in the opening of the movie or on the soundtrack disc. Enjoy:
cats were really bout their hustle.I mean they had every door shut in their faces.Not a lot of folks at the labels were messing with em,and if they were, they giving em low ball money.The streets loved em though and that’s all you really needed back then.Street love equaled big money interest..eventually.Now this was before Beans,Freeway,Kanye and all that.It was just Jay heading the bill with Memph in the wings awaiting his turn,soaking up everything.The dynamic was simple..Jay did the music…Dame and Biggs did the business.More than often as most would find to be true,Dame was the one who did most of the business dealings and handling the day to day,cause Jay needed to focus on the music.Jay would have his say of course,as did Biggs,but Dame was the one who had to carry out the missions most times.Cause that was his thing!
..Don’t get it twisted,they did have tough times in the beginning.It wasn’t always peaches and cream.I remember getting paid for sessions in singles and fives,maybe a ten or a twenty will show up,but yall get the idea.One time in particular will always stick out. Dame came to me when he was ready to pay with his Dame Dash shit on full tilt,as usual ..”Yo Did-Ex..my nigga..how much we owe?”..me..”$2,500″..him..”Aight hold up”..Now Dame was good for wearing sweats all the time, unless he had to carry money, back then.Depending on the amount it was either cargoes or fatigues, cause all the loot was loose bills.Today it was cargoes.He’s reaching into every possible pocket pulling out money and putting on top the piano in the “A” room vocal booth.Now there’s a pile of money sitting in front of me, he points at me and says..”It’s all there..Peace”..me..”HOLD ON MONEY!”..him,real calm..”Wah?”..me..”You stay here while I count this madness,you always do this shit Dame”..him..”Aight Aight Calm Down..Lemme get Biggs and Jay we gotta sort some shit out with this kid”..me..”Sort away nigga”.
