"Reputation is the cornerstone of power." Appropriately enough, these are the words tattooed on the right forearm of DJ Premier, a producer whose own prestigious rep stands within the highest ranks of hip hop's greatest aural architects. Since debuting in 1989 as the beatmaking maestro behind his group Gang Starr's first masterpiece "Words I Manifest", Premier has gradually carved a niche for himself in the rap music pantheon unlike any of his peers. As a producer of unparalleled longevity, he's collaborated with hip hop's greatest vocalists, churning out classic material for the likes of the late Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Nas, Rakim and KRS-One. The perennial boardsman of choice for hip hop's contemporary young lions of all stripes, he's as likely to extend his prowess to Tunnel favorites like the Lox and Jadakiss as Soulquarian free spirits such as Common or Mos Def. A remixer supreme, he's applied his talent for musical redefinition to everyone from Too $hort to Show & AG, Brandy to Janet Jackson. A tireless champion of the underground, he's elevated grimy underdogs like M.O.P., Freddie Foxxx and the late Big L well beyond their one-time cult statuses. And as one half of he and rhyming partner Guru's lifelong hip hop project in progress, Gang Starr, he's cultivated of one of the art form's most respected and cherished groups. In essence, the appeal of Premier's productions-sonic composites of raw beats, masterful programming and great turntable dexterity-transcends all divisions, standing as the purest example of hip hop known to modern ears. Ironically, despite his sound being so tightly associated with the streets of the Big East, Preem's roots are planted in Texas soil. A product of Prairie View, TX, outside of Houston, Christopher Martin began DJing while attending local Prarie View University in the mid-'80s. A lifelong music fan, he'd already caught the hardcore hip hop bug on visits to his grandfather in Brooklyn over the summers as a teen, returning to PV with cassettes of all the popular NYC mix shows, and quickly becoming fluent in the fundamentals of the emerging sound. But by his college years, it soon became apparent to Martin that joining the rap revolution that had suddenly overtaken the Black popular music of the day was infinitely more interesting than stodgy academics. He adopted the moniker Waxmaster C, began experimenting with production to supplement his DJing skills, and formed a group with an emceeing friend. The duo, dubbed Inner Circle Posse, submitted a demo tape to seminal New York independent label Wild Pitch Records, where the Waxmaster's early beat techniques caught the ear of another aspiring hip hop soul, MC Keithy E, a/k/a Guru-a Boston refugee signed to the label under his old hometown crew's name, Gang Starr. When Martin's emcee suddenly dropped out of ICP, the young DJ/producer was left without a partner. At Guru's urging, Wild Pitch offered Martin a chance to join forces with the Bostonian in Gang Starr. Young Chris seized the opportunity, and arrived in his newly adopted home of New York with a new name that would represent his ambition to be the first and best at his chosen craft: DJ Premier. Premier's first official production foray with Gang Starr, the aforementioned "Manifest", instantaneously foreshadowed the brilliance yet to come. With its James Brown-sampled horns, Dizzy Gillespie-procured bassline (from the bebop landmark "A Night In Tunisia") and precise DJ cuts, the song literally fused three generations of Black rhythm revolutions in a tight, party generating four minutes and some seconds. Though there would be more classic Gang Starr singles ("Just To Get A Rep", "Ex Girl To The Next Girl", "DYWCK", "Mass Appeal", "Code Of The Streets", "You Know My Steez" et al) and albums (Step In The Arena, Daily Operation, Hard To Earn, Moment Of Truth), it would be Prem's continued outside production activity with that would truly separate him from other trackmasters. Though he'd laced Wild Pitch labelmate Lord Finesse as early as 1990 with beats for the Bronx lyricist's Funky Technician LP, Premier's freelancing didn't come to full fruition until a few years later. By 1993, his contributions to KRS-One's Return Of The Boom Bap (particularly the hit "Outta Here") and a sublime, radically sparse single for a then-unknown Gang Starr Foundation upstart named Jeru The Damaja ("Come Clean") ripped Preem's previous production standards into oblivion. While Premier still possessed a keen ear for hooking up arresting, haunting loops (witness Nas' "Memory Lane", the Crooklyn Dodgers' "Return Of The Crooklyn Dodgers" or Jay-Z's "Friend Or Foe"), his signature style of digitally chopping sampled music into reconstructed melodies (as on the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Ten Crack Commandments", Jay's "A Million And One Questions" and Mos Def's "Mathematics") found fellow producers scurrying back to the lab to try to replicate his style. The latter half of the '90s saw the floodgates on Premier's output open wide, with living legends (Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap) and ghetto dwellers (Krumb Snatcha, Heather B, Group Home) alike becoming happy recipients of his handy work. Along the way, Premier's distinctively street sound became a required component of every serious artist's album's arsenal of material, even extending to the rock world with his production of the Limp Bizkit-Method Man smash duet, "N 2gether Now." Premier also holds the distinction of being the only producer to forge close working relationships with the complete trio of New York rhyme royalty, knocking out hits for Biggie ("Unbelievable", "Kick In The Door"), Nas ("Nas Is Like") and Jay-Z ("So Ghetto"). Though his early work with the big three ought to be impressive enough alone for the sheer quality of the music generated, it's particularly noteworthy considering that at the time each was a new, unproven and hungry emcee that Premier recognized the genius in from the outset. Bringing the DJ's mentality of breaking new records and acts to his producing, he continues to uncover new talent wherever it may be found, never losing touch with the birthplace of the music, the streets. It's this vision and depth of musical insight that Premier brings to his first formal solo album effort-an extended collaboration with both familiar and new voices that, despite his already considerable stature, stands to be the most provocative of his career. Professionally, Premier has always felt completely comfortable playing the background as the man behind the scenes. And while this solo project places him solely, and deservedly, within the spotlight for the first time, his private, laconic nature will undoubtedly remain unaffected. For the music and reputation speak for themselves. WEBSITE: http://www.gangstarr.8m.com/ Tons of Guns Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr [EXPLICIT LYRICS] Gangstarr $20.99