Why did Gang Starr split up? A lot of Hip Hop heads from the late 80s and 90s are probably still wondering why one of the best Hip Hop groups ever ended up feuding and eventually splitting up to the great disappointment of the Hip Hop community. The real reasons have never been fully disclosed (will they ever?) but Gang Starr affiliate and close friend of Guru has decided to speak his peace on the issue and he blames the split on drugs, theft, ego and porn beats!
Check the video below courtesy of Forbez DVD which will soon release 'Breakup of the Chain & Starr' - an entire documentary dedicated to the break up of Gang Starr.
Premo has revealed his Top 25 Hip Hop Albums of 2011 and even if on a lot we agree there are some interesting/curious picks (and omissions) in the list...The Game number 1 for example?? Peep the complete list below and let us know your thoughts!
25. Large Professor & Neek The Exotic – Still On The Hustle
Slick Rick has just released a new joint produced by none other than DJ Premier! It's classic Rick on classic Preemo and it will apparently be featured on the OST to Jonah Hill's new movie 'The Sitter.'
After a 10 hour wait at Lyon airport last week to come home after the Oxmo Puccino show, the travelling involved for DJ Premier in London was much easier going. 10 minutes on the Number 31 bus and I've arrived outside the Jazz Cafe in Camden with a fully charged camera, a pocket full of Mango Kush and not a single ash cloud in sight to halt the journey.
DJ Premier hit the UK earlier in the year for a March date at Matter at the 02 arena with a load of other DJs and MCs and returned for last night’s show for the first stop of a tour which will see him move on to Norway for 2 nights before heading off to China . This show promised to be all the more poignant with the recent and untimely passing of Guru still fresh in everyone’s minds. As all TheRapBuzz.com members were out of the country on either business or pleasure it was left to resident photographer Sefton "I love it when they call me Big Poppa" Blake to wave the La Cantina flag and properly papp proceedings before reporting back to the masses.
The Jazz Café is an awesome hip hop venue, spread over two floors with the stage and decks in full view it's a decent size whilst still being intimate enough to really feel the acts. Particularly at home on the stage and with an ever increasing following were the Droppin’ Science DJ collective who provided more than ample support to the big man. Armed with an apple mac and time code vinyls DJ Daredevil threw down some crazy doubles of early 90’s beats, beat juggled with Eric B and Rakim’s 'Don’t Sweat the Technique' and had the crowd going crazy singing along to Cypress Hill’s 'Could Just Kill A Man'. DJ Matman was then standing by taking us though the hip hop ages moving from Pharcyde and KRS-1 to Jay-Z and Nas and then Biggie and Keith Murray. Credit where credit is due – Daredevil and Matman kept the crowd noisy and more than entertained for well over 3 hours with classic beats, killer cuts and doubles on practically every track.
Preemo himself turned up around 10.15 going straight on stage to set-up after what sounded like a nightmare journey which saw his flight from New York get cancelled, none of his crew being able to fly with him, taking a flight alone to Paris and then finally the Eurostar to London. After this brief explication and introduction DJ Premier made it clear for all present right from the get go that the night was to be a tribute to Guru. In his characteristic velvet gravel voice Preemo blessed the person, the life, the family, the music and the legacy of his former Ganstarr partner with a moving couple of minute’s parlance.
By this time the crowd were gagging for it and when Preemo kicked things off with cuts of Gangstarr tracks from the first few albums they responded with that unique collective sound of “whoa”, “yeah” and “ooh” all rolled into one sound that you only hear at a hip hop show with 'Militia' followed by 'Above the Clouds' getting the loudest cheers and the highest jumps.
The crowd was pumped and Premier, you could say, was already pretty emotionally charged so when some twat in the crowd dressed like a member of Goldie Looking Chain with a fake afro wig and over size necklace shouted out "you're not a gangstar" he went on a realness rant, blaming him for disrespecting Guru's soul and shot the guy down big style shouting, "what the fuck do you know little boy, I'm a G!" - this got the loudest shouts of the night. "You know what you haven't got" screamed a pi$$ed off DJ Premier, "Skills!!!" and with that he dropped the Ownerz album track - the crowd went off all sorts of chains!!!!!
Phat beat was followed by phat beat after phat beat as we moved from the classic Gangstarr catalogue to the Preemo produced tracks by MOP and Group Home which left heads nodding hard. From here we were all treated to some of the classic Biggie tracks 'Machine Gun Funk' and, of course, '10 Crack Commandments' – I couldn’t spot anyone not singing along which is cool considering I saw men, women and children of all ages, races, styles and backgrounds - some seriously unsuspecting DJ Premier fans crawled out of the woodwork for this one - including one old lady who must have been at least 65 who had her hand in the air like she really didnt care all night long - true heads!
Very little actual mixing going on mainly as he had to perform mic duties as well but this was cool as between tracks Preems would tell a little Gangstarr or Guru related story - one about how the group was formed, the stages it went through and one about how much of a ballsy little scrapper Guru used to be back in the day.
Whilst Daredevil and Matman ripped the decks up technically earlier on, DJ Premier was there to show he is more than just a track master - cutting, scratching and juggling with the best of them and there was more to come as we neared the end of the set with some more classics from the likes of Big L and Big Pun as well as some more recent beats he's done for Termanology. The highlight was 'Salute Pt II' at the end of the show with Preems introducing the track with the story of how and why it was made, dropping the track and shouting out Guru's verse through the mic - the look on his face was priceless, he was proper feeling it.
I left more than satisfied having seen a living hip hop legend in action and was impressed how he ran the stage and controlled the crowd for over 2 hours. I went straight home and spun every Chris Martin record I own – DJ Premier that is, not Coldplay.
It's been a long time...Rakim to me is one of the very best, if not a contender for the top spot and not least because of his viscious wordplay and effortless flow. It's more to do with the fact that this guy was gangster without actively promoting it; he didn't have to get tough on the mic because the music took care of it for him...and thus he was able to gather a wider variety of fans than say Mobb Deep, because you could respect him for his skills as well as his gangster. With Eric B alongside, it meant Ra had someone who fully understood what sounded nice when he was on the mic. As a result, this Duo were able to craft some of the most incredible hip-hop anthems; it's a shame they had to part ways...but nevertheless, we can never forget.
GangStarr
Rakim sounded awesome when laced over Premo beats. Someone who sounded even better though was Guru, of whom with Dj Premier formed the formidable GangStarr. Even after 20 something years in the game, Guru can kick it with many of today's top MCs....with an almost effortless flow and a way of spitting aggressive rhymes without having to raise his voice, Guru's flow melts like butter on a hot Premo track. It is often the dream of many hip hop fans to have their favourite producer hook up with a dope MC; GangStarr is one of the very finest examples. Their catalog of incredible albums and sizzling tracks mean GangStarr are firmly forged into hip hop history.
Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg
Following on from pairing a dope producer with a sick MC comes a slightly different pair. Snoop Dogg is not really an MC as such, and neither is Dre...but this pair had something that most of the other duos on this list could only dream about - hit making chemistry which refuses to die. When Snoop Dogg signed up to Death Row in the 90s, Dr. Dre took him under his wing and (cleverly) promoted Snoop through himself and then Executive Produced one of the finest albums of all time, Snoop's 'Doggy Style'. What followed was a string of hits and an incredible catalog of platinum selling albums from the pair. Dre used Snoop's hype on The Chronic and Snoop took advantage of Dre's stellar production on Doggy Style, a few years down the line Dre returned with Chronic 2001 of which once again was heavily graced by Snoop...will Detox be the same? I'm pretty sure we can count on it, with Dre and Snoop both helping each other blow up throughout their careers...I reckon we're all itching to see if that same chemistry still exists. Pay homage.
Dr. Dre and Eminem
Snoop helped propel Dre's Chronic. Em did much the same (if not more) with Chronic 2001. And then surprise surprise, Dre graced Eminem's following LPs with Executive Production credits and guest spots to add that 'legend' status. And why not? Team up arguably the best producer alongside arguably the best rapper and what do you have? A dream come true for any fan of good music...Dre's versatility meant Em could switch the mood of his rhymes depending on the instrumental he'd been handed...and whilst Premo beats (no matter how dope) seem to suit a set tone or mood' Dre's ability to experiment meant Eminem now features an incredible catalog of LPs which vary in terms of moods so much you'd swear they came from a different artist. When these two paired up on the mic, they managed to provide a father-son type chemistry which is still unmatched by many of their imitators - Guilty Conscious, My Name Is, Forgot About Dre....must I go on?!
You know what? It doesn’t even matter who spits on this. It doesn’t matter what it’s called, or what album it’s featured on. For all I care, this could be a bonus track on a Flo-rida album and it would still send the same shiver down my spine. Damn Premo, you’ve done it again!
Fat Joe’s album was actually pretty decent, seeing as he was getting shitted on by 50 at the time (who made a whole mixtape against him), whilst being heavily criticized for trying to hard to fit the Southern niche, and leaving his New York following behind. Elephant in the Room was blessed with some decent performances, that allowed us to see the old Joe; there were also some tunes that made us think maybe it’s time he put up the mic...
DJ Premier has managed to use his infamous sample laced over an ‘oh so easy to flow too’ beat, leaving the foundations for any half-decent rapper to spit his game. Seriously speaking, I reckon even the most tired rappers would be inspired if they were given 10 Premo tracks to make an album out of.
So this is just fire! It’s hard not to bop your head to this, I can’t believe “I Won’t Tell” got a video and this didn’t, definitely something that will make most Joey fans go WTF!? Stop chasing radio spins Mr. Crack and stick to what you do best!
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