Maybe the greatest sampler of all time. The greatest Hip-Hop DJ. The guy’s a living legend.

DJ Premier got known in Brooklyn due to the collaboration with Guru to form the band Gangstarr. But he was born in Houston, Texas.

The list of all the MC’s he produced is too long to stand on the page. From underground artists to majors killers of the microphone, it is always easy to recognize a beat stamped “Preemo”.

In a 2011 interview to VladTV, a hip hop video news site, DJ Premier had been asked to name his five favorite productions.

Here’s the list.

Salute Part II

First beat Premo mentions is Salute Part II, track available on M.O.P’s third album “First Family 4 Life”. The hardcore rap band from Brownsville collaborates many times with DJ Premier. Bass line sample comes from “Keep the Faith” by Mel & Tim, unknown soul duo who lived from the wealth of one single.

MOP feat Gang Starr – Salute Part II

Mel & Tim – Keep the Faith (sample appears at 0:00)

Mass Appeal

“Money’s growin like grass with the mass appeal“

Wise hook sampled by Premo for one of his most well-achieved beats. Released in 1994 on “Hard to Earn” beside “Code of the Streets”, it crushed the charts the second it hit the trays. This time I put the sample first, because it’s amazing how he extracted a few synthesizer notes from the instrumental background to give birth to an incredible beat.

Vic Juris – Horizon Drive (sample appears at 3:36)

Gang Starr – Mass Appeal

Full Clip

If I say “Big L rest in peace”, you say “Full Clip”. Premier leak an anecdote about this production:

“I made it the day Big L died (15th of February 1999), I was litterally just on my way in and heard the news straight after it happened. I call the right people to know if it was official or not. I wanted to make sure every DJ cut that “Big L rest in peace” at the top. When it came out during 1999 (Full Clip), every DJ was “Big L rest in peace”. It was non stop.”

You got it, Preemo was hurt when one of the best underground lyricist died. Here’s his tribute and it will blow up your ears.

Gang Starr – Full Clip

Cal Tjader – Walk On By (sample appears at 0:25)

Boom 

“That record… He really fucked my head with the lyrics (Royce Da 5’9″) and those cuts… They match. Everything go together. Boom bam god damn. That’s DJ shit! That’s how much we’re still into it. The age thing has nothing to do with it. We’re still junkies for it.”

He might get really enthusiastic about his beats. But he’s right on one point. Even if it gets older and older, it’ll still works.

Royce Da 5’9” – Boom

Marc Hannibal – Forever is a Long, Long Time (sample appears at 0:06)

N.Y State of Mind

Probably my favorite one. In 1994, a young kid aged 21 from QueensBridge releases what some Hip-Hop observers consider as the best Hip-Hop album of all time: Illmatic by Nas.

The beat is minimalist but catch you the first second and never fly out of your brain for 4:54 minutes. One piano note repeat itself like a metronome and a deep and dark piano riff looped make the day. For the drum part, he looked into Kool and the Gang’s “N.T”. On the top of that, Nas is tearing it up. Once again, the half of Gang Starr delivers a great moment from behind the scene.

“Him (Nas) just writing it and he said: “I don’t know how to start this ?”I’m counting and go. And the count of 2, 3 and he goes “Rappers, I monkey flip em’ with the funky rhythm … ” And we were all looking stunned, this was youngsters. He did all first verse in one take. And he finished first verse and he said how was that that was okay ? He was all shy and we were like Yooo! “

Nas – N.Y state of Mind

Joe Chambers – Mind Rain (sample appears at 1:05)

An another point to show how big is DJ Premier’s magnitude: he turned unknown tracks into popular one only because he sampled those. That’s the mark of the great.