DJ Premier

Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American DJ and record producer.

He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time.

He was half of the hip hop duo Gang Starr—alongside the rapper Guru—and presently forms half of the hip hop duo PRhyme, together with Royce da 5'9".

Christopher Edward Martin was born in the Fifth Ward of Houston, Texas on March 21, 1966.

He was then raised in Prairie View, Texas, before moving to Brooklyn, New York, during his teenage years.

He attended Prairie View A&M University, where he honed his musical skills as the campus DJ, and he also occasionally performed with the Marching Storm band.

Premier is known for producing all of Gang Starr's songs as well as many of those composed by the Gang Starr Foundation.

Notable artists he has worked with include Afu-Ra, Anderson.Paak, AZ, Big Daddy Kane, Big L, Big Shug, Blaq Poet, Bun B, Canibus, Christina Aguilera, Common, Cormega, D'Angelo, Dilated Peoples, D.I.T.C., Doug E. Fresh, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Fat Joe, Freddie Foxxx, The Game, Group Home, Ill Bill, J. Cole, Jeru the Damaja, Janet Jackson, Jay-Z, Joey Bada$, Kanye West, KRS-One, The Lady of Rage, Limp Bizkit, Lord Finesse, The LOX, Ludacris, Mac Miller, Mobb Deep, M.O.P., Mos Def, Nas, The Notorious B.I.G., O.C., Papoose, Rakim, Ras Kass, Reks, Royce da 5'9", Showbiz & A.G., Smif-N-Wessun, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Logic, Apathy, Celph Titled, Method Man and more.

The early line-up of the Gang Starr Foundation in the mid-1990s included Jeru the Damaja, Group Home, Big Shug, and Gang Starr.

Premier was fully responsible for the production of Jeru the Damaja's first two albums, The Sun Rises in the East and Wrath of the Math.

Jeru released three subsequent albums that did not include Premier's involvement.

Premier collaborated with MC Jeru the Damaja on the album The Sun Rises in the East, released in 1994, as well as the 1996 follow-up, Wrath of the Math.

Premier produced and supervised Livin' Proof by Group Home, also from the Gang Starr Foundation; although overlooked at the time of its 1995 release, the album eventually received acclaim.

He produced several tracks on fellow Gang Starr Foundation member Afu-Ra's debut album Body of the Life Force and KRS-One's debut solo album Return of the Boom Bap.

In terms of his Group Home collaboration, Premier commented in a 2003 interview: "They [Group Home] don't respect what fed them."

He further explained that he only agreed to produce the track "The Legacy" because of Guru's involvement.

Other artists closely tied to the Gang Starr Foundation who Premier collaborated with include: Afu Ra, Bahamadia, Krumbsnatcha, Big Shug, Smiley the Ghetto Child, and NYGz.

In 2006, pop/R&B singer Christina Aguilera recruited Premier to produce her album Back to Basics.

Premier explained the reservations he heard from people regarding the collaboration:

When Christina [Aguilera] had me work with her, people were like, "Oh no. Please don't."

Then, when they heard "Ain't No Other Man," "Back In The Day," and all the other records were still constructed like Premier tracks they were like, "Yo, I really love this album. I was really impressed. I was worried, but you totally sound like what we love about you."

Until you hear it, don't say a word.

I never want to be just attached to hip hop.

I want to be attached to music—country, rap, soul, jazz, blues, it doesn't matter, gospel music—I come from all of that.

In 2008, Premier appeared in Grand Theft Auto IV as himself – the host for radio station The Classics 104.1.

Premier produced the majority of Blaq Poet's Tha Blaqprint, which was released in mid-2009.

Premier contributed a song on Game's 2011 album, The R.E.D. Album.

Also in 2011, Premier appeared on the song "Gangster", on Bushido's album Jenseits von Gut und Böse.

Premier was one of the artists followed in the 2012 documentary, Re:GENERATION.

The film followed his production of the song "Regeneration," for which he used a live performance of his work by the Berklee Symphony Orchestra.

In September 2012, Immortal Technique said that a song called "Born in the Trap," on his upcoming album, titled The Middle Passage, would feature production by Premier.

In early 2014, Premier revealed that he was working with Aguilera again in an interview with New Zealand's Rip It Up magazine.

Premier produced Y'all Ready Know by Slaughterhouse, from the Shady Records album, Shady XV, and the music video was published in November 2014.

In mid-2014, Premier collaborated with Korean hip-hop group Dynamic Duo on two singles "AEAO" and "Animal", which were both warmly received.

Afu Ra explained Premier's influence in a September 2014 interview with the "Lyrically Fit" website:

A mid-January 2015 announcement from Premier stated that the producer's studio, D&D, also known as "The HeadQcouterz," will cease to be operational.

As part of the announcement, Premier confirmed that he was working on the album, Last Session @320, after he relocated to a recording space in Astoria, New York City, U.S. As of 2023, the album remains unreleased.

DJ Premier hosted a weekly two-hour show, Live From HeadQCourterz, on Sirius Satellite Radio's Shade 45.

The show ended in 2022.

DJ Premier served as one of the three curators for the soundtrack to the video game NBA 2K16, alongside DJ Khaled and DJ Mustard.