While Jeff, Zilla and the LA crew recover from what was surely an epic night of madness, debauchery and incredibly dope music in LA, I console myself with the thought of back to back DJ sets from DJ Premier and Pete Rock in Montreal tonight. The promoters are billing it as “The Hip-Hop event of the year” and for once, it’s hard to disagree with the hyperbole: it ain’t going to get any better around here rap wise. To celebrate, I figured I’d dig out this old mixtape from yours truly highlighting the legendary Premier. Put together in late 2008, the goal was get together a bunch of dope Premo joints from albums that didn’t get much burn ’round here anymore rather than focus on the biggest or rarest cuts. The result includes classics from AZ, CNN, Nas, J-Live, Mos Def and many more all mixed and subdivided into individual tracks for your listening and skipping pleasure. Tracklist after the jump, enjoy.
Download:
MP3: Son Raw – Premo Cuts (08′ Throwback Mix)
Tracklist:
- AZ – The Format
- CNN – Invincible
- Nas – Come Get Me
- Common – The 6th Sense
- J-Live – The Best Part
- Mos Def – Mathematics
- Non Phixion – Rock Stars
- MOP ft Guru – Half N Half
- Kool G Rap – First Nigga
- Fat Joe – Shit is Real (Remix)
- The Lox – Recognize
- Ludacris – MVP
- Royce da 5’9 – Boom
- Big L – Platinum Plus
- Rakim – Guess Who’s Back
- Jay-Z – So Ghetto
- KRS-ONE – Rappaz R N Danja
- The Notorious B.I.G ft Method Man & Redman – Rap Phenomenon
7 comments
Tray says:
April 10, 2010 at 11:06 am (UTC -7)
Well I hate to hate on a Premo mix, any Premo mix, but I think it’s odd that pretty much everything on here is from 1999 and on, with one or two exceptions. The symphonic, sheeny, ‘Nas Is Like,’ ‘Sixth Sense,’ Moment of Truth Premo to me is just an infinitely less interesting producer than the Premo who made ‘Who’s Gonna Take The Weight,’ ‘Rappaz R N Danja,’ ‘Brownsville,’ ‘Black Cowboys,’ ‘ALONGWAYTOGO,’ ‘Supa Star,’ etc. Somewhere between Hard To Earn and Moment of Truth, his beats get a lot more predictable and to me basically become the aural equivalent of really good comfort food. Whereas listening to Hard To Earn or Livin Proof is a pretty challenging experience.
Sach says:
April 10, 2010 at 3:20 pm (UTC -7)
That was the point: to include joints that are from albums that I didn’t play out anymore. Hard to Earn and Living Proof get much play eliminating the need to include joins like Supastar or Mass Appeal.
I do disagree that those joints aren’t challenging as well, but that’s another story.
Tray says:
April 10, 2010 at 6:47 pm (UTC -7)
Yeah I mean I guess I don’t listen to Like Water For Chocolate much, or Born Again or CNN/Lox’s second albums… but I think most people who read you probably listen to a lot of these individual songs on their iPods a ton. I certainly used to when the later Premo was more my thing. And perhaps challenging is the wrong word, but there’s definitely a sort of tension, minimalism, at times this weird kind of lo-fi digital mess (‘Brainstorm,’ ‘Physical Stamina’ if I recall), and I think generally a darker mood in his earlier work that the later stuff loses in favor of what’s generally this bright, sunny, affirmative, conservative, and most importantly very righteous sound. I feel like all later Premo is infused with this sense of the moral goodness of The Real Hip-Hop. And what’s a somewhat angry righteousness on MC’s Act Like They Don’t Know becomes, by ‘Nas Is Like’ and ‘The Sixth Sense,’ this sort of birds are tweeting in the trees in almost Edenic celebration of the words of wisdom with which Nas and Common are imparting us. And of course there’s a churchy religion of Boom Bap feel to some of the earlier stuff as well, but it was always rougher-edged and more analytic. And one thing that’s especially problematic about some of these later records to me is that the rappers can’t (always) carry the weight of all the praise Premo musically throws their way, so the whole religious feel he builds up starts to seem a little hollow.
Omar says:
April 11, 2010 at 4:03 am (UTC -7)
Nice breakdown Tray. I haven’t listened to Premo’s stuff for a while but when I do it’s always as good as I remember, if a bit nostalgic.
Sach says:
April 11, 2010 at 9:13 am (UTC -7)
“I think most people who read you probably listen to a lot of these individual songs on their iPods a ton”
Not that I’m ready to make that assumption, but it wasn’t made with our readers in mind anyways. Like I said I made this for myself a few years ago and decided to post it up randomly as a Saturday post.
As for Premo’s beat science and abstraction, Premo’s gradual move towards a formula isn’t exactly news but to cut him off at 95 is ridiculous. The more meditative quality of tracks like Nas is Like and the more grandiose statements of Boom of Invincible easily surprass 99% of modern Hip-Hop production even if they don’t necessarily past the muster what you in particular, want from the guy. Regardless, do yourself a favor Tray and NEVER see him live. Based on that last post you would not enjoy yourself.
Tray says:
April 11, 2010 at 12:39 pm (UTC -7)
Oh I’d love to see him live, I’m sure. I mean he’s still my favorite producer just on the strength of a lot of his early work, a fucking legend, no doubt that Nas Is Like beats 99% of rap production today, and I’m sure I wouldn’t mind all the “this is the REAL Hip-hop!” angry pronouncements he gets off between songs. Like it’s cool in the same way that going to an Hasidic synagogue and hearing about the “REAL Judaism” is doubtless a fun experience, like you have to respect the fervor of their convictions. I’m just saying, the guy may have continued to be a great, great producer through that period, as did Dre, but there’s still a big difference between practically inventing a genre of music on Niggaz4life or Livin Proof and simply making something astoundingly proficient and perfect like In Da Club or Invincible.
Sach says:
April 11, 2010 at 2:27 pm (UTC -7)
“I’m sure I wouldn’t mind all the “this is the REAL Hip-hop!” angry pronouncements he gets off between songs”
That’s the thing, His set is really more like some songs in between the angry “real Hip-Hop” pronouncements. Pete Rock was a far smoother experience to say the least. Which isn’t to say it wasn’t enjoyable (I had a great time) but if that stuff annoys you even a tiny bit, the guy’s show is a non-starter. He out KRS-ONE’d KRS-ONE.
Enough for now, I may write about this later this week.