It would be hard to overstate DJ Premier's importance for American hip-hop. He's been referred to as "the true essence of hip-hop", the "cornerstone of hip-hop power", and "the king of underground hip-hop".

Premier achieved his iconic status during the '90s through groundbreaking work as producer of classic hip-hop albums by the likes of Jeru the Damaja, NAS, Notorious BIG, Jay-Z, KRS-One and Mos Def, and as the DJ'ing and producing half of the influential duo Gang Starr.

Premier, also known as Preem or Premo, has continued to make his mark in the new century. He delivered Gang Starr's The Ownerz album, produced more cutting-edge hip-hop albums for the likes of Snoop Dogg, Pitch Black and Freddie Foxxx, and expanded into the mainstream, producing songs for D'Angelo, Janet Jackson, Cee-Lo and Christina Aguilera.

The legendary 3 times grammy winning hip hop producer will be performing at Vasco’s on Tuesday 22nd June, with nick javas, who is Premiers tour vocalist.

Jase “ The Beats” had a chance to interview this musical legend for AnyArena.com.

Your influence in hip hop is universal, many have tried to emulate or imitate your style. Does this frustrate you? Are there any emulators you rate (or secretly admire)?

I don’t sweat emulators when i know that i came with an original style....In the early 80’s and 90’s, if you copied a style, you would get beat up for biting.....It was like breaking into someones house illegally,u have to pay the price and be punished....I still respect the rules....Its a culture so i don’t play around with violating that.....

One of the most unexpected projects you’ve done in recent years was christina aguilera’s back to basics. How was it working with her?

 It was one of the dopest experiences ever....She was fun to work with and we built a true brother/sister relationship because of it....I went to her private wedding, hung out @ her house with her whole crew, me and flava flav playin’ mario cart racing ...All kinds of fun shit....I love her to death......Her husband jordy is the shit too......He’s a major part of why she and i worked together since he was a die hard fan of my previous work.......

There was talk of you working with christina again on bionic - as well as the burlesque movie soundtrack. Can you say anything about these?

I did 9 new tracks for “bionic and for “burlesque”, but she passed on all of them....It’s all good...She already mentioned working on the next lp....She thinks that far ahead....She knows what she wants, so its her decision....She still will leave me the keys to the house and i can walk right in....That’s how close we are......

Your work with christina showed your interest in working with artists outside of the hip hop sphere. Did this generate many opportunities?

Chaka khan and i have talked about a new lp and i am excited about that......

It’s rumored that you’re involved in Kanye west’s upcoming album “good ass job”. Is this true?

Yes....Kanye texted me on my phone and asked if i was in ny.....I said yeah and he stopped by and hung out with me and showbiz from d.I.T.C.-We had a good time talkin about music, politics, life....He came at 8pm and stayed till 3am....Just building and listening to his album’s early stages of it.....Kanye is good dude....He is cutting edge and truly does not give a fuck....That’s the type of people i like.......

You’ve mentioned that you’d love to work with u2. What would a u2/premier record sound like?

Soulful, but very rock and roll...I’ve been a fan since the beginning of their career in the 80’s when i bought my first 45 of “a celebrarion” as an import, so i know enough to make it work.....I respect their earlier work the most.....And i truly respect their longevity.....
 

Would you consider cutting a dj premier ‘artist’ album in future? Or do you prefer working as a producer?

i am doing one....Just a timing thing......But i definitley have it on my calender....

Many seasoned hip hop acts are unsure about today’s hip hop – they don’t like the auto-tune, for one, others are not feeling the electro/house influence. What are your thoughts? Who do you admire of the new generation of beatmakers and mcs?

Auto-tune is just a vocoder in this modern generation......It has been around so it aint nothing new.....Its about how you use it....Sly & family stone did it, peter frampton, roger troutman,many more....T-pain does a good job at it....I just don’t wanna hear 100 more people do it when its all about originality.....Jay-z explained it so well in d.O.A. And he was on the money with his take on it....He was not hating at all.......Electro is hip hop.....Groups like soul sonic force, freeze, quadrant six, kano, scorpio of the furious 5, kraftwerk to name a few were ahead of all ...If anything, there is just a generation gap with the younger crowd not knowing their history of all of these styles already coming around full circle.....No big deal.....

What can we expect on this tour?

Energy !!! Energy!!! Energy!!!

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