One of the only hip hop producers on Premo’s level is Pete Rock. First coming to prominence as one half of Pete Rock & CL Smooth (of They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) fame), he lent his jazz-inflected style to classic records from the likes of Nas, Public Enemy, Big L, Common, Freddie Foxxx, Heavy D & The Boyz and Run DMC, and had a massive influence on Kanye West and J Dilla.
Now, these two legends are coming together to launch the Collusion series with co-op DJ sets across Australia. “Me and Pete have been doing this for two years,” Premier says. “We always do a different set. We just do all kinds of crazy things…We do karaoke. We get people up onstage who think they know the words to the record, and if they don’t, we kick them off the stage. We do a whole bunch of silly stuff.
“When we did it in New York in summer, it was amazing, because so many people came and we just said, ‘Yo, who wants to rock with us?’ Smoothe Da Hustler was there, so Pete put on Broken Language. Smoothe came up and rapped and the crowd went crazy. We were at the amphitheatre where they shot Wild Style and it was packed to the bone. I see Lil’ Fame at the back, so he comes up and I throw on Ante Up. All of a sudden, I see Sadat X, and he comes up and does Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down. I see Bumpy Knuckles, so I bring him on to do Shake The Room and Militia. Camp Lo comes on and does Luchini, and then Pete brings DMC on to do Down With The King.
“That wasn’t scripted or rehearsed, that just happened because everybody was there while we were battling, going record-for-record. I know we can’t bring everybody with us to Australia, but that’s how loose the show can get.”
The duo’s trip to Australia happens to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Nas’ Illmatic LP. Both men produced stand-out tracks for the album, which is still widely regarded as the best of its genre. “Once you make a classic, which Illmatic is, it never goes away,” Premier reflects. “For instance, right now, I’m playing The Chronic again, because it’s a classic. It will not die out, it will never get boring, you will always want to hear it. You’ll miss it if you don’t hear it for a while. “Same thing with Illmatic, every now and then I pop it back in. It’s like Paid In Full, it’s like Low End Theory, it’s like Raising Hell, it’s like Radio and Bigger And Deffer and Mama Said Knock You Out. It’s another one you chalk up for the books.”
All modesty aside, then, is DJ Premier the greatest hip hop producer of all time? “I mean, I think I am one of the greatest,” he says. “I don’t think I’m the greatest, even though you’re supposed to put yourself on the highest level of greatness. I admire other people who inspired me to do it, like James Brown, Prince, George Clinton, Rick Rubin, Dr Dre, Marley Marl, Howie Tee… you know, they’re my inspirations, because they did it before me. But I am confident that I am one of the greatest out there, because I strive to compete and destroy everybody else that’s out to be number one.”
BY ROHAN WILLIAMS
