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DJ Premier’s jazzy handicraft and his work as one-half of Gangstarr has made him one of hip-hop’s most venerated sonic masters. The combination of his percussive jazz samplings and Guru’s cool but deliberate vocals made them the authors of a New Age blues in hip-hop. Gangstarr’s 6 album output established them as key voices of the Golden Era who never chased after pop success. Premier’s beats have been lavished on several critical emcees both underground and major label including Afu-Ra, Canibus, Group Home, Nas, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, KRS-One, Kanye West, Big Daddy Kane and many others. “Classic (Better Than I’ve Ever Been)” is a collaboration song co-produced by DJ Premier and Rick Rubin for Nike Records and it features Kanye West, KRS-One, Rakim and Nas. Common appeared on the remix of the track of which the proceeds went to youth leadership programs through the Force4Change fund. DJ Premier continues to produce unadulterated beats for some of hip-hop’s most interesting rappers and there are plans for him to entirely produced a new album for Nas as a collaboration in addition to his ongoing projects with artists like Big Shug and Bumpy Knuckles. He also hosts the Live From HeadQCourterz show on his DJ Premier Blog Radio.
