| Christopher Martin, better known as DJ Premier, Premo, and Waxmaster C, which was his original stage name, was born on March 21, 1968. Premo is a prominent African- American hip hop producer, a DJ, and a partner with Guru to make “Gang Starr”. Premo was introduced to DJing at Prairie View A&M in Houston, Texas. Considered by hundreds of hip hop fans and several other producers as one of the greatest producers in this genre’s history, DJ Premier has over five hundred tracks under his belt. Producing tracks for many groups and solo artists since the 1990s, Premo has worked with notable artists such as Jay-Z on the song “So Ghetto”, The Notorious B.I.G. tracks “Unbelievable” and “Kick In The Door”, Nas on “Nas is Like”, and many more. Along with Gang Starr, Premo was recognized for his works with Jeru the Damaja and Group Home. DJ Premier, Jeru the Damaja, and Group Home crafted one of the East Coast’s landmark albums titled “The Sun Rises in the East” that was released in 1994. After that, they released ‘Wrath of the Math’ in 1996. In 1997, DJ Premier collaborated with jazz musician Branford Marsalis’s group, Buckshot Lefonque, for their debut album. In the 1998 movie “Belly”, DJ Premier worked with neo soul leader D’Angelo for a song called “Devil’s Pie” which was also included on his sophomore album “Voodoo”, released in 2000. DJ Premier also collaborated with pop star Christina Aguilera on her album titled “Back to Basics” which is scheduled for release in 2006. DJ Premier’s style is based on sampling jazz, funk and soul. When collaborating with artists, he also includes their past works to maintain their style and yet add to the sound. His photographic memory of rap lyrics allows him to distinctively "speak with his hands" by scratching in lyrics from several different songs to construct new phrases. |
