5 Unexpected Artists Dj Premier Produced For
On March 23rd, Preemo is coming to Ghent to headline the latest edition of All Eyes On Hip Hop. Doesn’t ring a bell? He has been in the game for 30 years, producing beats for no one less than Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Notorious B.I.G. and many more. Yes, we’re talking about DJ Premier. Being a producer for 30 years, he has created a lot of unexpected productions and collaborations. Here are five productions for artists you didn't expect DJ Premier to work for.
Limp Bizkit – N 2 Gether Now (ft. Method Man)
No one would have predicted that Premier would ever produce a track for a nu-metal band, let alone if that band is Limp Bizkit, led by front man Fred Durst. The band’s first album consisted of metal tracks only, but they described their second album “Significant Other” as a crossover between nu-metal and hip hop. They weren’t lying, because in 1999 they released the album, along with a video clip for a hip-hop track called “N 2 Gether Now”, featuring Method Man of the infamous Wu-Tang Clan. The album sold more than 16 million copies worldwide.
Christina Aguilera – Ain’t No Other Man
One of Christina Aguilera’s biggest hits was produced by… DJ Premier. “Ain’t No Other Man” is a track of Christina’s fifth studio album “Back To Basics”, described by herself as a “fusion of old-school jazz and soul”. DJ Premier didn’t just produce the song, he also contributed to the lyrics. In 2007, it won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
Disclosure – Latch ft. Sam Smith (DJ Premier Remix)
When somebody talks about DJ Premier’s discography, chances are that they're talking about hip hop productions. However, DJ Premier also contributed to “Settle: The Remixes”, a deep-house remix album released in 2013 by electronic music duo Disclosure. He remixed “Latch”, featuring Sam Smith. If you weren’t yet convinced by Premier’s capability to produce different genres, now would be a good time.
Black Eyed Peas – BEP Empire
“This is the hip hip hip, the hop hop hop. We keep it keep it movin’, non non stop!” This probably doesn’t ring a bell, as it is one of the rare Black Eyed Peas’ tracks that wasn’t a huge success. With a classic hip hop beat and a funky bassline, Black Eyed Peas fans consider this to be “the true Black Eyed Peas”. Although some describe it as a “hypocritical track”, with lyrics like “I see a lot of liars so to dem I cross and fire, and they lyrics soundin’ tired, repetitious and expired.” After making tracks like “Boom Boom Pow”, we can understand where these claims are coming from.
Twenty One Pilots – Lane Boy (DJ Premier Remix)
What do you do when DJ Premier sends you an email, asking for the stems of your song? Waking up from your dream perhaps, but for Twenty One Pilots it was reality. DJ Premier saw the video of the original song, loved the concept and immediately contacted them to remix it. In an interview with Complex, he stated the following: “It's about refuting the idea that artists should stay in a 'lane' or be defined by a particular style or sound. It’s the song I wanted to remix. They sent me the stems and said to rock out with it.” So he did.
Tickets for DJ Premier at Vooruit can still be purchased here.
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