DJ Premier

Christopher Edward Martin, born on March 21, 1966, in Houston, Texas, is an American record producer and DJ known professionally as DJ Premier. After honing his craft as a campus DJ at Prairie View A&M University and later moving to Brooklyn, he co‑founded the duo Gang Starr with rapper Guru, producing all seven albums for the group and establishing his signature boom‑bap sound. His breakthrough came with the 1991 single "Mass Appeal" and the 1994 release Hard to Earn, which helped launch the Gang Starr Foundation’s roster. DJ Premier’s discography includes Golden Years 1989‑1998 (2003), Rare Play Vol. 1 (2008) and Rare Play Vol. 2 (2009), as well as collaborative projects such Kolexxxion (2012) with Bumpy Knuckles. He has produced tracks for artists ranging from Nas to Christina Aguilera, earning a spot on Vibe’s list of the greatest producers and a second‑place finish in Vibe’s 2010 poll. Alongside founding the label Year Round Records, DJ Premier expanded his catalog with projects like DJ Premier Presents Get Used to Us (2010), the duo PRhyme’s PRhyme (2014) and PRhyme 2 (2018) with Royce da 5'9", and the Mass Appeal EP Hip Hop 50: Vol. 1 (2022). In 2025 he continued to work at album scale, producing collaborative releases The Coldest Profession with Roc Marciano, The Reinvention with Ransom, and the long-anticipated full-length Light-Years with Nas, confirming that DJ Premier remained an active central figure in classic-minded hip-hop well into the 2020s.

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