DJ Premier

USA, 1988–now

American producer Christopher Martin (b. 1966), half of Gang Starr. His chopped jazz loops, scratched hooks and hard drum programming set a standard for 1990s New York boom-bap production.

MusicRoots documents 2 artists who influenced DJ Premier and 2 artists DJ Premier influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced DJ Premier?

• Marley Marl — Premier ranks Marley Marl the greatest producer of all time - the sampling and drum programming that defined golden-age East Coast rap is the method he built on.
• James Brown — James Brown's breaks are the raw material of the boom-bap Premier inherited and sharpened.

Which artists did DJ Premier influence?

• Nujabes — DJ Premier was among the producers Nujabes favoured - the boom-bap craft of chopping records into hard, precise loops.
• J Dilla — Premier is the other East Coast producer whose sampling Dilla's own was built out of.