The 49th episode of DJ Premier’s “So Wassup?” series takes us back to 1998 when Gang Starr dropped “You Know My Steez” from the Moment of Truth album. Preemo goes into the nuts and bolts of the song’s creation and explains why it is one of the top 5 songs he ever produced.
It is with great sadness that we say farewell to David Jolicoeur. You may know him as Plug Two or Trugoy The Dove of the legendary group De La Soul. Dave’s passing was confirmed by the group’s publicist on February 12th. Although a cause has yet to be confirmed, it has been documented that he dealt with congestive heart failure over the past few years. The timing of this is truly unfortunate as De La Soul was preparing to finally release their entire catalog of music to streaming services on March 3 after a long battle to make their music available on digital platforms. Older hip hop heads and the new generation were about to have a void filled that would explain why De La Soul’s music was so revered and it would have been wonderful for Trugoy to see the reaction to the music he put his heart and soul into in real-time. He was 54 years young. Rest in power, Dave.
Some may have forgotten about Big Daddy Kane’s “Show & Prove” from back in 1994 when he was joined by Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Jay-Z, Shyheim, Sauce Money and Scoob. But DJ Premier reminds us about producing the track that introduced the world to a bald-headed Jay-Z and his rapid-fire flow.
Coming straight out of Huntsville, Alabama comes Henri with the song and video for “Trouble With A Plan.” Produced by Yondo, Henri redefines that country grammar with his first entry in what he expects to be a big 2023.
Diamond D releases the video for “Life Iz What You Make It” from his The Rear View album. The OG continues to release fire and drop gems on ’em.
NYC rapper El Gant delivers a scathing look at the downside of the information age in his new video for “Leave It Alone,” which plays out like a mini-action movie featuring none other than DJ Premier who produced the track.
Directed by The Last American B-Boy, the visuals center on El Gant in the role of ‘90s action hero who’s looking to make things right for the children and save them from the ills of the world. In this case, the ills are all the screens that so many of us are inundated with on a daily basis, from TVs and smartphones to computer monitors and tablets.
“Leave It Alone” is taken from El Gant’s new LP, O.S.L.O., available now through all DSPs and vinyl in both classic black along with a Fat Beats Exclusive variant in translucent light blue (limited to 100 copies). In addition to Preemo, the 10-track LP boasts guest appearances and production by Ras Kass, Planet Asia, Killah Priest, Bobby J From Rockaway, Marco Polo, J57 and more.
To some, this may be an unlikely pairing but DJ Premier and Macklemore form an unstoppable tag team on “Heroes.” Produced by Budo, Preemo drops by to chop things up. From Macklemore’s forthcoming album titled Ben dropping on March 3rd.
For episode 47 “So Wassup?” DJ Premier tells one of his favorite stories about the creation of “Code of the Streets” off the Hard To Earn album. Preemo goes back to 1992 television show called “Crime Chronicles” and explains how a song Guru produced for that song ended up becoming “Code of the Streets.”
Ruste Juxx is back at it for 2023 and releases a video for “I’ve Only Begun.” Produced by Nuro, Juxx represents Duck Down properly with dope rhymes to remind that there’s only one Ruste Juxx.
DJ Premier kicks off the new year by giving us a doubleheader for Episode 46 of “So Wassup” as he delivers the goods on the creation of M.O.P.’s “Rugged Neva Smooth” and “Downtown Swinga.”