DJ Premier

Last night, the 2nd Annual Global Spin Awards was underway at the NY Times Center. The awards show serve as a platform to honor all the DJs and their contributions in the game. With familiar faces such as Pete Rock and DJ Premier, A-Trak and Kendrick Lamar coming out to show support, it was all love and respect for hip-hop’s pivotal tastemakers. W...

In paying tribute to the late Guru, Marco Polo, Talib Kweli and DJ Premier put out a special video titled “G.U.R.U.” The song honors the three-year anniversary of Guru’s passing with heartfelt rhymes from Talib. He details his legacy and all of the accomplishments Guru and Premier did during their career. Check out the...

DJ Premier sat down with WM40A at the A3C music festival in Atlanta this past weekend and unveiled some breaking news. A full length album between Nas and Premier will happen. He states Nas currently has to put out one more album for Def Jam and after that he's a "free agent...

Mack Wilds is probably best known for his role as Michael on HBO's The Wire, but he's delved into the music business via an EP he dropped in 2011, titled Remember Remember. He recently hooked up with Salaam Remi, who helmed his debut album New York: A Love Story, and brought in top-level New York producers such as DJ Premier, Pete Rock and Havoc from Mobb Deep to help him work on the project. &quo

Walking into FirePlace Studios yesterday (August 13)—or anywhere in New York City, really—the only topic on everyone's mind was Kendrick Lamar's verse on Big Sean's "Control (HOF)." The Compton MC—who declared himself the "King Of New York" and ruffled more than a handful of feathers—had made so many waves that even super-producer 9th Wonder and his protege Rapsody, in town for

Rakim, DJ Premier, Big Daddy Kane, More Talk Hip-Hop's 40th

DJ Premier took some time out of his insanely busy schedule to hop on the phone with XXL and talk about some of his upcoming projects, including getting Joey Bada$$ back into the studio after his long tour to work on his debut album, and a beat he did for Rapsody's upcoming mixtape and the Slaughterhouse album. " act...

While a big name in increasingly rap-savvy India, most American hip-hop fans probably best know Panjabi MC from his international hit “Mundian To Bach Ke” (“Beware of the Boys”), to which Jay-Z famously added two verses back in 2003. While it was undoubted...

Over the past few years, autobiographies have become a staple in hip-hop side-hustles. Everyone from J-Zone to Jay-Z have penned memoirs, many of which went on to earn acclaim from critics and fans alike. Despite the bevy of autobiographical works available, there's a whole host of artists and industry figures sit down and pen their life stories for the fans...

Photographs by Sean Ryon This weekend found The Roots returning to Philadelphia's Penn's Landing Festival Pier for the sixth annual The Roots Picnic festival. With a performance line-up that included Naughty By Nature, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, DJ Premier, special surprise guest Meek Mill and more, the show was eight-plus hours of music celebration and Philly community pride...

Fred Durst Details His Hip-Hop History, "Lil Wayne & I Bonded Over Skateboarding"

Last night, the world of hip-hop suffered another tragedy when news broke that Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly of the iconic duo Kris Kross was found dead in his Atlanta home. For many fans, Kris Kross was an early introduction to the hip-hop genre, but for those who watched the Atlanta teens grow up in the world of music took the news especially hard...