S. Samuel
Hip-Hop pioneer DJ Premier recently discussed his previous disagreements with Jay-Z ranging from his strict business relationship with M.O.P. to not appearing on Big L's The Big Picture.
Although the two are now share an amicable relationship, Preemo recalled his prior issues with the rap mogul.
“I got mad at him for several things. When M.O.P. was coming out with First Family 4 Life, Roc-A-Fella said that they would use their logo on the back [of the CD] to promote but when it came time to do the video for ‘4 Alarm Blaze,’ they wanted $25,000 for Jay to be in the video. But he said ‘non-recoupable’ to M.O.P. At the time, I was ignorant. He wasn’t charging M.O.P. He was charging the label. We squashed it. I got mad when Big L died too. Jay said that he would get on The Big Picture. We already had Big Daddy Kane on ‘Platinum Plus’. I gave Jay the reel about a month in advance. I was calling his assistant and she was like, ‘He’s going to do it. It’s at the studio.’ She was telling me the same thing over and over. One day, I saw his assistant and she was like, ‘The reels are not here.’ She got up to go the bathroom so I opened the drawer where I had first put it and it was still in there.” (XXL Mag)
Earlier this month, Premier said Jay wanted to record an entire album with him.
“I’ll give you a funny story. Jay-Z reached out to me when he was going to do The Black Album — this was years before he put it out because he postponed it, ended up working on other stuff, and then he came out with the album and decided to retire. Way prior to that he called me and said he was going to do an album and that he wanted me to do the whole thing. But he said, ‘I know how busy you are, Preemo, but I want you to not have anything to do with anybody for the whole time we make this album. I need like a two week window [to complete it]’. And I understood where he was coming from, because he knows it had to be that deep of a situation to get it to be right and to call it The Black Album. Prince already made The Black Album. If you’re going to make one, it better be top notch. There’s a lot that goes along with that. So to approach me about that? That’s the same way I look at the Cold Crush, Fantastic, Kool Moe D, all that. LL and I have tried two or three times to work on stuff. He’s somebody you gotta sit down with and really focus on because he deserves that type of attention. And I’m proud to give him that type of attention.” (The Well Versed)
Last month, Premier sat down with SOHH and revealed his involvement on Jay-Z and Kanye West‘s upcoming album, Watch the Throne.
“H*ll yeah, I’m excited to be a part of anything and I love working with Jay,” Premier told SOHH about getting aboard Watch the Throne. “I wish I was on Blueprint III, but I got on board really too late and he couldn’t make it in time but I just saw Jay the other day and we kicked it.” (SOHH)
Premier also discussed feeling pressured to deliver his one-two punch on the LP.
“It’s fun to create something that you know they’re going to spin on, I dig deep with every artist I work with,” Preemo added. “Even if it’s an underground artist like a Termanology or even CNN or a Canibus, but when you got a Jay and Kanye or Nas or B.I.G. or even the Drake records, I know how deep I gotta go. If I got to do a Lil Wayne record, I know how deep I’ve got to go. You judge it based on the overall package. And that’s what I still do. So working with Ye and Jay will be easy and fun but difficult. You gotta come a whole different way with your approach and it’s pressure but it’s good pressure, it’s a fun pressure. I love going that route.” (SOHH)
Check out some recent DJ Premier footage below:
