DJ Premier Productions

DJ Premier's minimal productions left quite a stamp on hip-hop. By carefully sliding simple loops over heavyweight breaks, he helped ensure the classic status of records by Nas (the persistent piano melody of "N.Y. State of Mind"), the Notorious B.I.G. (the clinking keys of "Unbelievable"), and his own legendary group, Gang Starr (the jazzbo guitar and bombastic bassline of "You Know My Steez").

It's fitting that DJ Premier hails from Brooklyn, as his choice samples always coalesced in a New York City sound as raw as slaughterhouse beef and gritty as gravel. He's lowered the stage lights on a dark KRS-One track ("Outta Here"), dropped Mobb Deep in a smoky saloon ("Peer Pressure"), and even tossed soundtrack strings at Rakim ("New York").

Many of rap's most revered MCs have paired with DJ Premier, enough to overshadow his equally accomplished underground catalog. "It's All Real" pops off speakers with Primo's signature battle-scratch style, tribal percussion patterns burrow their way into "The Actual" like a mad hare, and "Equality" merges soul with…reggae? Ah, yeah.

Cutting and pasting tracks from a primary-color template of phantom piano players, short and snippy drum beats, and jazz club residents, DJ Premier will forever be remembered as one of hip-hop's most imitated producers. He's also flaunted a versatility few possess, able to sound as relevant in the club as he does in the ear buds of reclusive, indie rap fans. And like Dr. Dre or Timbaland, he's scuffed up the pop sound of acts like Black Eyed Peas and Limp Bizkit.