Off The Record: DJ Premier On Jay-Z’s “A Million And One Questions (Remix)” [Video]

There have been a million and one producer and MC combinations over the years, but none are quite like JAY-Z and DJ Premier. The Marcy legend and Gang Starr icon have produced nothing but fire over their brief stint of collaboration, first exploring their chemistry in 1996 for ‘Reasonable Doubt’ (“D’Evils,” “Friend or Foe,” “Bring it On”) and again for Hov’s sophomore LP, ‘In My Lifetime,’ Vol. 1. That album’s multi-part opening, “Intro/A Million and One Questions/Rhyme No More,” is a favorite—a song that Premier broke down in the latest installment of MASS APPEAL’s new series, “Off The Record.” “When we did the original ‘A Million and One’ and ‘Rhyme No More,’ he did the whole rap over the phone,” Premier remembers of the track, which made its debut on ‘Vol. 1’ nearly 20 years ago, on Nov. 4, 1997. “He said, ‘When the rhyme comes on, I want you to drop a whole new different beat.’ Jay is always descriptive of what he wants before the track is even made.” Premier goes deep on JAY-Z’s epic intro “A Million and One Questions” (and its obscure remix), recalling days of cooking up in D&D Studios with Da Beatminerz, Boot Camp Clik and Jigga, rolling dice and playing pool between laying down tracks. Look back at the classic Hov track in the new episode of “Off The Record,” above.

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The Sickest Drama – Survivors Remorse [Audio]

Fresh off of his appearances on the highly acclaimed group project from The Council, “Nothing Else Matters”, The Sickest Drama (TSD) returns with a new single entitled “Survivors Remorse” – an incisive track tackling the dark past of the black experience in Western society. The Sickest Drama further explains the symbolism of dropping this track on Halloween “Sometimes your own past is the real horror story, we, as a people have been zombie-fied”. This raw and reflective meditation is the newest single on his forthcoming album entitled “Providence” dropping in Spring 2018.

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Big Boi feat. Gucci Mane & Pimp C – In The South [Video]

Big Boi decided to drop an animated video for “In The South” with Gucci Mane and the late Pimp C. “[This video] is not a part of the Hotlanta Waxx series but it comes from that realm,” Big Boi said to Yahoo. “Actually, I got the idea from when I was doing the teasers for the songs for Boomiverse. Cory Mo, the producer for the song, has an animation team and he sent me a clip of some of the guys’ work and we got on the phone and just came up with this funkadelic psychedelic video concept for ‘In The South.’ Watch the clip above. “Boomiverse” out now.

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