95 Live: DJ Premier

If you know me, you know I love good hip hop music.  During my downtime from work, you can almost certainly find me on the couch listening to music.  As much as I love authentic hip hop, I detest “trash” hip hop.  By “trash” hip hop I am referring to music by artists like Soulja Boy, Young Joc, and Bow Wow, among others.  Nowadays, artists make “music” only for the money.  The artistry, passion and love for the hip hop culture seem to get lost in translation. Where did it go?  Why did it go?  I’m not quite sure when hip hop became a skeleton of what it used to be during the golden era (1990’s-early 2000’s).  Jokingly, I blame Master P and his No Limit Soldiers for ushering in trash hip hop.  The corrosion of hip hop has happened over a course of years and not one group is responsible.  Do not get me wrong, I certainly do not believe hip hop is dead or that good music is no longer released.  My point is simply that hip hop purists have to look beyond the mainstream in many cases in order to find quality hip hop.  

When I was in middle and high school, I looked forward to listening to and recording music from the radio.  In those days, hip hop music was not watered down.  It was very much a new phenomenon and artists tried their best to produce music that would elevate them to the top of the hip hop mountain.  I loved the competitive nature back in those days.  Biggie, Mobb Deep, Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Wu Tang Clan, Group Home, Big L, DITC, Shyheim, Redman, Das Efx, Jay-Z, Outkast, Big Pun, Beatnuts, Da Lox, M.O.P and so many others competed for hip hop supremacy.  How could an artist seriously not bring his/her A-game with competition at an all time high?  During those days, I yearned for more hip hop.  Nowadays, kids can visit www.youtube.com or www.google.com and find and listen to almost any song ever released.  In the mid to late 1990’s, the 80’s babies did not have that option, so we had to be more creative.  My curiosities for finding more underground hip hop music lead me to an interesting discovery. One night in 1997, while listening to the radio at my parent’s house, I stumbled upon a gem.  At the time, I usually listened to 102.1 but because the station played the same 30 songs over and over and over, I had to find another option. 

I stumbled upon the type of radio show that hip hop dreams are made of.  90.5 was the station and it was broadcast from the campus of North Carolina A & T State University.  I started listening and I realized that I had found an answer to my craving for more underground, authentic hip hop.  The show was called “The Full Moon Block” and it aired every Friday and Saturday from 10:00pm to 2:00am.  Those people reading this post who hail from Winston-Salem probably remember heading to Friday night football games, then going to Pizza Hut or IHOP on University Drive.  After watching the game and eating, there was not much for a 15 year old kid to do, so usually I went home.  Usually, I returned to my parents’ house by 11:00 p.m. or so.  I would come into my room and immediately turn on the Full Moon Block radio show and start recording music.  Now that I think about it, that period of time is precisely when I fell in love with all that is hip hop.  That love of hip hop has never wavered and that brings me to one of the best hip hop moments of my life.

DJ Premier is a legend and he spun at Five Star in Raleigh, North Carolina.  DJ Ninth Wonder, who is a dope producer and DJ in his own right, usually spins each second Friday of each month. The production is called 95 Live.  95 Live is always a night filled with authentic hip hop from the 90’s and I really enjoy it.  Last night was special, however, because DJ Premier was slated to spin.  And spin he did.  His set was so dope; he started out playing songs from his musical catalog.  Not only did he play the songs; he scratched and interacted with the crowd the way you would expect a living legend to do.  As cool as it was to hear Premo at his best, the best part of the night was the atmosphere. The people in attendance were there for the hip hop culture; they were there because they love authentic hip hop.  The scene at 95 Live is atypical for most Raleigh clubs in that it is never a fashion show.  People attend for the good music.  It kind of reminds me of the scene from Brown Sugar when Taye Digg’s character realizes that he lost his passion for real hip hop.  He promptly aligned himself with a real hip hop artist, played by Mos Def and rekindled his passion for real music.  DJ Premier lived up to, and exceeded my expectation, and for that, I am grateful.  If you love hip hop, you should visit 95 Live.  

Peace