Gang Starr

Gang Starr is one of my favorite groups of all time. I love Guru's vocals on top of DJ Premier's production. I've listened to two of their albums, Hard to Earn and Moment of Truth. Here's what I find great about 2 songs from each.

Alongwaytogo

This is the first track on Hard to Earn, after the intro. It uses an amazing instrumental that sets the pace for the album. The first thing you hear is a sample of A Tribe Called Quest's song, Check The Rhyme. They sampled Phife Dawg saying, "Now here's a funky introduction" for the beginning. Later on in the song they use Q-Tips, "How far must you go to gain respect? Um". The way DJ Premier scratched with the two is awesome. While this plays there is a sample of Synthetic Substitution by Melvin Bliss. It sounds like DJ Premier used the drums, and a part of the piano. The song also samples two sections from the Quincy Jones song, Snow Creatures. You can hear the first sampled piece in the beginning mixed with the Phife Dawg sample. I always thought it was some sort of percussion sound they found from a keyboard or something, so it's pretty cool that they heard that piece and thought to sample it. The second part that is sampled plays when the verse starts, it's the single note that's being held while Guru raps. This is my favorite part of the song. It seems like the sample was pitched and sped up, which gives the instruments complimenting the held note a unique rhythm. The pattern of the kick drum pushes the song and keeps it bouncing. The variation in the hi hats also keeps the song moving. It sounds like the drums were chopped to fit the loop, which would explain the different hi hat rhythms around the kick drum hits. The hook pulls you in, starting out with that and going into the verse in one take is insane. I love the way the "Um" was chopped at the end.

Mass Appeal

First time I heard this song was Tony Hawk 4. The most distinct part of this song is the lead melody. I just found out that it's a slowed down sample of the song Horizon Drive by Vic Juris. What I find interesting is that it's 3 and a half minutes into a 7 minute song, and it's a tiny melodic line within an entire song comprised of complex solos. To imagine DJ Premier listening to this, having that piece grab at him, and creating an entire other song out of one phrase is so inspiring. The sample has a great rhyhm, the song's heavily swung. It goes through 2 different loops, with one small but important variation.

ONE two THREE four ONE two AND three AND four AND

ONE TWO THREE four ONE two AND three AND four AND

Since the sample was slowed and pitched down, there's a unique sound layered with the main melody. You can hear the instrument playing on the first down beat, it sounds like "Bwaaaa" and then there's a pitched down guitar playing with it. It goes across two bars like this.

ONE two THREE four AND one two THREE four AND

The drums have a interesting rhythm with the kick. It doesn't sound like it lands on the first beat, that space is filled by the sample. Instead, the kicks compliment the rhythm of the melody. The song starts with a pick up bar, meaning it comes in before the first beat of the main loop. This gives the song a distinct flow. From the very beginning, the two kick drum hits are on 4 and its upbeat. The way DJ Premier scratched the "Money's growing like grass with the Mass Appeal", is amazing.

Work

This is the third track off of Moment of Truth. This song has such a strong loop to it, it gets stuck in my head. The loop is built around Devil in the Dark by The Manhattans. If you check out the original, you'll recognize the sample when you reach it. DJ Premier sped it up, and chopped the piano to add a new phrase to the melody. The processing behind the drums, the tone of the kick and snare fits the sample so well. I love the rhythm at 0:18 with the kick drum, there's more cool lines like that throughout the song. The descending piano at 0:43 is really cool.

My Advice 2 You

This is one of my favorite instrumentals of all time. It samples I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know by Cold Blood. DJ Premier created such a beautiful melody in the way he chopped, and pitched it up. I love the piano chords that rise back into the start of the loop, and the way the loop pulls back a little for the verse. I love the tone of the drums. It sounds like there's two kicks, one more present in the mid range, one in the low with a more sub tone. This gives the song punch when both play together and cut through the mix. You can hear the kick drum that's in the sub range compliment the rhythm of the loop. This song is pretty straightforward but I could listen to it all day.

Those are some of my favorite songs from Hard to Earn and Moment of Truth. I highly recommend both of those albums, and I need to take the time to listen to the other ones in their discography. DJ Premier has a bunch of classic beats outside of Gang Starr, next to Prince Paul he's my favorite producer of all time. Some other beats of his that I love are Represent off of Illmatic by Nas, Unbelievable off of Ready to Die by Notorious B.I.G., and D'evils off of Reasonable Doubt by Jay-Z

Thank you for reading.