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Photo Credit: Bonnie Biess/Getty Images
Photo Credit: Bonnie Biess/Getty Images
In a recent interview, DJ Premier disclosed a list of guest features he wanted for the new Gang Starr album.
DJ Premier recently appeared on theTake it Personal Radio podcast to discuss the new Gang Starr album, One of the Best Yet, as well as plans for Gang Starr Enterprises.
About an hour and a half into the show hosts Jason Gloss and Kevlar asked Premier if there were any guest features that didn't work out.
WATCH: DJ Premier Says J. Cole Convinced Him to Make "Family Over Loyalty" Gang Starr's First Comeback Single
He revealed that he reached out to Drake and Nas, but schedule conflicts prevented those from happening.
I asked Drake to get on it because I had just done "Sandra’s Rose" for his [Scorpion] album. So I was like, "You can get on this." But he was so deep into getting his touring together, it just wasn’t the right time to just knock it out real fast. I needed it done really, really [quickly], like yesterday at that time.
"Nas was supposed to get on it," he continued, "but it wasn’t clashing right at the time. Honestly, Nas was like, ‘I’m just not in writing [mode]; I just have no writing in me right now. And if I’ma do it, I gotta kill it, ’cause I gotta sound as good as Guru. I just have no writing feels right now, so I just don’t wanna half-ass it.’ And I respected that."
READ: DJ Premier Reveals the "Emotional" Process of Producing Gang Starr's First Single in 16 Years
The legendary producer said he wanted Yasiin Bey on the album, saying:
He was supposed to do it. I kept stressin’ him and stressin’ him and stressin’ him and stressin’ him and stressin’ him and stressin’ him and stressin’ him, and it never got done. I said, ‘You know what? He owes me.
Premier said that Kendrick Lamar and his manager Dave Free told him that "he’s locked in, focusing on what he gotta do next." Premier also said he was going to ask JAY-Z but changed his mind, saying, on the podcast, "I’m not gonna even approach him about it. I’m just gonna keep it movin.'”
Premier also revealed that he's planning another album with Jeru The Damaja. Listen to the interview below. The comments start at around the 1:36:00 mark.
H/T: Ambrosia for Heads
