DJ Premier
American record producer and DJ (born 1966)
Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He formed the hip-hop duo Gang Starr alongside American rapper Guru, with whom he has released seven albums. He formed another hip-hop duo, PRhyme—with American rapper Royce da 5'9"—in 2014, with whom he has released two albums.
Premier has produced each of Gang Starr's releases, as well as many of those by the Gang Starr Foundation. Alongside this, he has been credited with production work on releases for AZ, Common, Drake, Eminem, the Game, Griselda, Jeru the Damaja, J. Cole, Jay-Z, Joey Badass, Kanye West, Logic, Limp Bizkit, M.O.P., Mos Def, Nas, the Notorious B.I.G., O.C., Rakim, Royce Da 5'9, Run the Jewels, and Showbiz & A.G., among others. Despite mainly working in underground hip-hop, he has produced Billboard Hot 100-charting singles including "Ain't No Other Man" (2006) by Christina Aguilera, "The Actual" (1998) by All City, "Mass Appeal" (1994) and "You Know My Steez" (1997) by Gang Starr, "MC's Act Like They Don't Know" (1995) by KRS-One, and "Nas Is Like" (1999) by Nas.
Martin founded the record label, Year Round Records, in 2010. He has signed acts including New York group NYGz, New Jersey rapper Nick Javas, and Houston rapper Khaleel. Tha Blaqprint by Blaq Poet, which features 13 Premier productions, was released by Year Round Records through Fat Beats Records in June 2009.
Early life
Christopher Edward Martin was born in Fifth Ward, Houston on March 21, 1966. He was then raised in Prairie View, before moving to Brooklyn, during his teenage years.
The public source identifies “DJ Premier” as american record producer and DJ (born 1966). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Premier, American and producer.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “DJ Premier”, the useful work is to connect “american record producer and DJ (born 1966)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q380639. VIAF identifies the subject as 233158714. The Library of Congress control number is no2012040392. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1966, 2014, 2006 and 1998.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “DJ Premier”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow DJ Premier primary sources, DJ Premier archive and Premier research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “DJ Premier”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “DJ Premier” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.