The last gang in town

“Get your Irish ass back on the phone!” This, dear readers, is what happens when interviews go wrong. Several minutes later with all technological faults sorted, hip-hop veterans Gangstarr (aka DJ Premier and Guru) are speaking to Hot Press.

DJ Premier does most of the talking in his thick Boston drawl: “It’s all about the struggle baby! The struggle! It’s beautiful.”
Gangstarr really do know all about the struggle. Formed in 1989 they’ve seen hip-hop mutate from Eazy E to Eminem, and from Chuck D to Chad Hugo. Premier has worked with heavyweights like Jay Z and Notorious BIG and with rising stars like Ludacris. As Gangstarr, the duo have collaborated with Snoop Dogg and Jadakiss, not to mention MOP and Fat Joe. So while Gangstarr may have a lot to say, they have nothing to prove.
In the ’80s though, before they ever sold a record, Gangstarr cut their teeth in the real world. DJ Premier explains: “Before we had a record deal, Guru was a case worker for kids whose parents were addicted to drugs. I was a councillor for ghetto kids. These kids could put ‘shit fuck ass and pussy’ in one word! But there’s a good payback in that work because now they’ve grown they’re trying to get their stuff off the ground, and a lot of them are motivated by what I did when I was getting my start.”
Gangstarr themselves are motivated by a desire to stay true to these roots. In the early 90s they were the mainstream, now they’ve divorced themselves from it. DJ Premier testifies: “The music industry keeps trying to make everything the same, they’re trying to take away hip-hop’s individuality. That’s because they’re lazy. Microwave music, heat it up in 5 seconds and it’s ready to go. Our stuff is put together like a meal.” Guru has an even better culinary analogy: “Our stuff you gotta marinate, let it sit for a while”.
There is no doubt that Gangstarr represent the old school, and an old school of thought. Two turntables and a microphone used to be a hip-hop institution but over time what it means to be a hip-hop DJ has changed. Premier is crystal clear when asked about why this has happened.
“Back in the day, the mix show on the radio was the only time that there was no programming. It was all up to the DJ to play his records for that segment of time. Now he’s given a list of what he has to play. He might get to play two or three new records, but the rest have to be played cos the boss is tellin’ him. That’s not how it’s supposed to be”.
Guru, unusually quiet for an MC, breaks his silence to agree: “There’s always been a degree of records which record companies pay to get on the radio. Nowadays close to one hundred percent of the records you hear are there cos record companies have paid to get them on the radio. That’s why it’s all screwed up. The DJs are just robots.”
Gangstarr remain uncompromised after 14 years, and even if their views aren’t wholly original, they are still relevant. For Gangstarr social conscience does not go in or out of fashion, it remains governed by the same eternal principles.
“People need to go back to what’s in the holy books, treat people like you would like to be treated. We don’t talk about religion cos religion is political, but we’re spiritual people. There’s a difference”
Here’s to another 14 years.

Gangstarr play the Dublin Red Box on November 22.