Prince Paul Changed My Life

I’ve been noticing something lately that is beginning to bother me. Whenever a bunch of know-it-all rap fans get together and come to blows over who the Greatest Producer of All Time is, you get the same key names.

Primo.

Ok, no doubt.

Pete Rock.

Fair enough.

Dilla. (R.I.P.)

True.

Dr. Dre.

Well, personally I’m not as big a fan of his most recent stuff, but his Death Row production is unreal.

Some dudes drop Large Professor and Marley Marl, other cats talk about The Neptunes and Timberland, and so on and so forth. Obviously I am not naming all of the greats here, and cases can be made for lots of other producers, but how many people throw out the name Prince Paul?

The answer is not very many. To me, Prince Paul is one of the greatest of all time, and without being overly dramatic, his music changed my life. I wanted to pay tribute to the man whose sound helped me get through my awkward adolescent years and was a constant source of inspiration. So I dug deep into the dark corners of my magazine collection to unearth a classic Prince Paul interview from the April 1999 issue of The Source. This is one of the best interviews I’ve ever read. It features a wide spectrum of artists Paul worked with over the years, and the photos that accompany it are perfect. It is so good it needs to be posted for the people who missed it the first time around. Click on the images to enlarge and read the article.

Shout outs to Ethan Brown for penning it, and Jill Greenberg for handling photography. If you are not familiar with Mr. Brown's work, you are not very heavy in the streets. Please support him by checking out his website. To stop by and read some great writing, click here. Also make sure to check out Jill Greenberg’s amazing photography by clicking here.

Long live the Dew Doo Man!