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Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either (a) presumed to be true, or (b) were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth. Evidence is the currency by which one fulfills the burden of proof.

Many issues surround evidence, making it the subject of much discussion and disagreement. In addition to its subtlety, evidence plays an important role in many academic disciplines, including science and law, adding to the discourse surrounding it.

An important distinction in the field of evidence is that some circumstantial evidence and direct evidence, or evidence that suggests truth as opposed to evidence that directly proves truth. Many have seen this line to be less-than-clear and significant arguments have arisen over the difference.

Burden of proof[link]

The burden of proof is the burden of providing sufficient evidence to shift a conclusion from an oppositional opinion. Whoever does not carry the burden of proof carries the benefit of assumption. Whoever bears the burden of proof must present sufficient evidence to move the conclusion to their own position. The burden of proof must be fulfilled both by establishing positive evidence and negating oppositional evidence.

There are two primary burden-of-proof considerations:

1. The question of on whom the burden rests.
2. The question of the degree of certitude the proof must support. This depends on both the quantity and quality of evidence and the nature of the point under contention. Some common degrees of certitude include the most probable event, reasonable doubt, and beyond the shadow of a doubt.

Conclusions (from evidence) may be subject to criticism from a perceived failure to fulfill the burden of proof.

Scots Law An important part of the Law of evidence is that of corroboration in Scots law. This is a vital element of the law to protect the accused from unjustly being convicted. Each essential fact (facta probandum ) of a case must be corroborated by two independent pieces of evidence and one witness alone cannot corroborate an essential fact , it must be corroborated by a second independent source. Essential facts are those listed in the indictment and used to charge the accused and the sources of evidence come in many forms, such as documentary, DNA, forensic and report evidence or from a scientist or forensic pathologist. Corroboration will normally include direct evident, such as an eye witness and could include circumstantial evidence, which is evidence that has a relationship to the crime and can assist in ‘proving’ the essential fact also known as indirect evidence. Two pieces of indirect evidence which both relate to the same incident, may mean that direct evidence is not required, this is known as evidential facts and they do not require corroboration. The essential facts will vary with each case and the complainer is likely to lose, if an essential fact which is vital to their case cannot be proven.

Problems in evidence[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

The theory of evidence is a field wrought with dispute. Many of these disputes stem from the limits of human knowing, a field known as epistemology. Possibly the most salient question of evidence is how, if, and what, one can know. (Or, in other words, the question is to what extent is it even possible to fulfill the burden of proof.) This is the question of evidence's limits. Some^[who?] believe all evidence to be circumstantial, denying the possibility of direct evidence.

To help deal with this problem, many fields have found it useful to talk about levels of evidence and certainty, particularly the field of law.

Evidence in science[link]

In scientific research evidence is accumulated through observations of phenomena that occur in the natural world, or which are created as experiments in a laboratory or other controlled conditions. Scientific evidence usually goes towards supporting or rejecting a hypothesis.

One must always remember that the burden of proof is on the person making a contentious claim. Within science, this translates to the burden resting on presenters of a paper, in which the presenters argue for their specific findings. This paper is placed before a panel of judges where the presenter must defend the thesis against all challenges.

When evidence is contradictory to predicted expectations, the evidence and the ways of making it are often closely scrutinized (see experimenter's regress) and only at the end of this process is the hypothesis rejected: this can be referred to as 'refutation of the hypothesis'. The rules for evidence used by science are collected systematically in an attempt to avoid the bias inherent to anecdotal evidence.

Evidence in law[link]

FBI Evidence Response Team

Evidence forms the very foundation of any legal system, without which law would be subject to the whims of those with power.

In law, the production and presentation of evidence depends first on establishing on whom the burden of proof lies. Admissible evidence is that which a court receives and considers for the purposes of deciding a particular case. Two primary burden-of-proof considerations exist in law. The first is on whom the burden rests. In many, especially Western, courts, the burden of proof is placed on the prosecution. The second consideration is the degree of certitude proof must reach, depending on both the quantity and quality of evidence. These degrees are different for criminal and civil cases, the former requiring evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, the latter considering only which side has the preponderance of evidence, or whether the proposition is more likely true or false. The decision maker, often a jury, but sometimes a judge, decides whether the burden of proof has been fulfilled.

After deciding who will carry the burden of proof, evidence is first gathered and then presented before the court:

Gathering evidence[link]

In criminal investigation, rather than attempting to prove an abstract or hypothetical point, the evidence gatherers attempt to determine who is responsible for a criminal act. The focus of criminal evidence is to connect physical evidence and reports of witnesses to a specific person.

Evidence before the court[link]

Presenting evidence before the court differs from the gathering of evidence in important ways. Gathering evidence may take many forms; presenting evidence that tend to prove or disprove the point at issue is strictly governed by rules. Failure to follow these rules leads to any number of consequences. In law, certain policies allow (or require) evidence to be excluded from consideration based either on indicia relating to reliability, or broader social concerns. Testimony (which tells) and exhibits (which show) are the two main categories of evidence presented at a trial or hearing. In the United States, evidence in federal court is admitted or excluded under the Federal Rules of Evidence.^[1]

Types of evidence[link]

• Anecdotal evidence
• Intuition
• Personal experience
• Scientific evidence
• Testimonial

See also[link]

• Falsifiability
• Mathematical proof
• Proof (truth)
• Validity

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Evidence

• ASTM E141 Standard Practice for Acceptance of Evidence Based on the Results of Probability Sampling

DJ Premier
Background information
Birth name	Christopher Edward Martin
Born	(1966-03-21) March 21, 1966 (age 46) Houston, Texas, United States
Origin	Houston, Texas, USA
Genres	Hip hop, East Coast Hip Hop
Occupations	Record producer, DJ
Instruments	Drum machine Keyboard Sampler Turntable
Years active	1984 – present
Labels	Wild Pitch/EMI (1987–1990) Chrysalis/EMI (1991–1998) Virgin/EMI (1998–2003) Year Round (2003–)
Associated acts	Gang Starr Foundation, M.O.P., Royce da 5'9", Christina Aguilera, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Nas, Kool G Rap, Blaq Poet, Apathy, Big L, Bun B, D.I.T.C., Game, Termanology, AZ, Buckshot LeFonque, Mobb Deep, Torae
Website	DJ Premier on Myspace

Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966),^[1] better known by his stage name DJ Premier (also known as Preem, Premo, or Primo for short), is an American record producer and DJ, and was the instrumental half of the hip hop duo Gang Starr, together with emcee Guru. Born in Houston and raised in Prairie View, Texas, he has lived in Brooklyn, New York, for much of his professional career. Rolling Stone identified Premier as arguably Hip-Hop's greatest producer of all time.^[2]

The Source named DJ Premier one of the five greatest producers in hip-hop history,^[3] while the editors of About.com ranked him #1 on their Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers list.^[4] He also made the "Finals" in the search for The Greatest Hip-Hop Producer of All Time by Vibe.^[5] He attended Prairie View A&M University.^[6]

Productions[link]

Premier is known for producing all of Gang Starr's songs as well as many of the Gang Starr Foundation's songs. His work also includes production for heavyweight rappers such as (alphabetic order) Apathy, Big L, Bun B, Canibus, D.I.T.C., Fat Joe, Game, Jay-Z, Kanye West, KRS-One, Lord Finesse, M.O.P., Mos Def, Nas, Rakim, Royce Da 5'9", The LOX, The Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, rock band Limp Bizkit, Big L, Big Daddy Kane, Ill Bill, Joell Ortiz, and pop/R&B singer Christina Aguilera, among many others.

Premier collaborated with MC Jeru the Damaja on the album The Sun Rises in the East, released in 1994, as well as the 1996 follow-up, Wrath of the Math.^[1] Also from the Gang Starr Foundation, Premier produced and supervised Group Home's Livin' Proof; although overlooked at the time of its 1995 release, the album has since come to find similar acclaim.^[1] Among others in that are closely tied to the Gang Starr Foundation who have worked with DJ Premier include Afu Ra, Bahamadia, Krumbsnatcha, Big Shug, Smiley the Ghetto Child, and NYGz. He recently produced the majority of Blaq Poet's Tha Blaqprint in 2009 and will produce the entirety of NYGz debut album.

Style and influences[link]

DJ Premier's style of production epitomizes the New York sound of his earlier peers. He is known for sampling jazz, funk, and soul artists, as well as sampling an artist's past work when creating a new track for that same artist. For example, on Jay-Z's "So Ghetto", from the 1999 album, Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter, Premier samples an older Jay-Z song, 1997's "Who You Wit II".^[7] In addition, his encyclopedic memory of hip-hop lyrics allows him to distinctively speak with his hands by scratching in lyrics from several different songs to construct new phrases.^[8] Premier's beats are known for his oft-imitated combinations of short vocal samples, often from multiple artists, to create a chorus. Premier has also experimented with atonal samples that are not confined to soul, jazz, and funk. For example, he sampled chopped up seminal electro-acoustic music from the 1960s on the track “Mental Stamina” by Jeru the Damaja.

In an interview with XXL Magazine, DJ Premier was asked how his sound evolved, to which he replied, "Marley Marl is my number one inspiration. Jam Master Jay, Mixmaster Ice and UTFO. Grandmaster D and Whodini. DJ Cheese, Grandmaster Flash, Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa. Jazzy Jay, even Cut Creator. Seeing them do what they do. It’s black music, it’s black culture, it comes from the ghetto. How can you not relate to ghetto people when that’s the rawest form of blackness? Even though it’s not a good place in regards to the economy and how bad people have it in the neighborhood, the realism’s there, and that’s what we were born out of. So I very much pay respect by doing the same type of music in return." DJ Premier attended Prairie View A & M University and may have been influenced by the musical atmosphere at the university.^[9]

Relationships with artists[link]

The early line-up of the Gang Starr Foundation in the mid-1990s included Jeru The Damaja, Group Home, Big Shug, and Gang Starr. DJ Premier was fully responsible for the production of Jeru the Damaja's first two albums, The Sun Rises in the East and Wrath of the Math. Jeru released three albums since then, with Premier having nothing to do with any of them.^[1]

As far as Group Home was concerned, Premier commented, "They don't respect what fed them," in a 2003 interview, going on to say that the only reason he produced a track on their second album was because Guru said he would rhyme on it.^[10]

Besides the Gang Starr Foundation, Premier is closely affiliated with M.O.P., which he names as one of his all-time favorite groups. The relationship started with the remix of “Rugged, Neva Smoove” in 1994, a single from the group's first album, which also included the exclusive B-side “Downtown Swinga.” From then, Premier produced about one-third of the songs on each subsequent album and overseeing and mixing the projects. On M.O.P.'s 2009 Foundation album, however, DJ Premier provided only one track, which was called "What I Wanna B."

Recent and future projects[link]

DJ Premier has his own record company named Year Round Records. Among its artists are New York group NYGz, New Jersey rapper Nick Javas, and Houston rapper Khaleel. Tha Blaqprint by Blaq Poet, which has thirteen Premier productions, was released by Year Round Records through Fat Beats Records. On December 7, Premier's label Year Round Records released a digital compilation album titled Get Used to Us. At the moment Year Round plans to release a debut album fully produced by DJ Premier with the NYGz tenatively called Hustla's Union: Local NYG along with a Nick Javas debut album named Destination Unknown. Khaleel, another label-mate of Year Round Records, is planned to release a debut album titled Already!.

DJ Premier hosts a weekly 2 hour show Live From HeadQCourterz on SIRIUS Satellite Radio's Hip-Hop Nation on Fridays.

DJ Premier was one of the artists followed in the 2012 documentary Re:GENERATION music project. The film followed his production of the song Regeneration using live performance of his work by the Berklee Symphony Orchestra [1]

In a recent interview, DJ Premier said he will produce a beat for Immortal Technique's upcoming album, titled The Middle Passage. He contributed a song on Game's last album The R.E.D. Album called "Born in the Trap." and a song on Bushido's last album Jenseits von Gut und Böse.^[6] In an interview in 2012, DJ Premier confirmed on Shade45 that he is working with Eminem on his upcoming album.

Discography[link]

• The Sun Rises in the East (with Jeru The Damaja) (1994)
• Livin' Proof (with Group Home) (1995)
• Wrath of the Math (with Jeru The Damaja) (1996)
• Beats That Collected Dust (2008)
• Tha Blaqprint (with Blaq Poet) (2009)
• DJ Premier Presents Get Used To Us (2010)
• Beats That Collected Dust Vol. 2 (2011)
• Premo Pimpin' EP (with Wais P) (2011)
• StOoDiOtYmE EP (with Bumpy Knuckles) (2012)
• The Kolexxxion (with Bumpy Knuckles) (2012)
• TBA (with Nas)
• TBA (with M.O.P.)
• Pete Rock v.s. Premier (with Pete Rock)
• Return Of The Boom Bip (with KRS-ONE)

References[link]

External links[link]

• DJ Premier on Twitter
• DJ Premier at Allmusic
• DJ Premier discography at Discogs
• Fansite/newsite about DJ Premier

John Austin IV, (born September 25, 1976) better known by his stage name Ras Kass, is an American rapper. He is a former member of the hip hop supergroup The HRSMN along with Canibus, Killah Priest, and Kurupt. also a member of Golden State Warriors with Xzibit and Saafir.

Biography[link]

Austin was born in Watts, California on September 26, 1976.^[1]

Early career[link]

Ras Kass sent waves through the hip-hop world with his debut independent single release "Remain Anonymous," earning him a Hip-Hop Quotable in The Source Magazine. Before his signing with Priority/EMI Records, Ras Kass began making guest appearances on several records and freestyles on numerous radio shows, further solidified the emerging lyricist's notoriety. Recorded guest appearances include Sway & King Tech's "Come Widdit" (feat. Ras Kass, Ahamad & Saafir) (Priority Records) and their "Wake Up Show Anthem ’94" (feat. Ras Kass, Nas, Lauryn Hill, Chino XL, Organized Konfusion & Saafir), as well as Chino XL's "Riiot" American Records, and KeyKool & Rhettmatic's "E=MC5" (feat. Ras Kass, LMNO, Meen Green &  !) Up Above Records.

[edit] Soul on Ice & Rasassination

From a young age, Austin was influenced by hip hop music, inspired by a variety of emcees including Ice Cube, Rakim, Scarface, and KRS-One. His first album, Soul on Ice, was released in 1996. Taking its name from a book by Eldridge Cleaver, Ras addressed racial relations in the same manner, most notably with "Ordo Abchao" and "Nature of the Threat." The album was released on Priority Records, as was the follow-up, Rasassination, which featured beats from Easy Mo Bee and guest appearances by RZA, Twista, Xzibit, Mack 10 and Dr. Dre. Lead single "Ghetto Fabulous" featured Dre and Mack 10 and was pushed by a lavish video shoot. The album received generally positive reviews,^[2] and shortly afterward the MC announced his third album, Van Gogh.

[edit] Priority Issues, Van Gogh & Goldyn Chyld

During the recording of Ras's intended third album, Van Gogh, Priority Records merged with Capitol Records, which acquired the emcee’s contract and his material.^[3] Initially near completion, the album was heavily bootlegged before any single or promotion could be prepared. In fact, the would be single "Van Gogh" was even played on an episode of The Sopranos. Ras went back to work overhauling the project, procuring tracks from DJ Premier, Hi-Tek, and Dr. Dre and retaining songs from Rockwilder and Battlecat. Tensions arose during the re-recording, from budget restrictions to lack of promotion: Despite the fact that "Van Gough" remained shelved the album's singles "Back It Up" and "Goldyn Chyd" received decent amount of spins on Los Angeles urban contemporary radio stations KKBT (The Beat) and KPWR (Power 106) during the course of 2001-02.

Ras Kass was also involved in The HRSMN, sometimes called the 4 Hrsmn, consisting of himself, Kurupt (of Tha Dogg Pound), Killah Priest, and Canibus. The Horsemen Project, a white-label of rough tracks by the four, was released in 2003, but no other releases have been subsequently forthcoming. Finally, nearing the completion of his album, the MC and Priority disagreed over the lead single. Originally pushing "Goldyn Chyld," produced by DJ Premier, Priority executives decided to try to release the Dr. Dre-produced "The Whoop" instead, against the wishes of both Ras Kass and Dr. Dre. As he was finishing up Goldyn Chyld, Kass was pulled over in California and arrested for a D.U.I., marking his third; though sentenced to jail time, he was given an extension. Two weeks before the start of his sentence, Priority informed him of their decision not to put out Goldyn Chyld after all. Becoming a fugitive, Ras attained the masters to his project, recorded some music, and finally turned himself in to police.^[4] During this time, he also had minor problems with producer the Alchemist, who sold Ras a beat that he later re-sold to rapper Jadakiss, which ultimately formed the basis for the track "We Gon' Make It."^[5]

[edit] Incarceration, Institutionalized, Priority Release

After serving only 19 months for his D.U.I. charge, Ras Kass recorded the album Institutionalized and began seeking release from his contract with Priority/Capitol Records. Though intended to be an album, it was released as a mixtape,^[6] generating a moderate buzz^[7][8] despite Capitol's alleged reluctance.^[8] He would go on to release two more mixtapes in 2006, Revenge of the Spit and Eat or Die, and got into a fight with former G-Unit rapper The Game over an alleged reference to the rapper's son in a freestyle .^[9] In October 2007, Kass finally succeeded in being released from his record contract.^[3] However, after rumors of a deal with Def Jam or G-Unit Records,^[10] he was again incarcerated, this time for violating his parole by flying to the 2007 BET Awards. During this time, he put out the album Institutionalized Vol. 2 on Babygrande Records. After nearly two years of incarceration, Ras Kass was released from jail at the end of May 2009.^[11]