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Inspector is both a police rank and an administrative position, both used in a number of contexts. However, it is not an equivalent rank in each police force.

Australia[link]

In Australian police forces, the rank of Inspector is generally the next senior rank from Senior Sergeant and is less senior than a superintendent (in the cases of the Queensland Police and Western Australia Police) or the rank of Chief Inspector in the other Australian police forces. Members holding the rank usually wear an epaulette featuring three silver pips, the same rank badge as a Captain in the army. In addition to the general rank of Inspector, some police forces use other ranks such as Detective Inspector and District Inspector.

Austria[link]

In Austria a similar scheme was used as in Germany. At some point the police inspector was completely removed from the list of service ranks. The current police service has an inspectors service track with "Inspektor" being the entry level - it is followed by "Revierinspektor" (precinct inspector), "Gruppeninspektor" (group inspector), "Bezirksinspektor" (county inspector), "Abteilungsinspektor" (office inspector), "Kontrollinspektor" (control inspector) and "Chefinspektor" (chief inspector).

In Austria the "Inspektor" is a colloquial name for any detective which is used independent of the actual rank.

Canada[link]

In most Canadian police services the rank of Inspector is the first above the sergeant ranks. It is usually immediately below the rank of Superintendent. Senior Inspectors are higher ranking administrative rank in Canada's police forces.

France[link]

In the French National Police, inspecteur is a former rank of members of the Command and Management Corps. There were several grades of Inspecteur, with senior detectives holding the various grades of commissaire. See French National Police for current ranks. In the French customs, inspecteur is the first rank of members of the Command and Management Corps.

Germany[link]

In contemporary Germany, "Inspektor" is a civil service rank. It is the lowest and therefore the entry rank of the gehobener Dienst (upper service) requiring a degree from a three-year administrative college. The rank is not used in the German police services; there the equivalent of Inspektor is Kommissar. In earlier times the upper service track was called "Inspektorenlaufbahn" (inspectors service track) ranging from "Inspektor", "Oberinspektor" (senior inspector), "Amtmann", "Amtsrat" to "Oberamtsrat" (senior supervisor).

The title is used on many professional areas that require an inspection service, like "Brandinspektor" (fire inspector in the fire department), "Steuerinspektor" (tax inspector in the financial department) or "Bauinspektor" (building inspector in building control) that are in a supervision position of their department. In many administration parts a corresponding position exists like the "Regierungsinspektor" (government inspector on the federal level), "Stadtinspektor"/"Stadtverwaltungsinspektor" (city administration inspector)), "Kreisinspektor"/"Kreisverwaltungsinspektor" (county administration inspector) that serve in supervision of the department.

In some regions the "Inspektor" is a colloquial name for any detective rank just like in Austria.

Hong Kong[link]

In the Hong Kong Police Force, inspector (including probationary inspector and senior inspector) is the rank senior to station sergeant but junior to chief inspector, leading a sub-unit in day-to-day policing. Rank badge of probationary inspector is one silver pip on his/her epaulette; 2 silver pips for inspector of police; and 2 silver pips and one bar on for senior inspector of police. The epaulettes rank badge of chief inspector is 3 silver pips. The epaulettes of all inspectors do not show their personal identification number. Plain-clothes detective inspectors have the prefix 'detective' identifying them as having been trained in criminal investigation and being part of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) or Organised Crime Triad Bureau (OCTB).

Customs and Excise Department also have inspector ranking but with bronze stars and bars rank badge instead.

India[link]

In the police forces of India, an inspector is a non-gazetted police officer ranking above a Sub-Inspector and below a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) or an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP). In the Rural areas Inspectors generally (but not always) have jurisdictions over more than one police station (generally under a Sub-Inspector of Police). However, in many cities, Inspectors would be the Station House Officer (SHO) at every police station. The rank insignia for a Police Inspector is three stars, and a red and blue striped ribbon at the outer edge of the shoulder straps. In rural areas where an inspector is in charge of a police circle (consisting more than one police station) he is also referred to as "Circle Inspector" (CI). Inspector is also called SHO (Station House Officer).The use of stars in Camouflage Uniform should also be in same pattern .

Indonesia[link]

In the Indonesian National Police, there are four levels of inspector, which are First Police Inspector (Inspektur Polisi Satu), Senior Police Inspector (Inspektur Polisi Dua), First Police Inspector Adjutant (Ajun Inspektur Polisi Satu), and Second Police Inspector Adjutant (Ajun Inspektur Polisi Dua). Those ranks are below the rank of Police Commissioner Adjutant (Ajun Komisaris Polisi) and above the rank of Chief Police Brigadier (Brigadir Polisi Kepala).

Ireland[link]

In the Garda Síochána, inspectors are senior to sergeants and junior to superintendents. Inspectors may be either detectives or in uniform.

Italy[link]

In the Polizia di Stato, the position of Ispettore (Inspector) replaced the rank of Maresciallo after the 1981 reorganization and demilitarization of the corps; an Ispettore is thus a Sergeant of several sorts, above the rank of Sovrintendente (Superintendent, which is somewhat equal to a Senior Corporal) and under the rank of Commissario. There are three four different Inspector ranks in the Polizia di Stato: Vice Ispettore ("Assistant Inspector"), Ispettore ("Inspector"), Ispettore Capo ("Chief Inspector") and Ispettore Superiore ("Special Inspector", or "Superior Inspector"), roughly equivalent to the ranks ranging from Junior Sergeant to Second Lieutenant. A fifth position, called Ispettore Superiore S.U.P.S., where the achronym stands for Sostituto Ufficiale di Pubblica Sicurezza ("Special Inspector - Substitute Public Safety Commissioned Officer"), is used to designate those Inspectors which can act as substitutes to Commissioners in the chain of command under certain situations, or in Police detachments that are too small to require the presence of a Commissioner; when this happens, the officer is named Ispettore Superore - Sostituto Commissario ("Special Inspector - Substitute Commissioner"). Inspectors can serve either in uniformed patrol duties, plain-clothed patrol duties, or as detectives. The Inspector ranks are the highest that an Italian Police officer can reach without having a University degree.

Malaysia[link]

In Malaysia's police force, the rank Inspector is one step above the Sub-Inspector and one step under Assistant Superintendent. There are three stages: probation inspector (three years probation), inspector and chief inspector. Inspectors are recruited differently from the normal police constable. Their training is also longer. The minimum requirement to join police inspector is a degree.

Poland[link]

In Poland, inspector (inspektor) is a high rank (above podinspektor and młodszy inspektor, but below nadinspektor), comparable to colonel of the armed forces.

Romania[link]

In the Romanian Police, inspector is a rank senior to Subinspector and junior to Inspector principal and corresponds to the former rank of Police Lieutenant (see Romanian Police Ranks).

Sri Lanka[link]

In the Sri Lanka Police Service, Inspector of Police (IP) is a gazetted officer rank senior to Sub-Inspector and junior to Chief Inspector. In many towns, Inspectors would be the Officer in Charge (OIC) at most police stations. The rank insignia for a Police Inspector is two stars.

United Kingdom[link]

Within the British police, inspector is the second supervisory rank. It is senior to that of sergeant, but junior to that of chief inspector. The rank is mostly operational, meaning that inspectors are directly concerned with day-to-day policing. Uniformed inspectors are often responsible for supervising a duty shift made up of constables and sergeants, or act in specialist roles such as supervising road traffic policing.

The rank of inspector has existed since the foundation of the Metropolitan Police, formed in 1829, when it was used to designate the rank immediately below that of superintendent, and many Commonwealth police forces also use the term.

Plain-clothes detective inspectors are equal in rank to their uniformed counterparts, the prefix 'detective' identifying them as having been trained in criminal investigation and being part of or attached to their force's Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The epaulettes of uniformed inspectors, unlike those of constables and sergeants, do not show a divisional or personal identification number. Instead they feature Order of the Bath stars, informally known as "pips", being the same insignia as those of a lieutenant in the British Army.

Newly promoted inspectors currently receive a salary of £46,788 (£48,840 London) rising to £50,751 (£52,818 London).^[1]

In the Metropolitan Police, the rank was formerly officially known as Station Inspector to distinguish it from the more senior rank of Sub-Divisional Inspector (abolished in 1949). A Station Inspector wore a single star on his epaulettes until 1936, when this changed to a star over two bars to accommodate the new rank of Junior Station Inspector (wearing a star over one bar).^[2]

United States[link]

In the United States, the term inspector can have very different meanings depending on the law enforcement agency.

Municipal police[link]

In the San Francisco Police Department, inspector was the normal title for a detective, and the investigative branch of the SFPD is called the Bureau of Inspectors, renamed from the Investigations Bureau.

In the Berkeley, California, Police Department, inspector was once the title used for an investigative supervisor who commanded a specific specialized detail, like Homicide, Robbery, or Property Crimes, within the department's Detective Division. They ranked between sergeants and lieutenants and, on the comparatively rare occasions when they wore uniforms, their rank insignia was identical to that worn by warrant officers in the US Armed Forces. The title has since been phased out, and the duties once performed by inspectors are now performed by detective sergeants.

In the Hayward, California Police Department, the rank of inspector is a civil service rank above a detective and below that of a sergeant.

In the New York City Police Department, an inspector is a high-ranking executive position, two grades above a Captain, one grade above a Deputy Inspector, and immediately below a Deputy Chief. Inspectors in the NYPD wear the eagle insignia worn by colonels in both the military and the New York State Police, and their rank may be thought of in those terms. In the LAPD, the rank of inspector, one grade above captain, was changed to commander in 1974, because LAPD senior officers preferred the more military-sounding title.

In the Detroit Police Department, an inspector is the equivalent of a captain in most police forces.

State Police[link]

In the Wisconsin State Patrol, and others, inspectors are state troopers assigned to the motor carrier safety inspection unit where they enforce trucking laws and regulations.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation's Division of Motor Vehicles License and Theft Bureau uses the title of Inspector for its sworn state Law Enforcement Agents / Investigators. The Inspectors of this agency investigate motor vehicle theft, title and odometer frauds, state issued identification and driver's license frauds, as well as regulate and inspect motor vehicle dealerships, repair shops, tow and storage facilities, and emissions and safety inspection centers. The NC DMV License and Theft Bureau is the state's oldest Law Enforcement Agency and was formed in 1921 to combat vehicle theft with the rising sales of Ford's Model T. The agency has kept the title designation of Inspector for traditional purposes. [1]

Federal Police[link]

In the FBI, an inspector is a special agent whose main duty is inspecting local Field Offices and Resident Agencies to make sure they are operating efficiently. Since FBI Inspectors are not tied to any particular Field Office, they have, in the past, also been used as trouble-shooting investigators on major cases. Joseph Sullivan, the model for Inspector Lew Erskine, the fictional character played by Efrem Zimbalist Jr. in the 1965-1974 ABC TV series The FBI, was perhaps the best-known of the Bureau's Major Case Inspectors.

The United States Marshals Service and the Drug Enforcement administration employ a similar positions, but they primarily serve as internal affairs investigators.

In the Postal Inspection Service, inspector is the name given to 1811 Criminal Investigators, better known as special agents in most other Federal Law Enforcement Agencies.

Administrative law[link]

In American administrative law, an inspector is an official charged with the duty to issue permits, such as a building inspector or sanitation inspector, and to enforce the relevant regulations and laws. These positions are commonly known as the Fire Inspector or Building Inspector. The duty it act is based on the adopted building or fire code in the municipality.^[3] A government agency may also have an Inspector General responsible for preventing internal fraud, waste, abuse and other agency deficiencies.

See also[link]

• Police rank
• Detective
• Investigator
• Special agent

References[link]

Ralph Waite (born June 22, 1928) is an American actor, whose most notable role was playing John Walton Sr. on the 1970s CBS TV series The Waltons, which he also occasionally directed. He is also known for his portrayal of the slave ship third mate^[1] Slater, in the mini-series Roots. In addition, he has appeared in many guest roles on numerous television series portraying a large variety of roles.

Waite currently has a recurring role in the TV shows, NCIS where he plays Jackson Gibbs, father to Leroy Jethro Gibbs played by Mark Harmon and also Bones where he plays Hank Booth, Seeley Booth's grandfather.

Personal life[link]

Waite, the oldest of five children, was born in White Plains, New York, the son of Esther (née Mitchell) and Ralph H. Waite, a construction engineer.^[2] Before becoming an actor, Waite, served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1946 to 1948, graduated from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and briefly was a social worker. He earned a master's degree from Yale University Divinity School and was a Presbyterian minister and religious editor at Harper & Row in New York City before deciding on a career in acting.^[3]

He is a former member of the Peninsula Players summer theater program during the 1963 season.^[4]

Ralph Waite has married three times; two of his marriages ended in divorce. He had three daughters from his first marriage. One of his daughters died when she was nine years old. His stepson, Liam Waite, is also an actor.

After fifty years being away from organized religion, Waite returned in 2010 and became an active member of Spirit of the Desert Presbyterian Fellowship in Palm Desert, California.^[3]

Political involvement[link]

Waite ran unsuccessfully for Congress in California as a Democrat three times: in 1990 he challenged veteran GOP incumbent Al McCandless in the Riverside County-based 37th district, losing by five percentage points. In 1998 he ran in the special election for the then-Palm Springs-based 44th district left vacant by the death of incumbent Sonny Bono. He was defeated in that election by Mary Bono, Sonny's widow, and lost to her again that November.

On October 21, 1991, Waite introduced former California Governor Jerry Brown prior to the latter's speech announcing his candidacy for the 1992 Democratic presidential nomination.^[5]

Electoral history[link]

Filmography[link]

Television[link]

As director[link]

• The Waltons (TV series) (1973–80)
• On the Nickel (1980)
• The Mississippi (TV series) (1983)

As producer[link]

• A Good Sport (1984) (executive producer)

As writer[link]

• On the Nickel (1980)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ralph Waite at the Internet Movie Database
• Ralph Waite at the Internet Broadway Database
• Ralph Waite at the Internet Off-Broadway Database

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Its only attribution is to IMDb, which may not be a reliable source for biographical information. Please help by adding additional, reliable sources for verification. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2008)

Judy Norton-Taylor
Norton-Taylor as Mary Ellen Walton, 1977.
Born	Judy Norton (1958-01-29) January 29, 1958 (age 54)
Occupation	Actress

Judy Norton-Taylor is an American actress and theater director who is best known for her role on The Waltons television series and subsequent Waltons TV movies.

Personal life[link]

She was born January 29, 1958, in Santa Monica, California, to parents Harry and Constance (née Glazebrook) Norton. Taylor married Randy Apostle in 1991 and they had one child, son Devin, before divorcing.^[1]

In an effort to shake her "family" image Norton Taylor posed nude for Playboy in 1985.^[2]Today she is married to Robert Graves, and commutes between the U.S. and Canada. In the U.S., she does stage and TV. While in Canada she and her husband run a chain of dinner theaters.

Filmography[link]

• Hotel (1967)
• Felony Squad (1968)
• Valentine (1979)
• The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971)
• The Waltons (1972–1981)
• Family Feud (1979)
• Battle of the Network Stars (1979)
• Battle of the Network Stars (1980)
• Kraft Salutes Disneyland's 25th Anniversary (1980)
• Password Plus (1980)
• Battle of the Network Stars (1981)
• A Day for Thanks on Walton's Mountain (1982)
• Mother's Day on Waltons Mountain (1982)
• A Wedding on Walton's Mountain (1982)
• The Love Boat (1982)
• Circus of the Stars (1983)
• Circus of the Stars (1984)
• Super Password (1984)
• Crosswits (1987)
• A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion (1993)
• A Walton Wedding (1995)
• A Walton Easter (1997)

Television[link]

• Millennium (1997)
• The Lost Daughter (1997)
• The Inspectors (1998)
• Stargate SG-1 (1998)
• A Twist of Faith (1999)
• Beggars and Choosers (1999–2000)
• Ed (2000)
• Hollywood Off Ramp (2000)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Judy Norton Taylor at the Internet Movie Database
• Official Site for Judy Norton, actress, singer, director, writer

Michael Learned (born April 9, 1939) is an American actress known for her role as Olivia Walton on The Waltons.

Personal life[link]

Learned was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Elizabeth Duane "Betti" (née Hooper) and Bruce Learned, a diplomat.^[2] Her maternal grandfather was an attaché for the United States Embassy in Rome.^[3] She lived on a Connecticut farm with her five sisters for the first ten years of her life. She was named Michael because her father, a diplomat, had wanted and expected to have a boy and had selected the name Michael in advance. When it was clear he had a daughter rather than a son, he decided to keep the name he had chosen.^{[citation needed]} When she was 11, Learned moved to Austria, where her father worked for the U.S. State Department. At this time, she attended Arts Educational School, Tring now Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in Tring, Hertfordshire, England. During this time, she discovered the theatre and decided to make acting her life's work.^[4] In a 2002 article she wrote for Daily Word, a publication of the Unity Church, Learned states that at the time she was cast in The Waltons, she had "hit rock bottom". It was then, at age 32, that Learned realized she was an alcoholic. Taking herself to ex-husband Peter Donat's cabin on the California coast, Learned states she decided to "get sober" and that her time there was the beginning of a spiritual journey. Learned further stated in the article that she has been sober since 1977.^[5]

Learned has been married four times. Her first husband was Canadian-American actor Peter Donat, whom she married in 1956, when she was 17 years old. The marriage was dissolved in 1972. She had three children by this marriage: Caleb, Christopher and Lucas. Her second marriage, to Glenn Chadwick, lasted from 1975–1977,^{[clarification needed]} and ended in divorce. In 1979, she married actor/screenwriter William Parker. That marriage ended before her 1988 marriage to lawyer John Doherty; they reside in California.

Career[link]

Television[link]

She was billed as "Miss Michael Learned" on The Waltons because she was relatively unknown at the time, and producers did not want confusion among viewers about her gender. She was nominated for six Emmy Awards and won three for her role of Olivia Walton. In 1979, her contract was not renewed; some sources indicate that she opted not to re-sign with the show.^{[citation needed]} Her character's abrupt disappearance was explained by Olivia developing tuberculosis and entering a sanatorium in Arizona. She made occasional guest appearances until the show's cancellation and later appeared in the three Waltons reunion movies during the 1990s. For her portrayal of Olivia Walton, Learned was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards.

During her run as Olivia Walton, Learned and Waltons co-star, Will Geer, appeared together in the 1974 made-for-TV movie, Hurricane.

Learned later starred as Nurse Mary Benjamin in the hospital drama Nurse, which ran on CBS during the 1981-82 season. Though the series was well received critically, it was not a ratings success and lasted only two seasons. Learned was nominated for two Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Lead Actress" and won yet another Emmy for this role in 1982.

She later had a starring role in the unsuccessful 1989 sitcom Living Dolls and reprised her Waltons role for a number of TV movies and reunions in the 1990s.

Learned played "Judge Helen Turner" on the ABC soap operas All My Children and One Life to Live as part of the "baby switch" storyline on both shows. In The Secret World of Alex Mack's second season, she guest starred as a ghost who regretted the decisions of her long-estranged granddaughter, revealed at the end to be the show's main villain, Danielle Atron. She also guest-starred in Scrubs as Mrs. Wilk in five episodes from the show's fifth season. She also played Shirley Smith on ABC's General Hospital.

In October 2011, it was announced Learned had been hired as a temporary recast in the character of Katherine Chancellor on the CBS daytime drama, The Young and the Restless. Learned was hired to replace Jeanne Cooper, who is on medical leave from the series.^[6]

Theater[link]

In the late 1960s, Learned and her husband (Peter Donat) appeared in various roles with the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) in San Francisco.

She has appeared in many stage productions on Broadway, Off Broadway, and elsewhere, including in the 2006-2007 national touring production of On Golden Pond. In the fall of 2008 she starred in Innovation Theatre Works' production of Driving Miss Daisy, playing the title role of Daisy Werthen opposite Willis Burks II as Hoke and Dirk Blocker as Daisy's son Boolie.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Michael Learned at the Internet Movie Database
• Michael Learned at the Internet Broadway Database
• Michael Learned at the Internet Off-Broadway Database

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