Top 5Has said they use
Akai Professional
MPC60“I gave it a try and have been addicted to it ever since.”
Said in Sound On Sound: DJ Premier, interview by Paul Tingen, July 2007
d
Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by DJ Premier. Every item links to its public source.
22 items · Last checked What gear does DJ Premier use?
DJ Premier told Sound On Sound that he makes beats on an Akai MPC60, sampling into an Akai S950 and triggering the sounds from the MPC, with a Korg Trident, an M-Audio Oxygen 8 and E-mu Planet Phatt and Mo'Phatt modules. He finishes tracks in Pro Tools HD on a Digidesign Control 24, and has said he DJs with Serato.
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Top 5
Where to start with DJ Premier's gear.
01
02
Top 5Has said they use
Akai Professional
S950“Instead I sample in the S950 and trigger them from the MPC”
Said in Sound On Sound: DJ Premier, interview by Paul Tingen, July 2007
03
Top 5Has said they use
E-mu
SP-12Said in Sound On Sound: DJ Premier, interview by Paul Tingen, July 2007
04
Top 5Seen using
Alesis
HR-16Seen in MusicRadar: The story of the Akai MPC, from the MPC60 to the MPC Live III, October 2025
05
Top 5Has said they use
Korg
Trident“I still use my old Korg Trident keyboard, for instance.”
Said in Sound On Sound: DJ Premier, interview by Paul Tingen, July 2007
What studio gear DJ Premier uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Beat making
Has said they use
Akai Professional
MPC60“I gave it a try and have been addicted to it ever since.”
Said in Sound On Sound: DJ Premier, interview by Paul Tingen, July 2007
Has said they use
Akai Professional
S950“Instead I sample in the S950 and trigger them from the MPC”
Said in Sound On Sound: DJ Premier, interview by Paul Tingen, July 2007
Has said they use
E-mu
SP-12Said in Sound On Sound: DJ Premier, interview by Paul Tingen, July 2007
Seen using
Alesis
HR-16Seen in MusicRadar: The story of the Akai MPC, from the MPC60 to the MPC Live III, October 2025
Keys and modules
Has said they use
Korg
Trident“I still use my old Korg Trident keyboard, for instance.”
Said in Sound On Sound: DJ Premier, interview by Paul Tingen, July 2007
Has said they use
M-Audio
Oxygen 8 MIDI controller“I may play on my M-Audio Oxygen 8 controller and use sound modules like the Emu Planet Phatt or Mo'Phatt.”
Said in Sound On Sound: DJ Premier, interview by Paul Tingen, July 2007
Has said they use
E-mu
Planet Phatt“I may play on my M-Audio Oxygen 8 controller and use sound modules like the Emu Planet Phatt or Mo'Phatt.”
Said in Sound On Sound: DJ Premier, interview by Paul Tingen, July 2007
Find it on
Has said they use
“I may play on my M-Audio Oxygen 8 controller and use sound modules like the Emu Planet Phatt or Mo'Phatt.”
Said in Sound On Sound: DJ Premier, interview by Paul Tingen, July 2007
Mixing
Has said they use
Avid
Pro Tools HD“I have a fully loaded HD Accel system, stocked with plug-ins.”
Said in Sound On Sound: DJ Premier, interview by Paul Tingen, July 2007
Has said they use
Digidesign
Control 24“I use the Control 24 board. I love that board, it's a beautiful thing.”
Said in Sound On Sound: DJ Premier, interview by Paul Tingen, July 2007
Has said they use
Waves
Renaissance Vox“But I like the [Waves] Renaissance Vox and Bass plug-ins.”
Said in Sound On Sound: DJ Premier, interview by Paul Tingen, July 2007
Has said they use
Waves
Renaissance Bass“But I like the [Waves] Renaissance Vox and Bass plug-ins.”
Said in Sound On Sound: DJ Premier, interview by Paul Tingen, July 2007
DJ booth
Has said they use
Serato
Serato DJ“I have Serato and I use it, too”
Said in Red Bull Music Academy: DJ Premier lecture (Toronto 2007), April 2015
Jazz records he rates
Has said they love
Miles Davis
Bitches Brew“That grabbed my attention.”
Said in Noisey: DJ Premier Discusses the Seven Jazz Albums Every Hip-Hop Head Needs to Know, December 2015
Has said they love
John Coltrane
A Love Supreme“That's a standard, must-have album, period.”
Said in Noisey: DJ Premier Discusses the Seven Jazz Albums Every Hip-Hop Head Needs to Know, December 2015
Has said they love
Weather Report
Heavy Weather“The record that grabbed me was 'Teen Town,'”
Said in Noisey: DJ Premier Discusses the Seven Jazz Albums Every Hip-Hop Head Needs to Know, December 2015
Has said they love
The Crusaders
Those Southern Knights“it very heavily influenced how I lay basslines now”
Said in Noisey: DJ Premier Discusses the Seven Jazz Albums Every Hip-Hop Head Needs to Know, December 2015
Has said they love
Cannonball Adderley Quintet
Country Preacher“Like, wow, you got Jesse Jackson on there.”
Said in Noisey: DJ Premier Discusses the Seven Jazz Albums Every Hip-Hop Head Needs to Know, December 2015
Has said they love
Herbie Hancock
Head Hunters“I've been listening to Herbie Hancock forever.”
Said in Noisey: DJ Premier Discusses the Seven Jazz Albums Every Hip-Hop Head Needs to Know, December 2015
Has said they love
Branford Marsalis
Random Abstract“I got into the artwork, because it made me think of my mom”
Said in Noisey: DJ Premier Discusses the Seven Jazz Albums Every Hip-Hop Head Needs to Know, December 2015
Has said they love
Stanley Clarke
Rocks, Pebbles and Sand“I like Rocks, Pebbles and Sand. One of my favorite albums.”
Said in Noisey: DJ Premier Discusses the Seven Jazz Albums Every Hip-Hop Head Needs to Know, December 2015
Records that shaped me
Has said they love
The Sugarhill Gang
Rapper's Delight“That's my first.”
Said in Red Bull Music Academy: DJ Premier lecture (Toronto 2007), April 2015
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Questions
About DJ Premier's gear.
What sampler does DJ Premier use?
An Akai MPC60 with an Akai S950. He told Sound On Sound in 2007 that he samples in the S950 and triggers the sounds from the MPC60, and that he has been addicted to the MPC60 since an engineer introduced him to it in the early 1990s.
What drum machine did DJ Premier use before the MPC?
Sound On Sound says he started on an E-mu SP-12 after meeting Large Professor. MusicRadar says he was working with an Alesis HR-16 on the Daily Operation sessions before engineer Eddie Sancho turned him on to the MPC60.
What DAW does DJ Premier use?
Pro Tools. He told Sound On Sound he went fully digital in 2005, loads his MPC60 programming into a Pro Tools HD Accel system and works it from a Digidesign Control 24. He named the Waves Renaissance Vox and Renaissance Bass plug-ins.
What keyboards does DJ Premier play?
He told Sound On Sound in 2007 that he still plays his old Korg Trident and an M-Audio Oxygen 8 controller, with E-mu Planet Phatt and Mo'Phatt sound modules.
What jazz records does DJ Premier love?
For Noisey he picked Miles Davis' Bitches Brew, John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, Weather Report's Heavy Weather, The Crusaders' Those Southern Knights, Cannonball Adderley's Country Preacher, Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters and Branford Marsalis' Random Abstract.
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DJ Premier
About this guide · Last checked
DJ Premier is the Houston-born, New York-based producer and DJ behind Gang Starr and classic records for Nas, Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G. and KRS-One. This guide covers the samplers, keyboards, software and DJ setup he has described to Sound On Sound and Red Bull Music Academy, plus the jazz records he has named.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. DJ Premier didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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