Paul Edward Huston (born April 2, 1967), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Prince Paul, is an American

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

and

recording artist A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

from

Amityville, New York Amityville () is a Political subdivisions of New York State#Village, village near the Babylon (town), New York, Town of Babylon in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, on the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long Island, in New Yo ...

. Paul began his career as a DJ for

Stetsasonic Stetsasonic is an American hip hop band. Formed in 1981 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, Stetsasonic was one of the first hip hop acts to perform with a full band and use live instrumentation in their recordings, paving the way for future ...

. Since then he has worked on albums by

Boogie Down Productions Boogie Down Productions (BDP) was an American hip hop group originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, five months after the release of BDP's debut album, ''Criminal Minded ...

Gravediggaz Gravediggaz was an American Hip hop music, hip hop group from New York, known for its Black comedy, dark sense of humor and abrasive, menacing soundscapes. Gravediggaz blended hardcore hip hop, gangsta rap and Heavy metal music, heavy metal with ...

MC Lyte Lana Michele Moorer (born October 11, 1970), better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rapper, DJ, actress and entrepreneur. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, Lyte first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first ...

Big Daddy Kane Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and skilled MCs in hi ...

and

3rd Bass 3rd Bass was an American hip hop group that was active in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Formed by MC Serch, Pete Nice, and DJ Richie Rich, the group was notable for being one of the first successful interracial hip hop acts. Along with Beast ...

, among others. Major recognition for Prince Paul came when he produced

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...

's debut album ''

3 Feet High and Rising ''3 Feet High and Rising'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop group De La Soul, released on March 3, 1989 by Tommy Boy Records. It is the first of three collaborations with producer Prince Paul, which would become the critical and ...

'' (1989), in which he pioneered new approaches to

hip hop production Hip hop production is the creation of hip hop music in a recording studio. While the term encompasses all aspects of hip hop music creation, including recording the rapping of an MC, a turntablist or DJ providing a beat, playing samples and " ...

, mixing and sampling, notably by including

comedy sketches Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term origin ...

. His first solo album, '' Psychoanalysis: What Is It?'', came out in 1997, followed by a second album, ''

A Prince Among Thieves ''A Prince Among Thieves'' is the second studio album by hip hop artist Prince Paul. ''A Prince Among Thieves'' was well received by music critics. Music essayist Robert Christgau has called it "the closest thing to a true rock opera you've ...

'', in 1999.

Life and career

Paul was interested in music from a young age and started collecting vinyl when he was five. According to his late mother, he was mature for his age and tended to hang out with older friends. When he was in fifth grade he started DJing, using a makeshift setup of one Lafayette turntable hooked up to another turntable set and using the balance knob as a fader. In 1981, at age 14, Paul performed a DJ set at The Ace Center Amityville that helped him gain recognition. He did a routine with Trouble Funk's "Pump Me Up" which he later described as his "claim to fame." After The Ace Center performance Paul started doing parties and tapes with Biz Markie while he was in 8th grade. At the same time, Paul's middle school music teacher was Everett Collins, a drummer for

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

. Collins later introduced Paul to De La Soul member Maseo. He began performing with groups during his teenage years, first joining a group called Soul Brothers with his longtime friend Don Newkirk, who would later re-join Paul as an official member of Brookzill! Paul was one of the original members of

. He joined the group in 1984 after impressing Daddy-O with his routine in the "Brevoit Day Celebration" DJ battle in Brooklyn. Daddy-O was struck by Paul's energy, saying that he performed his routine with Liquid Liquid's song "Cavern", "like he was mad at the turntables." Paul credits Grandmaster Flash's song "Flash To The Beat" as the reason he purchased his drum machine. Prince Paul produced "The Gas Face" and "Brooklyn-Queens" on

' 1989 debut ''

The Cactus Album ''The Cactus Al/Bum'' (also known as ''The Cactus Cee/D'' and ''The Cactus Cas/Ette'' depending on release format) is the debut album by hip hop trio 3rd Bass, released on Def Jam Recordings on November 10, 1989. The album received positive rev ...

.'' The original version of "The Gas Face" was recorded on 4-track cassette tape and started out as mistake. Paul wanted to change the beat after he realized the pattern wasn't what he wanted but

MC Serch Michael Berrin (born May 6, 1967), best known by his stage name MC Serch, is an American rapper and music executive. He is a former member of 3rd Bass and Non Phixion. Early life and education Serch grew up in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York ...

and

Pete Nice Peter J. Nash (born February 5, 1967), known by his stage name Prime Minister Pete Nice or simply Pete Nice, is an American baseball historian and author, member of the Society for American Baseball Research, Hip Hop historian, and former rapp ...

convinced him to keep it. The song was recorded on the 4th of July. He also worked on

's first three albums, ''

'' (1989), ''

De La Soul Is Dead ''De La Soul Is Dead'' is the second studio album by American hip-hop group De La Soul, released on May 14, 1991. The album was produced by Prince Paul, whose work on ''3 Feet High and Rising'' was highly praised by music critics. The album wa ...

'' (1991), and ''

Buhloone Mindstate ''Buhloone Mindstate'' (stylized as ''Buhlo͞one Mind State'' on the album cover) is the third studio album by American hip hop group De La Soul. It was released on September 21, 1993, through Tommy Boy Records, and was the group's last record to ...

'' (1993). ''De La Soul is Dead'' received a five mic album review from ''

The Source ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...

''. According to Paul, ''

'' (1989) had a budget of about $20,000 dollars and took a month and a half to make. In Brian Coleman's 2007 book '' Check the Technique'' Paul reflected on his work with De La Soul by saying, "If there was ever a sign of the existence of God, De La Soul would be that proof to me. I’ve never had such a perfect fit in any other production situation." In 1990,

Russell Simmons Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. Simmons' ...

gave Prince Paul an imprint under his

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

label, however the only album, ''It Takes a Nation of Suckers to Let Us In'' by Resident Alien, was never officially released. It is available as an unofficial release, which is different to a bootleg. In 1992, Paul produced the songs "Drug Dealer", "Sex and Violence", and "How Not To Get Jerked" for Boogie Down Productions' '' Sex and Violence'' album. Paul later expressed frustration over the experience because the group released it before he had finalized and polished the three songs. KRS-One, from Boogie Down Productions, later apologized to Paul. Along with Frukwan of Stetsasonic,

Too Poetic Anthony Ian Berkeley (November 15, 1964 – July 15, 2001) better known as Too Poetic, was an American rapper and producer. He was also a founding member of the hip-hop group Gravediggaz, for which he used the alias Grym Reaper. He also used t ...

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...

, and the

RZA Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (born July 5, 1969), better known by his stage name the RZA ( ), is an American rapper, actor, filmmaker, and record producer. He is the ''de facto'' leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, having produced most albums ...

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...

, Prince Paul formed the group

. They recorded a demo together in 1991 and released their first album '' Niggamortis/

6 Feet Deep ''6 Feet Deep'' (also titled ''Niggamortis'' in some regions) is the debut album of the American hip hop supergroup Gravediggaz. Formed by former Tommy Boy Records artists Prince Paul, RZA, Frukwan and Poetic, the group utilized horror-the ...

'' in 1994 on Gee Street Records. Before signing a deal with Gee Street,

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. He is often referred t ...

wanted to release the album on

Ruthless Records Ruthless Records was an American record label founded by Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and Jerry Heller in Compton, California in 1986, where all of the Ruthless trademarks have been owned by Comptown Records, Inc. since 1997. Several artists on the la ...

. Paul flew to Los Angeles to have a meeting with Eazy-E and Jerry Heller but felt the contract offered to him was one of the worst he had seen in his career and declined. After the group signed to Gee Street, Paul estimated that it took them about six months to complete the album. In 1995, Paul co-produced guitarist

Vernon Reid Vernon Alphonsus Reid (born 22 August 1958) is an English-born American guitarist and songwriter. Reid is the founder and primary songwriter of the rock band Living Colour, Reid was named No. 66 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's 2003 list of the ...

's solo debut with

Teo Macero Attilio Joseph "Teo" Macero (October 30, 1925 – February 19, 2008) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. He was a producer at Columbia Records for twenty years. Macero produced Miles Davis' ''Bitches Brew'', and Dave ...

. He also produced a Horror CIty album with Amityville rapper Superstar. Horror City being a colloborative project fronted by Superstar and featuring a number of MCs and producers. After recording the demo, Paul unsuccessfully shopped it around to multiple labels. Paul used some of the same instrumentals on ''A Prince Among Thieves'' and had some of the same people rap on the album, but later said he preferred the ''Horror City'' originals. In 2010, after holding on the demo for 15 years, Paul decided to offer it as a free download online. In 1996, he appeared on the

Red Hot Organization Red Hot Organization (RHO) is a not-for-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilati ...

's compilation CD, ''

America Is Dying Slowly ''America Is Dying Slowly'' (a backronym for AIDS) is a compilation album that is the eighth in the Red Hot AIDS Benefit Series recorded by the Red Hot Organization. It featured collaborations from several hip hop acts, including Mobb Deep, De La ...

'', alongside

Coolio Artis Leon Ivey Jr. (August 1, 1963 – September 28, 2022), known professionally as Coolio, was an American rapper. First rising to fame as a member of the gangsta rap group WC and the Maad Circle, Coolio achieved mainstream success as a solo ...

and

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a sol ...

. The CD, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African American men, was called a masterpiece by ''

'' magazine. In 1996, during the early recording sessions for ''

Stakes Is High ''Stakes Is High'' is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group De La Soul. It was released on July 2, 1996, through Tommy Boy Records. The album marked a change in the group's sound and direction as it was their first release not to b ...

'', De La Soul and Prince Paul decided to part ways. Although Paul was not involved in the making of the album, he has praised it in several interviews, once saying, "I was going through a serious transition period in my life when that album dropped. I was trying to figure out the next thing I was going to do; I was going through a custody case for my son, and I was running out of money. There were a lot of things going on at the time and in a sense, that album pulled me through everything." After this he released two solo albums: '' Psychoanalysis: What Is It?'' and ''

'', featuring

Xzibit Alvin Nathaniel Joiner (born September 18, 1974), better known by his stage name Xzibit (pronounced "exhibit"), is an American rapper, actor, television presenter, and radio personality. Xzibit began his musical career after the release of his ...

Kool Keith Keith Matthew Thornton (born October 7, 1963), better known by his stage name Kool Keith, is an American rapper and record producer from The Bronx, New York City, known for his surreal, abstract and often profane or incomprehensible lyrics. Kool ...

, and

Everlast Erik Francis Schrody (born August 18, 1969), known by his stage name Everlast, is an American musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter, who was the frontman for hip hop group House of Pain. He was also part of the hip hop supergroup La Coka ...

. When Paul was recording ''Psychoanalysis'' he thought his career was over and had a hard time finding people who wanted to be involved with the project. Many of the vocals were provided by friends of his from outside the music industry. Years later he recalled thinking, "Some people might get butt-hurt about it, but so what? It’s probably the last record I’ll make anyway,” during the recording of "Beautiful Night (Manic Psychopath)". The song is very dark and deals with date rape, racism, and violence. According to Paul, he originally proposed the idea for ''A Prince Among Thieves'' to Russell Simmons in the early 1990s but Simmons was not interested. While describing his goals for the album in an interview he said, "I wanted to make a movie on wax. I wanted to make an adults’ kid album." To prepare for the album he watched many

B movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

s and tried to use scenes from various films as inspiration. In addition to the extensive list of rappers on the album, Paul reached out to Vanilla Ice to perform on "Handle Your Time" with Sadat X and Xzibit. He also reached out to The Notorious B.I.G. about playing a role on the album and was supposed to meet up with him the night he was murdered. Prince Paul formed

Handsome Boy Modeling School Handsome Boy Modeling School is an American collaborative project between hip hop producers Dan the Automator (Gorillaz, Dr. Octagon, Deltron 3030) and Prince Paul (Stetsasonic, De La Soul, Gravediggaz). The collaboration originally lasted from ...

with

Dan the Automator Daniel M. Nakamura better known by his stage name Dan the Automator, is an American record producer from San Francisco, California. He is the founder of the publishing company Sharkman Music and the record label 75 Ark. Early life Nakamura was bo ...

and their album '' So... How's Your Girl?'' featured

Sean Lennon is an American–British musician, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and half-brother to Julian Lennon. Over the course of his career, he has been a member of the bands Cibo Matto, The G ...

Del the Funky Homosapien Teren Delvon Jones (born August 12, 1972), better known by his stage name Del the Funky Homosapien (sometimes stylized as Del tha Funkee Homosapien) or Sir DZL, is an American rapper. Music career 1988–1997: Early life and beginnings Born in O ...

Alec Empire Alec or Aleck is a Scottish form of the given name Alex. It may be a diminutive of the name Alexander or a given name in its own right. Notable people with the name include: People * Alec Aalto (1942–2018), Finnish diplomat *Alec Acton (1938� ...

, and

Don Novello Donald Andrew Novello (born January 1, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, singer, writer, film director and producer. He is best known for his work on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1978 to 1980, and again from 1985 to 1986, often as the ...

. He was also paired up with

Deltron 3030 Deltron 3030 is an alternative hip hop trio composed of producer Dan the Automator (as the Cantankerous Captain Aptos), rapper Del the Funky Homosapien (as Deltron Zero/Deltron Osiris), and DJ Kid Koala (as Skiznod the Boy Wonder). They also ...

on their self-titled album for the song ''The Fantabulous Rap Extravaganza''. In 2000, Prince Paul produced

MC Paul Barman Paul Nathaniel Barman (born October 30, 1974), better known by his stage name MC Paul Barman, is an American rapper. He resides in Manhattan, New York. In 2012, ''LA Weekly'' placed him at number 14 on the "Top 20 Whitest Musicians of All Time" l ...

's début EP '' It's Very Stimulating'', followed by another Handsome Boy Modeling School album, ''

White People White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as ...

'', with guests including the

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drummer ...

Tim Meadows Timothy Meadows (born February 5, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the longest-running cast members on ''Saturday Night Live'', where he appeared for ten seasons and for which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy ...

, and

John Oates John William Oates (born April 7, 1948) is an American musician, best known as half of the rock and soul duo Hall & Oates, with Daryl Hall. He has played rock, R&B, and soul music, acting as a guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer ...

. Prince Paul's 2003 album ''

Politics of the Business ''Politics of the Business'' is the third album by American hip hop producer Prince Paul. This album is considered to be a concept album similar to ''A Prince Among Thieves''. The concept for this album, however, is the concept of following-up ...

'' again featured many guests such as

Chuck D Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D helped creat ...

, Ice-T,

The Beatnuts The Beatnuts are an American hip hop group and production duo from New York City. Its current members are JuJu and Psycho Les. JuJu (born Jerry Tineo on December 14, 1968) is a Dominican American from Corona and Psycho Les (born Lester Fernande ...

, and

Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ' ...

. The latter also collaborated on a track Paul composed for ''

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie ''The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie'' is a 2004 American live-action animated film, live-action/animated adventure comedy film based on the Nickelodeon animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. The film was directed, co-written, and ...

'' soundtrack. In 2006, Paul won a

Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album The Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement in comedy." The award was awarded yearly from 1959 to 1993 and then from 2004 to presen ...

at the

48th Annual Grammy Awards The 48th Annual Grammy Awards took place on February 8, 2006, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning from October 1, 2004 through September 30, 2005. Irish rock band U2 were ...

for his work on

Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and filmmaker. Known for his work in comic film, television and stage, he has received multiple accolades, including three Grammy Awards for best come ...

's ''

Never Scared ''Never Scared'' is a television special that premiered on HBO on April 17, 2004, starring comedian Chris Rock. It is the fourth special by Chris Rock recorded at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 2004. CD version The ...

'' album, the first of his career. Several songs by Paul have been featured only on compilations such as

Om Records Om Records is an American record label, established in 1995, which releases electronic music, dance music and hip hop. The label was founded in San Francisco in 1995 by Chris Smith. Om Records releases both artist albums and compilations, incl ...

's "Deep Concentration" and

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, w ...

's "Altered Beats". In 2005, he released the album '' Itstrumental''. It encompasses a range of genres, relying heavily on past samples, especially from ''A Prince Among Thieves'', and combining them with lighthearted skits about his depression. He also produced the album ''

The Art of Picking Up Women The Art of Picking Up Women is a 2005 EP by The Dix, a fictitious doo-wop group from the fictional town of Compton, New York, formed by Prince Paul, Mr. Len, Mr. Dead and Don Newkirk. A parody of 1950s/60s doo-wop, the album also has influences o ...

'' by

the Dix The Art of Picking Up Women is a 2005 EP by The Dix, a fictitious doo-wop group from the fictional town of Compton, New York, formed by Prince Paul, Mr. Len, Mr. Dead and Don Newkirk. A parody of 1950s/60s doo-wop, the album also has influences o ...

, which combines some of hip-hop's misogyny and boasting with 1960s-style R&B. Paul was the host of XM radio's "The Ill Out Show", until the station was dropped following its merger with Sirius. The show presented news, classic songs, and interviews with various hip-hop artists. One of Prince Paul's more recent projects is Baby Elephant, a collaboration with

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

keyboardist

Bernie Worrell George Bernard Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016) was an American keyboardist and record producer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll ...

, and longtime Paul associate

Don Newkirk Donald Newkirk ( – November 2022) was an American musician, composer, and record producer. Newkirk appeared on several hip hop records including the remix to "Say No Go" by De La Soul and Stetsasonic's "Talking All That Jazz". In October 198 ...

. An album '' Turn My Teeth Up!'', released in September 2007, features George Clinton,

Shock G Gregory Edward Jacobs (August 25, 1963 – April 22, 2021), known professionally as Shock G and by his alter ego Humpty Hump, was an American rapper and musician who was best known as the lead vocalist of the hip hop group Digital Underground. ...

Yellowman Winston Foster , better known by the stage name Yellowman, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay, also known as King Yellowman. He first became popular in Jamaica in the 1980s, rising to prominence with a series of singles that established ...

Reggie Watts Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts (born March 23, 1972) is an American comedian, actor, beatboxer, and musician. His improvised musical sets are created using only his voice, a keyboard, and a looping machine. Watts refers to himself as a "disinf ...

Nona Hendryx Nona Bernis Hendryx (born October 9, 1944) is an American vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician, and author. Hendryx is known for her work as a solo artist as well as for being one-third of the trio Labelle, who had a hit with "Lady ...

David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

, and

Gabby La La Gabby La La (born Gabriel Lang on May 23, 1979) is a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist (including sitar, ukulele, accordion, theremin and toy piano), signed to Prawn Song Records. Her music is self described as "fun, unique, crazy (and) kooky". ...

. In 2008–2009, Paul collaborated with Oakland rap group

Souls of Mischief Souls of Mischief is a hip hop group from Oakland, California, that is also part of the hip hop collective Hieroglyphics. The Souls of Mischief formed in 1991 and is composed of rappers A-Plus, Opio, Phesto, and Tajai. History East Oakland nat ...

on the group's album ''

Montezuma's Revenge Travelers' diarrhea (TD) is a stomach and intestinal infection. TD is defined as the passage of unformed stool (one or more by some definitions, three or more by others) while traveling. It may be accompanied by abdominal cramps, nausea, fever, ...

'' (2009). The idea for the album came about during a Handsome Boy Modeling School tour when Paul told Souls of Mischief member Opio, "Tell the guys that I want to produce the next album." The album was recorded in a rented house and many of the beats were made with vintage equipment, including an Emu SP-12,

Ensoniq ASR-10 The Ensoniq ASR-10 was a sampling keyboard produced by Ensoniq between 1992 and 1998. The ASR-10 was a follow up product to the very popular Ensoniq EPS and Ensoniq EPS-16+ performance samplers, and was also available with a piano style weigh ...

, Akai MPC-60 and an Akai MPC-2000. Paul stated in an interview that his two favorite songs from the album are "Proper Aim" and "Morgan Freeman Skit". In 2012, Paul spoke openly in an interview about the possibility of doing another De La Soul album after

Maseo Vincent Lamont Mason Jr. (born March 24, 1970) is an American rapper, producer and DJ who is one third of the hip hop group De La Soul. Mason is also known as Maseo, P.A. Pasemaster Mase and Plug Three. Early life Mason graduated from Amit ...

had made some public comments about a reunion. In the interview, Paul states that he asked the members of De La Soul to work on a new album on and off since 1999. Though he wanted to do a reunion at one time, it seemed in the interview he had moved past the idea, partially because of the far more restrictive sampling laws that exist today. He said, "It’s nice to think about it, but I kind of like where we left it. There would be so many expectations. For me to do another De La record, I don’t think I could really live up to it. Especially in a day and age where I can’t openly sample like that." Paul later released ''Throwback to the Future'' with his Brazilian hip hop fusion group BROOKZILL! in 2016. In 2017 Prince Paul helped score the

Gimlet Media Gimlet Media LLC is a digital media company and podcast network, focused on producing narrative podcasts and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. The company was founded in 2014 by Alex Blumberg and Matthew Lieber, who serve as the company's CEO ...

podcast ''Mogul'' about hip-hop scene-maker

Chris Lighty Darrel Steven "Chris" Lighty (May 8, 1968 – August 30, 2012) was an American music industry executive. He co-founded Violator, a record label, management and marketing company, which represented hip hop and R&B artists such as Busta Rhymes, ...

. In 2017, Prince Paul joined the Creators Advisory Board of

Tracklib Tracklib is a music service that allows producers to sample original music and clear the samples for official use. The platform was founded with the aim to solve legal and ethical issues surrounding sampling and music clearances. The platform ha ...

. In an interview with Tracklib, Prince Paul stated that "I know Tracklib will help (producers) because it will give everybody an opportunity to sample without having to look over their shoulder.". In 2020, Prince Paul co-produced the

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, ...

song "

Pac-Man originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...

" for the band's

Song Machine ''Song Machine'' is an audiovisual project by British virtual band Gorillaz. It is a music video web series consisting of a collection of music videos and singles that are released monthly by the band as episodes of the series, with each episod ...

web series. This was Prince Paul's first contribution to Gorillaz, whose 2001 debut album was produced by Prince Paul's long-time friend and collaborator

Dan The Automator Daniel M. Nakamura better known by his stage name Dan the Automator, is an American record producer from San Francisco, California. He is the founder of the publishing company Sharkman Music and the record label 75 Ark. Early life Nakamura was bo ...

, who he co-founded ''Handsome Boy Modeling School'' with in 1999.

Equipment

Paul has talked about his fondness for vintage equipment in several interviews. One of his favorite pieces of vintage equipment is the

Akai S900 The Akai S900 is a 12-bit sampler, with a variable sample rate from 7.5 kHz through to 40 kHz. It was common in recording studios until it was superseded two years later by the S1000. An expanded version, the Akai S950, was released in 1988 al ...

, which he credits for having a unique sound, saying, "Even though it's big and bulky, nothing sounds like that. It's pretty flexible, it's easy to work, and it's easy to truncate your sample and get things tight...When you look at all this new technology, everything sounds very sterile. Everything is clean and super quiet. It kind of lacks something. When I plug that in, it's like, 'Wow, this is hip hop.'"

Record collection

He is known for sampling from a wide range of genres. Rapper

Biz Markie Marcel Theo Hall (April 8, 1964 – July 16, 2021), known professionally as Biz Markie, was an American rapper, singer, songwriter, DJ, and record producer. Markie was best known for his 1989 single "Just a Friend", which became a Top 40 hit in ...

once said of Paul's production style, "Prince Paul's contribution to hip-hop is that you could use records that weren't by James Brown or just break-beats."

Style and influences

Paul credits

The Bomb Squad The Bomb Squad were an American hip hop production team known for its work with hip hop group Public Enemy. The Bomb Squad is noted for its dense, distinct, innovative production style, often utilizing dozens of samples on just one track. The ...

and

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...

as being a significant influence on early De La Soul production, saying, "Early Public Enemy production used layers upon layers and layers, and their arrangements were always super duper incredible to me. We were kind of like students to what they did." In addition to The Bomb Squad, he also lists George Clinton,

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popula ...

, and Bernie Worrell as his major influences. While Paul continues to utilize samples, he has expanded his production to include live instrumentation, including guitar, bass guitar, and several analog keyboards. To combine elements of sampling and live instrumentation, Paul now re-plays some of his samples with instruments. In a 2010 interview he described the process by saying, "I’ve gotten to the point now where I’ll re-play samples with instruments. I learned how to interpolate, change the sound, and dust it out so that when I’m re-playing certain samples, it sounds like a direct sample from a record." Paul has credited the process of working with

on the

project as helping him learn a great deal about production.

Influence

listed the ''Buhloone Mindstate'' album at number ten on his "Top 25 Albums" list. He credited album as helping to shape him as a comedian. In 1999, Rock appeared on Paul's ''A Prince Among Thieves.'' Later in 2005, Rock's debut album was produced by Paul.

Discography

Solo albums

* 1996: '' Psychoanalysis: What Is It?'' (WordSound Records, later reissued by

Tommy Boy ''Tommy Boy'' is a 1995 American buddy adventure comedy film directed by Peter Segal, written by Bonnie and Terry Turner, produced by Lorne Michaels, and starring former ''Saturday Night Live'' castmates and close friends Chris Farley and David ...

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

in 1997 with bonus cuts) * 1999: ''

'' (Tommy Boy/Warner Bros. Records) * 2003: ''

'' (

Razor & Tie Razor & Tie was an American entertainment company that consisted of a record label and a music publishing company. It was established in 1990 by Craig Balsam and Cliff Chenfeld. Based in New York City (with additional offices in Los Angeles an ...

) * 2005: '' Itstrumental'' (Female Fun Records) * 2005: '' Hip Hop Gold Dust'' (Antidote)

Collaborative albums

* 1986: '' On Fire'' (

) * 1988: ''

In Full Gear ''In Full Gear'' is the second studio album by American hip hop band Stetsasonic, released in 1988 by Tommy Boy Records. Music and lyrics ''In Full Gear'' is a double album that draws on various influences in its hip hop style, including R&B, ...

'' (Stetsasonic) * 1989: ''

'' (

) * 1991: ''

Blood, Sweat & No Tears ''Blood, Sweat & No Tears'' is the third and final album by hip hop band Stetsasonic. The CD version replaces the songs "To Whom It May Concern," "Corporate America," and "Do You Remember This?," which were included on the cassette version, with ...

'' (Stetsasonic) * 1991: ''

'' (De La Soul) * 1992: ''It Takes a Nation of Suckas to Let Us In'' (Resident Alien) (later released as a free download) * 1993: ''

'' (De La Soul) * 1994: '' Niggamortis/

'' (

) * 1995: ''Prince Paul presents Horror City'' (Horror City) (later released as a free download) * 1999: '' So... How's Your Girl?'' (

) * 2000: '' It's Very Stimulating'' (

) * 2004: ''

'' (Handsome Boy Modeling School) * 2005: ''

'' (

The Dix The Art of Picking Up Women is a 2005 EP by The Dix, a fictitious doo-wop group from the fictional town of Compton, New York, formed by Prince Paul, Mr. Len, Mr. Dead and Don Newkirk. A parody of 1950s/60s doo-wop, the album also has influences o ...

) * 2008: ''Baby Loves Hip Hop presents The Dino 5'' (Dino 5) * 2012: ''Negroes on Ice'' (Negroes on Ice) * 2016: ''Throwback to the Future'' (BROOKZILL!)

Awards and nominations

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2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, ''

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, , , -

References

External links

*
Prince Paul RBMA video lecture session
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, Prince 1967 births African-American male rappers African-American record producers American hip hop DJs American hip hop record producers Place of birth missing (living people) East Coast hip hop musicians Five percenters Grammy Award winners Gravediggaz members Horrorcore artists Living people People from Amityville, New York Rappers from New York (state) Tommy Boy Records artists Stetsasonic members 21st-century American rappers Record producers from New York (state) 21st-century American male musicians Dino 5 members