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, disc jockey and recording artist from Amityville, New York. Paul began his career as a DJ for Stetsasonic. He has worked on albums by Boogie Down Productions,

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,

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. 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

Early life

Paul Edward Huston was born on April 2, 1967 in Amityville, New York. Paul was interested in music from a young age and started collecting vinyl when he was five. According to his 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. Collins later introduced Paul to De La Soul member

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 ...

1980s and 1990s

Prince Paul began performing with groups during his teenage years, first joining a group called Soul Brothers with his longtime friend Don Newkirk. Paul was one of the original members of Stetsasonic. 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 was not what he had intended, 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. Paul also worked on

's first three albums, ''

'' (1989), '' De La Soul Is Dead'' (1991), and '' Buhloone Mindstate'' (1993). ''De La Soul is Dead'' received a five mic album review from '' The Source''. According to Paul, ''

'' (1989) had a budget of about $20,000 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. Along with

Frukwan Gravediggaz was an American hip hop group from New York, known for its dark sense of humor and abrasive, menacing soundscapes. Gravediggaz blended hardcore hip hop, gangsta rap and heavy metal with horror elements to pioneer the hip-hop subg ...

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 ...

of Brothers Grimm, 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 ...

of Wu-Tang Clan, Prince Paul formed the group

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

Niggamortis ''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-themed ...

/ 6 Feet Deep'' 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 was unimpressed with the contract and declined. After the group signed to Gee Street, Paul estimated that it took them about six months to complete the album. Prince Paul also contributed to several other projects during this time period. He produced three songs for Boogie Down Productions' 1992 album ''

Sex and Violence Jane Air is a Russian rock band. The band was founded in 1999 in Saint Petersburg. In 2002, Jane Air signed a contract with Kapkan Records and released their first record, ''Pull Ya? Let It Doll Go!''. From 2003 to 2007 the band opened conc ...

'', though later expressed frustration that the group released the album before he had finalized and polished those tracks. In 1995, Paul and

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 ...

collaborated to produce the solo debut from guitarist Vernon Reid, and in 1996 he appeared on the compilation album '' America Is Dying Slowly''. Additionally, Paul joined forces with Amityville rapper Superstar to launch a supergroup called Horror City. Paul produced a Horror City album, but proved unable to successfully market the album to any record labels. Ultimately, Paul decided to offer ''Horror City'' as a free download in 2010. 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 splitting from De La Soul, Paul released two solo albums in the following years: '' Psychoanalysis: What Is It?'' (1996) and ''

'' (1999). These albums featured a wide range of rappers, including

, Xzibit, Kool Keith, 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. On ''A Prince Among Thieves'', Paul also repurposed some of the beats he had initially composed for ''Horror City''. 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. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

about playing a role on the album and was supposed to meet up with him the night he was murdered. Prince Paul formed the duo

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 ...

. Their 1999 debut album, '' So... How's Your Girl?'', featured Sean Lennon,

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.

21st century

Paul contributed to multiple projects in the year 2000. His work from that year includes the song "The Fantabulous Rap Extravaganza" on

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 ...

's self-titled album, as well as ''

It's Very Stimulating ''It's Very Stimulating'' is the debut EP by MC Paul Barman, released in 2000. Critical reception Nathan Rabin of AllMusic gave the EP 3 stars out of 5, saying, "Self-deprecating, whip-smart, and adventurous, Barman is a true hip-hop original, a ...

'', the debut EP by

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 ...

. 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, and Wordsworth. The latter also collaborated on a track Paul composed for '' The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie'' soundtrack. Paul followed this project with a second Handsome Boy Modeling School album, '' White People'', in 2004. His next solo album was ''

Itstrumental ''Itstrumental'' is the fourth album by hip hop producer Prince Paul. Similar to other Prince Paul albums, it follows a theme. The album is strung together by a series of skits about the Mental Victims Unit (a play on '' Law & Order: Special Vi ...

'' (2005). 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. As of 2023, ''Itstrumental'' is Paul's most recent studio album. Paul continued to collaborate throughout the 2000s. In 2005, he produced the album '' The Art of Picking Up Women'' by the Dix, which combines some of hip-hop's misogyny and boasting with 1960s-style R&B. He also collaborated with Parliament,

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 ...

, and Talking Heads keyboardist Bernie Worrell to release an album titled ''Turn My Teeth Up!'' (2007) under the moniker Baby Elephant. Another project Paul produced during this period was ''

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, ...

'', a 2009 album by Souls of Mischief. On this album, Paul extensively used vintage equipment such as the Emu SP-12, Ensoniq ASR-10, Akai MPC-60 and an Akai MPC-2000. 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 ...

in 2006, Prince Paul was awarded the

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 ...

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''. In 2012, Paul spoke openly in an interview about the possibility of doing another De La Soul album after Maseo 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 continued to provide occasional contributions to various products in the 2010s and 2020s. In 2016, he collaborated with Brazilian hip hop fusion group Broozkill! on an album titled ''Throwback to the Future''. In 2017 Prince Paul helped to score ''Mogul'', a Gimlet Media podcast 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 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. 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."

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, 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 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

Unlike the vast majority of hip-hop producers during the 1980s and early 1990s, Paul explored many genres outside of funk and soul to extract samples.

listed the ''Buhloone Mindstate'' album at number ten on his "Top 25 Albums" list. He credited the 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. 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 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, 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.

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 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: ''

'' (Female Fun Records) * 2005: ''

Hip Hop Gold Dust ''Hip Hop Gold Dust'' is a compilation album by American hip hop producer Prince Paul. The album consists mainly of unreleased Prince Paul tracks from various points in his career. It features songs from his time working with Stetsasonic, De L ...

'' (Antidote)

Collaborative albums

* 1986: '' On Fire'' ( Stetsasonic) * 1988: '' In Full Gear'' (Stetsasonic) * 1989: ''

'' (

) * 1991: '' Blood, Sweat & No Tears'' (Stetsasonic) * 1991: '' De La Soul Is Dead'' (De La Soul) * 1992: ''It Takes a Nation of Suckas to Let Us In'' (Resident Alien) (later released as a free download) * 1993: '' Buhloone Mindstate'' (De La Soul) * 1994: ''

/ 6 Feet Deep'' (

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

) * 2000: ''

'' (

) * 2004: '' White People'' (Handsome Boy Modeling School) * 2005: '' The Art of Picking Up Women'' ( The Dix) * 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

! , - , align=center,

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 ...

, '' Never Scared'' ,

, , , -

References

External links

*
Prince Paul RBMA video lecture session
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, Prince 1967 births African-American male rappers 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