September 09, 2021

DJ Premier "So Wassup?" ("Represent" Episode, Video)



The Greatest of All-Time, DJ Premier keeps on keepin' on with his phenomenal new series, So Wassup?, a tribute to the floppy disk! In this sixth episode, Premo breaks down "Represent" off Nas' debut album, Illmatic. At the time, Nas was "Nasty Nas." The track was originally called "Representin'" and the version on the album is actually the remix he made when he went back to remake the track (after hearing "One Love" from Q-Tip). We already know this, but hearing Premo break it down is always gonna be legendary. Props to Large Professor, who Premo credits as the sound of Nas, and who recruited him to come produce three tracks on the LP. The original beat for "Represent" was the first beat he made for Illmatic. It was a jazzy sample and fit the sound at the time. While "NY State of Mind" is arguably the best track on the album, "Represent" has always been one of my favorite Nas tracks in his whole catalog. The full video is below + the Art above is by Torre.Pentel.