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IN THE NO-FRILLS back room of a New York recording studio, a quietly dramatic scene unfolds, with more than a few onlookers...

“I’ll make you a CD with beats,” says the anxious producer to the rapper, who is calmly sitting in a chair, getting coiffed and trimmed by his stylist. The producer continues earnestly, “I’ll meet up with you in L.A. when we’re both out there and we can start laying down some tracks.”

“Yeah,” the rapper says, nonchalantly but seriously. “Yeah, we should do that.”
The scene wouldn’t be so fascinating if it wasn’t for the two players in this hip-hop scheduling tug of war. One is legendary comeback kid Nas. The other: genius boom-bap provider DJ Premier.

The fact is that the album they’re talking about would put both men in the hip-hop history books for good. Not like they need the encouragement, but the assembled throng in the hallway outside – mostly stylists, photographers’ assistants and journalists – is buzzing about it, without saying a word. It’s excitement you can just feel. Just think about what 1994’s Illmatic might have sounded like if Preemo had done more than just his three tracks. Or if he took over I Am after doing “Nas Is Like”? Crazy.

Later that evening, as we sit down to hammer it all out, Preemo recalls, “Nas approached me about doing a whole album for him over a year ago, and I said, ‘I’m down, just holla at me when you’re ready.’ This is the first time I’ve seen him since.” Premier explains that he did a track for Street’s Disciple but it didn’t make the album. From what he’s heard, it’ll be included on Lost Tapes Volume Two. But that’s not enough for either legend. Or for their fans.
The photo shoot goes down without a hitch. Both men look calm, cool, and collected, but both are clearly swimming in thoughts about what such a wonder-twins duo album would sound like. Nas can do his own speaking on the matter, but Premier is geeked about it for real. “I’m getting excited just thinking about it,” he says. “Because I know what he’s gonna do and he knows what I’m gonna do. We already hear it, before it’s done. When he gets a bangin’ beat, he jumps right into the pocket. I mean, ‘Made You Look’ was one of the sickest records ever.”

“I really hope we can get it crackin’,” he adds, knowing full well that the busy schedules of both men are what have kept them from starting already. Premier can’t blame the delay on Nas for dragging his feet. He himself is busier than a motherfucker lately, as usual, working with artists on his Year Round label, and crafting tracks for Craig David, Cormega, AZ, and Big Shug. He does admit that he slowed things down a year or two ago, to get his head together, but with disastrous results. “I chilled out for a minute because I took on too much stuff. And damn, that was a mistake. I fell back and a whole swarm of bullshit just came and took my spot!”

This is precisely the reason that Preemo rarely takes breaks, or at least not vacations. The last one he can point to was Cancún more than a decade ago. But hip-hop is his life, more than any producer in the world today. He doesn’t own yachts or country homes, doesn’t jet to Europe to hit up a party or gallery opening. He can’t take the time. “My life is always crazy, and when it comes to recording I think I’m just addicted to working under pressure like I do,” he says. “I can’t be calm about it, that doesn’t work for me.”

He admits two pursuits that have the ability to sidetrack him. “No matter what, I gotta squeeze in my chicks and I gotta squeeze in my food. I love to eat [patting a hefty, but not obscene, belly]. I’m addicted to ice cream and cookies.” But, he adds, in all seriousness, “I’m already in training for next summer, because I know how busy 2006 is gonna be. I’m taking over, and I want to be so complete physically, mentally, and spiritually that it takes me to a whole other level.”

Aside from Ben, Jerry, and booty, his plans have been complicated in the past couple weeks by an interesting and potentially career-changing collaboration with an artist that no one would have guessed—Christina Aguilera. He knows it sounds strange on paper. “Christina is definitely not somebody that I would have worked with in a regular situation.” He explains further, “I got the call and the first thing I thought was, ‘How the fuck she even know me?’ And when I first asked her why she wanted to work with me, she said she loved ‘Kick In The Door’ [by Notorious B.I.G.]. That was cool. Then she said she loved my Group Home joints and Mos Def’s ‘Mathematics,’ which is one of my favorite beats ever. That definitely changed my mind.”

Hoping to contribute five tracks to Aguilera’s upcoming soul-tinged full-length, Premier jets to L.A. as soon as the photo shoot is over, to continue the project. In the coif room, he told Nas, “When I was there at the studio in L.A. working with Christina, I saw Madonna. First time I’ve ever seen her. I didn’t know she was so small. And there was paparazzi there, all over the place. I’m not used to all that shit. I’m not used to that studio, either.”

He adds, homesick at the thought of being behind a foreign board, “I’m used to being here.”
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