Prince Paul

Infobox musical artist 2
Name = Prince Paul
Background = non_performing_personnel
Birth_name = Paul Huston
Born =
Origin = New York City, New York
Occupation = Record producer and DJ
Genre = Hip hop
Years_active = 1986–present
Label = Tommy Boy/Warner Bros. Records
Elektra Records
WordSound Records
Razor and Tie Records
Associated_acts = Stetsasonic
Handsome Boy Modeling School
Gravediggaz
De La Soul
MC Paul Barman
Chris Rock
Resident Alien

Paul Huston, better known by the stage name Prince Paul, is an American disc jockey and hip-hop record producer.

Biography

Originally a member of Stetsasonic, he produced tracks on hip-hop albums such as 3rd Bass' 1989 debut album "The Cactus Album" and De La Soul's first three albums. After which he put together two solo albums: "" and the hip hop opera "A Prince Among Thieves", which featured Big Daddy Kane, Xzibit, Kool Keith and Everlast. He, along with Frukwan of Stetsasonic, Too Poetic of Brothers Grimm, and The RZA of Wu-Tang Clan, made up the Gravediggaz.

In the liner notes of De La Soul's 1993 album "Buhloone Mindstate", Paul hinted at his future projects with the Gravediggaz: "I would like to thank all my friends and business cohorts who dissed me, played me, and jerked me when times were hard. For you made me wiser, stronger, crazier, and, most of all, a Gravedigga!"

In 1991, he produced the underground record "It Takes a Nation of Suckas to Let Us In" by Resident Alien.

Alongside Teo Macero, Prince Paul co-produced guitarist Vernon Reid's solo debut in 1995.

Paul teamed up with Dan the Automator to form Handsome Boy Modeling School; the group's album "So... How's Your Girl?" featured diverse names from Sean Lennon and Del tha Funkee Homosapien to Alec Empire and Don Novello. In the year 2000, Paul produced "I Hope I Sell a Lot of Records at Christmastime" by Princess Superstar as well as MC Paul Barman's début EP "It's Very Stimulating". "White People" continued Handsome Boy's tradition of strange skits and an odd mix of guests over Paul- and Automator-produced beats, including The RZA, Linkin Park, Tim Meadows, and John Oates.

"Politics of the Business" (2003) is a look at present-day hip hop, again featuring many guests, from Chuck D and Ice T to the Beatnuts and Wordsworth. The latter also collaborated on a track Paul composed for the "SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" soundtrack. The response to "POTB" was lackluster; Paul's intention of ridiculing the sterile beats of the day either missed or fell flat.

Several songs by Paul have been featured only on compilation releases such as Om_Records's "Deep Concentration" and Bill Laswell's "Altered Beats" collections.

His most recent release is the album "Itstrumental", a return to Paul's previous work, depending on how one saw POTB. "Itstrumental" contained a range of genres, relying heavily on past samples, especially those from "A Prince Among Thieves", and tying it together with several lighthearted skits about his apparently real depression. He also produced the album "The Art of Picking Up Women" of imaginary rockers the Dix, which bring some of hip-hop's misogyny and boasting to 1960s-style R&B.

Paul nabbed a deal with satellite radio company XM and currently is the host of "The Ill Out Show" on the company's Rhyme 65 channel. The show is hosted with members of the Ill Out Crew, various staple partners Paul has worked with throughout his career such as Don Newkirk (supposedly the game show host of "3 Feet High and Rising" fame, although the host is elsewhere identified as Al Watts, who was the engineer on "3 Feet High and Rising" and did play the part of the game show host. The studio was Island Media formerly of West Babylon, New York). The show is a hip-hop fan favorite, airing news, classic songs, and interviews with various hip-hop artists. What may become one of the show's most famed episodes was a love-joint show in July 2006, featuring love/relationship-oriented Hip-Hop songs programmed in an unorthodox fashion through an in-depth interview with R.A. the Rugged Man.

Paul's latest project is Baby Elephant, a collaboration with Parliament and Talking Heads keyboardist Bernie Worrell, and longtime Paul associate Don Newkirk. Released September 11th, 2007, "Turn My Teeth Up!", features George Clinton, Shock G, Yellowman, Reggie Watts, Nona Hendryx, David Byrne, and Gabby La La.

On October 30, 2006, it was reported on the official Hieroglyphics blog that Prince Paul was in the studio doing production work on upcoming album of the Souls of Mischief.

Discography

Albums

* 1996 "" (WordSound Records, later reissued by Tommy Boy/Warner Bros. Records in 1997 with bonus cuts)
* 1999 "A Prince Among Thieves" (Tommy Boy/Warner Bros. Records)
* 2003 "Politics of the Business" (Razor & Tie)
* 2005 "Itstrumental" (Female Fun Records)
* 2005 "Hip Hop Gold Dust" (Antidote)

Production

* "On Fire" by Stetsasonic (1986)
* "In Full Gear" by Stetsasonic (1988)
* "The Cactus Album" by 3rd Bass (1989)
* "3 Feet High and Rising" by De La Soul (1989)
* "It's a Big Daddy Thing" by Big Daddy Kane (1989)
* "It Takes a Nation of Suckas to Let Us In" by Resident Alien (1991)
* "Derelicts of Dialect" by 3rd Bass (1991)
* "De La Soul Is Dead" by De La Soul (1991)
* "Blood, Sweat & No Tears" by Stetsasonic (1991)
* "Buhloone Mindstate" by De La Soul (1993)
* "My Field Trip to Planet 9" by Justin Warfield (1993)
* "6 Feet Deep" by the Gravediggaz (1994)
* "Roll With the New" by Chris Rock (1997)
* "The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel" by the Gravediggaz (1997)
* "I Hope I Sell a Lot of Records at Christmastime" by Princess Superstar (1999)
* "So... How's Your Girl?" by Handsome Boy Modeling School (1999)
* "Bigger & Blacker" by Chris Rock (1999)
* "It's Very Stimulating" by MC Paul Barman (2000)
* "Both Sides of the Brain" by Del tha Funkee Homosapien (2000)
* "The Best Part" by J-Live (2001)
* "Paullelujah!" by MC Paul Barman (2002)
* "Palace of the Pretender" by Last Emperor (2003)
* "White People" by Handsome Boy Modeling School (2004)
* "The Art of Picking Up Women" by The Dix (2005)
* "Turn My Teeth Up!" by Baby Elephant (2007)
* "Baby Loves Hip Hop Presents The Dino 5" by Dino 5 (2008)

External links

* [http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/TUTORS.9.0.html?act_session=64 Prince Paul RBMA video lecture session]