Prince Paul

Beginning his career as a DJ for <a href="spotify:artist:6gl67jXbrwnMYZNZv88MKk">Stetsasonic</a>, rapper and producer Prince Paul has lent his skills to albums by <a href="spotify:artist:4toEjJSZu1rbfX2hfVdZFA">Boogie Down Productions</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5NIhgQ08PBzMux08ndi8Ae">Gravediggaz</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2ZbWlThDW0qSbI3hinpl0w">MC Lyte</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6futYSDVulYR2PktBjTB5W">Big Daddy Kane</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:6EFL6smxzRtpwlQvZFldUc">3rd Bass</a>, among others. Paul's big break came when he produced <a href="spotify:artist:1Z8ODXyhEBi3WynYw0Rya6">De La Soul</a>'s 3 Feet High and Rising album. Shattering the acknowledged rules of hip-hop production, he sampled not only funk, but all types of music to create fresh and original backing tracks. By throwing in comedy sketches as well, Prince Paul and <a href="spotify:artist:1Z8ODXyhEBi3WynYw0Rya6">De La Soul</a> completely ushered in a new era for hip-hop. In 1994, Paul returned to rapping, joining <a href="spotify:artist:4iCwCMnqsNZ6atvRiADgtn">RZA</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6gl67jXbrwnMYZNZv88MKk">Stetsasonic</a> member <a href="spotify:artist:1Zr6fB2AUSdHQ4Dg17bKLQ">Frukwan</a> in <a href="spotify:artist:5NIhgQ08PBzMux08ndi8Ae">Gravediggaz</a>, a side project that debuted with 6 Feet Deep. He also began working with the new elite in underground rap, recruiting <a href="spotify:artist:4fv5w0LJib9OMbXQegqZ01">the Automator</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1CiqIA6Up09zn9k1wTvaEH">New Kingdom</a>'s Scott Harding, and <a href="spotify:artist:71fAsiDyTwv97vlbzwXxkZ">Spectre</a> for his debut solo album, 1997's Psychoanalysis: What Is It? A Prince Among Thieves followed in 1999, and later that year Paul formed <a href="spotify:artist:3pkmfqaBNsMqnXus05PNfP">Handsome Boy Modeling School</a> with <a href="spotify:artist:4fv5w0LJib9OMbXQegqZ01">the Automator</a> to release the album So...How's Your Girl?. His own Politics of the Business, another concept album that was more bitter than biting, surfaced in 2003 (a year after a second <a href="spotify:artist:3pkmfqaBNsMqnXus05PNfP">Handsome Boy Modeling School</a> album), and was followed by 2005's Itstrumental, as well as the archival compilation Hip Hop Gold Dust. ~ Steve Kurutz, Rovi