Without a doubt, DJ Premier is top-five dead-or-alive, one of the greatest hip-hop producers ever, and your favorite producer’s producer won’t tell you any different. The Houston, Texas native’s sound, which consists of chopped samples looped over crisply punched drums, and accented with a signature scratch chorus, hasn’t changed much, but still fits as the perfect hip-hop soundtrack for New York’s Timberland-boots-certified street aesthetic.

Even after 22 years in the game, reports about his production credits possibly surfacing on the upcoming albums of everyone from Drake to Immortal Technique keep fans on their toes. His continuous relevance asserts that East Coast boom-bap sound is still beloved by many, and upcoming projects like the collaboration album with Pete Rock will only maintain the flame.

With that said, to the jizzing joy of those who masturbate to MPC noises, we recently went to the legendary HeadQCourterz (formerly known as D&D Studios) in Manhattan, to hear the master craftsman share anecdotes behind some of his all-time classics as one-half of the legendary Gang Starr and also as a producer for all-time greats like Jay-Z, Nas, and Notorious B.I.G. Records certainly accumulate dust, but the resume of a legend never gets old.

As told to Jaeki Cho (@jaekicho).