Spotlight: D&D Studios

I always contend that our artform came across hard in the 90's and had a very raw, cerebral appeal. from '92-'96, Hip Hop could be classified as "Hardcore"; a term that's usually reserved for heavy rock music with howling vocals and bar chords. You'd be hard-pressed to find anything "hardcore" in the realm of Hip-Hop today; reason being, if you ask me, is because of the artform becoming more popular and more watered down. I guess it all depends on what you consider "hardcore" ...To me, it goes beyond using extreme content, lurid subject mattter, and foul language. The hardcore hip hop of the 90's had thumping, complex beats, and for me, that's what gave the music hardcore sensibility.

One of the primary studios that happened to be churning out this style was the D&D. To my knowledge, there hasn't been a studio more prolific, which sat on E 37th street in Flatbush, BKLYN NYC. Known informally (and when I say informally, I mean I'm probably the only one who's ever used this tag line) as the house that Primo built, Everyone from hot underground MC's such as Black Moon and Jeru the Damaja to Jay-Z and Biggie have recorded here, the latter two obviously going on to reach iconic heights, not just within the realm of hip-hop.

From what I was able to dig up online, D&D lives on as DJ Premier's swan song; he purchased it outright and renamed it HeadQCourterz in 2003. It's a little tragic the amount of intel on D&D is few and far between, especially online. There's a couple of good vids online featuring Yo! MTV Raps roving reporter Fab Five Freddy on location, they can primarily be found here. Places like D&D have helped create a visual history in the evolution of our artform.

-Marty.

BREAKING: D & D lifer engineer is making a documentary...please lend your support at his kickstarter page if you can at The D&D Studios Documentary.