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Prince Paul

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Prince Paul, real name Paul Edward Huston, is an American producer, DJ and artist from Amityville in New York State. He was born in 1967 and as a teenager began DJing at parties, including with Biz Markie. In 1984 he became the DJ of the hip hop group Stetsasonic. After that he grew into one of the innovative producers of hip hop.

Music and breakthrough

His biggest breakthrough was 3 Feet High and Rising from 1989, the debut album of De La Soul. On it Prince Paul set samples from widely varying sources side by side and added comic sketches, so that the album sounded like a playful collage. He also worked on De La Soul Is Dead and Buhloone Mindstate. He also produced for 3rd Bass, Boogie Down Productions and Big Daddy Kane, among others. With Frukwan, Too Poetic and RZA he formed Gravediggaz, who released an album in 1994. He also made solo work, such as Psychoanalysis: What Is It? and A Prince Among Thieves from 1999.

Influence

Prince Paul showed that hip hop could also be humour, narrative and the art of sampling, and not only tough talk. His approach had an effect on many later producers. In School of Rock he is the man behind the funny, layered sound of De La Soul.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a track from 3 Feet High and Rising and notice the samples and the short sketches between the songs. Which sounds do you recognise, and where does the record make a joke?

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

See also

Categories: Artists