May 13, 2025
Desi Beats for DJs: How South Asian Music Moves Global Crowds
Desi 101: What Exactly Is Desi Music? Let’s clear something up: Desi isn’t a genre. It’s a cultural identity. “Desi” is how South Asians across the diaspor...
Thursday, November 9, 2017
DJ Premier on Producing Gang Starr’s ‘Mass Appeal’
Following last week’s look at D’Angelo’s “Devil’s Pie,” DJ Premier has returned to explain the story behind Gang Starr’s “Mass Appeal” on Off the Record. The track inspired the name of media company, Mass Appeal, which produces the series.
Premo discusses how he and the late Guru came up with the idea for the song, including how it was intended to be anti-radio. Ironically, it became Gang Starr’s highest-charting single, peaking at No. 67 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1994.
“We were really making fun of radio, and it became our biggest radio hit,” Premo says in the video.
Watch Off the Record above.
