Prince Paul

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Prince Paul

Background information
Birth name	Paul Huston
Born	April 2, 1967
Origin	New York City, New York
Genre(s)	Hip hop
Occupation(s)	Record producer and DJ
Years active	1986–present
Label(s)	Tommy Boy Records
Associated acts	Stetsasonic, Handsome Boy Modeling School, De La Soul

Prince Paul (born Paul Huston) is a DJ and hip hop producer. Prince Paul is known for having a very unorthodox, but mostly well-received sense of humor. Musically, he was one of the driving forces of what was to become known as alternative rap, by using surprising samples and quirky humour.

Originally a member of Stetsasonic, he produced De La Soul's 1989 debut album 3 Feet High and Rising (It was on this album that Prince Paul invented the hip hop skit which has a long-standing and pervasive tradition on Hip hop albums to this day). After two more albums, he left them, putting together two solo projects: Psychoanalysis: What is It? and the hip hop opera A Prince Among Thieves featuring rappers such as Big Daddy Kane, Xzibit and Everlast. He, along with Frukwan of Stetsasonic, Too Poetic of Brothers Grimm and the RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan, made up the Gravediggaz.

With jazz legend Teo Macero, Prince Paul co-produced guitarist Vernon Reid's solo debut in 1995.

Paul teamed up with Dan the Automator to form Handsome Boy Modeling School; their album So... How's Your Girl? featured prominent names such as Sean Lennon and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien. In the year 2000, Paul produced I Hope I Sell a Lot of Records at Christmastime by Princess Superstar as well as MC Paul Barman's début EP It's Very Stimulating. White People continued Handsome Boy's tradition of strange skits and an odd mix of guests over Paul- and Automator-produced beats, including RZA, Linkin Park, Tim Meadows, and John Oates.

Politics of the Business (2003) is a look at present-day hip hop, again featuring many guests, from Chuck D and Ice T to the Beatnuts and Wordsworth. The latter also collaborated on a track Paul composed for the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie soundtrack. The response to POTB was lackluster; Paul's intention of ridiculing the sterile beats of the day either missed or fell flat.

His most recent effort is the album Itstrumental, a return to Paul's more conservative or more daring previous work, depending on how one saw POTB. Itstrumental contained an awesome range of genres, relying heavily on past samples, especially those from A Prince Among Thieves, and tying it together with several lighthearted skits about his apparently real depression. He also produced the album The Art of Picking Up Women of imaginary rockers The Dix, who bring rap's misognyny and boasting to 60's-style R&B.

Paul nabbed a deal with satellite radio company XM and currently runs "The Ill Out Show" on the company's The Rhyme 65 channel. The show is hosted with members of "The Ill Out Crew", various staple partners Paul has worked with throughout his career such as Don Newkirk. (The game show host of 3 Feet High and Rising fame.) The show is a Hip-Hop fan favorite, airing news, classic songs, and interviews with various Hip-Hop artists. What may become one of the show's most famed episodes was a "Love Joint" show in July 2006, featuring love/relationship-oriented Hip-Hop songs and in an unorthodox fashion - an in-depth interview with R.A. the Rugged Man. Paul is also scheduled to produce the original musical score for an upcoming Frank Henenlotter film.