Check The Technique

Recorded in 1990 at Calliope Productions in New York for Gang Starr's second album Step in the Arena. Guru performed the vocals, DJ Premier supplied the beats and scratches, and Lisle Leete engineered the recording. Released on Step in the Arena, it helped define the album's balance of jazz-sourced production and battle-focused lyricism. The album drew strong critical notice and established Gang Starr as one of the key New York rap groups of the early 1990s. The track remains one of the album's recognized cuts and a durable example of DJ Premier and Guru's early partnership. Its Marlena Shaw sample and title phrase have kept it visible in sample databases and later hip-hop references.