D&D studios is synonymous with what KRS-One would call "that old New Yorkrap."| The list of producers who work exclusively out of the studio isimpressive: The Alchemist, The Beatminerz, Tony Touch and, of course, DJPremier. The list of MC's who have blessed the mic there is mind-boggling:KRS-One, Jeru, The Lost Boyz, Blahzay-Blahzay and Biggie. In fact, TonyTouch enjoyed recording his famous 50 MC mixtapes at the three-studiocomplex because he could just pluck emcees from the adjacent studios.

To paraphrase the Gangstarr song recorded there, "the rep has grown bigger,"and the two D's--David Lotwin and Douglas Grama--have ventured back into thelabel game. According to label publicist Jason Smith, the new label has twofaces: the first will release compilations such as an upcoming K-Tel-distributed The Real Hip-Hop: Best of D&D Studios Volume One and a Gee Street/V2-distributed label that will sign and develop new artists.

Don't let the K-Tel label fool you, this compilation could be one of thebest documents of East Coast hip-hop thus far. Its song list features D&D classicssuch as Nas' "New York State of Mind" and Jeru the Damaja's "ComeClean." "There are 15 licensed tracks," Smith explains. "There is a briefintro and [DJ] Skribble mixes the whole album."

There is one original song on the record; "Ghetto Like D&D" which takes overwhere 1995's "1, 2 Pass It," left off. "1, 2 Pass It" was included on 1995's Arista-distributed Unsigned Hype-like package titled D&D Presents,and featured then popular artists such as Smif N' Wesson (now called theCocoa Brovaz), Mad Lion, KRS-One and Jeru the Damaja. The Real Hip-Hop willfeature a bumper crop of today's up and comers: Tef (formerly called Teflon), QNC, StarangWondah, Afu-Ra, Fat Cat Kareem, Jane Blaze and the immensely talentedKrumbsnatcha. While the album is only a one-off deal, there is apossibility that future compilations will follow.

A bigger priority, however, is the Gee Street-distributed label. The firsttwo artists signed under that agreement are Jeru The Damaja's former protTgT Afu-Raand QNC, whose membership comprises Curt Cazal--of Long Island old-schoolers JVC Force--and Q Ball.

Signing Afu was yet another benefit of D&D's relationship with DJ Premier. "Afu-Ra...used to record with Jeru and we just signed him a while ago," Lotwinsays. "Premier blessed us and executive produced the record and mixed most ofthe record. Other producers on the album, Afu-Ra (body of the lifeforce) which has an estimated street date of early 2000, are Muggs, Tru Master, andPremier acolytes Mike Rhone and DJ Roach, who produced "Worldwind ThroughCities," the first Afu single.

QNC also has a single out titled "Repertoire," which according to Lotwin,"is doing really well" on the mixshow circuit. This week will be busy forthe label, QNC is shooting a video for their forthcoming single, "Allegiance" and Afu is filming a clip for his next record "Defeat."

This is not the studio's first record deal. D&D had an earlier deal with Big Jaz to release an album through Freeze Records. In the studio's early days, they even put out some underground reggae throughthe Bulldog label.

Reggae was Lotwin and Grama's firtst love, and some legends of the genre were instrumental in the 16-year-old studio's legacy, which took place a few years after the two childhood friends simultaneously attended the Institute of Audio Research in New York's Greenwich Village. "After [we graduated]Doug went to work with a studio and I went to work with Peter Tosh," Lotwin says. "It was just incredible. It gave me a real good foundation."

When it came time to open their studio, Lotwin parlayed that foundation andworked with the genre's finest. "We had a great reggae thing going in thebeginning," he remembers. "Dennis Thompson [came through the studio] and he[brought] Steel Pulse and all the other [reggae] people."

Following the path of reggae, which gave birth to hip-hop, in the late 1980'sD&D began recording hip-hop. "We did the first couple of Fat Boys recordsand a Doug E. Fresh record," he says. "Then Lord Finesse brought inPremier."

The record that Premier worked on 1990's The Funky Technician set anew standard for hip-hop. The record featured perfectly scratched upchoruses and funky loops. That sound brought many of the early 90's heads through the doors of the Manhattan studio in search of that elusive D&D sound.

Soon afterwards, Premier starting working exclusively out of D&D, and almost exclusively with engineer Eddie Sancho. Other producers also have favourite engineers: The Beatminerz use Kieran Walsh, as does Tony Touch.
And the rep keeps growing bigger. For their latest record,Significant Other Limp Bizkit came to the studio for a taste of the Premier magic on the Method Man-laced "N 2 Gether Now."

If you ask Lotwin about the secret of their success, he will tell you the reason is simplicity "We have older equipment, so it's an older sound," he says. "It's less bells and whistles.It's all the primary stuff that you need to make a record. We just have a real true sound. It's just a good vibe and all the gear works." - Adam Matthews