With Gangstarr frontman Guru dropping his third Jazzmatazz project this past summer, the group's busy producer DJ Premier is taking a cue from his longtime partner and has signed a solo deal with Fat Joe's Terror Squad imprint, which is distributed via Atlantic Records.

According to a spokesperson at Atlantic Records, Premier signed the deal last month and will begin work on an upcoming compilation. The LP is still in its early stages, but a spokesperson said the project will be in the same vein of Quincy Jones' classic 1981 compilation, The Dude. The project, which will be produced entirely by Premier, will contain both hip-hop and R&B tracks.

"He wants to have a classic album," the spokesperson told Platform about Premier's album project. "It's all in the idea stage. No one has been signed on - it's still in the way beginnings. It's probably going to be out in the beginning of next year. But Fat Joe will be apart of it, of course."

As for the significance of signing such a successful and well-respected artist, the Atlantic spokesperson commented, "We never had a person of this magnitude in terms of producing. He's equivalent to Dr. Dre. This is the biggest endeavor for us."

In related news, Gang Starr has finally begun work on the follow-up to 1998's gold Moment of Truth. Guru told Billboard that the duo has only recorded three songs so far, but he is hoping to line up guest appearances from D'Angelo, Aaliyah and Snoop Dogg. The untitled album should hit record stores early next year. In the meantime, Gang Starr will perform live this Saturday (April 28th) as part of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, California. --Mark Allwood