Rewind: Ghostface Killah 'Supreme Clientele' (Part 2)

Welcome to part 2 of our 3 part look at 'Supreme Clientele' by Ghostface Killah.

'Supreme Clientele''s RZA produced Wu posse cut is 'Buck 50', which I presume is one of the album's 50 Cent disses. RZA samples the Curtis Mayfield produced 'Hard Times' by Baby Huey from his lone, posthumous album 'The Living Legend' from 1970. Mathematics produced the beat for Ghost's 'Mighty Healthy', which samples 'Wish That I Could Talk to You' from the Sylver's self titled 1972 album as well as James Brown's 'Funky President' from 1975's 'Reality'. Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes' 'Hope That We Can Be Together Soon' plays behind the skit titled 'Woodrow the Basshead' (sorry, no download for this one - you'll have to buy the full album to hear it) to excellent effect. Finally, Inspectah Deck samples David Axelrod's 'Strange Ladies'-era song 'Terri's Tune' for Ghostface's 'Stay True (Deck's Beat)'. Inspectah is digging in the crates for that one!

Check back for the third and final part of our look at 'Supreme Clientele'.

The Lowdown:
Ghostface Killah 'Buck 50', 'Mighty Healthy', 'Woodrow the Basshead', and 'Stay True (Deck's Beat)'
from 'Supreme Clientele' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Baby Huey 'Hard Times'
from 'The Living Legend' (1970) (MP3/CD)
The Sylvers 'Wish That I Could Talk to You'
from 'The Sylvers' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
James Brown 'Funky President (People It's Bad)'
from 'Reality' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes 'Hope That We Can Be Together Soon'
from 'To Be True' (1975) (MP3/CD not available)
David Axelrod 'Terri's Tune'
from 'Strange Ladies' (1977) (MP3 not available/CD not available)

Producer Profile: Kanye West (Part 1, 2000)

Previous to hit records on his own and for others, mega-package tours, and paper cut-out shades; Kanye West was just another hungry beat maker. 2000 saw his breakthrough onto major labels with a few notable productions leading to his break out beat for Jay-z's 'Izzo' in 2001. The first track to put West on the Rocafella map was an album cut for Jay-z's 'The Dynasty: Roc La Familia' titled 'This Can't Be Life' that samples 'I Miss You' by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. This inclusion on Jay-Z's album would lead to production on four tracks for 'The Blueprint' including three of its singles. 'The Blueprint' will be examined in depth in a future post of this blog.

Kanye West also produced for Rocafella rapper Beanie Sigel in 2000, lacing him with a stomping track cut from Graham Nash's protest anthem 'Chicago'. The rolling rock stomp of 'The Truth' foreshadows the beat for Jay-Z's 'Takeover'. Another unusual sample choice from West is Pat Benatar's 70s hit 'Heartbreaker' for Lil Kim's 'Don't Mess with Me' from her 2000 album 'The Notorious K.I.M.'.

The Lowdown:
Jay-Z 'This Can't Be Life'
from 'The Dynasty: Roc La Familia' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes 'I Miss You'
from 'Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes' (1972) (MP3 unavailable/CD unavailable)
Beanie Sigel 'The Truth'
from 'The Truth' (2000) (MP3 unavailable/CD)
Graham Nash 'Chicago'
from 'Songs for Beginners' (1970) (MP3/CD unavailable)
Lil Kim 'Don't Mess with Me'
from 'The Notorious K.I.M.' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Pat Benatar 'Heartbreaker'
from 'In the Heat of the Night' (1979) (MP3/CD)

BONUS CUTS:
Kanye West admits to using the drums from Dr. Dre's 'Xxplosive' to beef up 'This Can't Be Life'. For best results in jacking the beat for your own track, check out the instrumental for 'Xxplosive'.