Producer Profile: Kanye West (Part 5, 2003)

Welcome to our final look at Kanye West's production output from 2003 (and man, was the dude busy - for 2003 alone, there are previous posts here and here).

A relatively unknown production credit from Kanye is 'Dogs Out' from DMX's widely forgotten 2003 album 'Grand Champ'. I'm not so sure about X's delivery, but the beat is among Kanye's best from the period - it samples the Phil Spector produced 1958 hit 'Dedicated to the One I Love' by the Shirelles. Another West produced non-single from 2003 is Fabolous' 'My Life' from 'Street Dreams', which samples 'Pride and Vanity' from the early Ohio Players album 'Pleasure'. Lil Kim's 'La Bella Mafia' album cut 'Came Back for You' produced by West samples Irene Reid's 'Didn't We' from her 1971 album 'The World Needs What I Need'.

Finally, Royce Da 5'9"'s 'Heartbeat' has caused a lot of controversy from both the Royce camp and the Kanye camp. West contends that Royce never paid for his beat to 'Heartbeat' (which samples Junior Walker's 'Darling Come Back Home' from 1978), but recorded on it and released it in 2003 on his mixtape 'Build and Destroy: The Lost Sessions Part 1'.

Check back for our look at Kanye West's production credits from 2004 as well as a look at his album 'The College Dropout' coming soon.

The Lowdown:
DMX 'Dogs Out'
from 'Grand Champ' (2003) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'Dogs Out'
The Shirelles 'Dedicated to the One I Love'
from 'Dedicated to the One I Love' 7" (1958) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Fabolous 'My Life'
from 'Street Dreams' (2003) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'My Life'
The Ohio Players 'Pride and Vanity'
from 'Pleasure' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD)
Lil Kim 'Came Back for You'
from 'La Bella Mafia' (2003) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'Came Back for You'
Irene Reid 'Didn't We'
from 'The World Needs What I Need' (1971) (MP3 Not Available/CD Not Available)
Royce Da 5'9" 'Heartbeat'
from 'Build and Destroy: The Lost Sessions Part 1' (2003) (MP3 not available/CD)
Jr. Walker 'Darling Come Back Home'
from '...Smooth' (1978) (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'.