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Welcome to the second installment of The Future. In this edition, I'm going to cover recent Warp Records signing Flying Lotus who delivered one of the best laptop sets I've ever seen a few months ago. Think one half Dilla, one half Calecovision and you have a fair idea of his style.
While filming a movie based on his great aunt Alice Coltrane (born on this date in 1937, rest in peace), Steven Ellison caught the music bug and without too much forethought, he submitted his early work to the Cartoon Network who proceeded to use his beats for Adult Swim bumper spots. In 2006, his first album titled '1983' appeared on the experimental Plug Research label. The album introduces the world to his unusual style, one great example is the track 'Pet Monster Shotglass'. In June of this year, his second album was released on Warp Records. 'Los Angeles' is teeming with more broken beat structures and newer, more organic instrument sounds. Check out 'Golden Diva' from 'Los Angeles'. Flying Lotus has also remixed other artists including Mia Doi Todd ('My Room is White' (Flying Lotus Remix)) and Ghostly produced Dabrye with vocals from J Dilla and Phat Kat ('Game Over' (Flying Lotus Remix)).
Look for rising interest in this great new artist and catch him if he comes through your town on tour.The Lowdown:
Flying Lotus 'Pet Monster Shotglass'
from '1983' (2006) (MP3/CD)
Flying Lotus 'Golden Diva'
from 'Los Angeles' (2008) (MP3/CD)
Mia Doi Todd 'My Room is White' (Flying Lotus Remix)
from 'La Ninja: Amor and Other Dreams of Manzanita' (2006) (MP3/CD)
Dabrye, J Dilla, and Phat Kat 'Game Over' (Flying Lotus Remix)
from 'Get Dirty' (2008) (MP3/CD not available)BONUS CUT:
Dabrye 'Game Over' (Flying Lotus Remix Instrumental).
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Following the success of singles for Heavy D and the Boyz and his own project with C.L. Smooth, Pete Rock continued lacing the rap world with classics in 1994. One of hip-hop's most revered albums is Nas' debut 'Illmatic'. Pete Rock supplied the beat for one of the album's most memorable singles: 'The World is Yours'. Though it was not the album's biggest single and failed to break the Billboard 100, it is an East Coast rap necessity. The track pulls loops from the Ahmad Jamal Trio's 'I Love Music' from their heavily sampled 1970 album 'Awakening' as well as some vocal snippets from T La Rock's 1984 hip-hop single 'It's Yours' (notably the first production credit for Rick Rubin).
Pete Rock's chart success with Heavy D and the Boyz carried over to their fifth album, 1994's 'Nuttin' But Love'. The Pete Rock produced 'Got Me Waiting' was a top 20 single and one of Heavy D and Boyz' biggest hits. The track samples 'Dont' You Know That?' from Luther Vandross' 1980 album 'Never Too Much'. Another Pete Rock track from 'Nuttin' But Love' was released as a single: 'Black Coffee'. 'Coffee' contains elements of Vaughn Mason's roller skate rink jam 'Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll' and James Brown's funk atom bomb 'The Payback'.The Lowdown:
Nas 'The World Is Yours'
from 'Illmatic' (1994) (MP3/CD)
Ahmad Jamal Trio 'I Love Music'
from 'Awakening' (1970) (MP3/CD)
T La Rock 'It's Yours'
Heavy D and the Boyz 'Got Me Waiting' and 'Black Coffee'
from 'Nuttin' but Love' (1994) (MP3/CD not available)
Luther Vandross 'Don't You Know That?'
from 'Never Too Much' (1980) (MP3/CD)
Vaughn Mason 'Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll'
James Brown 'The Payback'
from 'The Payback' (1974) (MP3/CD)
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On August 22, 1994, one of trip-hop's most genre-defining albums was released: Portishead's 'Dummy'. The trio is comprised of icy, torch-song vocalist Beth Gibbons, guitarist Adrian Utley, and producer Geoff Barrow (who had previously worked with the Wild Bunch collective and trip-hop peers Massive Attack). Following a self-produced short film titled 'To Kill a Dead Man', Portishead was signed and 'Dummy' was released.
One of Portishead's most pronounced influences and most sampled artists is the recently deceased Isaac Hayes (rest in peace). Portishead's smash single 'Glory Box' features a slinking string sample from Hayes' 'Ike's Rap II' from his double album 'Black Moses'. Additionally, Portishead's 'Wandering Star' samples another track from 'Black Moses', the excellent 'Going in Circles'. 'Wandering Star' also samples the song 'Magic Mountain' by Eric Burdon and War. The album cut 'Strangers' takes it's gloom from 'Elegant People', a track from Weather Report's 1976 album 'Black Market'.
Portishead followed with a self-titled album in 1997 and their third album (titled 'Third') in 2008. Though their sound has moved away from sample usage, it remains their signature style.The Lowdown:
Portishead 'Glory Box', 'Wandering Star', and 'Strangers'
from 'Dummy' (1994) (MP3/CD)
Isaac Hayes 'Ike's Rap II / Help Me Love' and 'Going in Circles'
from 'Black Moses' (1973) (MP3/CD)
Eric Burdon and War 'Magic Mountain'
from 'Love is All Around' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Weather Report 'Elegant People'
from 'Black Market' (1976) (MP3/CD)
In this edition of Street Sounds, this blog is covering the early career of L.A. based producer Egyptian Lover. In addition to a string of singles with Uncle Jamms Army (including the 1984 regional hit 'Dial-a-Freak'), Egyptian Lover scored a series of pivotal electro singles including 'Egypt Egypt' and 'What is a DJ if He Can't Scratch?', both of which were included on his 1983 LP 'On the Nile'. Egyptian Lover followed with a second album, titled 'One Track Mind', which included 'Freak-a-holic'.
Egyptian Lover's local fame and electro sound was highly influential in Los Angeles. N.W.A.'s early singles follow Egyptian Lover's electro template and Dr. Dre's recently re-earthed mixtape ''86 in the Mix' features many tracks broken into the Los Angeles club scene by Egyptian Lover.The Lowdown:
Egyptian Lover 'Egypt Egypt' and 'What is a DJ if He Can't Scratch?'
from 'On the Nile' (1983) (MP3/CD)
Egyptian Lover 'Freak-a-holic'
from 'One Track Mind' (1984) (MP3/CD)
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In 1987, Mark James produced the breakout single 'The 900 Number' under the name Mark the 45 King. '900 number' was a smash, famously appearing on Yo! MTV Raps as the background music to the Ed Lover Dance and it eventually becoming the backing for DJ Kool's 1996 smash single 'Let Me Clear My Throat'. '900 Number' famously uses the opening horn riff from the James Brown produced 'Unwind Yourself' by Marva Whitney. 'Let Me Clear My Throat' also incorporates the opening to Kool and the Gang's 'Hollywood Swinging', which is an easy party starter.
In 1989, 45 King produced tracks for 'All Hail the Queen' by Queen Latifah, who had previously been one of the members of 45 King's Flavor Unit. The album's first single was the 45 King produced 'Dance for Me', which samples Alvin Cash's breakbeat monster 'Keep on Dancing' and 80s new wave band The The's 'Sweet Bird of Truth'. In the same year, 45 King provided a beat to Gang Starr's debut album on Wild Pitch titled 'No More Mr. Nice Guy' (it's notable that this is a rare instance where a Gang Starr track is not produced by DJ Premier and/or Guru). 'Gusto' is laced with samples from Curtis Mayfield's 'Superfly' single 'Freddie's Dead' and 'Express' by B.T. Express.
Check back for part 2 of this blog's profile of Mark the 45 King, including his long silence broken by one of Jay-Z most memorable singles.The Lowdown:
Mark the 45 King 'The 900 Number'
from 'The 900 Number' (1990) (MP3 not available/CD)
DJ Kool 'Let Me Clear My Throat'
from 'Let Me Clear My Throat' (1996) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Marva Whitney 'Unwind Yourself'
from 'It's My Thing' (1969) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Kool and the Gang 'Hollywood Swinging'
from 'Wild and Peaceful' (1973) (MP3/CD)
Queen Latifah 'Dance for Me'
from 'All Hail the Queen' (1989) (MP3/CD)
Alvin Cash 'Keep on Dancing'
The The 'Sweet Bird of Truth'
from 'Infected' (1986) (MP3/CD not available)
Gang Starr 'Gusto'
from 'No More Mr. Nice Guy' (1989) (MP3/CD)
Curtis Mayfield 'Freddie's Dead'
from 'Superfly' (1972) (MP3/CD)
B.T. Express 'Express'
from 'Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)' (1972) (MP3/CD)
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The final post in this blog's coverage of Quasimoto's 'The Unseen' catalogs the samples used by Madlib on the sampledelic track 'Return of the Loop Digga'.
Two David Axelrod produced tracks are used on 'Loop Digga'. Axelrod's debut solo album 'Songs of Innocence' is the source of the open breaks and bass line of 'Holy Thursday', which has been used often since the late 90s. Axelrod also produced the fourth album for the Electric Prunes, the psychedelic rock 'Release of an Oath' (with one of the greatest album covers of all time in my opinion - it's pictured above). 'Holy are You' is one of the album's many fantastic tracks.
Eugene McDaniels' bat-s--- crazy album 'Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse' is notorious for both it's bizarre, paranoid political stance and its palpable funkiness. 'Loop Digga' uses a bit of McDaniels' 'Supermarket Blues'. The Impressions' soundtrack for the blaxploitation film 'Three the Hard Way' supplies one of 'Loop Digga''s other samples: 'On the Move'. Finally, 'Tidal Wave' by Ronnie Laws was also one of the sources plundered for this track.
Be on the look out for more Madlib related posts including a look at the samples on 'Soundpieces' by Lootpack.The Lowdown:
Quasimoto 'Return of the Loop Digga'
from 'The Unseen' (2000) (MP3/CD)
David Axelrod 'Holy Thursday'
from 'Songs of Innocence' (1968) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Electric Prunes 'Holy are You'
from 'Release of an Oath' (1968) (MP3/CD)
Eugene McDaniels 'Supermarket Blues'
from 'Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse' (1970) (MP3/CD)
The Impressions 'On the Move'
from 'Three the Hard Way' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Ronnie Laws 'Tidal Wave'
from 'Pressure Sensitive' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Mandrill has always been a popular pick for crate diggers (though, this is their first appearance on this blog), so 'Khidja''s appearance on Quasimoto's 'Green Power' is not as unusual as the rest of 'The Unseen''s sample sources. The track '24-7' uses a relatively obscure single by Jacob Miller: 'False Rasta'. This is the second reggae track appearing on 'The Unseen', so it should have been no surprise that two years after the release of this album, Madlib would present his reggae / dub DJ mix 'Blunted in the Bomb Shelter'. The album's title cut cuts up one of hip-hop's most essential (though not heavily used) breakbeats. 'California Soul' from Marlena Shaw's 'The Spice of Life' begins with a gigantic, echoey opening drum break. In a future post on this blog, 'California Soul' will be covered in depth.
Check back for the final section of 'The Unseen', a comprehensive look at 'Return of the Loop Digga'.The Lowdown:
Quasimoto 'Green Power', '24-7', and 'The Unseen'.
from 'The Unseen' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Mandrill 'Khidja'
from 'Mandrilland' (1974) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Jacob Miller 'False Rasta'
Marlena Shaw 'California Soul'
from 'The Spice of Life' (1968) (MP3/CD)
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In 1990, under the tutelage of producer Paul C, Harlem-born Large Professor programmed beats behind the scenes for Eric B. and Rakim's album 'Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em' at the age of 17. In the following years, Large Professor would lend production to two of hip-hop's most influential albums of all time: 'Breaking Atoms' and 'Illmatic'.
Large Professor produced two tracks for Cold Chillin' rap unit Kool G Rap and DJ Polo's album 'Wanted: Dead or Alive'. The album's opening track, 'Streets of New York' contains a sample of the Fatback Band's 'Gotta Learn How to Dance'. Large Pro's stock hit the stratosphere in 1991 when 'Breaking Atoms' by Main Source was released (the album was covered extensively in two past posts in this blog here and here). One of 'Breaking Atoms''s biggest tracks is 'Live at the Barbeque'; built on a crushing sample of Bob James' 'Nautilus', it also introduces the world to Nas. Though 'Illmatic' was not released until 1994, Nas' first single 'Halftime' (originally released under the name Nasty Nas) was released in 1992. 'Halftime' contains drum samples from Average White Band's 'School Boy Crush. I'm personally not the biggest fan of AWB, but 'School Boy Crush' is an absolutely essential open drum track.
Check back to this blog for part 2 of the Large Professor Producer Profile for coverage of Nas and ATCQ.The Lowdown:
Kool G Rap and DJ Polo 'Streets of New York'
from 'Wanted: Dead or Alive' (1990) (MP3/CD not available)
The Fatback Band 'Gotta Learn How to Dance'
from 'Yum Yum' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD)
Main Source 'Live at the Barbeque'
from 'Breaking Atoms' (1991) (MP3/CD)
Bob James 'Nautilus'
from 'One' (1974) (MP3/CD)
Nas 'Halftime'
from 'Illmatic' (1994) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'Halftime'
Average White Band 'School Boy Crush'
from 'Cut the Cake' (1975) (MP3/CD)
'Hard to Handle' is a monumental break track and the source for many of hip-hop's most notable beats. 'Hard to Handle' was released after Otis Redding's tragic 1967 death on the album 'The Immortal Otis Redding'. It was a modestly successful single, but gained more notoriety and attention as time went on via covers and sample usage.
'Hard to Handle' appears in Marley Marl's posse cut 'The Symphony' with verses from Masta Ace, Kool G Rap, and Big Daddy Kane. Five years later, the sample would be used again by Grand Puba's self-produced 'Reel to Reel' cut titled 'Ya Know How it Goes'. 'Reel to Reel' is an often overlooked solid album and will be covered in full in a later post on this blog. The Trackmasters used 'Hard to Handle' as the basis for Nas' own posse cut with future members on the Firm on 'Affirmative Action' on his sophomore album 'It Was Written'.The Lowdown:
Otis Redding 'Hard to Handle'
from 'The Immortal Otis Redding' (1968) (MP3/CD)
Marley Marl 'The Symphony'
from 'In Control Vol. 1' (1987) (MP3/CD not available)
Grand Puba 'Ya Know How it Goes'
from 'Reel to Reel' (1992) (MP3/CD)
Nas 'Affirmative Action'
from 'It Was Written' (1996) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'Affirmative Action'BONUS CUTS:
The most well known cover of 'Hard to Handle' is likely the version by the Black Crowes from 1990. I'm not going to front - the opening drums on their version are equally useful for producers, I wonder who the first producer who uses this break on a hit record will be. An absolutely killer, relatively unknown version of 'Hard to Handle' comes from Patti Drew. Check out the drums on that cut, it's a bombast!
Welcome to part 2 of this blogs in depth look at Fugee's 1996 album 'The Score'. The album's biggest hit by far was the inescapable 'Killing Me Softly', an update of Roberta Flack's ballad 'Killing Me Softly with His Song'. The Fugees hit peaked at #2 on the Billboard charts and was a #1 R&B hit. The song also featured samples from 'Memory Band' by Rotary Connection and 'Fool Yourself' from Little Feat's 1962 album 'Dixie Chicken'. Talk about a diverse set of sources for a gigantic (and minimalist) pop hit! |
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One of my all time favorite songs is referenced in the chorus on the album cut 'Cowboys'; perhaps it is a regional classic, but the Intruder's Philly soul monster 'Cowboys to Girls' is an essential summer / spring / fall / whenever jam. 'Cowboys' also includes a sample of 'Something 'Bout Love' by Main Ingredient. 'The Score's final single was 'No Woman, No Cry', a cover (or, mostly a cover) of Bob Marley and the Wailers' 'No Woman, No Cry' from 'Natty Dread'.
To date, 'The Score' has sold over 6 million copies in the U.S. alone and peaked at #1 on the Billboard album charts. Though there have been rumors, movie appearances, and one terribly underwhelming single (2005's 'Take it Easy'); it seems 'The Score' will likely be the Fugees swan song.The Lowdown:
Fugees 'Killing Me Softly', 'Cowboys', and 'No Woman, No Cry'
from 'The Score' (1996) (MP3/CD)
Roberta Flack 'Killing Me Softly with His Song'
from 'Killing Me Softly' (1973) (MP3 not available/CD)
Rotary Connection 'Memory Band'
from 'Rotary Connection' (1967) (MP3 Not available / CD not available)
Little Feat 'Fool Yourself'
from 'Dixie Chicken' (1962) (MP3/CD)
The Intruders 'Cowboys to Girls'
from 'Cowboys to Girls' (1968) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Main Ingredient 'Something 'Bout Love'
from 'Afrodisiac' (1973) (MP3 not available/CD)
Bob Marley and the Wailers 'No Woman, No Cry'
from 'Natty Dread' (1974) (MP3/CD)BONUS CUTS:
'Killing Me Softly with His Song' was a Grammy Award winning hit for Roberta Flack, but was actually written two years earlier by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel based on a poem by Lori Lieberman about Don McLean (that's right, the 'American Pie' dude is the dude who is killing girls softly with his song, which is funny as 'American Pie' seems to kill me slowly every time I hear it). Lauryn Hill delivered our generation's most noted cover of the song, but many other artists covered the song as well. John Holt's reggae version titled 'Killing Me Softly with Her Song' is a stellar example of reggae artists covering famous American soul hits. And how is this for digging DEEP: Inger Lise Rypdal covered 'Killing Me Softly' in Norwegian on 'Sangen Han Sang Var Min Egen'. This begs the question, is there a nationally recognized Norwegian pie?
One of 1996's most widely acclaimed and commercially successful albums is also one of the most densely produced albums of the year. Fugees' sophomore album, 'The Score', led with three charting smash hits, repainted the landscape of pop and hip-hop with dark atmospheric beats that feel like a humid, murky swamp.
'Ready or Not' was the third single from the album, and though not as big of a hit at the time, the track is now one of the album's classic cuts. The chorus is an interpolation of the Delfonics classic 'Ready of Not, Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)', an essential slice of Philly soul. 'Ready or Not' also includes samples from 'Django' by the Modern Jazz Quartet, 'God Made Me Funky' by the Headhunters, and most strangely 'Boadicea' from Enya's new age feel good album 'The Celts'. Like whoa. |
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The tense deep album track 'Zealots' has a quick vocal interpolation of 'I Only Have Eyes for You' by the Flamingos. The album's first single, the Salaam Remi produced 'Fu-Gee-La' features an interpolation (anyone see a pattern?) of Teena Marie's 1988 single 'Ooo La La La' from her album 'Naked to the World'. The song additionally samples Ramsey Lewis' hit '(If Loving You is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right'.
Check back for part 2 of 'The Score'.The Lowdown:
Fugees 'Ready or Not', 'Zealots', and 'Fu-Gee-La'
from 'The Score' (1996) (MP3/CD)
The Delfonics 'Ready or Not, Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)'
from 'The Sound of Sexy Soul' (1968) (MP3/CD)
Modern Jazz Quartet 'Django'
from 'Pyramid' (1959) (MP3/CD)
Headhunters 'God Made Me Funky'
from 'Survival of the Fittest' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Enya 'Boadecia'
from 'The Celts' (1986) (MP3/CD)
The Flamingos 'I Only Have Eyes for You'
from 'Flamingo Serenade' (1959) (MP3 not available/CD)
Teena Marie 'Ooo La La La'
from 'Naked to the World' (1988) (MP3/CD not available)
Ramsey Lewis '(If Loving You is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right'
from 'Funky Serenity' (1973) (MP3 not available/CD)
BONUS CUTS:
Here are two cuts to diversify your Fugees medley at the clubs: Sly and Robbie's remix of 'Fu-Gee-La' (which is the only reason to own the lamely packaged Fugees 'Greatest Hits' album, trust me) and the 12" mix of 'Ooo La La La' by Teena Marie. Have fun.
