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Welcome to the final post in our three part look at Ghostface Killah's 2000 album 'Supreme Clientele'.
Carlos Broady produced the beat for the album track 'We Made It', which samples Syl Johnson's 1973 track 'I Hate I Walked Away' from his album 'Back for a Taste of Your Love'. Another highlight on 'Supreme Clientele' is the non-single track 'Malcolm'. 'Malcolm', along with samples of a speech my Malcolm X, uses the beat from Isaac Hayes' 'Going in Circles' from his 1973 double album 'Black Moses'. One of my personal favorite tracks on this album is the RZA produced track 'Child's Play' which perfectly flips the drum and electric piano intro from George Jackson's 1972 single 'Aretha, Sing One for Me'. Additionally, RZA uses the highly samplable intro to Mountain's 'Long Red', a b-boy essential. The album's biggest charting single (hitting 98 on the Billboard 100) is 'Cherchez LaGhost' which reinterpolates Dr. Buzzard's single 'Cherchez LaFemme' from their 1975 album 'Dr.Buzzard's Original Savannah Band'.
'Supreme Clientele', though not a huge seller, is seen as one of the best hip-hop albums from the 90s and still is acclaimed critically. Ghostface followed with 2001's 'Bulletproof Wallets' (not nearly as bad as people make it out to be), breaking with Epic, and resigning with Def Jam. Look out for more posts about Ghostface's other albums in the future of this blog.The Lowdown:
Ghostface Killah 'We Made It', 'Malcolm', 'Child's Play', and 'Cherchez LaGhost'
from 'Supreme Clientele' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Syl Johnson 'I Hate I Walked Away'
from 'Back for a Taste of Your Love' (1973) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Isaac Hayes 'Going in Circles'
from 'Black Moses' (1973) (MP3/CD)
George Jackson 'Aretha, Sing One for Me'
from 'Aretha, Sing One for Me' 7" (1972) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Mountain 'Long Red'
from 'Mountain Live' (1972) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Dr. Buzzard 'Cherchez LaFemme'
from 'Dr.Buzzard's Original Savannah Band' (1975) (MP3/CD)
BONUS CUT:
It sucks that I can't offer a download for George Jackson's AWESOME 'Aretha, Sing One for Me', but I did find a download for Cat Power's recent cover of 'Aretha, Sing One for Me'. What an unusual song to decide to cover for a major label, check it out.
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It's hard to believe, but the Notorious B.I.G. released only one solo album during his lifetime, 1994's 'Ready to Die' (previously covered in depth on this blog here, here, and here). Biggie's follow up album was finished before his untimely murder in 1997 - his second, prophetically named studio album 'Life After Death' was released less than a month after his death. This three part post arc will cover the music of 'Life After Death', the producers, and the sample sources.
The Dramatics' excellent single 'In the Rain' is the basis for the Carlos Broady, Nashiem Myrick, and Puff Daddy produced album track 'Somebody's Gotta Die'. The album's smash hit is the unstoppable 'Hypnotize'; a decade later it is still nitro on the dancefloor. The production team of D-Dot, Ron Lawrence, Puffy and the Hitmen sampled the breakdown of Herb Alpert's 'Rise' and heavily interpolates the lyrics from Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh's 'La Di Da Di'. One of my favorite Biggie cuts is the DJ Premier produced B-side 'Kick in the Door' that makes remarkable use of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' 1950s voodoo freakout 'I Put a Spell on You'. Truly awesome work by Primo. Easy Mo Bee, returning from his work on 'Ready to Die', laces B.I.G. with the beat to 'I Love the Dough'. The track features a guest spot from Jay-Z and Angela Winbush from René and Angela on the hook, who happens to be the source of the track's sample: 'I Love You More' by René and Angela.
Check back for part 2 of our look at 'Life After Death'.The Lowdown:
The Notorious B.I.G. 'Somebody's Gotta Die', 'Hypnotize', 'Kick in the Door', and 'I Love the Dough'
from 'Life After Death' (1997) (MP3/CD)
The Dramatics 'In the Rain'
from 'Whatcha See is Whatcha Get' (1971) (MP3/CD)
Herb Alpert 'Rise'
from 'Rise' (1979) (MP3/CD)
Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh 'La Di Da Di'
from 'The Show' (1985) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Screamin' Jay Hawkins 'I Put a Spell on You'
from 'I Put a Spell on You' (1956) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
René and Angela 'I Love you More'
from 'Wall to Wall' (1981) (MP3 not available/CD not available)BONUS CUTS:
'I Put a Spell on You' is a classic cut and has been covered (not to mention sampled) many times. Two notable covers of the song are Nina Simone's take on 'I Put a Spell on You' from 1964 and Creedence Clearwater Revival's cover from 1968.
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The Stalag Riddim (covered in the last post) is the basis for one of dancehall's biggest singles: 'Bam Bam' by sister Nancy. Not only was 'Bam Bam' a huge hit for Sister Nancy and for the dancehall genre, but it had (and still has) huge crossover appeal. Nearly a decade after the single first appeared, 'Bam Bam' became a prime source for hip-hop sampling.
In 1990, Large Professor sampled 'Bam Bam' for Main Source's single 'Just Hangin' Out' from the now classic and rare album 'Breaking Atoms' (word is 'Breaking Atoms', along with all of Wild Pitch's vaults, will be rereleased in 2008). 'Just Hangin' Out' is my personal favorite from 'Breaking Atoms', which has several essential hip-hop cuts. The Stalag Riddim provides a mellow groove to 'Hangin' Out' while the turntable cuts of 'Bam Bam' in the center of the track provide a great nod to Sister Nancy. 'Bam Bam' was used again in 1992 by Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth on 'The Basement' from the fantastically produced 'Mecca and the Soul Brother'. Pete Rock and C.L. have, not surprisingly, been a staple of this blog and a producer profile for Pete Rock is slated for a future post.
Dancehall made a strong comeback in the late 90s and early 00s, leading to more hip-hop tracks incorporating Stalag samples. 2004's single for Biggie-soundalike Guerilla Black, 'Compton', was a bit of a flash in the pan, but still had apt production from Carlos Broady.The Lowdown:
Sister Nancy 'Bam Bam'
from 'One, Two' (1982) (MP3/CD not available)
Main Source 'Just Hangin' Out'
from 'Breaking Atoms' (1990) (MP3/CD not available)
Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth 'The Basement'
from 'Mecca and the Soul Brother' (1992) (MP3/CD)
Guerilla Black 'Compton'
from 'Guerilla City' (2004) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'Compton'
