Producer Profile: Kanye West (Part 3, 2003)

After placing beats on Jay-Z's 'The Blueprint', Kanye West became a sought after producer even before the release of 2004's 'The College Dropout'. Part one of this three part post will cover the beats and samples from Kanye West's 2003 production credits.

West had two beats on Jay-Z's 'Black Album' from 2003, Jay's short-lived retirement farewell address. Kanye's production for 'Encore' samples John Holt's 'I Will' from his album '2000 Volts of Holt'. Another reggae sample appears on Jay-Z's 'Lucifer' via Max Romeo's classic Lee Perry produced 'I Chase the Devil' (covered in depth on a previous post on this blog). West's work with Rocafella was not limited to Jay-Z in 2003, West also had a beat on Freeway's under-appreciated debut album 'Philadelphia Freeway'. The track 'Hear the Song' samples Chic's 'Will You Cry (When You Hear This Song)'.

One of Kanye's biggest production credits in 2003 was for Alicia Key's hit single 'You Don't Know My Name' peaking at #3 on the Billboard 100. The track is cleverly crafted from Main Ingredient's 'Let Me Prove My Love to You' from their 1975 album 'Shame on the World'.

Check back for the second part of our look at Kanye West's production credits of 2003.

The Lowdown:
Jay-Z 'Encore' and 'Lucifer'
from 'Black Album' (2003) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edits: 'Encore' and 'Lucifer'
John Holt 'I Will'
from '2000 Volts of Holt' (1976) (MP3/CD not available)
Max Romeo 'I Chase the Devil'
from 'War Ina Babylon' (1976) (MP3 not available/CD)
Freeway 'Hear the Song'
from 'Philadelphia Freeway' (2003) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'Hear the Song'
Chic 'Will You Cry (When You Hear This Song)'
from 'Risqué' (1979) (MP3/CD)
Alicia Keys 'You Don't Know My Name'
from 'The Diary of Alicia Keys' (2003) (MP3/CD)
Main Ingredient 'Let Me Prove My Love to You'
from 'Shame on the World' (1975) (MP3 not available/Import CD)

BONUS CUT:
The original Jamaican mix of 'I Will' by John Holt'.

Source Material: Max Romeo 'I Chase the Devil'

In the late 60s, after having split from the Jamaican group the Emotions and failing to follow up with a solid solo career, Max Romeo met Lee Perry and formed a new band called the Hippy Boys, who would later become the Upsetters. After eight years and some ups and downs in the reggae recording industry, Romeo linked back up with Perry and recorded 'I Chase the Devil', a track from his 1976 album 'War Inna Babylon'. 'Babylon' is seen as one of Romeo's best albums and 'I Chase the Devil' is one of reggae's most notable singles as well as material for future producers to sample.

Lee Perry himself released a dub version of 'I Chase the Devil' titled 'Disco Devil' (note: this is not disco in the LEAST, it's very much a crazed Perry rant over the Upsetters backing). In 1992 at the dawn of the rave era, the Prodigy released 'Out of Space' utilizing the breakdowns from 'I Chase the Devil', but doubling the speed of the entire track. 'Out of Space' references the growing drum n' bass music scene and is a precusor to the UK's interest in speed garage. Most recently, Kanye west flipped 'I Chase the Devil' for Jay-Z's 'Lucifer' from his 'Black Album'. Kayne managed to incorporate both vocal samples and instrumentation for an unusually dark beat.

'I Chase the Devil' is a necessary reggae tune for any crate, but running the track alongside these songs can diversify how, when, and in what context the original can be played.

The Lowdown:
Max Romeo 'I Chase the Devil'
from 'War Inna Babylon' (1976) (MP3 unavailable/CD)
Lee Perry 'Disco Devil'
The Prodigy 'Out of Space'
from 'Experience' (1992) (MP3/CD)
Jay-Z 'Lucifer'
from 'Black Album' (2003) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'Lucifer'

BONUS CUTS:
During the rush to remix Jay-Z's 'Black Album' like Danger Mouse, a series of terrible remix albums were released. From the many homemade mixes, only a few yielded anything of note. One mix by producer Kno yielded this remix of 'Lucifer' (presented here in its instrumental format) which rivals the original. It does a fantastic job flipping 'Ave, Lúcifer' from Brazilian psychadelic rock band Os Mutantes' brilliant third album 'A Divina Comédia ou Ando Meio Desligado'. This 'Lucifer' remix is a well deserved footnote to this post.