Producer Profile: DJ Premier (Part 5, 1997)

After a successful string of production credits and Gang Starr albums, DJ Premier was high profile in 1997, but there was still room to achieve more success. 1997 yielded two of Primo's most unstoppable beats, which will be covered in this post looking at his production credits from that year.

One of Jay-Z's most underrated cuts is the DJ Premier produced 'Intro/A Million and One Questions', the intro to his second full length album 'In My Lifetime, Vol. 1'. This banging track samples its share of unusual sources: Dorothy Ashby's 'Cause I Need It', Latimore's 'Let Me Go', and the Main Ingredient's 'Car of Love' (sorry, no download links for any of these tracks). Primo produced the beat for O.C.'s 'My World' by sampling 'Killer's Lullaby' by Love Unlimited Orchestra on Barry White's 1974 soundtrack 'Together Brothers'. On Rakim's solo album, Premier provides the beat to 'New York (Ya Out There)' which samples the excellent James Brown cut 'Down and Out in New York City' from the soundtrack to 'Black Caesar' as well as the huge drum break from Mountain's 'Long Red'. Finally, one of Primo's oddest yet most banging beats wallops behind Notorious B.I.G. on 'Kick in the Door' on his posthumous album 'Life After Death'. The track samples Screamin' Jay Hawkins 1956 hit 'I Put a Spell on You' to great effect.

The Lowdown:
Jay-Z 'Intro/A Million and One Questions'
from 'In My Lifetime, Vol. 1' (1997) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'Intro/A Million and One Questions'
Dorothy Ashby 'Cause I Need It'
from 'Dorothy's Harp' (1969) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Latimore 'Let Me Go'
from 'It Ain't Where You Been... It's Where Your Goin'' (1976) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Main Ingredient 'Car of Love'
from 'Music Maximus' (1976) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
O.C. 'My World'
from 'Jewelz' (1997) (MP3 not available/CD)
Love Unlimited Orchestra 'Killer's Lullaby'
from 'Together Brothers' (1974) (MP3/CD not available)
Rakim 'New York (Ya Out There)'
from 'The 18th Letter' (1997) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'Down and Out in New York City'
from 'Black Caesar' (1973) (MP3/CD)
Mountain 'Long Red'
from 'Mountain Live' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD)
The Notorious B.I.G. 'Kick in the Door'
from 'Life After Death' (1997) (MP3/CD)
Screamin' Jay Hawkins 'I Put a Spell on You'
from 'I Put a Spell on You' (1956) (MP3 not available/CD not available)

Related Posts:
Producer Profile: Dj Premier (Part 1, 1989-1990)
Producer Profile: Dj Premier (Part 2, 1991-1993)
Producer Profile: Dj Premier (Part 3, 1994)
Producer Profile: Dj Premier (Part 4, 1995-1996)
Rewind: The Notorious B.I.G. 'Life After Death' (Part 1)
Rewind: The Notorious B.I.G. 'Life After Death' (Part 2)
Rewind: The Notorious B.I.G. 'Life After Death' (Part 3)

Rewind: Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth 'The Main Ingredient' (Part 2)

Welcome to our second look at 'The Main Ingredient', Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth's sophomore album.

What is a hip-hop classic without a James Brown beat? Pete Rock samples James Brown's 'Escape-ism' (as well as Ramsey Lewis' 'Sun Goddess' from Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth's track 'Escapism'. On 'Escape''s outro, Rock samples the Pointer Sisters' killer take on 'Yes We Can Can', originally a Lee Dorsey cut written by Allen Toussaint. On 'The Main Ingredient''s title track, Pete Rock samples 'Psychadelic Shack' by Albino Gorilla, 'Submission' by Tyrone Washington, and Les McCann's 'Harlem Buck Dance Strut' from his 1973 album 'Layers'. 'All the Places' samples two more J.B. cuts: 'Mind Power' and 'Take Some - Leave Some', both from James Brown's 1974 album 'The Payback', as well as the title track from Donald Byrd's 1975 album 'Places and Spaces' produced by Fonce and Larry Mizell. On 'Tell Me', Pete Rock samples the drums from the Detroit Emeralds' breakbeat cut 'You're Getting a Little Too Smart', J.B.'s 'Funky President (People It's Bad)' and 'Don't Tell It', and Stan Getz's 'Keep Dreamin'' from 1977's 'Another World'. During the outro, Pete Rock plays a bit of 'On the Hill' by Oliver Sain. 'Take You There' features samples from Joe Farrell's 'Upon This Rock', the Black Heat cut 'Zimba Ku' from 'Keep on Runnin', and 'Risin' to the Top' from Ken Burke's 'Changes'. Pete Rock samples one of rock's major breakbeats on the outro: Mountain's live version of 'Long Red' from 1972's full length 'Mountain Live'.

Check back for the final part of our look at Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth's 'The Main Ingredient'.

The Lowdown:
Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth 'Escapism', 'The Main Ingredient', 'All the Places', 'Tell Me', and 'Take You There'
from 'The Main Ingredient' (1994) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'Escape-ism'
from 'Hot Pants' (1971) (MP3/CD not available)
Ramsey Lewis 'Sun Goddess'
from 'Sun Goddess' (1974) (MP3/CD)
The Pointer Sisters 'Yes We Can Can'
from 'The Pointer Sisters' (1972) (MP3/CD)
Albino Gorilla 'Psychadelic Shack'
from 'Detroit 1984' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Tyrone Washington 'Submission'
'Roots' (1971) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Les McCann 'Harlem Buck Dance Strut'
from 'Layers' (1973) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'Mind Power' (edit) and 'Take Some - Leave Some'
from 'The Payback' (1974) (MP3/CD)
Donald Byrd 'Places and Spaces'
from 'Places and Spaces' (1976) (MP3/CD)
The Detroit Emeralds 'You're Getting a Little Too Smart'
from 'Detroit Emeralds' (1973) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
James Brown 'Funky President (People It's Bad)'
from 'Reality' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
James Brown 'Don't Tell It'
from 'Bodyheat' (1976) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Stan Getz 'Keep Dreamin''
from 'Another World' (1977) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Oliver Sain 'On the Hill'
from 'The Main Man' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Joe Farrell 'Upon This Rock'
from 'Upon This Rock' (1974) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Black Heat 'Zimba Ku'
from 'Keep on Runnin'' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Keni Burke 'Risin' to the Top'
from 'Changes' (1982) (MP3/Import CD)
Mountain 'Long Red'
from 'Mountain Live' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD)

Related Posts:
Producer Profile: Pete Rock (Part 1, 1991-1993)
Producer Profile: Pete Rock (Part 2, 1994)

Rewind: Jaylib 'Champion Sound' (Part 1)

When given a tape of J Dilla's beats in 2000, Madlib rapped over the beats starting the Jaylib project without J Dilla's initial knowledge. After trading beats and meeting only twice, the lone Jaylib album titled 'Champion Sound' was completed and released in 2003. This two part blog post will cover the sampled material from Dilla and Madlib's collaboration.

The opening track 'L.A. to Detroit' produced by both J Dilla and Madlib contains a sample of the drums from Mountain's live version of 'Long Red' from 1973 their album 'Live (The Road Goes Ever On)'. 'McNasty Filth' featuring raps by Dilla and Frank-N-Dank finds Madlib using a sample from Paul Muriat's 1971 album 'El Condor Pasa''s album cut 'Melancholy Man'. Due to a cease and desist order, the sample of Cris Williamson's 'Shine On, Straight Arrow' does not appear on the rerelease version of the Dilla produced cut 'The Red'. Madlib kicks some dub knowledge by sampling Herman Chin-Loy's 'Heavy Duty' (featuring melodica by dub pioneer Augustus Pablo) on the track 'Heavy' with lyrics by Dilla.

Check back for part 2 of our look at 'Champion Sound'.

The Lowdown:
Jaylib 'L.A. to Detroit', 'McNasty Filth', 'The Red', and 'Heavy'
from 'Champion Sound' (2003) (MP3/CD)
Mountain 'Long Red'
from 'Live (The Road Goes Ever On)' (1972) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Paul Mauriat 'Melancholy Man'
from 'El Condor Pasa' (1971) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Cris Williamson 'Shine On, Straight Arrow'
from 'Cris Williamson' (1970) (MP3/CD)
Herman Chin-Loy 'Heavy Duty'
from 'Aquarius Dub' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD not available)

Bonus Cuts:
Instrumental versions, get your rap on: 'McNasty Filth' (Instrumental), 'The Red' (Instrumental), and 'Heavy' (Instrumental).

Related Posts:
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 5, 2001-2003)

Rewind: Ghostface Killah 'Supreme Clientele' (Part 3)

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.

Rewind: Eric B. and Rakim 'Paid in Full'

One of the most important albums in hip-hop's history and one of the most stunning, fully realized debuts in the history of music is Eric B. and Rakim's 1987 album 'Paid in Full'. Produced entirely by Rakim and DJ Eric B. with production help from Marley Marl, 'Paid in Full' ushered in a new era of rap music, forever changing the landscape of the genre. The duo's groundbreaking debut single was 1986's 'Eric B. is President' which samples beats from James Brown's 'Funky President' and Mountain's 'Long Red' - now one of the most widely used breakbeats in hip-hop.

The hits kept coming after the album's release. 'I Ain't No Joke' and 'I Know You Got Soul' are even bigger hits than 'Eric B. is President'. Both tracks utilize James Brown productions for their basis, 'I Ain't No Joke' floats on top of the J.B.'s 'Pass the Peas' while 'I Know You Got Soul' contains beats and vocal snippets from Bobby Byrd's 'I Know You Got Soul' (and additionally contains segments of the J.B.'s 'The Grunt'). At the same time across the Atlantic Ocean, the DJ team of Coldcut were also looping and cutting up James Brown records for their debut renegade white label 'Say Kids, What Time Is It?'. At the end of 1987, the UK team was tapped to remix the title track to 'Paid in Full' leading to the giant UK hit 'Paid in Full' (Coldcut Remix), an all time classic extended reinterpretation that still rocks clubs everywhere. In addition to the use of the 'Ashley's Roachclip' break by the Soul Searchers which was looped for the original track, Coldcut famously laces the track with a vocal sample from Ofra Haza's 'Im Nin'Alu', a world music single that had some impact on the UK charts a few years previous. Also, Coldcut adds in some additional JB artillery by sampling James Brown's 'Hot Pants'. The results are devastating.

'Paid in Full' was proceeded by 'Follow the Leader' and two other fantastic albums, which will undoubtedly show up in later posts on this blog.

The Lowdown:
Eric B. and Rakim 'Eric B. is President', 'I Ain't No Joke', and 'I Know You Got Soul'
from 'Paid in Full' (1987) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'Funky President (People It's Bad)'
from 'Reality' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Mountain 'Long Red'
from 'Mountain Live' (1972) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
The J.B.'s 'Pass the Peas' and 'The Grunt'
from 'Food for Thought' (1972) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Bobby Byrd 'I Know You Got Soul'
from 'I Need Help' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Eric B. and Rakim 'Paid in Full' (Coldcut Remix)
Soul Searchers 'Ashley's Roachclip'
from 'Salt of the Earth' (1974) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Ofra Haza 'Im Nin'Alu'
from 'Fifty Gates of Wisdom' (1983) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'Hot Pants'
from 'Hot Pants' (1971) (MP3/CD not available)