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David Axelrod first entered the recording industry as an A&R man in 1963, though major label production work soon followed when he helmed Lou Rawls' 'Live' album in 1966. Axelrod's minimal, funky production style has made his records a commodity among beat diggers and producers. This first post in a two post arc will cover Axelrod's early production work, from 1966 to 1968, and the artists who have sampled his tracks.
'Trouble Down Here Below' by Lou Rawls from his 1966 'Carryin' On' album was sampled on Justin Warfield's 'Teenage Caligula' produced by Warfield and QD III (Quincy Jones' son). The track is from Warfield's debut 'My Field Trip to Planet 9', a highly underrated, unconventional hip-hop album with psychadelic elements. He would follow with a string of unusual projects including the Justin Warfield Supernaut and One-Inch Punch before becoming half of the rock band She Wants Revenge. 'My Field Trip to Planet 9' will be covered in a future post on this blog.
One of 1993's inescapable summer jams owes some credit to Axelrod. The Joe Zawinul penned '74 Miles Away' by Cannonball Adderley from the 1967 album of the same name is the source for Naughty By Nature's 'Hip Hop Hooray', which was arguably Naughty By Nature's last hurrah on the charts. Call it what you like, it's an obvious sell out track, but it's immaculately produced and is seemingly cut with sunshine. Six years later, Dr. Dre would have his own summer anthem via another David Axelrod produced sample, but not without some hip-hop controversy. 'The Edge' by David McCallum was sampled by Missin' Linx for their track 'M.I.A.' in 1998, but a year later would be sampled again by Dre on 'Next Episode'. Whether it was a beat bite or a coincidence, 'Next Episode' blew up into the stratosphere while Missin' Linx is a footnote in hip-hop history. Another tidbit about this beat is McCallum himself, who was an actor from the television show The Man from U.N.C.L.E. who was given a two album deal (both of which are fully instrumental and produced by Axelrod). Another coincidence in sampling circles around two West Coast crews and a sample of Lou Rawls' open drum and vocal track 'Lifetime Monologue' from the Axelrod produced 'You're Good for Me' from 1968. Both the Beatnuts and Dilated Peoples sampled the break in 1997, the Beatnuts on their 'Stone Crazy' album track 'Thinkin' Bout Cash' and the Dilated Peoples on their Alchemist produced debut single 'Third Degree'.
Check back for part 2 of David Axelrod's producer profile, with tracks by DJ Shadow, Madlib, Lil' Wayne, and more.The Lowdown:
Lou Rawls 'Trouble Down Here Below'
from 'Carryin' On' (1966) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Justin Warfield 'Teenage Caligula'
from 'My Field Trip to Planet 9' (1993) (MP3/CD not available)
Cannonball Adderley '74 Miles Away'
from '74 Miles Away' (1967) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Naughty By Nature 'Hip Hop Hooray'
from '19 Naughty III' (1993) (MP3/CD)
David McCallum 'The Edge'
from 'Music: A Little Bit More of Me' (1967) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Dr. Dre 'Next Episode'
from '2001' (1999) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'Next Episode'
Lou Rawls 'Lifetime Monologue'
from 'You're Good for Me' (1968) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
The Beatnuts 'Thinkin Bout Cash'
from 'Stone Crazy' (1997) (MP3 not available/CD)
Dilated Peoples 'Third Degree'
from 'Third Degree' (1997) (MP3/CD not available)
BONUS CUTS:
Loads of instrumental cuts this time: Naughty By Nature 'Hip Hop Hooray' (Instrumental), Dr. Dre 'Next Episode' (Instrumental), and Dilated Peoples 'Third Degree' (Instrumental).
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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)
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One of the 80s most widely known, yet least likely to be properly identified, breaks is Liquid Liquid's 1982 breakbeat jam 'Cavern'. Liquid Liquid, along with another heavily sampled band called ESG (who will be covered in a future post) were part of a short-lived, minimalistic early 80s post-punk movement centered in New York City. 'Cavern''s signature bassline and chant would be most notably replayed by the Sugar Hill band as the backing for Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel's single 'White Lines (Don't Do It)'. 'White Lines', remarkably, never broke the top 40 in America, but was a giant hit in the UK which further ignited their burgeoning electro scene.
A decade later, 'Cavern' would be sampled by a new stable of artists. LL Cool J reinterpolated the chorus of 'Cavern' for his hit 'Phenomenon' from the album of the same title (which is in the running for the worst use of a lens flare on an album cover award). The Notorious B.I.G.'s 'Nasty Boy' also interpolates 'Cavern'. Not oddly enough, both of these tracks from 1997 were produced by Sean "Puffy" Combs. Havoc has production credits for 1999's 'Quiet Storm' by Mobb Deep. The 'Quiet Storm' remix has a guest verse from Lil' Kim, part of the Diddy / Biggie stable.
2006 saw one of the more unusual interpolations of 'Cavern', bringing it back to its NYC rock roots. 'Phenomena' from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' album 'Show Your Bones' uses Liquid Liquid's familiar chant during its slow motion chorus.The Lowdown:
Liquid Liquid 'Cavern'
from 'Optimo' (1982) (MP3 Not available/CD not available)
Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel 'White Lines (Don't Do It)'
LL Cool J 'Phenomenon'
from 'Phenomenon' (1997) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'Phenomenon'
Notorious B.I.G. 'Nasty Boy'
from 'Life After Death' (1997) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'Nasty Boy'
Mobb Deep 'Quiet Storm' and 'Quiet Storm' (Remix)
from 'Murda Muzik' (1999) (MP3/CD)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs 'Phenomena'
from 'Show Your Bones' (2006) (MP3/CD)
BONUS CUT:
'Cavern' is the cut, but it is not the only track from Liquid Liquid's short career with floor filling beats. Check out 'Optimo', also from their 1982 EP that produced 'Cavern'.
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This is part three and the final installment of our look at 'Ready to Die'.
To me, one of the best non-single tracks on 'Ready to Die' is the Easy Mo Bee produced 'Friend of Mine'. It contains samples from Sly and the Family Stone expatriate Larry Graham's Graham Central Station ('The Jam') and Kool and the Gang ('Spirit of the Boogie'). 'Unbelievable' lives up to its name; the unbelievable beat from DJ Premier stitches together samples from Patrice Rushen's 'Remind Me' and R. Kelly's top 20 single 'Your Body's Callin''. The uneasy album closer 'Suicidal Thoughts' features a sample of Mile Davis' 'Lonely Fire' from 'Big Fun'. The beat itself was produced by the Funky Technician himself Lord Finesse.
A Bonus track on the remastered extended version of 'Ready to Die' is the B-side track 'Just Playing (Dreams)' which, despite never being on an album, has been referenced again and again in other hip-hop tracks. The Rashad Smith produced beat contains a sample of James Brown's 'Blues and Pants' from the 1971 album 'Hot Pants'.
'Ready to Die' is one of hip-hop's masterpieces and would be the only album released by B.I.G. during his lifetime. The Notorious B.I.G.'s second and final album, 'Life After Death', was released only 15 days after his murder in Los Angeles. 'Life After Death' will be covered in depth in a future post on this blog.The Lowdown:
The Notorious B.I.G. 'Friend of Mine', 'Unbelievable', 'Suicidal Thoughts', and 'Just Playing (Dreams)'
from 'Ready to Die' (1994) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edits: 'Friend of Mine', 'Unbelievable', 'Suicidal Thoughts', and 'Just Playing (Dreams)'
Graham Central Station 'The Jam'
from 'Ain't No 'Bout-A-Doubt It' (1974) (MP3/CD)
Kool and the Gang 'Spirit of the Boogie'
from 'Spirit of the Boogie' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Patrice Rushen 'Remind Me'
from 'Straight from the Heart'(1981) (MP3/CD)
R. Kelly 'Your Body's Callin''
from '12 Play' (1993) (MP3/CD)
Miles Davis 'Lonely Fire'
from 'Big Fun' (1969) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'Blues and Pants'
from 'Hot Pants' (1971) (MP3/CD not available)
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The track that introduced much of the world to B.I.G. was the album's lead smash single 'Juicy', which would go gold by the end of 1994. For one of Biggie's trademark songs, Sean "Puffy" Combs and Jean Oliver looped segments of Mtume's 80s hit 'Juicy Fruit'. More than a decade after its release as a single, 'Juicy' is still one of the necessary tracks in every DJ's arsenal: it is an essential party mover.
The Bluez Brothers produced 'Everyday Struggle' samples smooth jazz icon Dave Grusin's 1979 song 'Either Way' from his album 'Mountain Dance'. 'Ready to Die''s second single was another smash hit, the Sean "Puffy" Combs / Chucky Thompson produced 'Big Poppa' launched into the Billboard top 10 in 1995. The track famously mines 'Between the Sheets' by the Isley Brothers to fantastic results. Combs and Oliver dissect George McCrae's 'I Get Lifted' for Biggie's 'Respect'. 'Respect' features guest vocals from Diana King, who would receive a record deal due to this appearance and go on to have a solo hit with 'Shy Guy'.
Check back for part 3 of 'Ready to Die'.The Lowdown:
Notorious B.I.G. 'Juicy', 'Everyday Struggle', 'Big Poppa', and 'Respect'
from 'Ready to Die' (1994) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edits: 'Juicy', 'Everyday Struggle', 'Big Poppa', and 'Respect'
Mtume 'Juicy Fruit'
from 'Juicy Fruit' (1982) (MP3/CD)
Dave Grusin 'Either Way'
from 'Mountain Dance' (1979) (MP3/CD)
The Isley Brothers 'Between the Sheets'
from 'Between the Sheets' (1982) (MP3/CD)
George McCrae 'I Get Lifted
from 'Rock Your Baby' (1974) (MP3 unavailable/CD)BONUS CUT:
Of course, Biggie was not the only one to use 'Juicy Fruit' as a sample. Warren G's self-produced singles 'Do You See' and 'This D.J.' both pluck 'Juicy Fruit' (and both slightly pre-date 'Ready to Die', although both albums were probably produced around the same time). Several B.I.G. referencing tracks also use 'Juicy Fruit', like the Faith Evans' 2001 album title track 'Faithfully and the 2007 hit 'Let it Go' by Keyshia Cole produced by Missy Elliott who also appears along with Lil' Kim.
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One of hip-hop's indisputable classics is the debut album 'Ready to Die' by the Notorious B.I.G., released on September 13th in 1994. After being signed by Sean Combs, the Notorious B.I.G. appeared in cameo spots on several Uptown Records singles including ones by Heavy D and the Boyz and Mary J. Blige. Just months before the release of 'Ready to Die', B.I.G. appeared on the 'Flava in Ya Ear' remix by Craig Mack, an essential East Coast party starter. In this three part post, this blog will cover the hits and sample sources of 'Ready to Die'.
'Things Done Changed', the first track following the album intro, features two samples from the Main Ingredient's 1974 album 'Euphrates River': 'Summer Breeze' and 'California My Way' (the Main Ingredient notably features vocals from Cuba Gooding Sr.). The Easy Mo Bee produced 'Gimme the Loot' utilizes samples from James Brown's 'Hell'-era funk monster 'Coldblooded. The excellent 'Machine Gun Funk' samples Black Heat's 'Something Extra' as well as 'Up for the Down Stroke' by Fred Wesley and the Horny Horns. In an example of classics begetting classics, 'Warning' is laced with the gigantic breaks of Isaac Hayes' psych-soul cover of 'Walk on By'. 'Walk on By' will be covered in depth in a future post on this blog.
Check back for part 2 of our look at 'Ready to Die'.The Lowdown:
The Notorious B.I.G. 'Things Done Changed', 'Gimme the Loot', 'Machine Gun Funk', and 'Warning'
from 'Ready to Die' (1994) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edits: 'Things Done Changed', 'Gimme the Loot', 'Machine Gun Funk', and 'Warning'
The Main Ingredient 'California My Way' and 'Summer Breeze'
from 'Euphrated River' (1974) (MP3 not available/ Import CD)
James Brown 'Coldblooded'
from 'Hell' (1974) (MP3/CD)
Black Heat 'Something Extra'
from 'Keep on Runnin'' (1975) (MP3/CD not available)
Fred Wesley and the Horny Horns 'Up for the Down Stroke'
from 'A Blow for Me, a Toot for You' (1977) (MP3/Import CD)
Isaac Hayes 'Walk on By' (Radio Edit)
from 'Hot Buttered Soul' (1968) (MP3/CD)
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In this installment of Pull Up, this blog's look at reggae and dancehall, we'll be investigating the background of the Darker Shade of Black Riddim.
The origin of the Darker Shade of Black Riddim are still highly debated in dancehall circles, but the first appearance was either Soul Dimension's 'Darker Shade of Black' or Jackie Mittoo and the Soul Vendors' 'Darker Shade of Black'. Trained ears may notice a more than passing resemblance to the Beatles' single 'Norwegian Wood', though they do not have any writing credits for 'Darker Shade of Black'. Some classic cuts on the Darker Shade of Black Riddim include Augustus Pablo's dub exploration 'The Red Sea', James Eastwood's electric guitar peppered 'Darkest Night', and dancehall great Dennis Brown's 'Dark Continent'.
Recently, the Darker Shade of Black has appeared as the backing of some of dancehall's bigger singles. The most notable is Mr. Vegas' laid-back banger 'Lean Wid It'. I'm not one to pester the DJ; but when I first heard my friend Geoffro play this, I had to storm the booth to know what it was. A more recent track on the riddim is Cherine's 'Kingston State of Mind', which is blazing hot despite the possible Billy Joel title reference.The Lowdown:
Jackie Mittoo and the Soul Vendors 'Darker Shade of Black'
The Beatles 'Norwegian Wood (The Bird Has Flown)'
from 'Revolver' (1965) (MP3 not available/CD)
Augustus Pablo 'The Red Sea'
James Eastwood 'Darkest Night'
Dennis Brown 'Dark Continent'
Mr. Vegas 'Lean Wid It'
from 'Hot It Up' (2007) (MP3/CD)
Cherine 'Kingston State of Mind' (Redemption Mix)
from 'Kingston State of Mind' (2008) (MP3/CD not available)
BONUS CUT:
Version time: Mr. Vegas 'Lean Wid It' (Instrumental)
Welcome to part 2 of this blogs look at Kanye West's 'Graduation' album.
'Graduation''s lead single, just missing the Billboard top 40, is the Kanye and DJ Toomp produced 'Can't Tell Me Nothing'. Call it inspiration, recycling, or just getting bonus production credits; but a previous production by Toomp, Young Jeezy and T.I.'s 'I Got Money', is a sample source on 'Nothing'. Clever. The mighty Mos Def appears with Kanye on one of the album's stranger cuts, the West and Jon Brion produced 'Drunk and Hot Girls' that plunders Can's 70s Krautrock freak out 'Sing Swan Song' from Ege Bamyasi. 'Ege Bamyasi' is notable for it's breakbeat heavy 'Vitamin C', so it's odd (and refreshing) to hear another track being sampled. Even more clever. |
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One of the album's better singles (you can't hate on the remix verse by R. Kelly - brilliant) is the Kanye / Eric Hudson track 'Flashing Lights' which sneaks in a sample of 'Little Child Runnin' Wild' from Curtis Mayfield's 'Superfly' (covered in depth in a previous post on this blog). 'The Glory', produced by West, Plain Pat, and Gee Robertson incorporates Laura Nyro's late 60s folk joint 'Save the Country' into the mix.
Though 'Graduation' met uneven reviews upon its release, especially in comparison to its predecessors, it still pushes hip-hop and sampling further when the art is seemingly devoid in mainstream hip-hop. Who else at this level of fame is still digging deep for weird beats to put on their album?The Lowdown:
Kanye West 'Can't Tell Me Nothing', 'Drunk and Hot Girls', 'Flashing Lights', and 'The Glory'
from 'Graduation' (2007) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edits: 'Can't Tell Me Nothing', 'Drunk and Hot Girls', 'Flashing Lights', and 'The Glory'
Young Jeezy and T.I. 'I Got Money'
from 'The Inspiration' (2006) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'I Got Money'
Can 'Sing Swan Song'
from 'Ege Bamyasi' (1971) (MP3/CD)
Curtis Mayfield 'Little Child Runnin' Wild'
from 'Superfly' (1972) (MP3/CD)
Laura Nyro 'Save the Country'
from 'New York Tendaberry' (1968) (MP3/Import CD)BONUS CUTS:
As Mentioned above, Can's 'Ege Bamyasi' is known for it's beats-for-days breakbeat track 'Vitamin C', but also features some sleeper cuts like the song 'Spoon'. 'Ege Bamyasi' is an adventurous listen, but rewarding for beat heads.
In September 2007, Kanye West released his third album, titled 'Graduation', to great fanfare in the midst of a Kanye vs. 50 Cent sales beef / publicity stunt. Like Kanye's previous albums (which will both be covered in depth in future posts on this blog), 'Graduation' is full of bizarre samples flipped with radio single perfection.
The opening track on 'Graduation', 'Good Morning', samples Elton John's 'Somone Save My Life Tonight', a strange pick but one of the least odd from this album. Unlike his previous two albums (with the exception of one Just Blaze production), Kanye receives substantial help from his super producer peers. Brian Miller lends production help on Kanye's current single 'Champion', which lifts riffs from Steely Dan's 'Royal Scam'-era single 'Kid Charlemagne' (note to my man T. Nitro - the first mention of Steely Dan was not related to 'Aja'. Crazy!). |
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Timbaland and Kanye collaborate on the beat for the giant single 'Stronger' which famously samples 'Harder Better Faster Stronger' by Daft Punk (who originally sampled Edwin Birdsong's 'Cola Bottle Baby'). Daft Punk also appeared with Kanye in the video for 'Stronger' as well as the live Grammy performance of the song (was anyone else weirded out by the far-too-long shot of the outside of the unopened pyramid during the show?). Kayne, dirty dirty producer DJ Toomp, Timbaland, and Mike Dean all collaborated on the Michael Jackson sampling 'Good Life'. That sped-up sample buried under the synthesizers and drum machines is somehow 'P.Y.T.' from MJ's 'Thriller'. I typically have an ear for samples, but I'll trust the liner notes on this one - I can't hear it.
Check back for the second half of our look at 'Graduation', with even stranger sample sources including German experimental rock group Can and folk artist Laura Nyro.The Lowdown:
Kanye West 'Good Morning', 'Champion', 'Stronger', and 'Good Life'
from 'Graduation' (2007) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edits: 'Good Morning', 'Champion', 'Stronger', and 'Good Life'
Elton John 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight'
from 'Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Steely Dan 'Kid Charlemagne'
from 'The Royal Scam' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Daft Punk 'Harder Better Faster Stronger'
from 'Discovery' (2002) (MP3/CD)
Edwin Birdsong 'Cola Bottle Baby'
from 'Edwin Birdsong' (1978) (MP3/CD not available)
Michael Jackson 'P.Y.T.'
from 'Thriller' (1981) (MP3/CD)
