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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)
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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)
