As you've probably heard, Michael Jackson passed away in Los Angeles today. As you can tell just from looking at Facebook or walking down the street here in NYC, his passing has hit everyone pretty hard.
As a musician and someone who just loves music, it's an especially sad day. MJ wasn't just the King of Pop, he was really the last true musical superstar we had. He was an icon and without question one of the most talented musicians to ever do it. Over the course of his career, he sold more than 750 million albums. Thriller alone sold more than 65 million copies- 61 million more than Justin Timberlake, the biggest act of our time, sold with Futuresex/Lovesounds.
MJ's passing isn't just a sad day for his fans and family, its a truly sad day for anyone who loves music. He's one of the only artists I can think of who put together a perfect album- Thriller- and was really the last artist to have a truly massive impact on pop culture, fashion, and the arts.
A new remix for you guys, Sugar, Dave Edwards f/ Flo-Rida and Wynter. DJs, I think you'll find this a lot more club friendly than the original.
http://www.mediafire.com/?cnqq5myjzzi
A new mix for Summer 09, enjoy..
http://www.zshare.net/audio/599915023be65dd0/
"My style is impetuous. My defense is impregnable. And I'm just ferocious- I want your heart"
im•preg•na•ble: adjective: Difficult or impossible to attack, challenge, or refute with success.
And with that, I think I'm justified in calling my shoe game absolutely impregnable this summer. I will smash all challengers. Let's see what's on tap:
1. Nike Dunk High Supreme Destroyers Spark Edition. The crown jewel of my shoe game- copped both the red and black gradients. Not only are they fresher than anything else, but I may have found the ultimate kick- perfect with jeans or shorts, and nearly impossible to smudge or scuff up thanks to their high gloss finish. Chea!
2. Nike Air Tech Challenge Agassi Hybrid
Everyone and their mom likes the old school Agassi's. But rocking only one Agassi design at once is so 2008. Peep the new 6-in-1 hybrids just put out by Nike. Fresh Prince status.
3. Supra Trinity NS Whites
Supra is quickly becoming one of the dopest labels around, and you can see why with these. Special edition, coke white, alligator skin. I will not be stopped.
4. Y3 Yamamoto Low Sprint Trainers
So fresh and so, so clean.
5. Nike Dunk Vandal Nylon Highs
Brand new all white all nylon Nike highs. These only come out for special occasions because they will get deaded almost instantaneously in the club.
Yesterday I read that Polow Da Don, one of the best producers around, had brokered a deal between Rihanna and Chris Brown to get in the studio and record an emotional, romantic duet together. Considering CB *allegedly* went Wayne Brady on her just three weeks ago, I think the general reaction to this news was disgust and some level of perverse fascination- similar to what I felt the last time FOX aired one of those "Man vs Beast" reality shows in which sprinters race giraffes and people get mauled by wild animals for our amusement.
The news of their duet struck me as funny because of a book I read recently, 'Kill Your Friends' by British author and former Britpop A&R John Niven. The book is more or less American Psycho set in the height of the 90's Britpop music industry, as told through the eyes of a psychotic and hilarious A&R, Steven Stelfox. At one point late in the novel, Stelfox has an 'aha!' moment when he sees a former artist of his incapacitated in a wheelchair after suffering a beatdown at a club one night; Stelfox realizes that, because nobody will want to give a bad review to a now mentally challenged rapper who drools constantly, his "comeback" album could be an emotional smash hit. The most poignant part of Niven's book is that as outrageous as the murderous and vapid Stelfox is, it's hardly an exaggeration of how brutal the music industry really is.
The book is a must read for anyone who enjoys the work of Ellis or who can stomach some graphic and utterly appalling comedy. But it's especially a must read for anyone thinking that the music industry is about making music. It is about making money and 'smash records'; to paraphrase Stelfox, 'sort that out, and you can do what you fuc*ing please.'
For those of you who don't know writer/producer The Dream by name, you most definitely know his songs- they've been at the top of almost every chart for the last two years. He's been responsible for smashes from Rihanna's "Umbrella", J Holiday's "Bed", Beyonce's "Single Ladies", and most of Mary J's last album, including "Grown Woman" and "Just Fine."
In 2007, Dream dropped his own solo debut which is probably the most slept on album of the last 5 years or so. Working exclusively with producers Tricky Stewart and LOS Da Mystro, Dream created a signature sound of futuristic and dissonant synths mixed with heavily processed drums and near perfect vocal production and arrangement. Being one of my favorite albums, I was worried Dream wouldn't be able to deliver something equally good on his new disc, Love Vs Money...
But not only did Dream and Tricky outdo their first effort, they smashed it with what's probably the most progressive and well-produced R&B album in a decade. This is not Marvin Gaye R&B, to be sure. But it is some of the most impressive and well-thought out melodic and vocal arrangement that you'll hear anywhere for a long time. This is a must buy album for anyone who enjoys R&B, pop, or electronic music. Cop that disc!!
Interscope rapper/producer/actor Drake dropped his most recent mixtape, So Far Gone, last week and it is fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiire. It's available for a free download over at octobersveryown.blogspot.com.
Uptown featuring Lil Wayne & Bun B:
Foldable Aviators. Purple Label. Any questions? Saw these on hypebeast a few months back but finally had a chance to see them in person recently..ridic. A must cop for summer 09.
Over the past year or so, L.O.S. Da Mystro has established himself as one of the dopest new R&B producers around. He's turned his trademark sound- flanged drum sounds reminiscent of Prince's work- into monster hits like J. Holiday's "Bed". He also co-produced a large partof The Dream's Lovehate album- the best R&B album since 2000 and one I'll talk about in apost coming up soon. LOS just dropped a ridiculous new beat for Bobby Valentino on "Butterfly Tattoo." Enjoy-
Download:
http://www.mediafire.com/?ywvm4lxolfw
Not much to say about this house that the pictures can't tell you. Wraparound floor to cieling views of L.A. sitting on Sunset. This is why I work!!
My bad for slacking on my posting game recently, but 09 is grind time!! Big things in the works so I'll be keeping this one short..
If you don't know J.U.S.T.I.C.E League by name already, you probably know some of their better tracks; Rick Ross' "Maybach Music", 2 Pistols "She Got It", or Mary J's "No One Will Do".
Their new track with Rick Ross and John Legend is bananas...one of the most classic beats I've heard in a long time...
Rick Ross f/ John Legend, "Magnificent"
http://www.zshare.net/download/54853658d20d89ba/
A classic Timbo and Nas track to set off your week right..
Nas f/ Timbaland & Skillz, "To My"
Where's Waldo, hipster edition
Since 2005, the French home of acts like Digitalism and Hot Chip, Kitsune Maison, has been dropping the dopest electronic music compilations you can find anywhere. Kitsune Maison Vol. 6 isn't just the best of the series, but it's also the first available on iTunes so you don't have to pay some Frenchman a couple stacks to ship you that fiya.
Lo Fi Fink "Want U"
Pnau "With You Forever"
Beni "My Love Sees You"
Okayy, I'm Reloaded!!It's 1998. Monica Lewinksy has the most famous head game in history. Metal Gear Solid is the hottest shit on the block. And the King of New York is gone.When Biggie died in late '97, it was hard to imagine anyone taking his spot. But Jay didn't just pick up where BIG left off, he took it to a level nobody could have imagined. In less than a decade, he went from hustler to international CEO, from rapping to running the rap game and the most famous record label in its history. And as dope as Reasonable Doubt is, it all started with 'In My Lifetime Vol. 1', Jay's first album after Biggie's death, and the most slept on album in his career.Vol. 1 made Jay into the rapper that took over the world. It was the album that established his mainstream, commercial style- a complete 180 from the underground sound of Reasonable Doubt.
"City is Mine"
Michael Rapaport cameo!!"A Million And One"
"Streets is Watching"
"Sunshine"
"Friend or Foe '98"
Unbelievable acting in this video's intro..."Yo we got a problem. They back. Yeah, them cats is back yo!"
Scarface is one of the best to ever do it. Whether with the Geto Boys or solo, he's put out some of the most consistently dope music not just from the south but anywhere.
Face just dropped his retirement album, Emeritus, and it's as good as anything he's put out in a long time. Cop that disc, because if there's one thing you can count on in today's world, its rappers keeping their word about future career plans.
Scarface, "High Note" (Explicit)
"My Block"
"Girl U Know"
and a classic...
"Mind Playin Tricks '94"
The best "Love Lockdown" remix you didn't hear.
Dave Edwards, "Love Lockdown" Remix:
share your files at box.net
The Science of Music...
For the past 8 months or so, unless you've been living under a rock, you've been hearing a song on pretty much constant loop about some girl on girl action. Whether or not Katy Perry actually kissed said girl and liked it, I do not pretend to know. But I do know why the song grew on you, why you probably didn't like it at first but later spent a dollar on iTunes just to hear it when you wanted, and why every time you're in the club you actually expect girls to start going at it when the song drops. It's the science of music.
If you take a close listen to "I Kissed A Girl," you'll notice something sounds very different about it than other pop songs from the past 5 years or so. It's the drumbeat. When Timbaland made his comeback in 2006 with the slew of hits he had for Nelly Furtado, JT, and others, he brought four on the floor back to pop and hip-hop. Four on the floor is where every beat has a kick- you've heard it a million times before in almost all dance/house/trance music, and more recently in Timbaland's "Way I Are"- try counting 1-2-3-4 to any of these songs and you'll hear the repetitive, thumping kick every beat.
Four on the floor is great, but it gets tiresome after a while, as does any music predicated around glowsticks and Ibiza. Pretty soon after Timbo brought it back, every producer and his mom was making beats with the same 4/4 drums. So Katy Perry's producer did something different. He gave her track what you can call a 12/8 beat. The terminology isn't important, so don't let it confuse you. All it means is that Katy Perry's track has a certain triplet timing to it- if you count the beats, instead of going 1-2-3-4, they make you want to count "a-trip-ah-let" for each beat. There's a rolling feel to the beat that makes it extremely catchy. One of the tricks to successful music is that it doesn't let the listener get bored. But really successful music walks a very thin line- it's new and catchy, but it stays within the range of what people know from previous music they've heard and isn't too far out there. Dr. Luke, who produced the track for Perry, knows this very well.
As you might have noticed, the music industry is based upon one business principle: ride it 'til the wheels fall off. When someone finds a formula that works, it is copied by anyone and everyone. That's why after Katy Perry exploded on the charts, a whole bunch of new songs had a very similar drumbeat. Christina Aguilera's "Keeps Gettin' Better," Pink's "So What," and most recently, Britney Spears' "Womanizer" all have a derivative of Perry's 12/8 hit. And you'll be hearing a lot more of it until your boy drops something brand new in the 09.
It's the coolest part of my job, and why I think record producing is one of the most powerful jobs you can have. A skilled producer can make you want to dance, want to cry, or just throw a 'bo in the club. It may just seem like a hot track to you, but somewhere in a studio at 5AM a year earlier, a record producer made you feel that way before you even knew it.
"I Kissed a Girl"
"So What"
"Womanizer"
Producers, listen up...
Being a long time user of Apple's Logic Pro for producing, I never thought I'd be writing this in a blog post. Digidesign was the evil empire, the company who made you buy a bogus audio interface you didn't need or want just to use Pro Tools to painstakingly correct all the places where your vocalist messed up on her 183rd take.
They may still be the evil empire of the audio world, as you still need an Mbox or better just to touch Pro Tools. But if Pro Tools was a hell of a drug, as Jay said, PT8 looks like mainline crack, acid, and xanax all at once. They finally got their MIDI together, and they've followed Apple's lead in giving us producers thousands of royalty-free loops to put in our sequencer and then sell to superstars for 90k a track. All I know is if you're gonna drop 300 on a (m)box, it might as well be one that lets you make Love in The Club...
First post!!!
The Ray-Ban and tophat game is real serious!!
As great as Dr.Dre and them are, and as much as I'll talk about them in later posts, it's only fitting for my first blog post that we look instead at two producers who most people have never heard of, but who changed the game for everyone: Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. If you've ever wondered how Janet Jackson became such a cultural icon in the 80's and early 90's, they are your answer. And if you've ever wondered who aside from Teddy Riley was instrumental in creating the sound of late 80's Pop/R&B, which gave birth to the careers of Timbaland, Missy Elliott, and many others, it's them. On top of it all they made rocking Ray Bans and 2 piece suits to the studio hot before your favorite producer ever touched a keyboard.
Like all great producers past and present, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis created a new sound from tools everyone had but hadn't used right. They blended samples with industrial sound effects, triplet hi hats with new jack swing, and had the dopest vocal production in the 80's, period.
If you've never listened to Janet Jackson's 'Rhythm Nation', do yourself a favor and peep the links below. They'll take you straight back to '88 when George Bush was prez, the Giants won the Super Bowl, and the stock market was tanking. Some things don't change, and classic music never does.
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