Beyonce, Drake, and Diplo... oh my! (feat. Indie Rock, Dubstep, and TVOTR)

oh my oh my... after all eyes are on Beyoncé, her Billboard Music Awards performance last night, and that Diplo Pon de Floor sampling shit song Run The World running the video-waves right about now.  It seems that this lady run tings... One of my favorite music magazines Fader posted up "Till the End of Time" apparently produced, purposefully this time, by Diplo. The post by Fader connects this piece with Drake's "Money Dreams Can Buy", and Indie/Post-Dubstep producer Jai Paul, through a sample from Paul's song "BTSU"

What I'm digging is the connections across Dubstep, Indie Rock, Pop Soul, and Dance in this weird trajectory and mashup of individuals from so many different scenes... transnationalism all over the place. As you know, one of my favorite things to do on this blog is to draw connections across genres, nations, and identities in this new-school crossover mashup cut/n/paste 2.0 thing... It may not matter to you, but border-crossing is something of an interest to me.

So, here are the songs below to show you the connects.. One final plot twist is how much "Till the End of Time" sounds like TV On the Radio's (another Indie band) which I threw at the bottom.... happy connecting ya'll...

Level 1: The Indie Post-Dubstep original...

Level 2: Taking the sample to a Rap audience via Drake

http://defpenradio.com/beyonce-till-the-end-of-time/

Level 3: Diplo takes the same sample, speeds it up and throws up some marching drums and horns to the mix... I'd post a vid, but apparently there are some copyright things gwan... but check the Fader post above for the mp3, or the defpenradio link.

AND plot twist... putting the Indie spin on all this...

phew!!! I'm done!!

RIP Nate Dogg - The tradition of the "Rapper and the Crooner"...

An unfortunate loss in Hip Hop as Nate Dogg passes away today at 41. He and Warren G cooled down the aggro of Onyx, Public Enemy, and NWA to a slow burn that set the stage for Southern Hip Hop and today's cotton-mouthed crew of slow slow slow rappers. Warren G and Nate Dogg are part of a large tradition of the "Rapper and the Crooner" whose roots are found most notably in Reggae music. That vibe is also part of a larger family of duality as you also see in Hip Hop, R&B, and Pop song structures such as "The DJ and the Rapper" and "Female v. Male." As tribute, here are some choice cuts of the "Rapper & Crooner". RIP











and Hip Hop... even Odd Future gets a crooner in there...

Holidays 2010

Janelle Monae: "Many Moons" Official Short Film

The attack of the female R&B/Pop cyborgs continues.... this time with blatant ties to Metropolis... Annie Lennox type androgyny too.

Attack of the People of Color Cyborg R&B Singers

My favorite happens to be Rhianna. While, she doesn't have overt technology on her body, her plastic, cold, looks, and sleek style make me believe she has a USB port somewhere...

and after talking with my friend about it... there seems to be a burgeoning cyborg/POC thing gwan..

Deftmag exclus on Jose James and Jazz/Dubstep...

A good friend of mine who runs this great Hip Hop site called Deftmag.com got this exclus interview with Jose James, which prior to the post, I wasn't too aware of. Apparently he's a Jazz/R&B artist signed to Gilles Peterson's label and is doing the crossover of R&B/Dance/Urban/Jazz that has been touched upon by others like Amp Fiddler, Vikter Duplix, Aloe Blacc etc. This is by no means a knock on his originality as I'm a huge fan of this "Third Stream R&B" and not only does he do the vocals, but does the keys and other instruments.

The Jose James piece here

So please, support deftmag and check this out. Featured in the inteview is how he approached his interpretation of Benga's "Emotions" which Jose James covered as "Warrior" listen to it and the Sbtrkt remix... its bliss...





easy

Erykah Badu - Strawberry Incense

Clip from RapRadar and Underground Charizma

From her upcoming New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh).

Why I love Rhianna - three reasons...

1. Because she is the Ice-Princess pop music needs

2. Follows Missy, Timberland, the Roots, and Outkast in successfully bridging Black music from the U.S and the U.K.
3. She loves Dubstep

The original from Chase and Status...



Other Dubstep tracks on "Rated R"

"Sexy Office Party Music" - aka - my Pantheon of classic R&B

Its in your best interest right now to turn off your office lights, turn up ur speakers, and let the computer monitor's glow warm you to these smooth sounds. Cause its the Quiet "Sexy Office Party" Storm [insert thunder sound here]!

Actually, this post is for me to share with you who I rate as the greatest voices in R&B... yeah a few could be up here... but this is by far my ultimate very best picks according to "Juice-Scan"... so there you go... and if you don't like it make a blog ;-P

... and obviously, there is a girl related to all this...

Presenting 7 songs I consider 3rd Stream R&B

Its ridiculous how much music there is out there. I can say that we of this generation are so blessed with the amount of talent and promise available through free music, youtube, online magazines and the rest. In this new world order, I really don’t think there is a definitive location to find ‘the best’ of anything. Yet just as much, there are so many crap tunes and wannabes who think that spirit alone makes you hot. With this inundation of material out there, sifting through it all becomes a bit wearisome.

In the 50’s and 60’s, R&B was the root of Rock, Funk, and Soul. It evolved to its Golden Era, starting in the late 60’s and moving through the 70’s, with Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder, Sly Stone, Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield, Al Green, Aretha Franklin, Prince, and so on. As Hip Hop took hold in the 80’s, R&B spent some time figuring itself out and putting out great music in the process with early synth acts, New Jack Swing, Hip Hop Soul, and Neo Soul. I absolutely adore today’s voices such as Erykah Badu, Alicia Keys, John Legend, and Jill Scott who now sit comfortably in the Pantheon of R&B/Soul music. These folks present a range of topics and production approaches that can rival the kings and queens of the 70’s.

Yet, what fascinates me is that mainstream R&B feels bound by other popular genres, or even its own legacy. New Jack Swing/Hip Hop Soul is totally co-oping to make it appealing to younger audiences. From Mary J Blige to Ne-Yo, there is an element of beats and video that mimics aesthetics set by Hip Hop. “Neo” Soul similarly ascribes to ‘bringing it back’ and reinstating more organic productions and instruments to mimic the Golden Era. By no means am I stating there is a lack of originality in these subgenres, there has been gorgeous work on these two fronts. But when there is a blatant sense of ‘backwards to go forwards’ or co-opting, I begin to wonder.

On this note, I want to present to you a small list of what I consider to be 3rd Stream R&B. Just as Hip Hop took elements of its past and moved it soooo forward, that new elements began to appear as a evolutionary result (futurism, time/space manipulation, wordplay, culture). These tracks, artists or songs, present to me that ‘future’ which Hip Hop took us all by surprise with. Most of these were chosen for their innovative production, choice of sounds/samples, artistic difference to the mainstream, use of voice, and ability to reinvestigate their predecessors in new ways. In certain respects this music is no different from their mainstream counterparts. Yet, they are not given as much radio play, and therefore I feel they deserve some shine.

Platinum Pied Pipers – “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” Triple P

Tight with Dilla and have the Detroit connection, these dues are pretty traditional, but they bring some funk and groove that I don’t really hear too much. For this list I’d pick their tracks with Tiombe Lockheart, but I remember their cover of “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” being dropped at Fluid in Philly and KILLING the dancefloor so here it is. Beautiful Bossa style rhythm at the club cannot go wrong!

Aloe Blacc – “Are You Ready” Shine Through

Respect for throwing in his Panamanian roots in his cover of “Ordinary People” and “Panama”. But I think he does his best on some very unique sampling and drumming production on “Dance for Life” or “Are you Ready”. He is bold enough to cover Sam Cooke’s “Long Time Coming” to great effect!

Flying Lotus – “Tea Leaf Dancers” Reset EP

FlyLo is a don and pretty much the next level in Hip Hop instrumental production, coming in the graduating class after Madlib and Dilla.

Vikter Dupliax – "Morena" International Affairs

I consider him to be the most ‘traditional’ of this list. But he does come with some experimentals with “Pure” and “Morena”. It’s interesting that he doesn’t get too much mainstream play, as his lyrics are pretty much designed to getting ass.

Stacy Epps – “Floatin” The Awakening

Beautiful vocal strings float around while her voice flies between them, stunning. And, she flows too!

Foreign Exchange – “Daykeeper” - Leave it All Behind

While the entire album is pretty traditional, “Sweeter Than You” and “Daykeeper” bring lush strings and synths alongside some very nice rolling drum breaks. I’m impressed with Phonte’s ability to carry a tune.

Honorable Mention

Erykah Badu – “Twinkle” New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)

With retro tracks like “Amerykah’s Promise”, modern production such as “Soldier” to total blissful wonky vibes of “Twinkle”, it’s wonderful to see a mainstream artist push forward.

RIP Michael Jackson

Common and Erykah Badu Live at SXSW (aka "No lines between Hip Hop and R&B")

So, is this up there with Nas and Jay??? LOL! Folks in my zone have been passing this around and hyping it, check it.



It does look pretty sweet, and Erykah is so gangster! So there you have it. BTW, my only thought on this is first of all, how times have changed in production since Kanye hit the scene and also... how Kanye just doesn't seem so cool up on stage with crowd presence (but you can let me know if you've seen him live).

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My last observation is how we've seen the whole movement of R&B shift slowly but surely towards Hip Hop till the line between Hip Hop and R&B have pretty much dissolved in certain respects. I would even push that further and make a statement that acts like Common have pretty much become the R&B for 30+somethings that were card carrying members of the Wu-Tang Clan and now have to settle to be leftfield Hip Hoppers. We even had a brief stint where Andre 3000 left Hip Hop altogether for some whole next-level Prince technique.



History check... New Jack Swing brought 80's Hip Hop breaks to R&B (Boyz II Men for instance). Second wave came through where acts began posturing as Hip Hop acts (Jodeci, Dru Hill, etc.). Then we move towards a blurring of the lines with Mary J. Blige and TLC, SWV, Missy Elliot, Erykah Badu who abandon the breaks for modern Hip Hop production. To now where Hip Hoppers themselves have began to posture after R&B acts (Foreign Exchange, The Roots, Common, etc.). What about Anthony Hamilton? Jill Scott? Dwele? and others?... Neo-Soul.


Feels Good - Tony! Toni! Toné!



What really is grabbing me in R&B and making it interesting are acts like Aloe Blacc and Stacy Epps who apply a different take on production, allowing voice to reverb or delay to create sonic landscapes, use of wonky off kilter beats, and draw from outside sources. As far as production, I think folks like J Dilla pretty much set that up for them, playing a strong factor in the Hip-Hop'ificaiton of R&B through his productions.

Funky White Boy Pantheon #1 Hall & Oates, "I can't go for that"

It is one of the best uses of casio drum samples in the history of music... Prince does it better too.

R.I.P. Jerry Wexler: Producer, Mogul, Legend

From Pitchfork... wow... I'm impressed, this dude helped shape an R&B and Soul culture. RIP.

Isaac Hayes and Bernie Mac... RIP

"Walk On By" happens to be one of my top five songs in a desert island list. Its strings, its chunky groove and its crescendo is absolutely amazing. From the arrangements, to the funk of it... its absolute killer... When i first heard it off the "Dead Presidents" soundtack, it just blew me away, the song soared with its lifts and drops. My appreciation was definitely confirmed when MF DOOM used it to stunning effect on "Dead Bent".. .I think one of the best refixes of all time.



Bernie Mac came about, at least to me, in that early 90's era of young Black comedic talent that shaped a lot of my youth and understanding of life. It was him, Robin Harris (RIP), Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Chris Tucker, Keenan Ivory Wayans, and so many others that gave me someone on screen that I could relate to. Its funny, cause their take on social life and politics carried more resonance with me than many of the Latino comedians who I saw at the time too (John Leguizamo, he was one of the better ones, but his strong NYC angle and PR roots made him somewhat inaccessible... But George Lopez is straight killer!!). This routine has straight influences from Richard Pryor, and even Rodney Dangerfield... but with a chorus (which he uses about three times) that moves this piece from just a show, to a musical composition.



So, here we are... RIP gentlemen and thank you!