Enjoy.
Thursday, July 9th, 2009
Alright, so I’m still going on these track reviews. Slowly, I know. I honestly am wondering why I promised to do it. You know what, screw it. I am going to cover EVERY remaining track right now. You can stream them all here.
5 Minutes: This song is not great. End of story. Why does everyone like Skyzoo? I can’t stand him. And the original “Back in the Go Go” beat was better. Good line, though? “Mancini, flier than the rest of them.”
Life’s a Bitch: Hard to say no to this one, but Talib’s Michelle Obama line is questionable. Interesting, but not really tactful, especially coming after a line about Deep Throat.
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
Time for track three, you readers (all 6 of you! just kidding). This is by far one of my least favorite joints on the tape, as almost every version I’ve heard of “Chillin’” inevitably seems to be. What the hell is with these remixes?
Okay, we need to face it: “Chillin” wasn’t amazing to begin with. It was a noble effort on Wale’s part to find a chart-plausible single, but my guess is it may have been shoved down his throat by his label. Lady GaGa was a wise choice for that kind of move, the beat sounds like it should, and the lyrics are smart. But the whole joint feels empty. Even with Lady GaGa gettin’ her MIA on in the background, it fails to impress – it sounds like the token chart-friendly-single.
Calling this joint empty is harsh (and honest), so lets admit there are some great lines: “Let’s talk about the cars ya’ll got/You say you got a lotta whips? Well I’ve got a LOT.” This line is genius in it’s own way, if only because most people will never get it. He means a LOT, as in a car-lot of cars. It’s not obvious, but it is. Which makes it annoying and pseudo-clever. I like it. Whatever, shut up.
Now let’s talk about this remix. The intro sucks – it repeats the same orchestral hit WAY too many times in the same pitch before it leads into a totally disappointing beat. It isn’t a bad remix, but it certainly isn’t what I would expect from Nick Catchdubs regardless, but it certainly isn’t what I would put on a mixtape. The beat just doesn’t ever manage to make up for that truly awful intro, and every other time I hear the orchestral beat (every bar or so), I cringe.
Why did this make the cut? Honestly, I don’t get it. It’s a remix, Catchdubs did it, maybe that was enough – they certainly couldn’t include the lead-off single of Wale’s unreleased album on a mixtape as it was. Whatever, it’s hard to polish shit.
But IS “Chillin” shit? I’ll never really figure it out – it’s not TERRIBLE, but Wale is so much more. The music can be so much deeper, so much more raw in terms of energy – this beat is just totally over-produced, and GaGa’s presence (love her though I do) doesn’t help things.
Remixes of “Chillin’” worth listening to as alternatives? DJ Benzi and Skratch Bastid (via the fantastic Mixtape Maestro!) both have different takes on the track, and both are interesting in their own right. Benzi takes the acapella, speeds the crap out of it, and laces it over a Nightcrawler-The Feeling type house beat (with a video totally worth watching), while Skratch Bastid’s is more off the walls in an old-school hip hop and funk sort of a way. Just listen, you’ll understand what I mean – and enjoy the MIA/Arab Money samples at just the right parts.
…NEXT!
Wale – Chillin’ (Catchdubs v 9th) [mp3]
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Wale – Chillin’ (DJ Benzi remix) [mp3]
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Wale – Chillin’ (Skratch Bastid remix) [mp3]
Monday, June 22nd, 2009
Track two off of Back to the Feature.
The beat is go-go, for sure, minus the congas perhaps. It’s the got the bubbly bassline and horn section. That said, I’m really not in love with it – it’s essentially the same two bars endlessly repeated. But the horns are sick, I will concede that.
The track features two members of rap group State Property (Beanie Siegel was famous for releasing that solo album whilst incarcerated, and Freeway is a badass) and Young Chris.
There are some truly great lines in here:
“You niggas is John Q/You don’t have the heart for it” – Wale
“Me too, I’m sayin, bringin the banger right here/I be hip-hop gamin’ dropin’ bangers all year/Freezer’ll bang that thing and end your singin’ career” – Freeway. The way the words fit around the beat here speaks way more than the lyrics themselves.
Honestly I’m not even sure how I feel about half of the other lyrics but they mold to the beat SO well. That goes for Freeway and Wale’s lines especially. Beanie Siegel’s verse is really a little awkward, not sure why, both in content and delivery. Honestly, this isn’t a track I’d really listen to more than twice, though the lines from Freeway and the “st-st-stutter” from Wale definitely make it worth that second time around.
Wale (feat. Young Chris, Freeway, & Beanie Siegel) – Cyphr [mp3]
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Sunday, June 21st, 2009
I am going through this mixtape track by track, posting all the mp3s with my comments. Does ever song really deserve this much attention? Probably not. Does the mixtape really deserve this kind of attention? Duh.
This is the intro track off of “Back to the Feature,” and it opens with an explanation for the delay. Whatever, all water under the bridge. Let’s just get this started already.
When I first heard this song, I thought the beat was an old Numark/Cut Chemist joint, it would fit PERFECTLY on a Jurassic 5 album. Funky samples, an unconventional chorus, and a bassline that is laidback yet still manages to bang. This definitely isn’t my favorite track, but it’s solid.
Favorite line? “Ya’ll riddles don’t tickle a bit/Ya’ll similes is literal shit”
Wale (feat. Currensy & Tre) – Wordplay [mp3 link]
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Saturday, June 20th, 2009
The wait is over? Oh hot damn, this 75-minutes of music is absolutely my jam. But more about that in a minute. First, the backstory.
The backstory: Wale’s “Back to the Featre” mixtape (a followup to “100 Miles & Running,” and the critically acclaimed “Mixtape About Nothin’”) was due out for release in April. April 29th, actually. How do I remember? I had an iCal appointment to sit down and listen to it. Sadly, April 29th came and went, and there was nary a tweet about it on the hyperactive WaleDC twitter account. So, like an obedient little fan, I sent him a tweet: “@WaleDC Hey man, any word on that mixtape?” No response.
A week later, word surfaced that a May release date was possible, though he didn’t say much on Twitter. Weeks passed, and more release dates came and went without a mixtape. I was discouraged, worried that this mixtape might never come out (Was he having MC-block? If it did come out, would it disappoint?), when a glimmer of hope surfaced. Wale announced that it would be out by June 13th or bust.
Bust.
It wasn’t out, there was no word last weekend about progress, and I was ready to give up. Some way to treat your fans, right? Early this week there was an announcement on his Twitter, simple and to the point: the mixtape is done, putting the final touches on, out this Friday. On Friday, he missed the deadline for getting it online. Damn, right? But then it came out.
IT CAME OUT. Now, back to the future (now). Or rather, Back to the Feature. Straight to my iPod with my obscenely expensive headphones, and when I drove into Boston it went straight into the car stereo. I could. Not. Turn. It. Off.
Over the next week I’ll run through reviews of some of my favorite tracks, but for expediency’s sake, here’s a few good ones: Pot of Gold, Rhyme N Reason, Um Ricka.
Cop it here: http://www.zshare.net/download/61605401574105cb/
Friday, March 6th, 2009
Fact: Mark Ronson is a champ. Fact: Daniel Merriweather is a champ. Fact: Wale is definitely a champ.
Conclusion: If they all worked together on a song if would be awesome.
“But ezra,” you might say, “why would those artists ever work together? And would it even work? Maybe it would just be too top-heavy, burdened by all those great names!”
“Well,” I might reply, “because it would be awesome, yes it would, and you are wrong.”
And why is that? Because it’s happened, and it’s the shit. I bring to you, faithful readers, “Change.”
“Change” is the epic collaboration between the god Mark Ronson, the crooner Daniel Merriweather, and the upcoming rap-hero Wale. Get excited, this is the shit. The only sad part about this track is that while the lyrics are serious and conscious, it sometimes gets lost in the absolutely incredible music.
Daniel Merriweather feat. Wale – Change [mp3, right-click this to download]
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Friday, December 19th, 2008
9 inches of snow, apparently. That, is a shame. I have an exam this evening, but in the mean time here is some fantastic music:
Duffy feat. Wale – Warwick Avenue [mp3]
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The guitar comes in, a little vinyl cracke in the background, it swooshes into the beat and Wale rhymes over a lush beat and some thick strings. In his typical style of wordplay and wrapping each line into the next, he’s frustrated but still clever as he raps “You make me beat around the bush/Just to beat around your bush.” Duffy, though her appearance in her own track is limited (this is a remix, mind you), has a gorgeous voice. In the last 30 seconds of the song she really gets to shine, pained voice and all.
Colin Munroe – Piano Lessons [mp3]
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A pleasant piano plinking in the background, Munroe’s vocals in this track are fascinating – they get shifted up and down to pleasant intervals in the middle of a sentence, creating an oddly disjointed experience that comes together rather nicely. Joell Ortiz’s verse is pretty crisp, about a girl he’s crushing on who is learning to play piano.
Colin Munroe feat. Wale – Will I Stay [mp3]
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I’m not sure how I know the background beat already, but it’s reminiscent of some fabulous 70′s ish. His voice is so smooth. Dropping almost every 4th beat during the verse, the anticipation leading up to the chorus is great, and right after the first chorus Wale chimes in. He knows exactly when to ride over the beat and when to let it drop. The chorus itself is great, his “woah”s are the perfect crossover into power-pop anthem territory. Production note: the processed falsettos he throws into his songs is so funky, I’m feeling it.
And because the weather is just so perfect, it’s time to revive my favorite rap from a commercial ever. “Gifted like christmas ’cause I love to (w)rap” is a fantastic line and it’s telling that Common can make a better commercial than most rappers can do in a whole album.
Thursday, December 18th, 2008
With a Poli. Sci exam tomorrow evening, I’ve pretty much locked myself in the library today. I procrastinate and you win!
Charles Hamilton – Brooklyn Girls [mp3]
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His first real track was that “Windows Media Player,” made almost solely from using sounds from Windows 98. Amusing, and the lyrics were tight. This is a little bit more playable, and DJ Benzi (as an aside, his new mixtape 10 Deep is fantastic) has been hyping him like none other. This is some good stuff – the beat is energetic but not out of control. It hits hard but would sound equally at home in my car (1996 Green Toyota Camry, thanks for asking) with the windows down, or in the middle of a massive house-party. The lines are clever and while I prefer the WASP-y/JAP-y girls that reside in Massachusetts, who am I to quarrel with Hamilton’s taste?
Peter Gabriel & Hot Chip – Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa [mp3]
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Um… Holy shit. No, seriously. This is soooooo god-damn good. Considering that Vampire Weekend is probably one of my favorite groups right now, and that Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa is incredibly influenced by Peter Gabriel, I cannot believe this is actually happening. My favorite line? “Feels so unnatural, Peter Gabriel too. And it feels so unnatural… to sing your own name.” Oh, and did I mention that Hot Chip worked on this with him? I’m not Hot Chip’s biggest fan, but this is damn cool.
The only gripe? It sounds like this was recorded with the F-word in it and then they silenced it for the final editing. The end of the “do you want to” is cut off in a strange way. Apparently this was supposed to make the single version of this track but was never released. This makes procrastinating soooo much easier. Made my day. Made my day. Made my day.
Daniel Meriweather & Wale – Pot of Gold [mp3]
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This track must have come out a long time ago, cause it originally appeared on Mark Ronson’s “Get Chai” mixtape from like 2004 – around when he started working with Meriweather. That said, this has a Wale verse on it, and it sounds a little cleaner than the version I have from the last mixtape. It’s got a good piano feel, with some hard-hitting drums that would feel at home in an early 90′s hip-hop party anthem. Anyway, I highly recommend you check it out.
—
And… an amusing little music video from Wiley (featuring Daniel Meriweather’s voice). They did this in one take. How? Why? Thank you lord.
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008
..that rappers let the beat carry their track for them?! Honestly, there are some great rappers out there. Many, many, many. But listen to almost any remix or top 40 rap track and you’ll see what I mean: rappers let the beat do all the work, like “oh, this beat is just so hot that no one will notice that my lyrics are non-sensical and lack a rhyme scheme.” Bullshit.
I get it, you can put out a remix really fast and get on the blogsites if the original is really hot, but oh my god there are some awful remixes that get posted just because they’re remixes. I just listened to the Freeway remix of “Paper Planes” (here), and half of it is great (“top me off like a toupee”? genius), and half of it just doesn’t really flow. Same deal with 90% of the remixes that get posted every day. Bleh.
On the upside, the new Coldplay album is the shit. Violet Hill, end of story. Also, Kid CuDi released a mixtape about a week ago, check out the tracks “Man on the Moon,” and “Is There Any Love?”.
What?! You still want more tracks to check out? Fineeee, you can have another new favorite. Rhymefest (feat. Wale) – Ya’ll Ain’t Heard It From Me. I cannot wait for that album. Speaking of the Chicago side, Kanye did some nice little singing on Bentley Fonzworth’s new track “Everybody” aka “C.O.L.O.U.R.S. (Cool Outrageous Lovers of Uniquely Raw Style). Don’t ask, just do.