III: Laptopical is finally here.
My brand new full length project, the third and final one in my "laptop trilogy", is now available to the public on this 1st of March in the year of 2010 featuring original production by Chris Campbell and Charlie Hilton as well as retakes of tracks produced by DJ Khalil, Mr. DJ, Elite, & Just Blaze. I do have to throw out the word of warning that the epic "Hold On (Remix)" listed as track 12 is not currently in the zip file for download. It's still pending completion with some amazing emcees lending their verses to the Charlie Hilton reinterpretation of my lead single from I Get That a Lot, but trust that I'll get that joint out the minute it's ready. I just didn't want to hold back this project any longer that I'd started producing for as far back ago as July '09. So here's the follow up to The Laptop Mixtape and Vol. 2, A Laptop Chronicle that have defined my progress as an emcee since 2007 to where I am today in this whole music thing.
Chris Campbell
III: Laptopical [alt. Mediafire link] [alt. bandcamp link]
Tracklist
1. Fear Freestyle (feat. Aaronn Ralph) [originally by Drake; prod. by DJ Khalil]
2. The Reason I Smile [prod. by Chris Campbell, sampling "Pretty Wings" by Maxwell]
3. The Disorder [prod. by Chris Campbell, sampling "Brand New Start" by Alter Bridge]
4. MJ is Hip Hop (Interlude) [mixed by Chris Campbell]
5. Why Oh Why (feat. Aaronn Ralph) [prod. by Chris Campbell, sampling "Human Nature" by Michael Jackson]
6. Giving In (feat. Aaronn Ralph) [prod. by Chris Campbell, sampling "Give In to Me" by Michael Jackson feat. Slash]
7. No I [prod. by Chris Campbell, sampling "Wicked Game" by Chris Issack]
8. Probably Won't [prod. by Chris Campbell, sampling "Cooler Than Me" by Mike Posner]
9. Me [prod. by Chris Campbell, sampling "Let Me Be Myself" by 3 Doors Down]
10. B.I.G. (Interlude) [mixed by Chris Campbell]
11. Da Art of Storytellin' Part 2 Freestyle [originally by OutKast; prod. by Mr. DJ]
12. Hold On (Remix feat. brandUn DeShay, LaVish, Mike Dreams, Chris Barz, & Aaronn Ralph) [prod. by Charlie Hilton, sampling "Hold On" by Chris Campbell feat. Steven Gilpin]
13. Oh So Much [prod. by Chris Campbell, sampling "No Other Love" by John Legend feat. Estelle]
14. Pseudo Making It [prod. by Chris Campbell, sampling "Not as We" by Alanis Morissette]
15. I Can't Win Freestyle (feat. Aaronn Ralph) [originally by Pack FM; prod. by Elite]
16. Exhibit A Freestyle [originally by Jay Electronica; prod. by Just Blaze]
... but do take my word for it.
Showing posts with label Maxwell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maxwell. Show all posts
Monday, March 1, 2010
III: Laptopical
Friday, February 26, 2010
Best Albums of '09
So this year was a weird one in the rap world. For the first time ever, the mixtape game caught up and lapped its secular album counterparts. To reflect that, I'll have a separate EP/mixtape Top 10 because there honestly would only be about 3 of these joints that would survive on a combined list. That's dirty. Unless some record exec comes up with something serious, this industry's gonna die a whole lot sooner than later. There's only gonna be like three and a half dudes left that could put out hit albums from any given genre. Or albums are gonna be weeded out altogether and you're only gonna be seeing singles for the rest of forever. Oh well. Let's move on, shall we, with the few LPs that did escape the grasp of the label heads. And we'll make no further mention of Robert Plant, ever.
10. Asleep in the Bread Aisle - Asher Roth
Yes. This shows how lacking 2009 was. But I can't lie, the album that was forced out immediately on the inexplicable hype of "I Love College" had some quality to it. If you wanna go back and read my track-by-track Twitter review, go ahead. For a few months at least, the resident thugs of rap were asked to step aside and make way for the MTV-friendly blonde frat boy who could twist a rhyme scheme a lil' bit and make all the teenage girls swoon. He was just as easily discarded from the limelight, but not before the blog campaign to support the guy's debut album as the first 09 Freshman to get a release. With strong features such as my man Cee-Lo, Miss Keri Hilson, double time Busta Rhymes, pre-Jigga-hating Beanie Sigel, and the always great Slick Rick, I genuinely enjoyed approximately 85% of this album. When avoiding the topic of weed smoking and hitting on anything that walks, Asher can be pretty interesting. Who knows if the guy will ever recover for a major sophomore follow-up, but he undeniably had his impact on 2009. Surprise track: "Fallin'"
9. Brooklynati - Tanya Morgan
These guys came to Lexington last semester for a show and I'm very proud to have attended. The trio with a girl's name released Brooklynati to their cult-like following those privileged enough to be amongst them knew what to expect. With Ohio natives Ilyas and Donwill plus the Justus League's resident New Yorker Von Pea, Tanya Morgan is all about the rapping. With stylistic inspiration of the old Native Tongues crew and the Soulquarians, all the production by Von Pea and Brick Beats nestle in on a range of boom bap to soul hop. Jermiside, Phonte, Che Grand, Kay, Blu, and even Ms. Info all join the party on features. The hook are most always chant worthy and transitioned perfectly into their hyped live show, which forever cements this album as essential in my book. Brooklynati is fun, lighter listen than the rap world's grimy alternatives. It's all about style and dopeness with this crew who you can tell just loves hip hop more than the majority of rap acts out. Surprise track: "Hardcore Gentleman"
8. This Perfect Life - Charles Hamilton
Yes, I know this never got its proper release. But it should have, so we'll treat it like it did. I already gave a long rundown of the circumstances around this project, so I'll just talk about the music itself. This was unfiltered CH. It was completed before the industry exile and represented all the aspects of composition that Charles loved to experiment with. The beats were all self-produced with heavy drums over roughly chopped samples that had been utterly decomposed. And over this signature lo-fi sound, Charles rapped in his free-associating, lazy manner while distortedly crooning on the hooks. Each song was heavy on this album. Whether discussing the industry, racism, or the motivation to live, Charles did it his way and with witty thoughtfulness. This music was the epitome of his bare-all diary reading, making it everything that caused his fans to connect with him on the most instinctual level while it also was exactly what made his detractors disregard him in the first place. You either love or you hate this failed Interscope CD. Just like you do with all of Charles' music. Surprise track: "Post-Lynching Ceremony"
7. Padded Room - Joe Budden
Joey's another hate-him-or-love-him type of emcee. Especially when he's on his mentally tortured steez. This album is the second in a series of (kinda) conceptual releases. Besides a couple of weird momentum shifters, this record's pretty much halfway to an old school Eminem-type project minus the white boy angle and at half the speed. Filled with hallucinations, drug binges, depression, and suicidal notions, Joe narrates you through his inadequacies in life. The main problem a lot of people had with this release was the lineup of unknown producers. I'm not going to give him the Nas title of having a lead ear, though. I don't mind most of the beats, even though some of them seem to fall short in contributing to the darker mood that you'd assume he would've wanted. And I'm never one to complain as long as Budden is going on thought-provoking rants or just simply telling a story about whatever. Somehow this is technically his sophomore release, but that's a nonexistent point with Joe's veteran status on the mic. While it doesn't always stay on track from song to song, I don't really care. If you don't mind your hip hop in emotional turmoil and somewhat disorganized, then this will be found in your rotation. Surprise track: "Exxxes"
6. Slaughterhouse - Slaughterhouse
The blogosphere's darling supergroup actually got a release. Color me surprised. New Jersey's Joe Budden, Detroit's Royce da 5'9", New York's Joell Ortiz, and Los Angeles' Crooked I all took a pause from their mixtape campaigns and joined together to make the hardest album lyric-by-lyric in years. Sure, it's a lot of murder, murder, murder talk, but when the emcees doing the talking can rap like these four can, it's anything but recycled. In my opinion, you know you're dope when people can't agree on what to hate on you about. I read some reviews saying that Slaughterhouse is too monotonous with their hardcore lyrical aggressiveness on every track. But then I also read some reviews complaining about the concept tracks of "Pray", "Cut You Loose", or "Rain Drops" when they switched their collective style up. So ... ya know. This album, bar for bar, is stank-face-inducing. But I have to air my one and only gripe ... You should NEVER have Pharoahe Monch on your tracklist and confine him solely to a chorus. It's a dope track, but "Salute" could have been an all-timer with a single additional 16. Ha. Surprise track: "Not Tonight"
5. Attention:Deficit - Wale
I feel like this album got the "disappointment by popular demand" treatment. You know, when something's really dope, but everyone listens (or doesn't listen at all) to it after they've read that it's a sellout attempt that couldn't compare to The Mixtape About Nothing. And then that person perpetuates that one quotable description and everyone jumps along with it. Attention:Deficit is dope. Yeah, he has commercial features by Lady Gaga and Gucci Mane on his singles, but he also K'naan and J. Cole features along with BKS and Dave Sitek beats. Is that selling out, too? And I don't care how dumb Gucci's mumbling rapping (I had to fight myself to not put that in quotations) is, nothing could ruin the inerrant greatness of "Pretty Girls" as a bomb single or any other classification. Dude puts a go-go singer that all of us non-DMV residents have never heard of and it rocks like none other. Wale's musical stylings are still the same as any of his other projects, his awkward rhyme schemes at times are still there, his punctuating punchline referencing is still adamant, and his diverse subject matter is still present. The quality gap between this debut album and his mixtapes that reviewers quip about simply isn't there. If you liked Wale before, you'll enjoy this album and spin it ridiculous. Don't believe the non-hype. Especially if you extend your iTunes version of this album by tacking on the joints that didn't make the cut, like "Ice & Rain", "Letter", and "Bittersweet". Surprise track: "Contemplate (feat. Rihanna [sampled, but close enough])"
4. The Blueprint 3 - Jay-Z
I don't care what anybody accuses this album of being. This is destined to be a classic in my book. With three legit smash singles in the calling-out of "D.O.A.", the (NWO) anthemic "Run This Town", and the hometown opus "Empire State of Mind", this album easily meant more to commercial hip hop than any other release last year. But the heart of it to me is the deeper digging chemistry of Jay with Kanye and No I.D.'s work on the boards plus all the chances that he took with hip hop's newcomers. Some call it a desperation reach to remain relevant, but I see his collaborations with J. Cole, KiD CuDi, and Drake as spotlight generosity. His album was gonna be on easy platinum status whether or not anyone else was on it, so don't kid yourself. And if you were lucky enough to get in on a leg of the Blueprint 3 tour, then you heard, saw, and felt the purpose that each track served. Hov brought back his quiet flow, experimented with some techno sounds, and even threw out a full blown indie collabo with Empire of the Sun. It's already cliche for me to repeat, but if you want the old Hov, buy his old album. Surprise track: "Venus vs. Mars (feat. Cassie/Beyonce)"
3. The Element of Freedom - Alicia Keys
I think it's her best album. If I don't know what to listen to at any given minute, I scroll down just a little bit through the A's and double-click that gorgeous spoken word intro and let this album ride. Ms. Keys (I will never refer to her as Mrs. Beatz) creates some of her most catchy melodies and accompaniment of her career and still somehow finds a way to take her vocals to different places even on her fourth album. It only takes managing to get to track 2 ("Love is Blind") to find that out. The LP's sole blemish is the God-awful Beyonce collaboration, "Put It in a Love Song". Alicia rarely does any collaborations in any way, shape, or form, and this track kinda shows why the majority of pop artists probably shouldn't break into her artistic circle. Forgetting that that song exists ... the three lead singles ("Doesn't Mean Anything", "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart", and "Empire State of Mind, Part 2") are all anthemic and have already carved up the charts. The insanely classic "Un-thinkable" that just so happened to be written by Drake needs some single treatment, too. That cut is too big to be denied. Alicia is 4 for 4 on studio projects and I don't think she could drop a disappointing album if she tried. Surprise track: "Love is My Disease"
2. Man on the Moon: The End of the Day - KiD CuDi
This debut destroyed any defining barrier that was possibly left in hip hop. No one can convince me otherwise. CuDi hit the emotional vein of a generation of listeners who have never heard someone live through their music for them. Kanye tried, but he'd already been rich and critically acclaimed ten times over again by the time 808s came around. So while Kan's music was easily full of brilliant expression, CuDi hits that nerve in a more genuine way and did it on his very first attempt. He sorta rapped and sorta sung his way into the consciousness of a fan base that he created himself. He didn't go out seeking his niche in music, he just made it and let people flock to it as they pleased. Yeah, "Day N Nite" was a smash hit that was released years before this album dropped to the public, but that joint was included on this album by default of the record label. Man on the Moon is about a journey. An incomplete journey. An incomplete journey filled with lowest of mistakes followed up by five minute highs and rounded off by further disappointment. It's about not being good enough and knowing that even though you're not good enough, sometimes that's good enough. It's about not understanding your purpose. It's about knowing that even though you may never know your purpose, the journey to try and understand it anyways may very well be your purpose. It's about being the man on the moon. And KiD CuDi managed to pick the most epic instrumental landscape ever in which to articulately melodicize his way through this journey. And it would have been the album of the year in pretty much any other year ever. Surprise track: "Up Up and Away"
1. BLACKsummers'night - Maxwell
The first time I heard "Broken Wings", I knew this was gonna one of my favorite projects of the decade. I admittedly had to do some Maxwell research as I came to my age of musical appreciation right in the middle of Maxwell's hundred year break from music-making. But that hiatus only made this album more perfect. And let me emphasize the last word in that sentence. Perfect. This LP, though only 37.3 minutes long, is perfect. Each of the 8 songs, plus the musical outro, is perfect. Maxwell has as distinctive a voice as anyone in music history and he uses it to its full effect crooning over every track of his own production. I've listened to this whole project 22 times straight through. And that says nothing to the spins of each individual joint. I can't imagine a greater R&B record than this. I literally can't. While I thoroughly enjoy contemporary artists such as John Legend and Anthony Hamilton who are insanely great at what they do, no one I've ever heard has crafted an album like this down to every micro-detail of its development. I guess some of the greatest music ever comes in the briefest of packages. From "Bad Habits" to "Cold" to "Pretty Wings" to "Help Somebody" to "Stop the World" to "Love You" to "Fistful of Tears" to "Playing Possum", Maxwell crafts an immaculate atmosphere of absolutely wherever he wants to take his listener. While you may think the subjects of heartache and desire are familiar, this album is enough to make you rethink that. The brevity keeps you dying for more of this audible experience. I cannot articulate how much I need blackSUMMERS'night and blacksummers'NIGHT in my life. And my future woman's life. Surprise track: "Playing Possum"
... but do take my word for it.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Best Songs of '09
There's no reason you should hold my personal year-end opinion over anyone else's since it's strictly subjective when trimming literally thousands upon thousands of songs from 2009 into a single 10 joint list. So you can either ignore me altogether and scoff at my attempt, or you can enjoy my personal guide to what my ears consistently were bumping in the 365 days that made up last year. Oh, and by the way, Coldplay sucks. I don't care how many awards they win or how many songs they do with my favorite rappers.
11. Bonus: "Hurricane" - 30 Seconds to Mars feat. Kanye West
This was the surprise track of the year for me. I, like most rap fans, can admit to never having heard a song by 30 Seconds to Mars before. And the song motivation itself could easily be chalked up to a midlife crisis collaboration by Kanye in-between his 808s and Taylor Swift heartbreak. But it’s actually an amazingly epic composition. I can deal with the slightly whiny hook by the lead singer because the lyrics are so heavy and the production is so prolifically explosive. I can only assume that Ye at least did the drums, but regardless, this “Hurricane” is fit to play in the climactic scene of the next crazy huge billion-dollar-budget action movie. Mark it.
10. "I Figured It Out!" - brandUn DeShay
This song is everything you don’t hear in any rap songs. Nowadays or ever. It’s a track stripped of all posturing. It’s raw and emotional and just tells a story. It intros with gorgeous strings immediately as the story unfolds and the production continues to crescendo until the climactic and glorious presentation of the sampled hook. It’s put together brilliantly and is a standout track for me from brandUn’s second full-length project. You should already know that all his music is dope, but this one finds its niche in a section of hip hop that doesn’t exist: genuineness.
9. "In Case I Actually Get Her" - Charles Hamilton
Your immediate greeting in this song is the gentle acoustics of Rihanna's "PS (I'm Still Not Over You)". CH then jumps straight into the closing of his conceptual opus, Well isn't This Awkward. If you don't enjoy all the things that make Charles Charles, then you may not enjoy this too much. But the "lo fi" mastering with rough sample dubbing, the dead pan delivery of lyrics driven by heartache, and the over-harmonized hook singing are exactly what make this the epitome of Hamilton music. His lyrics are always witty and he shows a masterful focus in bringing an alternative close to this full project over a song from his love obsession. You'll know right away if the track's going to strike you in a strong way. It captures a completely different emotion throughout as he deepens the pitch of the selective portion of the original RiRi joint and makes it a classic CH composition.
8. "Nothing On You" - Bobby Ray feat. Bruno Mars
B.o.B is one of those artists that I (and many others) really hope is smiled upon by the industry. It very rarely happens to someone who actually deserves it, but here's hoping that Bobby breaks the mold. The ATLien who can rap, legitimately sing, and actually play guitar comes correct on this lead single from his future debut album. He infuses his full-scale musicality and understanding of catchy, substantive songwriting effortlessly. I don't think anybody knows who Bruno Mars is, but he can sing any chorus he wants to from here on out. This lively ode to (*gasp*) monogamy is a genuine hit created in a similar vein to "I'll Be in the Sky" (an entrant in '08s top song list). If this song is any indication, Bobby Ray's proper debut should be huge and make its mark in progressive rap music forever.
7. "Otherside" - Macklemore
I strictly have 2dopeboyz to thank for this one. Otherwise I probably never would have been introduced to the Seattle emcee Macklemore. Once the Red Hot Chili Peppers riff sample comes on with this song, I'm swept away. This was one of the very few rap songs in recent memory that absolutely demanded me to spin it back over and over again immediately. It has an insane energy of importance to it that's punctuated with Macklemore's clear diction of an untackled subject matter in rap. And while you would think that any song discussing the ramifications of the cough syrup-abusing epidemic would come off boring and preachy ... it's anything but that, damn it. With his very opening bar, Macklemore joined Shad in becoming the only rappers to convince me of their respective greatness immediately. I've never heard a rapper rap like him, and with that, this song instantly catapulted itself to a premier representative of the entire year in music altogether.
6. "Heart of a Lion (KiD CuDi Theme Music)" - KiD CuDi
Even more than "Soundtrack 2 My Life", this song was the soundtrack to my life. CuDi's three-year-old single "Day N Nite" ruled all of 2008 and he made sure to ride that momentum into something spectacular this year. I have to prevent myself from just dishing on the entire album so I can save that for the top LP list. This song specifically is the second track in Act II: Rise of the Night Terrors and represents CuDi mentally preparing himself for everything that's about to come in his life. It's all about deading the effects of what's haunted you all your life previously to accept the potential good out of a situation that may not seem to be positive at all. If you can somehow create confidence from a place in your life that gives rise to pretty much every feeling besides confidence, then you can go somewhere. And I really don't care if you feel like the song's that deep. Cuz it is to me. Plus, if you're not in the mood for psychoanalyzing, then just scream the hook as loud as you can to your heart's content and forget about everything else. No, no, no, no, no, no, nooo, YEAH, nooo, YEAH ...
5. "Exhibit A" - Jay Electronica
Everyone was hanging off "Exhibit C" (including me), but it just so happens that its prequel hit a little closer to home for me. The production on this joint is bonkers. It's a perfectly crafted beat if there ever was one. And I've never been a big Just Blaze believer, either, so I don't exactly know where this came from. Mr. ElecHanukkah made sure he took full advantage of it, too. The elusive emcee remains as the intellectual name-dropping alternative to Game and has the enlightened bars to back it up. Every run of falling keys is a powerful moment and this is one of those obscure tracks that people will point to years down the road and still hold in insanely high regard. Trust me. I spit that wonder rhymer sh/me and my conglomerates/shall remain anonymous/caught up in the finest sh/get that type of media coverage Obama get/spit that Kurt Vonnegut/that blow your brain, Kurt Cobain, that Nirvana sh ...
4. "Fear" - Drake
"Best I Ever Had" didn't convince me. "Every Girl" sure as hell didn't convince me. And I still haven't gotten through a full listening of "Money to Blow" without falling asleep. But "Fear" was the track to finally break through to me. Up until this So Far Gone addition was released, I would have sworn that Weezy had drained all the realness out of Drake that he'd worked crazy hard to establish with Room For Improvement and Comeback Season. But no, it just turned out that Aubrey was waiting for one of those once-in-a-lifetime DJ Khalil beats to come bouncing his way to force him to rap about something again. In what's pretty much his own anti-"Forever", subject matter-wise, Drake details what his newfound fame hasn't done for him. And the song just feels good to listen to. Even with the obligatory autotuned hook. I'll take all of it. He claimed this is the transition record between his latest mixtape offering and the content that's gonna make up his debut album. And that statement better hold up, cuz this song is on classic status. [... *looks at Drake* ...] And don't let me down, man, cuz my roommate has hung out with you twice already and he's got me believing in you as a person. So ... yeah.
3. "Unthinkable (I'm Ready)" - Alicia Keys feat. Drake
I should've been convinced earlier by "Houstatlantavegas", "Little Bit", and "Brand New" that Drizzy was straight when dealing with R&B songwriting. But no, it took a collaboration with the love of my life for me to see how legit he was in crafting a classic. He smartly only provides just the slightest hint of background vocals for this song, though, and let's Alicia take care of everything else. The beat was dually produced by Miss Keys and Drake's in-house producer 40, and I will swear by the tandem in all future ventures. The deep drum pulses and vibrancy of the piano baselines sprinkled with 40's signature atmospheric mastering make this a surefire hit. The only thing that would keep me from crowning it a Billboard charter is the fact that Alicia had a similarly powerful track, "Lesson Learned", on her previous album that was never released as a single at all. Regardless, though, Drake's edgy songwriting pushes Alicia in a slightly deviated musical direction from normal that only brings back perfect results. I think this new album is the best in her catalogue, and this specific song is the beacon that I find myself winding up at the most. Every line has an urgency to it and the emotive effects linger long after the song's finished playing.
2. "Fo Yo Sorrows" - Big Boi feat. George Clinton, Shorty, & Too $hort
How? Can a rapper really have a premier song of all of 2008, follow it up with a premier song of all of 2009, and still have those songs' album nowhere in sight? Yes. Frickin' Sir Lucious Left Foot is still a figment of our imagination. But somehow I can't seem to get too mad at that fact when this song is better than most entire albums dropped in '09. This is funk at its finest as obviously influenced by Mr. P-Funk himself, reprising his "Synthesizer" collaborative role. Too $hort even manages not to ruin it with his expectedly welcomed novel misogyny and drug talk. The fluent double-time as well as slow-flowing Big Boi personas are in full effect here commanding his shared stage, but the driving force behind this unbelievable composition is the retardedly perfect Shorty hook. For those who think life is unfair/cuz I blow my smoke in the air/as if no one is standing there/then I'll roll one tonight, fo yo sorrows/in my chair, as I sit back smiling from ear to ear/with a fistful of your girlfriend's hair/yes, she'll blow one tonight, fo yo sorrows. Don't judge it until you're singing every word of it in some imitative voice that you'll never have down right. And since Andre is nowhere to be seen, this is Big's murder blow to anyone who ever held the notion that OutKast wasn't a two-genius crew. This song gives me the stank face every single time. It's beyond ridiculous.
1. "Pretty Wings" - Maxwell
My song of the year comes as the return-to-form track from an artist fresh off an eight-year hiatus. The only funny thing is that I never knew who he was in the first place. Upon first listen, I knew that "Pretty Wings" was something really special. Upon fiftieth listen, it still had the same perfect luster with each note and was well on its way to being the most played song in my entire iTunes collection. It stumbled into my life in the exact same fashion as Alicia Keys' "No One" had years prior. The music video managed to be leaked to my attention before the mp3 ever even did. All I saw was the beautiful woman in the still image and that was enough for me to check it out. That video and its gorgeous accompaniment were profoundly impacting and I'm still in love with every facet of instrumentation in its composition. Literally every song on the new album is a classic to me, but even in all their collective glory, "Pretty Wings" alone will forever define 2009 with every chime. Sometimes what's meant to be is for it not to be. But this song will still be there regardless, so life's all good.
... but do take my word for it.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Classic: Whatever You Say
I'm cheating on this one. I'm using it as a "classic" and a fake "sampled" joint. But you'll forgive me.
Little Brother - Whatever You Say (Pete Rock Remix)
Maxwell - Whenever, Wherever, Whatever
The middle of this remixed Little Brother joint has one of my top three Phonte verses of all time. I'm not gonna ruin it for you if you haven't heard it, but it has one of those closing lines that can instantaneously make you an annoying mixtape DJ ... "BRING THAT ISH BACK!!!
And Pete Rock beautifully laced it with a remix beat utilizing a song off of Maxwell's debut album. [As an aside, I don't think Urban Hang Suite is even a fraction as ridiculously and amazingly perfect as BLACKsummers'night. But that's just me.] You'll like it. You'll even sit through Big Pooh because you'll like it so much. I'm just joking. But not really. I don't have much else to say about it. It's classic and is one of those hip hop moments that you just need to know.
... but do take my word for it.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Pretty Wangs
So I gotta say I have no idea who Maxwell is. But I love the one song I've heard from him. Guess I'm not as up on '90s R&B as I should be. Should I be up on '90s R&B?
Obviously I should be if his old stuff sounded like this. The songwriting touches my soul on some whole other level. Like to the HNL (for my madTV-ers). It's really weird, but from this song alone he's leapfrogged all the other R&B dudes out right now for me. His voice does everything on this song over disgusting gorgeous love production. This music is love. That's the only way I can describe it. Man. I've been waiting for this song my whole life and I still don't even know who this dude is. I even made a beat off of this song this morning. Prolly a III: Laptopical track to-be.
I just really like this song.
Maxwell - Pretty Wings
... put 'em both together and you got yourself a super spork.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
