“Drop” was a single released by the Pharcyde, in support of their second album, Labcabincalifornia. It was produced by J Dilla, still going by Jay Dee at the time. Dilla employs his soon-to-be signature crisp, neck-snapping snares and claps. He uses a haunting, spacey backwards sample and a scratched chorus of Ad-Rock from “The New Style”: “Feel the beat….mmmmm…DROP!” I’ll be honest, most of the lyrics to this song don’t really make a lot of sense to me. Nevertheless Bootie Brown kills it, and just reading the lyrics doesn’t do his verse justice:
My name is Bootie Brown and I’m proceeding, leading,
they try to follow but they’re shallow and hollow
I can see right through them like an empty 40 bottle, of O.E.
they have no key, or no clue
to the game at all, now they washed up
hung out to dry
standing looking stupid, wondering why
(why man?)
it was the fame (fame!), that they tried to get
now they walking around talkin’ about represent
and keep it real, but I got to appeal
cause they existing in a fantasy when holding the steel
The song also got a fantastic video courtesy of one of my favourite directors, Spike Jonze. If you haven’t seen it before, see if you can figure out what’s going on before the video finishes:
You can read Jonze’s one-page treatment for the video at Delicious Vinyl’s blog, it’s really interesting.
Da Beatminerz did a remix for the song that appears on the 12′ for “Drop”/”Y?”, as pictured at the top of post. The Ad-rock sample remains but it’s placed low in the mix, and there’s a new chorus:
Believe it or not/it’s all divine/I got the super phat shit that will blow your mind
The backwards electronic-sounding sample is gone; instead the remix compliments a filtered bass line with thudding drum hits. Lyrics are unchanged but the song’s intro and outro is different: Bootie Brown introduces the track as a Beatminerz remix and Tre adlibs a bit at the end.
It’s an interesting take on the track, and in lieu of new Pharcyde material from the original quartet, any material from that era is welcome. Though the original lineup is reuniting for Rock The Bells, maybe new material will come from it. This interview with the group seems to indicate so.
So, you guys gonna make a record?
Slimkid3: We’re gonna go to the lab and work it out. We don’t want to jump the gun, we just want to let it happen.
Is there a lab to go back to?
Slimkid3: Hmm. Uh, I guess we need a lab. Just got back together, uh, yesterday, so… If a lab just so happens to pop up, that would be great.
Fatlip: Yeah. I mean of course it’s hard to say, but the way things have been for the last day, I have to say yes. Things are good.
Listen to both and tell me which version you like better:
The Pharcyde – Drop (Da Beatminerz Remix)
Can’t remember who sent this to me, but here’s more Beatminerz Remixes:
http://coldrockdaspot.blogspot.com/2008/04/crds-presents-da-beatminerz-dah-remixes.html
To me there’s no contest: the original wins every time. Not that the Beatminerz made a horrible song, but the original reminds me of Spike Jonze’s video, which is one of the best hip hop videos ever made, in my opinion.
Max: I agree. That instrumental for me is just intrinsically linked to the visuals.