Metal Lungies

“The Light” was a second single released by Common in support of his 4th album, Like Water for Chocolate. It’s produced by Jay Dee, before he took on the J Dilla alias. Jay employs an oft used drum break by the Detroit Emeralds and tweaks the snares and hi hats to make them sound extra crisp. The beat is centered around samples from from Bobby Caldwell’s “Open Your Eyes”, in particular airy keyboards from the original’s prechorus. Stuttered piano keys sampled open the song and enter occasionally on the verses. The piano keys sound on the chorus where Jay scratches Caldwell’s vocals:

There are times, when you need someone/I will be by your side
There is a light that shines/Special for you and me

At the end of the song, Jay scratches other parts of Caldwell’s vocals as the song fades out.

A music video was made, costarring Erykah Badu and filled with shots of all sorts of tokens of affection.

Pictured at the top of the post is the 12′ cover. A remix was recorded for the soundtrack to Bamboozled and released as a single. Pictured below is the CD single cover:

Like the original, the remix is produced by Jay Dee. The remix features Erykah Badu singing the original chorus and adding backing vocals during the verses. The song begins with Badu singing the chorus to just handclaps for a few seconds before the beat drops. Jay switches up the drums, utilizing shakers and claps. The piano has been removed in favour of Kraftwerk sounding keyboards and a churning, jazzy guitar loop. The remix also adds a thick, live-sounding bass line and some ghostly sounding vocals that join in randomly on the choruses. Com re-recorded his vocals for the remix, reciting slightly different lyrics more slowly and solemnly.

I do prefer the original, but the remix is interesting for actually featuring the person the song is written about on it. It shows Jay Dee’s knack for completely re-imagining songs through remixing.

Common – The Light

Common – The Light (Remix For U ft.Erykah Badu)

You may have heard about Lil Wayne saying Fuck The Mixtape Djs, and a DJ promptly leaking The Carter III, well here’s criminally slept on Skillz’s take on the whole situation from his blog:

Iiight so fuck the dj? For real? Wow! First lemme say I dont get alot of radio/club play, sometimes my record dont apply & I can understand that but I dont care if I had no spins on my record I would never say fuck a dj. No DJ at all, I wouldnt say fuck a DJ that I dont know!! lol It just baffles me how the hottest artist out right now can say Fuck the dj’s!! Where would he be without the DJ tho? Real talk, I hear Wayne records and its always a dj playing it. Be it on the radio, in the club or on a cd. If you hot then DJ’s gon fuck with you but they are part of the reason you hot, its a tag team kinda combo. You rap on everyone’s song (whether they want you to or not) you jump on cats songs and send em out to the world, wouldn’t you want someone to think its hot enuf to play? So then I heard him on Drama and he said ” Fuck them dj’s”! Niggas takin my music and puttin out CD’s that aint official. Nigga? You rapped on 70 songs that wasn’t official! Alot of these DJ’s are branding you. They making you hot! If a kid grabs a LIL Wayne cd from the barbershop he bought that for some new Wayne shit, If I asked him what CD I got he’s gon say Wayne, not DJ (insert name here) presents Wayne! Im sure when DJ’s heard Lollipop they was like ” man Wayne on some other shit, Ima play this other Wayne joint.” But you gave them the option, you rapped on everything. Its crazy how cats do DJ’s after they get to the point that they want to get to. No single, I been rapping over everyone else’s shit for more than a year , I even book shows and do mixtape songs for over a year and right before my album drops its FUCK THE DJ??!?! You said it aint about the money so why would you care if they make a little change on a mixtape or attempt to keep thier name up by formatting and sequencing some of the music that you put out for FREE?? Some of these cats work at a radio station and clock in for two hours a day if that! They gotta hustle( clubs, weddings, parties, mx cds) just like you for the bread but now its fuck them? I’d go rap at a DJ’s daughter’s 8th birthday party ( and do drops) to make sure I’m in good standing with him/her, cuz as long as I make records Im always going to need them. Even when he called in to clear the shit up he still didnt really. Wow..yall made him the hottest rapper out and he said fuck yall & then said fuck yall again? See how these cats do you? Yall really need to support the artists that support you. Yall have the power to change this shit. A dj could look me in my face and say he doesnt have 1 Skillz record in his Serato & I wouldnt say fuck him! Im scared of what would happen to my career if I did that. How can you make rap music and say fuck the dj and have a career, thats what I wanna know.

Can the congregation give a co-sign?

For More Skillz download his mixtape by J Period & Don Cannon: Design of a Decade Vol.1 – The 90s. download link & tracklising after the jump. His retail release the Million Dollar Backpack will be in stores on July 8th on KOCH.

Read the rest of this entry »

Some good hip hop & reggae flavorings is coming from K-Salaam & Beatnick.  Whose World is This is in stores July 29th. Download the mixtape NY Is Burning, which features Buju Banton, Trey Songz, Dead Prez, Collie Buddz, and more here.

Via Pitchfork Media

This guy reprograms animatronic robots at Showbiz Pizza (a sort of proto-Chuck E Cheese to perform pop hits.) The Jeezy verse being lipsynched by a puppet is hilarious.

Usher’s “Love In This Club”

Huey’s “Pop, Lock & Drop It (Remix)”

Wake up, wake up, wake up, it’s the first of the month! So get up, get up, get up, read Fun Facts and crack up!

If you didn’t think that introduction was funny, I can’t say I blame you… but keep reading, it gets better.

1. Cypress Hill was banned from performing on Saturday Night Live after DJ Muggs lit up some marijuana on stage and the group smashed their equipment.

2. Ab-Liva, of Re-Up Gang Records (The Clipse) fame, ghostwrote Dr. Dre’s verse on Jay-Z’s “The Watcher, Pt. 2”.

3. Outkast’s 4th LP, Stankonia, was originally titled Sandbox.

Read the rest of this entry »