I got in touch with producer Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Daniel Merriweather, Duran Duran) three weeks ago to talk about his favorite beats of the year. After he thoroughly educated me (I’ve listened to “Katy on a Mission” 40+ times), Mark was nice enough to field some questions. I was surprised to find out the Grammy winning, actress dating musician is just as disillusioned with pop music and celebrity antics as us normal people.
Twitter
I have a really hard time with celebrities or famous musicians sending each other tweets across the thing when they could just get each other’s phone number. I always accuse Wale of being guilty of that. Like ‘Yo Diddy, what are we doing tonight?’ which I just think is like, ‘OK, you have his phone number, you could text him.’
Yelawolf
I would listen to [Trunk Muzik: 0-60] over the new Eminem album fucking any day of the week and I’m not comparing [Yelawolf and Eminem] because they’re white. It’s got the same rebel spirit and a lot of the same pain and passion, all that thing, but it’s got such a better– it’s light and he’s got a sense of humor about things and he has clever lines and stuff like that. Eminem’s just become this moan-y, whiny like, ‘me, me, me’ thing. It’s like, ‘dude, you’ve fucking got 50 million in the bank, what is still so horribly wrong?’ But anyway, that’s not for me to say.
On December 29, Statik Selektah and Termanology brought a webcam into their Brooklyn studio to let fans watch them record an EP live. ML was watching and peppering Term and Statik with requests to make snow angels. I went to sleep before they finished, so I don’t know if they ever did. I was surprised when a big doughy guy named Action Bronson came through and delivered the standout verse. The next day, our esteemed colleague HL would ask, “So why didn’t anyone tell me about this crazy lumberjack looking guy from Flushing Queens that sounds like a hybrid of Ghostface and Vast Aire?” My thoughts exactly.
Almost missed this one. Self Scientific (DJ Khalil and Chace Infinite) enlisted Freddie Gibbs and Krondon to raise awareness about the death of Oscar Grant.
G-Side and Freddie Gibbs represent Huntsville, Alabama and Gary, Indiana respectively. Both cities are not known for hip-hop, though that’s quickly changing for Huntsville. In this regard, Oakland rapper Stevie Joe is slightly out of place. He was surprised to even appear on the song:
Gibbs hurdled Indiana’s lack of an established hip-hop market in 2010 (XXL Freshman, Pitchfork Festival headliner). His verse, which was probably mailed in, brings his usual unvarnished destitution. G-Side seize on the added exposure of a Freddie Gibbs feature to introduce first-time listeners to Huntsville. To that end, ST 2 Lettaz (half of G-Side) patterns his verse after Jay-Z’s first verse on “Where I’m From.” He imitates Jay’s flow, copies the verse’s schemes, and he borrows the final couplet, replacing Marcy with “Huntsvegas.”
He lures hip-hop heads with a classic reference and then knocks them over the head with his Alabama state of mind. Fans of cold rhymes and minimalist beats will hit download at the sight of Freddie, but they’ll get a full view of Huntsville’s range of talent. Both of North Alabama’s premier production outfits craft the beat to ensure it’s a good first impression. Asks Stevie in his opening verse, “Real knock — what more could you ask for?”
Every artist has a vault of unreleased material; rarities, remixes, and alternate versions that never saw the light of day for one reason or another. This week, Mark Ronson used the holidays as an excuse to excavate some music from his hard drive and post it on Facebook. So what did the super-producer/Beat Drop contributor have in his vault?
I actually asked Mark about this track two weeks ago (full Q&A coming soon) and he told me he had no plans to release it. I guess Boxing Day changed his mind.
Here is an unfinished cover version of “Let’s Ride” by Q-Tip that Mark and Daniel Merriweather recorded during the Version sessions. “Stop Me” remains Daniel Merriweather’s best work. And last but not least,
here’s a reversion that i did of one of my favourite late-era MJ songs, “Happy Birthday, Lisa”. me, victor axelrod, nick movshon, homer steinweiss and thomas brenneck were in the studio working on “Record Collection” when we got sidetracked and made this….
Mark Ronson has three DJ sets tonight in England. Set times, locations, and a flyer after the jump. If you’re stuck in NY like me, go see Q-Tip at the Ace Hotel. Happy new year, fam!
Here are some more names from Huntsville, Alabama’s Slow Motion Soundz collective that you should be checking for. Who knew there was such an epic track waiting in the words “I’m doing good?” From O’Third’s upcoming Family Ties mixtape.
Consequence sure likes doing promo. Movies on Demand 2 will be the second mixtape released to promote his album Cons TV.Cons has been promoting this album (that’s supposed to be produced by Kanye and Q-Tip) since July 2009. But don’t complain about free mixtapes, especially when Lee Bannon and Statik Selektah are involved. Bannon provides a Wu-Tang-inspired beat and Statik scratches a classic Biggie line. Can’t lose.
