S. Villa, as you can see, in its original lineup. As a collective, T3, Baatin and Jay Dee [known now as J Dilla, of course], dropped two albums [and an EP]. The second of those albums, Fantastic, Vol. 2, dropped in 2000, and featured a single entitled "Raise It Up", which can be heard here:
Of course, most people probably don't realize that "Raise It Up" is sample based. Dilla happened to hear the loop on a bootleg tape, figured it was some no-name techno producer, and jacked the loop, figuring the producer would never find out.
The joint sampled was "Extra Dry" by Thomas Bangalter, dropped in 1998:
Just so happens that Bangalter did find out; he and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, making up the French house group Daft Punk, happened to be huge fans of Slum Village at the time. Upon hearing "Raise It Up", Daft Punk reached out to the Detroit trio, not to demand royalties, but instead to collaborate on a song together.
The collabo effort, today's Rare Gem, is from Daft Punk's 2003 remix album, Daft Club. I bring thee "Aerodynamic (Slum Village Remix)". Click the pic above. {EDIT: I'm referring to the pic directly above, with helmets. Sorry to throw you off, gam.} Enjoy.
Well, personally I love the genre...so allow me to help you understand some things about it. It's dark, really full/sonic in sound, and a beautiful blend of hip-hop and electronic. Not for the mentally disturbed however, it does make one feel really nihilistic for some reason. But anywho, the genre was created in the early 90's in England and is constantly reinvented and experimented with; which is another reason why I love it. With that being said, allow me to give you some of my personal favorites.
Teardrop by Massive Attack. If you are into video games, you may remember this song from the Assassin's Creed trailer (which may I add is a dope game to relieve some stress on.) No, don't remember...allow me to refresh.
Indeed...loves it.
Next up,
Glory Box(Live) by Portishead. Now, when I first heard this song, I actually hated it. But it played randomly on my computer one day while the rain was coming down, and I fell in love with this joint. The new CD, Third, is available now...kinda trash in my opinion. The album that this song is on, Dummy, is worth a listen however.
Moving on,
Six Days by DJ Shadow. One of the few American Trip Hop artist, this song definitely fresh. If your memory serves you correct again, or if you wasted your $10 like I did, you will remember that this song was rehashed in recent reiteration of The Fast and Furious Series, Tokyo Drift. The remix actually had Mos Def which, in turn, made the song that much more dope to me. Here it is for your viewing/listening pleasure.
Now something a little more Hip Hop influenced, to a fan made video.
Chicken Bone Circuit by RJD2. This one has a bit more of a break-beat influence, which is also another genre that I enjoy delving into every now and again. But I will save that for another post.
じ ,
Kids with Guns by Gorillaz. This cut is off of the Demon Days album, which was insanely dope if I may add. If you haven't heard it then you are possibly out of your mind or have been under a rock for the past 5 years.
Prossimo e infine,
A joint that many of you may have skipped over on the album, The Cool
HelloGoodbye by Lupe Fiasco ft. Unkle. I feel like there isn't anything that needs to be said about this track other than that you should listen to it.
And now the beloved Blow-Us item. Not necessarily a Trip-Hop song, but still a favorite none the less.
La Ritournelle(The Only Love Song) by Sebastien Tellier. An ridiculously epic song and video that almost bring me to tears everytime that I hear it. I BULLSHIT YOU NOT. This is the radio/video edit, the original version is about 8 minutes with Mr. Tellier singing for only about a minute of it. The rest is just pure instrumentation...asininely beautiful. The track also features the drummer Tony Allen. Who, to some of those who are into music hardbody like I am, is famous from being the drummer for Fela Anikulapo Kuti's band, The Africa 70. Furthermore, the lead singer from The Blur, Damon Albarn, who is also responsible for the aforementioned band The Gorillaz; brought Tony Allen along for the ride for the superband, The Good,The Bad,The Queen. Which may I add, also featured the legendary guitarist from The Clash, Paul Simonon, the also legendary guitarist/keyboardist for The Verve, Simon Tong. I feel that it goes without saying that that album was great. If you don't know who those bands are as well as the songs that are associated with them, you owe me 100 musical essays as well as need to go and research them in your free time. It will change your life and the way you perceive and listen to music.
Here is a personal favorite from the album.
Nature Springs(Live from Abbey Road[before it was rebirthed as the cool thing to do]) by The Good, The Bad, The Queen from the album of the same name.
Gotta thank Cons for this video. Though I do not know him personally, this video is bar none possibly the best vid on the net right now...you know why? Because Pharrell hips you so called "hip-hop heads" on some of the best beats ever by possibly and arguably one of the best producers ever.
Now you may be asking yourself, what beats are Pharrell referring to as his top favorite beats from DJ Preemo? Well search no more, I got you...one day you will thank me...
First up:
2 Deep from the legendary crew Gang Starr....which may I add boast a Morehouse alum. Don't believe me, cross-check it son.
Second up:
Words I Manifest, once again from the legendary Gang Starr crew.
Finally:
Kick in the Door from The Notorious B.I.G., just....ewww....shit all on your top lip.
Blow-Us item this time around? Well, one of my favorite Preemo beats:
Nas is Like - Nas...come'on son...You know what it is....
*ahem* Allow me to flash my Passive Editorialist card for a sec...
Behold, Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter/rapper/producer T-Pain. Entering the mainstream back in '05, Teddy Penderazz[down] has made quite a name for himself, both with his own hit singles and by penning/producing joints for Lil Mama, Chris Brown, Britney Spears, and others. His almost religious use of the Auto-Tune, once hated on by critics aplenty, is now being heavily bitten by rappers and singers alike [e.g. Kanyeezy and Kells, respectively], and contunues to be hated on by critics aplenty. In many [not quite most] circles, he's compared to the late great Roger Troutman.
I'd beg to differ, albeit only from a technological standpoint. While the sounds are indeed similar, and were indeed used ritualistically to make hits, the devices are not the same at all. T-Pain uses Auto-Tune, which is a computer application included with certain music production software. Roger Troutman used a talk box, which is a physical [as in tangible; touch it, feel it, grab it, rabbit] effects device supplemented by an other instrument, e.g. organ or guitar. A talk box is similar to a vocoder, but...not quite.
This would be the part where you'd ask "Well gee, Murph, how am I supposed to know the difference between a talk box and Auto-Tune?" Don't fret, housepets, as I'm here to learn you something good. I will now bring to thee examples of both devices, explaining the differences thereafter. In fact, if you're a true audiophile, you might notice the difference yourself.
OK, so here's an obvious example of Auto-Tune:
The aforementioned T-Pain - "I'm Sprung" [Listen for about a minute.]
OK, now an example of a talk box:
Zapp & Roger - "I Wanna Be Your Man"
Hear the difference? No? Let's try again:
Daft Punk - "One More Time" [Auto-Tune]
Daft Punk - "Harder Better Faster Stronger" [Talk box; skip to the exact middle of the video]
Still not hearing it? OK, one more chance:
Cher - "Believe" [First commericial song to use Auto-Tune; and no, I am NOT a fan]
Stevie Wonder - "Why Do Birds Suddenly Appear" [Talk box]
OK, so what's the difference? Well, for starters, with Auto-Tune, you can still actually hear the singer's voice, whereas the talk box effect is thicker, sounding completely digitalized. Also, the talk box has a smoother transition between notes, while Auto-Tuned vocals have very audible "clicks" as the singer alters pitch.
As always, I've prepared Beloved Bone-us Items for all. The first is Snoop's video for "Sensual Seduction" [or "Sexual Eruption" depending on where you hear it]. Take note that Snoop is holding a keytar with attached talk box tube, but his voice is actually under the Auto-Tune effect. Miseducation, FTL.
The next Bone-us is T-Pain's "Studio Luv", feat. Lil Wayne. This one is interesting because he actually uses Auto-Tune AND the talk box [heard at the beginning]:
[damned YouTube slideshows...]
And the last, a pretty cool Geico commercial you may have seen, with guitarist Peter Frampton:
*whew* That was a long one. But I suppose all editorials are. Hope you enjoyed.
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