http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Oo2XO_ub18
Compare this to the original, another similar, good, but very, very different song. Stil, the vibe here is amazing, a sunny day and a smile and a swing in your step all in one, complete and self-sure and brilliant, carefree. It's ambitious rap, and it's totally justified in how amazing it is.
Talking about hip-hop with a friend of mine, it becomes apparent that one of the reasons it's often inaccessible is that it's incohesive. Each line of poetry is tonally and rhythmically related to each other, but often they don't form a strict story, the way songs often do. It's free-form, live-as-thought, clever and cheeky and relevant as hell.
Showing posts with label the pharcyde. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the pharcyde. Show all posts
Monday, April 29, 2013
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Unwind Yourself — Marva Whitney
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym7IOodKeWI
I like rap. No, no apologies. I love rap. But normally I love rap for the poetry of its lyrics; I'm a fan of De La Soul and The Pharcyde and Das Racist and Aesop, for their lyricality. It's the largest modern source of poetry there is, and it's relevant and clever and unique.
I was listening to History of Rap, and they played the song Let Me Clear My Throat — DJ Kool. What caught me here weren't the lyrics, it was the sample. ?uestlove and The Roots were imitating (live) a sample used in the 1996 song (which was recorded live) which used a sample from The 900 Number — The 45 King, a mid-80s sampling artist, who took a sample from the instrumental behind Marva Whitney's Unwind Yourself, a 60s funk track.
And yet the original shone through, translated three times. It hadn't lost its rhythm, it hadn't lost its tonality, it hadn't been desecrated in any way. I wonder for how many other oft-sampled riffs the same is true.
I like rap. No, no apologies. I love rap. But normally I love rap for the poetry of its lyrics; I'm a fan of De La Soul and The Pharcyde and Das Racist and Aesop, for their lyricality. It's the largest modern source of poetry there is, and it's relevant and clever and unique.
I was listening to History of Rap, and they played the song Let Me Clear My Throat — DJ Kool. What caught me here weren't the lyrics, it was the sample. ?uestlove and The Roots were imitating (live) a sample used in the 1996 song (which was recorded live) which used a sample from The 900 Number — The 45 King, a mid-80s sampling artist, who took a sample from the instrumental behind Marva Whitney's Unwind Yourself, a 60s funk track.
And yet the original shone through, translated three times. It hadn't lost its rhythm, it hadn't lost its tonality, it hadn't been desecrated in any way. I wonder for how many other oft-sampled riffs the same is true.
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