Noteworthy Albums of Late Pt. 1 (Instrumentals)
I haven't posted in about a month due to mainly work related concerns, but during that time I've had the luxury to listening to a new, full album during my job activities as I grind along. Amazing how quickly the day can fly by when you're steadily digesting and thinking about new music!
Lately I've been listening to many albums which are entirely instrumental, and do not contain any lyrics. However, all of the albums I've listened have strong hip-hop influences, and also borrow elements from jazz, trip-hop, and other related genres. I find it amazing that producers can have such a vast amount of skill with a wide variety of instruments, in which they use to convey a huge range of emotions. Not only that, but these songs often retain the ability for a rapper to easily rap their lines over the music due to their bass hits and melodic structure.
Here are some recent highlights, with some quick thoughts that don't quite constitute a full review:
Blockhead - Music by Cavelight. During my recent travels to the trip-hop and instrumental scenes, I stumbled onto Blockhead's offerings. His debut album Music by Cavelight is a medley of haunting and unique instruments with a distinctive hip-hop flavor.
Nomak - Muziq and Foto. Nomak is a little known, Japanese hip-hop producer who has been garnering praise worldwide (especially in Eastern European countries). He makes strong use of instrumentation such as piano chords and violins to produce spiritual and calming beats which seem to shimmer in your head as your listen to them. Muziq and Foto often takes advantage of lacing three or four separate melodies on top of each other to create a strong harmonious effect, such as Wind Beat and Ample Energy (two of my favorite songs in the album).
Uyama Hiroto - A Son of the Sun. Uyama Hiroto is another Japanese hip-hop producer, on Nujabes' label no less. Artistically, it is a bit similar to Nomak and Nujabes' hip-hop beats, but Hiroto refines some elements in this album that clearly showcases his own unique talents. Strong jazz influences are seen throughout the album, as well as hip-hop influences. For example, the lead track "81summer" contains strong swing and cool jazz influences when you listen to the piano fill in the notes between bass hits. The voice that can be subtlety heard in the background is a skillful use of sampling, which makes the voice more of an instrument than for any vocal purpose. Lastly, the violin can be heard riding the beat, much as a rapper would flow along with the melodies presented in the song.
Hip Hop Beats – favorites from the early 90s
Upon listening to my iPod today (what a great leap from the tape deck, isn't it?), I hit a string of songs in a row that all had a fantastic beat, and I couldn't help but start nodding my head like I was constantly agreeing with myself. This had a two-pronged effect: I got a few puzzled looks from my coworkers who probably don't need any help in thinking I'm weird, and it got me thinking about how important the beat is to a song. In a lot of ways, the beat is both overrated and underrated.
Beatmaking: the hidden science. Picture by ryan.valle.
It is overrated because some rappers can have whack songs on a hot beat, and they'll shoot straight up the charts - people often refer to these rappers as "ringtone rappers." I can't think of an honor more dubious than selling ten times more ringtones than albums. Nearly always, the casual listener will listen to and consider the beat first before anything else.
Beats are also underrated because, well, it IS in the background. Great producers are overlooked in favor of the artist rapping over the beats, and little is known about the art of production. Producers are often masters of several traditional instruments and can be considered geniuses who use a huge variety of sources to paint a melody on a musical canvas. It takes an enormous amount of knowledge about music to craft beats well, and only until Kanye West exploded onto the scene did producers start to get noticed.
Good beats beg you to hit the rewind (or replay, in this age) button just one more time. It implores you to reach for the volume knob because your poor ears have gotten used to where you turned it up before. And, it makes you snap your neck in your car, looking like a fool and not caring, because the bass hits so hard.
Here are three of my favorite beats - from the early 1990s.
Rapper: Nas
Album: Illmatic (1994)
Song: N.Y. State of Mind
Producer: DJ Premier
Listen to this song - the beat hits you as hard as a speeding train. DJ Premier's fledging career was defined by this song, and his artistic traits were on full display - a haunting piano loop from obscure jazz samples, a pounding bassline, and cutting spoken lyrics from other songs to form a chorus. The overall result? A gritty, dark beat fitting for the Big Apple. Executive producer MC Serch noted "Primo [DJ Premier] and Nas, they could have been separated at birth. It wasn't a situation where his beats fit their rhymes, they fit each other."
Rapper: The Pharcyde
Album: Labcabincalifornia (1995)
Song: Runnin'
Producer: J. Dilla (RIP)
One of the defining songs of The Pharcyde's popular run in the early 90s, Runnin' was one of J. Dilla's early masterpieces. J. Dilla always had a habit of having his curious style imparted onto every one of his beats, yet every beat he created was somehow drastically unique. Noteworthy aspects of the beat are the disjointed, almost dream-like guitar samples, mastery of turntable scratching, choice saxophone and maraca cuts, and the way J. Dilla artistically wove this haphazard tapestry together. Also, who could forget the ridiculous verse drop at 3:00 when the beat stops, for just a heartbeat?
Rapper: Notorious B.I.G.
Album: Ready to Die (1994)
Song: Things Done Changed
Producer: Dominic Owens, Kevin Scott
I love music that stirs the soul, like a movie soundtrack starring Denzel Washington. Those who listen carefully can hear a stirring, tinkling piano loop, a sinister bassline, and a steadily rising and falling cresendo rising throughout the song, culumating in muted trumpet blasts. Ironically, the iconic (and amazingly addictive) vocal sample comes from none other than Dr. Dre, a giant on the rival West Coast.
What are your favorite beats from the early 90s?