Hello all,
My laziness with the suncream yesterday has confined me to my hotel room this afternoon, and what better way to spend it than sharing some more thoughts with you?
I currently find myself in the thriving city of Tel Aviv-Yafo - the commercial centre and little-known (in the UK at least) party gem of Israel. I had spent the first 5 days of my holiday in Jerusalem and Northern Israel, doing some sight-seeing and visiting family - which was lovely, but the part I was most looking forward to was the 8 nights in Tel Aviv that awaited me at the end.
Since I arrived in Tel Aviv on Friday afternoon, I have been completely blown away by the city, its nightlife and most definitely its women. It is a modern, busy and lively city with a great party atmosphere and the sort of buzz that I've only really experienced in places like London and New York.
Although I can only speak from what I've experienced - and what people said to me before I came out here, it seems that most people back in the UK are unaware of Tel Aviv as a clubbing destination, but once you've been out here, it seems ridiculous that this is the case. I've not been for a proper big night out here yet, but from what I've seen, I have no doubt that it would be up there with the best. There are people drinking on the street at 4am (in a fun, social way - as opposed to the way I'm accustomed to back home); the bars are still packed; and there are amazing women all over the place.
Israel has produced some very talented house and techno artists in recent years...
From progressive anthem specialist Guy Gerber to Be As One label chief Shlomi Aber; Digweed protégé Guy J to minimal house and techno man Chaim, and other well-known artists such as Itamar Sagi and more recently Gel Abril, Israeli producers have been at the forefront of electronic music and have brought us some classic tracks that have rocked dance floors all over the world.
The top guy that I am, I've got 5 tasty Israeli productions (in no particular order) listed below for you:
1. Sei A - Smile For Me (Chaim Remix) - Missive Music (MIS041)
2. Itamar Sagi - Dreams Theater - Be As One (BAO002)
(not on youtube unfortunately...it's available on beatport)
3. Benny Rodrigues & Kapuchon - Reel - Be As One (BAO015)
4. Shlomi Aber - Freakside - Ovum (OVM181)
5. Itamar Sagi - Coffee Beans (Luca Bacchetti Remix) - Be As One (BAO022)
(I know Luca Bacchetti isn't Israeli, but it's released on Be As One + Itamar Sagi is, and that'll do for me!)
Well...there it is: Israel/Tel Aviv in a nutshell.
Listen and enjoy.
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
Thursday, 19 August 2010
The Wonders of Samples & Cuts
Hello all...just thought I'd take a quick minute to reveal the wonders of modern music production - just have a listen to how the hip hop producer A-Plus takes a sample from an old jazz tune: "Heather" by Billy Cobham, and creates a classic hip hop beat for Souls of Mischief's "93 Til Infinity"...
Skip to about 4:20 for the original sax cut taken by A-Plus:
Here's the hip hop adaptation - the emceeing itself doesn't really do the beat justice, but it's still worth a listen:
Matthias Meyer then takes the sample from 93 Til Infinity, and produces one of my favourite house tunes of all time: "Infinity" - released on Liebe Detail...
Nothing crazy here, I just think it's a great example of good sampling by two producers of different genres, and of course how it brings together my two favourite schools of music!
Skip to about 4:20 for the original sax cut taken by A-Plus:
Here's the hip hop adaptation - the emceeing itself doesn't really do the beat justice, but it's still worth a listen:
Matthias Meyer then takes the sample from 93 Til Infinity, and produces one of my favourite house tunes of all time: "Infinity" - released on Liebe Detail...
Nothing crazy here, I just think it's a great example of good sampling by two producers of different genres, and of course how it brings together my two favourite schools of music!
A little add-on
Just thought I'd also mention that the Basics record label have a new tune out on Beatport.
"Lullaby" (BTBR002) is a great little track by Jo Mills, and Denney's remix offers his typically more acidy approach. I really rate Denney as a producer - he has his own sound, the quality of his tracks is consistently high, and I reckon he'll become a genuine force in house music with the classic combo of luck and timing.
Good Luck to the lad!
Jo Mills - Lullaby (BTBR002) on Beatport
"Lullaby" (BTBR002) is a great little track by Jo Mills, and Denney's remix offers his typically more acidy approach. I really rate Denney as a producer - he has his own sound, the quality of his tracks is consistently high, and I reckon he'll become a genuine force in house music with the classic combo of luck and timing.
Good Luck to the lad!
Jo Mills - Lullaby (BTBR002) on Beatport
Back at Basics - a significant juncture in the annals of history
First of all I'd like to state - as per our agreement (and empirical evidence) - that Katie Knowles is "mint". She's thirty-seven years old from Yeadon; she's got a real classy tat on her back; she shagged your dad and she's certainly not sorreh (she spells it "sorrah" - phonetically my way is much better) - the mighty Katie "Balls" Knowles takes no prisoners, and she is absolute fucking class!
Here's a beautiful snap if you're thinking you want a piece of that ass - you better be a muscly handsome fucker though:
This Saturday just gone saw an end to my recent fascination with staying in at the weekend, and thus the end of my two-month hiatus from one of my favourite activities in the whole wide world: Back To Basics.
I can't claim for one moment to be one of the Basics 'old guard' - I've only been going regularly for about 3 years now - but I'd like to think of myself as one of the Basics faithful, a friend of the club, and certainly a subscriber to its values: tolerance, hedonism and house music.
Mr Dave Beer has been running this institution of the Leeds scene for nearly 19 years now, and he (and we) are still alive and smashing our way through our Saturday nights - each episode seemingly more rawkus than the last.
This Saturday was a Basics with a twist: a fifteen-hour riot spread across two venues, with about twenty dj's - with about 3.8billion records between 'em, and enough talent for you to question your worthiness. The buzz around the collection of horrors I call my mates was at boiling point by Friday, and were it not for the arrival of Madden 11, and my need to purchase an overpriced outfit which I will wear only once - for my cousin's wedding (in Israel, on a beach - BOOM!), I would have been with them when they got ever so slightly carried away that evening.
Thanks to my sensible itinerary I was fresh and fighting fit for an early start - the first venue (house-oriented and culinarily cosmopolitan bar and restaurant, Distrikt - well the courtyard) opened at two o'clock in the afternoon, and the plan was to head down with a few of the horrors at five or six. At eight o'clock, our taxi remained un-ordered and I had re-acquainted myself with getting really arseholed via a bottle of rosé - my friend Adam and I were becoming increasingly agitated at the inability of our team-mates to show any urgency whatsoever.
It seemed like we were never gonna bloody leave, and we were almost resigned to missing the courtyard party. However, Adam and I were given fresh impetus by the intrigue, humour, but most of all fear brought about by the advances of a very strange gentleman from my mate's block of flats. He emerged from the front door and ambled his way over to us, to explain that his name was "Dmitri", he was from Moscow and that he had served in the Russian Army in a parachute division.
I have a good friend who is Russian, and my suspicions were quickly aroused that this "Dmitri" had fed us false information about his nationality. We spoke in broken English about parties and university, but he seemed to have an alterior motive other than pure conversation - Adam's instant suspicion was that Dmitri was making a sexual advance. Despite conjuring up a whirlwind of rhetorical persuasion, I was unable to convince Adam to accept. Dmitri told us that Moscow had gone down the shitter - because it's full of Chinese, Pakistanis and Africans. Adam and I, as we are both Jewish, were understandably concerned by these views, and so I was moved to go on the offensive.
The Russians have a special word - an idea that represents a recurring right of passage for many of them: it is known simply as zapoy, which quite literally means "binge". When one of our newly-liberalised pals decides to go on zapoy, he'll gather together his good mates, stock up the bar in his £10,000,000 flat in Kensington, and drink until they either run out of booze, run out of steam or die. What I'm trying to say is, zapoy represents the essence of the Russian lifestyle.
I decided that asking Dmitri about zapoy would either provoke a quality anecdote, a wry smile, or a look of sheer bemusement - specifically the latter...and guess what? I was right. He clearly had no clue what I was talking about until I reverted to the English trademark of presuming the stupidity of my new friend, increasing the volume and decreasing the speed of my voice, and performing mimes immitating drinking alcohol and vomiting. He laughed, we said our goodbyes, and he trudged back up to his flat to do fuck-knows-what.
Although it was wierd and scary (he had the all-the-way-unbuttoned shirt look going on), the encounter shocked us into life, forcing me to bite the bullet and order the bloody cabs.
Well, that was an unplanned digression but I trust it proved an entertaining read...
We got to Distrikt and there were maybe 50 or so people in the courtyard - most of whom were sat on the benches with their pints (fo' lads) and two 'alves (fo' lasses), having a good old chinwag and bopping away to the deep but most definitely pumping house & techno of resident Jon Woodall (see picture below from the day - intellectual property of K. Knowles) - who was already in full flow.
Following Boggy was Richie Ahmed - some completely fresh meat to sink my teeth into! I'd heard Richie's name mentioned before but I'd not heard him DJ...it's fair to say Richie rose to the challenge of Basics - we can be an unforgiving crowd if you get sloppy, but Ahmed trotted out a selection of tunes with Basics all over it, his mixing was tight and he kept the groove going perfectly. The crowd was alive and we brought our whoops, whistles and cheers down from Distrikt - Basics had delivered yet again and I was absolutely effing loving it!
Now for the main event - I'd been up for seeing Robert James since I heard "Sleep Moods", a great little tune on Hot Creations (HOTC002), and he's a Leeds boy as well - always a bonus. Sleep Moods has all the trademarks of a Hot Creations track: the dark and prominent bassline; the soulful vocals (they sound like Janet Jackson to me) and the cosmic squeaks and bleeps that Jamie Jones, Lee Foss and friends have been hitting us with recently. Jones is the undoubted pioneer of this new disco-house sound, and he's been absolutely on fire recently - the recording from his emergency appearance at Plastic People in April (where he stepped in at the last minute to replace Motor City Drum Ensemble) has been one of the most widely circulated recordings of the summer, and it is absolutely brilliant. You can catch Sleep Moods at about 40:30:
http://soundcloud.com/r_co/jamie-jones-live-plastic-people-london-16-04-2010 by R_co
Unfortunately, my health on the night deteriorated somewhat (before Robert jumped on the decks) and I ended up going back to my mates' gaff to kick off our afterparty.
We were lucky enough to have Frenchy, Tristan da Cunha and Richie Ahmed back to our afterparty, but I was adamant that my mate Dave and I had our chance to impress the lads who are in the position to which we're aspiring at the moment...it sounds cheesy and a bit sad, but it was a massive thrill for me to play in front of those boys, even if it was in a dirty Hyde Park kitchen/living area!
Anyway...I think I may have gone on just about enough here! There's an hour of your life you'll never get back.
Bottom Line: Basics continues to deliver, and if you don't like it? Well you're just wrong.
Here's a beautiful snap if you're thinking you want a piece of that ass - you better be a muscly handsome fucker though:
 |
| The saucy minx herself... |
Anyway, on with the show...
I can't claim for one moment to be one of the Basics 'old guard' - I've only been going regularly for about 3 years now - but I'd like to think of myself as one of the Basics faithful, a friend of the club, and certainly a subscriber to its values: tolerance, hedonism and house music.
Mr Dave Beer has been running this institution of the Leeds scene for nearly 19 years now, and he (and we) are still alive and smashing our way through our Saturday nights - each episode seemingly more rawkus than the last.
This Saturday was a Basics with a twist: a fifteen-hour riot spread across two venues, with about twenty dj's - with about 3.8billion records between 'em, and enough talent for you to question your worthiness. The buzz around the collection of horrors I call my mates was at boiling point by Friday, and were it not for the arrival of Madden 11, and my need to purchase an overpriced outfit which I will wear only once - for my cousin's wedding (in Israel, on a beach - BOOM!), I would have been with them when they got ever so slightly carried away that evening.
Thanks to my sensible itinerary I was fresh and fighting fit for an early start - the first venue (house-oriented and culinarily cosmopolitan bar and restaurant, Distrikt - well the courtyard) opened at two o'clock in the afternoon, and the plan was to head down with a few of the horrors at five or six. At eight o'clock, our taxi remained un-ordered and I had re-acquainted myself with getting really arseholed via a bottle of rosé - my friend Adam and I were becoming increasingly agitated at the inability of our team-mates to show any urgency whatsoever.
It seemed like we were never gonna bloody leave, and we were almost resigned to missing the courtyard party. However, Adam and I were given fresh impetus by the intrigue, humour, but most of all fear brought about by the advances of a very strange gentleman from my mate's block of flats. He emerged from the front door and ambled his way over to us, to explain that his name was "Dmitri", he was from Moscow and that he had served in the Russian Army in a parachute division.
I have a good friend who is Russian, and my suspicions were quickly aroused that this "Dmitri" had fed us false information about his nationality. We spoke in broken English about parties and university, but he seemed to have an alterior motive other than pure conversation - Adam's instant suspicion was that Dmitri was making a sexual advance. Despite conjuring up a whirlwind of rhetorical persuasion, I was unable to convince Adam to accept. Dmitri told us that Moscow had gone down the shitter - because it's full of Chinese, Pakistanis and Africans. Adam and I, as we are both Jewish, were understandably concerned by these views, and so I was moved to go on the offensive.
The Russians have a special word - an idea that represents a recurring right of passage for many of them: it is known simply as zapoy, which quite literally means "binge". When one of our newly-liberalised pals decides to go on zapoy, he'll gather together his good mates, stock up the bar in his £10,000,000 flat in Kensington, and drink until they either run out of booze, run out of steam or die. What I'm trying to say is, zapoy represents the essence of the Russian lifestyle.
I decided that asking Dmitri about zapoy would either provoke a quality anecdote, a wry smile, or a look of sheer bemusement - specifically the latter...and guess what? I was right. He clearly had no clue what I was talking about until I reverted to the English trademark of presuming the stupidity of my new friend, increasing the volume and decreasing the speed of my voice, and performing mimes immitating drinking alcohol and vomiting. He laughed, we said our goodbyes, and he trudged back up to his flat to do fuck-knows-what.
Although it was wierd and scary (he had the all-the-way-unbuttoned shirt look going on), the encounter shocked us into life, forcing me to bite the bullet and order the bloody cabs.
Well, that was an unplanned digression but I trust it proved an entertaining read...
We got to Distrikt and there were maybe 50 or so people in the courtyard - most of whom were sat on the benches with their pints (fo' lads) and two 'alves (fo' lasses), having a good old chinwag and bopping away to the deep but most definitely pumping house & techno of resident Jon Woodall (see picture below from the day - intellectual property of K. Knowles) - who was already in full flow.
The rest of the punters - including a few pals of mine who got down there on time, were stood predictably right next to the tables, leaving a nice open dancefloor for my un-inhibited, organisationally-challenged friends to prance around. As time went on, Woodall upped the tempo, and the whoops and whistles of approval grew in number and volume. The dancefloor filled up, and Jon pulled out some great tunes, which as usual were delivered with absolute precision and genuine pleasure. Woodall is great to watch behind the decks - when the DJ is rocking out and enjoying himself, the crowd feed off it, and we certainly fed off Jon.
The party continued well into the evening at Distrikt, with only a few minor technical hitches - the silence following the music cutting out was rapidly dismissed with a hearty rendition of Marching On Together...Leeds Leeds Leeds:
Click here if you fancy listening to that beautiful song!
It was a treat to see Beero on the decks - and his introduction of some traditional wood percussion went down an absolute treat:
Saturday was the first chance I'd had to listen to Beero and Basics record label colleague Gareth Whitehead's new joint venture 'The Blessed', and I was pretty impressed with their live set. Whitehead gave an assured performance with his Ableton Live controller and they kept the party going nicely.
Given the state of the crowd at Distrikt, the continuation of the bash at Basics' usual home, MyHouse, was a mouthwatering prospect. Me and my band of merry men hopped, skipped and jumped into the fray to the sound of James Holroyd, who brought his usual blend of disco and house - classic and contemporary...Boggy hammered out some of his most potent weapons - one of my boys made a right mess in his pants as James treated him to "Soul Magic" by YBU as he strolled in to the sound of wedding bells.
The party continued well into the evening at Distrikt, with only a few minor technical hitches - the silence following the music cutting out was rapidly dismissed with a hearty rendition of Marching On Together...Leeds Leeds Leeds:
Click here if you fancy listening to that beautiful song!
It was a treat to see Beero on the decks - and his introduction of some traditional wood percussion went down an absolute treat:
 |
| ...the man himself |
Saturday was the first chance I'd had to listen to Beero and Basics record label colleague Gareth Whitehead's new joint venture 'The Blessed', and I was pretty impressed with their live set. Whitehead gave an assured performance with his Ableton Live controller and they kept the party going nicely.
Given the state of the crowd at Distrikt, the continuation of the bash at Basics' usual home, MyHouse, was a mouthwatering prospect. Me and my band of merry men hopped, skipped and jumped into the fray to the sound of James Holroyd, who brought his usual blend of disco and house - classic and contemporary...Boggy hammered out some of his most potent weapons - one of my boys made a right mess in his pants as James treated him to "Soul Magic" by YBU as he strolled in to the sound of wedding bells.
Following Boggy was Richie Ahmed - some completely fresh meat to sink my teeth into! I'd heard Richie's name mentioned before but I'd not heard him DJ...it's fair to say Richie rose to the challenge of Basics - we can be an unforgiving crowd if you get sloppy, but Ahmed trotted out a selection of tunes with Basics all over it, his mixing was tight and he kept the groove going perfectly. The crowd was alive and we brought our whoops, whistles and cheers down from Distrikt - Basics had delivered yet again and I was absolutely effing loving it!
Now for the main event - I'd been up for seeing Robert James since I heard "Sleep Moods", a great little tune on Hot Creations (HOTC002), and he's a Leeds boy as well - always a bonus. Sleep Moods has all the trademarks of a Hot Creations track: the dark and prominent bassline; the soulful vocals (they sound like Janet Jackson to me) and the cosmic squeaks and bleeps that Jamie Jones, Lee Foss and friends have been hitting us with recently. Jones is the undoubted pioneer of this new disco-house sound, and he's been absolutely on fire recently - the recording from his emergency appearance at Plastic People in April (where he stepped in at the last minute to replace Motor City Drum Ensemble) has been one of the most widely circulated recordings of the summer, and it is absolutely brilliant. You can catch Sleep Moods at about 40:30:
http://soundcloud.com/r_co/jamie-jones-live-plastic-people-london-16-04-2010 by R_co
Unfortunately, my health on the night deteriorated somewhat (before Robert jumped on the decks) and I ended up going back to my mates' gaff to kick off our afterparty.
We were lucky enough to have Frenchy, Tristan da Cunha and Richie Ahmed back to our afterparty, but I was adamant that my mate Dave and I had our chance to impress the lads who are in the position to which we're aspiring at the moment...it sounds cheesy and a bit sad, but it was a massive thrill for me to play in front of those boys, even if it was in a dirty Hyde Park kitchen/living area!
Anyway...I think I may have gone on just about enough here! There's an hour of your life you'll never get back.
Bottom Line: Basics continues to deliver, and if you don't like it? Well you're just wrong.
Wednesday, 18 August 2010
Basics & Below
Being a Leeds boy, I'm more than familiar with the infamous Back To Basics - believed by many (including me) to be the best clubbing experience on offer in the UK.
However, I'm not so familiar with what seems like Basics' Birmingham equivalent - Below. Below has, from what I can gather, a similar vibe to Basics: put on your dancing shoes, leave your troubles and inhibitions at the door, and party the night away to some top quality house music. It also seems to share the same family-type following that Basics 'regulars' are accustomed to - and I imagine this only adds to the house-party atmosphere.
Below was 'set up' in 2005 by Birmingham promoters Lee McDonald, Adam Shelton and Ross T, and has grown into what Mixmag has called "the most important underground night in the UK" (not Basics? Agree to disagree I guess). They celebrated their 5th birthday in June this year with Matthias Tanzmann & Julietta - both of whom I've seen knock the socks off MyHouse...they're different, but both shit-hot and I imagine they complemented each other nicely - it was probably absolute class.
Basics and Below have a strong affiliation - Basics residents are regulars at Below and the boys from Brum often make the trip up to party with Dave Beer & Co. Unfortunately in April I was bogged down in uni coursework down in Nottingham, and wasn't able to make it to Shelton and fellow Below resident Subb-an's 'One Records' label night at Basics. They also did one in August last year - no excuse offered for missing it - which was apparently an absolute belter, and the video evidence certainly seems to support that:
As you can see in the video, Subb-an played a live set that night - the track you hear drop at 1:55 is he and Shelton's 'The Musik' from the release of the same name (ONE001) - and both of their production this year has been impressively polished, as you can tell by the reaction of the Basics faithful.
A particular favourite of mine is Subb-an's remix of 2020 Soundystem's Psycho on 2020 Vision (VIS192B). This track has had some great remixes since it came out a couple of years back - Burnski, Layo & Bushwacka, Audiojack, Buckley and Denney have all had a stab - and Subb-an's definitely cuts the mustard. It's an unapologetic, raw club track and is guaranteed to provoke a roar/whistle/cheer of approval from any dance floor worth its salt.
You can have a little taste of Psycho on Beatport. Who knows, you could even buy it:
https://www.beatport.com/en-US/html/content/release/detail/238461/Psycho%20Remixes
Below are hosting a bank-holiday special with Argy (Poker Flat // These Days) and Vincenzo (Dessous // Liebe Detail) + residents on Sunday the 29th of August, and though I haven't had the opportunity hit Below as of yet, I can safely predict a great night of top house & techno and a quality atmosphere. In fact, I might just make this my debut...
However, I'm not so familiar with what seems like Basics' Birmingham equivalent - Below. Below has, from what I can gather, a similar vibe to Basics: put on your dancing shoes, leave your troubles and inhibitions at the door, and party the night away to some top quality house music. It also seems to share the same family-type following that Basics 'regulars' are accustomed to - and I imagine this only adds to the house-party atmosphere.
Below was 'set up' in 2005 by Birmingham promoters Lee McDonald, Adam Shelton and Ross T, and has grown into what Mixmag has called "the most important underground night in the UK" (not Basics? Agree to disagree I guess). They celebrated their 5th birthday in June this year with Matthias Tanzmann & Julietta - both of whom I've seen knock the socks off MyHouse...they're different, but both shit-hot and I imagine they complemented each other nicely - it was probably absolute class.
Basics and Below have a strong affiliation - Basics residents are regulars at Below and the boys from Brum often make the trip up to party with Dave Beer & Co. Unfortunately in April I was bogged down in uni coursework down in Nottingham, and wasn't able to make it to Shelton and fellow Below resident Subb-an's 'One Records' label night at Basics. They also did one in August last year - no excuse offered for missing it - which was apparently an absolute belter, and the video evidence certainly seems to support that:
As you can see in the video, Subb-an played a live set that night - the track you hear drop at 1:55 is he and Shelton's 'The Musik' from the release of the same name (ONE001) - and both of their production this year has been impressively polished, as you can tell by the reaction of the Basics faithful.
A particular favourite of mine is Subb-an's remix of 2020 Soundystem's Psycho on 2020 Vision (VIS192B). This track has had some great remixes since it came out a couple of years back - Burnski, Layo & Bushwacka, Audiojack, Buckley and Denney have all had a stab - and Subb-an's definitely cuts the mustard. It's an unapologetic, raw club track and is guaranteed to provoke a roar/whistle/cheer of approval from any dance floor worth its salt.
You can have a little taste of Psycho on Beatport. Who knows, you could even buy it:
https://www.beatport.com/en-US/html/content/release/detail/238461/Psycho%20Remixes
Below are hosting a bank-holiday special with Argy (Poker Flat // These Days) and Vincenzo (Dessous // Liebe Detail) + residents on Sunday the 29th of August, and though I haven't had the opportunity hit Below as of yet, I can safely predict a great night of top house & techno and a quality atmosphere. In fact, I might just make this my debut...
Friday, 13 August 2010
Follow up to the the Damaja
Further to the insightful comment on the above post, I thought I'd share with you the tracks DJ Premier sampled for "Come Clean"...
Firstly, the main loop is cut from jazz drummer Shelley Manne's "Infinity"...
The cut Premier uses for the chorus (in trademark style) comes from "Throw Ya Gunz" by Onyx, from their debut album Bacdafucup - in the words of Jeru the Damaja, "real rough and rugged"...
There it is...enjoy
Firstly, the main loop is cut from jazz drummer Shelley Manne's "Infinity"...
The cut Premier uses for the chorus (in trademark style) comes from "Throw Ya Gunz" by Onyx, from their debut album Bacdafucup - in the words of Jeru the Damaja, "real rough and rugged"...
There it is...enjoy
First Up...
Well...welcome to my blog. I despise the word blog, but I like the idea, and a wise man once told me that as long as you're enjoying yourself, it's fine.
So, on with the show...I thought I'd start with what I've been listening to today. I suppose that might make this the inspiration for this whole - probably short-lived venture into amateur journalism/social commentary/ego massage.
On the way to work this morning my speakers rocked to the sound of lyrically one of the best artists in the history of hip-hop: Kendrick Jeru Davis - better known as Jeru The Damaja.
His debut album, The Sun Rises In The East is raw, heavy and lyrically fucking ridiculous, and its most famous track "Come Clean" has some of the most complex, rugged and authentic emceeing I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. Come Clean is lyrically my favourite hip-hop track of all time, so I'm happy to start off by reminding you of/introducting you to it.
The lyrics are written by Jeru and the beat comes, predictably, from DJ Premier. It's a bit more stripped-down than Premier's usual style, but the trademark Premier chorus is there - a little sample, scratch and cut, and ahhh.....
So relax, turn up your speakers and enjoy the 2 maestros at their devastating best.
So, on with the show...I thought I'd start with what I've been listening to today. I suppose that might make this the inspiration for this whole - probably short-lived venture into amateur journalism/social commentary/ego massage.
On the way to work this morning my speakers rocked to the sound of lyrically one of the best artists in the history of hip-hop: Kendrick Jeru Davis - better known as Jeru The Damaja.
His debut album, The Sun Rises In The East is raw, heavy and lyrically fucking ridiculous, and its most famous track "Come Clean" has some of the most complex, rugged and authentic emceeing I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. Come Clean is lyrically my favourite hip-hop track of all time, so I'm happy to start off by reminding you of/introducting you to it.
The lyrics are written by Jeru and the beat comes, predictably, from DJ Premier. It's a bit more stripped-down than Premier's usual style, but the trademark Premier chorus is there - a little sample, scratch and cut, and ahhh.....
So relax, turn up your speakers and enjoy the 2 maestros at their devastating best.
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