For the last ten years, 9th Wonder has been the Pete Rock of the new millennium. Not to mention, one of my early personal influences as a producer.
Shouts out to 2dopeboyz.com and NodFactor.com for keeping an eye out for the soul in the game…
9th Wonder and his Jamla imprint have released a new project called 9th’s Opus: It’s A Wonderful World. Shouts out to the NCCU fam including Rapsody, Big Remo and David Banner. I wonder if he makes an appearance on this one…
I don’t know what else can be said about letterLbeats.com’s favorite lady of soul Teena Marie, but she and I have done it again with a beat I call Make Me. The sample is from her 1979 Motown release Wild and Peaceful. The name of the song is Turnin’ Me On.
I hadn’t made a beat in over a week so I was pleased with this one. This is where I really feel like I make a connection with 9th Wonder. It’s not only a good selection of chops to use, but it’s a unique pattern.
MAKE ME
I listen to and read damn near every interview that 9th does. So many old school folks say that sampling and chopping is not an art or it’s not really making music. But 9th makes a good point: in order to chop correctly, you have to understand chord progression. There are some pieces of a chop that must be included and that must be in the right place for the song to sound right. If you chop an 8 bar intro into 16 pieces, every fourth piece should still be fourth when you play the chopped sample, even if the other pieces are re-arranged.
I’m just coolin’ out at the house today with my son. I’m not going out tonight. I have learned as I’ve gotten older to just chill and learn to have fun doing the simple things.
I spend so much time studying my favorite producers and learning what I can from the best. You have to love the digital age. When other producers were coming up, they didn’t have access to watching their favorites behind the scene. Now any time I want, I can take a personal lesson from Pharell, Kanye, Timbaland, 9th Wonder, or whoever.
As I study, I realize there are producers who are damn near the best that just fly under the radar. For example, 9th Wonder. I feel like my friends know more about 9th Wonder from what I’ve told them or let them listen to as opposed to radio play etc.
Right now I am going to take the time to introduce or re-introduce you to a guy who has done everything from T.I.’s What You Know to Jeezy’s Recession to Jay-Z’s American Gangster.
According to Wikipedia:
Aldrin Davis, better known as DJ Toomp, is an award-winning Americanrecord producer and DJ who works in Atlanta, Georgia. He rose to fame by working with southern rapper T.I. on his first four albums, and caught his first big break in 2006 for producing T.I.‘s single “What You Know“, which peaked at #3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and earned both Toomp and T.I. their first Grammy.More recently, he contributed to production on Kanye West‘s Graduation, including producing the singles “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” and “Good Life” with West. He and hip hop veteran Bernard Parks, Jr. have launched their own record label called NZone Entertainment.
And for the visually stimulated like myself, here are a few videos. Peace.
With the end of the year quickly approaching and this being the last 1st Friday of 2009, it’s time for Top 5 Fridays Hip Hop Albums of the year:
5. David Banner Death of a Pop Star
Actually, this album hasn’t even been released yet but thanks to 9th Wonder’s YouTube series called De Blog Jam (Filmed and edited by 9th’s keyboardist E. Jones) I witnessed them create almost the entire album. Even better is the fact that the album is free. Its quality far surpasses many records that you had to pay for this year. By the way, did I mention that 9th Wonder produced it? It features many of 9th’s homegrown N.C. talent plus a smoother more mature flow from Banner. Google it.
4. Slaughterhouse Slaughterhouse
I was having a random Twitter conversation one day and this dude was telling me that he prefers a brand of emcee who spends more time actually rapping than he does talking about how good he is. Slaughterhouse is definitely not that brand of emcee but these guys back up everything they say. They are lyrical beasts that grew tired of the usual bureaucracy of major labels and took their careers in their own hands. Comprised of Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, Royce Da 5’9″ & Crooked I, they crafted the blueprint for today’s independent artists. During the 2009 BET Hip Hop Awards Show cipher Joe Budden said, “I never needed my A&R my A&R needed me.” I guess he doesn’t need an A&R.
3. Wale Back to the Feature
This wasn’t even an album, it was a mixtape! (See Drake below) Another free venture produced by 9th Wonder and mixed by Nick Catchdubs, its stacked with guest features including Jean Grae & Freeway. This was really something special because it’s not everyday you find quality hip hop like this.
2. Jay-Z Blueprint III
What can I say about this (See archives for song by song review of Blueprint III) except that my grandmother was singing Run This Town. Another classic Jay-Z album with the hottest everything in the game; guest features, beats, verses…everything.
1. Drake So Far Gone
If I need to explain this to you, then just navigate away from the page because you don’t know hip hop.
I’m about to go in on another Top 5 Friday. This edition will count down the Top 5 Female Lyricists alive.
5. Rah Digga
Hails From: Brooklyn, NY USA
Lyrics: 8/10
Delivery: 9/10
Notable Quotable: “Takin photos wit the black and gray Polo’s
Ruinin niggas lives like they K-Ci or JoJo”
Associations: Busta Rhymes Flipmode Squad
4. Jean Grae
Hails From: Cape Town, South Africa
Lyrics: 9.8/10
Delivery: 10/10
Notable Quotable: “Still trying to get my pen on/ Write scripts and light splifs
Until we high as light bills/ Watching for those that might switch”
Associations: Talib Kweli, 9th Wonder, Blacksmith Records
3. Da Brat
Hails From: Chicago, IL USA
Lyrics: 9.5/10
Delivery: 10/10
Notable Quotable: “Thick in the the thighs cant touch that/Stay on my grind
I bust back if I must act and empty a stack
Its B to the R-A-T trust that I’m crazy/ JD pays me, I’m such a fuckin lady”
Associations: Jermaine Dupri, So So Def, Missy Elliot
2. Lauryn Hill
Hails From: South Orange, New Jersey USA
Lyrics: 10/10
Delivery:9.5/10
Notable Quotable: “More powerful than two Cleopatras
Bomb graffiti on the tomb of Nefertiti
MCs ain’t ready to take it to the Serengeti
My rhymes is heavy like the mind of sister Betty”
Associations: The Fugees, Wyclef, Refugee Camp
1. MC Lyte
Hails From: Brooklyn, NY USA
Lyrics: 10/10
Delivery: 9.8/10
Notable Quotable: “In full effect MC Lyte is back
And better than before as if that was possible
My competition, you’ll find them in the hospital
Visiting time, I think it’s on a Sunday/But notice they only get one day to shine
The rest of the week is mine
And I’ll blind you with the science that the others have yet to find”
Associations: Elektra Records, Salt-N-Pepa
Bonus Footage: I was trying to find a clip of what I thought was Jean Grae for like two years. I heard this girl rapping on interludes for 9th Wonder’s 2007 Dream Merchant II. The only female emcee associated with him, or so I thought at the time, was Jean Grae so I just assumed it was her. In the process of looking for this clip I learned that it was not Jean Grae. It was in fact a female emcee named Rapsody. You learn something new everyday. Please enjoy and pay thorough attention to the second clip…9th Wonder is a beast, but Rapsody’s voice just….well watch it.
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1. Not that I am in the habit of promoting other folks’ projects but I have to give credit where credit is due. That Back To The Feature Mixtape with Wale and 9th Wonder is pretty much the dopest thing I’ve heard all year.
2. Red Bull Big Tune is a week from today but they don’t notify the contestants until the 20th a.k.a. 3 days before the competition. Wish me luck..
3. Jason and I are in red alert grind mode. Get the beats now while they are still cheap.
4. If this is your first time hearing this you are about to experience something so cold man.
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First of all I want to show love to Exedus II in Chicago for their Mixtape Mondays series. Myself, Jason and Young General went there last night and did our thing. Heads were feeling the beats and then G got on stage and freestyled to the new joint called Lounging (It’s posted above). It was a great experience and having the chance to see a real underground hip hop movement was definitely refreshing.
Our summer schedule is starting to heat up. We got the Rock The Bells concert on June 27th where we will do a meet & greet with the artists backstage. It’ll be a great networking event as well as a chance to just be a part of hip hop…everybody will be there…Common, The Roots, Nas, Alchemist, Supernatural, Pete Rock…that list can go on. We’re also getting ready to try and get into this Red Bull Big Tune Beat Battle. Stay tuned. Thanks for reading.
New posts include more new pictures of the studio and a video from 9th Wonder’s keyboard guy, E. Jones…He’s a beast!
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