mixtape maestro (2.0)

Most of the fun in Milwaukee/ Chicago rapper/ singer Gerald Walker‘s new mixtape, Evening Out With Your Girlfriend, can be had in just reading the titles (samples: “You Don’t Pay A Prostitute For Sex…You Pay A Prostitute To Leave When You’re Done”; “Your Mother Made Me Change The Name of This Song So Your Father Wouldn’t Realize Who It’s About”) or figuring out the source of his backing beat choices (production “swipes” include tracks from Matt & Kim, Arctic Monkeys and Will.I.Am), which is probably why we can’t get enough of “Half of Life Is Fucking Up…The Other Half Is Dealing With It”, a featured cut set to the tune of Amy Winehouse’s “He Can Only Hold Her”. But before you get to thinking that we’re completely losing it, know that there’s more appeal to the song beyond the entertainment value of it’s title and sample.

A charming, and occasionally witty, ditty that finds his conversational flow rested well atop Mark Ronson’s retro-hued soundbed, “Half of Life…” follows Walker coming clean to his “love ‘em and leave ‘em” ways. “They sayin’ that I’m ruthless/ I’m just addicted to the newness/ Of a chick/ So after the first couple weeks of us dating/ They all get dismissed”, he confesses at one point, elsewhere cruelly finding humor in how he leaves women feeling like “whores”, or the way they “try to block my retreats” when only a short while before they “resisted my advances”.

His heartless braggadocio is probably not a laughing matter to the long line of women he’s left confused and emotionally bruised over time, but for us, it’s definitely a hoot to listen to over and over.

Check it out below alongside what’s become our second favorite Girlfriend entry: “Get Your Money”, one of two great whole song-jackings from will.i.am’s 2007 solo flop Songs About Girls. Honestly, we don’t know where will’s voice ends and Walker’s contribution begins on it, but it’s festive celebration of strippers over a sample of M.A.N.D.Y. & Booka Shade’s 2005 Ibiza staple “Body Language” definitely gets us anxious to hit the closest strip joint armed with pocketfuls of single bills every time.

Pick up the rest of Evening Out With Your Girlfriend here.

DL: “Half of Life Is Fucking Up…The Other Half Is Dealing With It” (alt)

DL: “Get Your Money” (alt)

We’re still not entirely sure it’s a good idea for Amy Winehouse to be helming a label right now (since A: we’d rather have her focusing all her energy on shaping up and recording another album, and B: well, would you want her as a boss?), but then again, what do we know. Her Lioness Records imprint is set to be launched this Fall and it’s first order of business is in releasing the debut album by her 13-year-old goddaughter Dionne Bromfield.

Somewhat un-surprisingly, the London-born Bromfield has been groomed to be a Winehouse mini-me. She may not be crowned with a ratty, on-the-verge-of-collapsing-at-all-times bee hive or look disturbingly under-fed, but she’s definitely presented as a precocious soundalike to her God-mama, down to the beyond-her-years soul pipes and penchant for remaking old R&B/ girl group material (her premiere long-player, Introducing Dionne Bromfield, is an all covers set featuring takes on “Tell Him”, “He’s So Fine” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, amongst other cherished oldies).

The project’s first single is a remake of The Shirelles’ 1963 Top Ten hit “Foolish Little Girl” and, as is the case with a majority of Winehouse’s stuff, it’s impossible not to appreciate. Yeah, it makes for an odd fit as a solo performance (part of the campy charm of the original was the way it was set of as a conversation between friends, the different members of the Shirelles’ trading off leads to play both the song’s jealous ex-girlfriend main role and that character’s well-meaning pals), but that can be overlooked with Bromfield having such sturdy, self-assured vocals and the track rocking this adorable lil’ reggae-for-beginners trot we could listen to over and over for hours.

It’s a decent jump-off for the Lioness label (maybe Amy knows what she’s doing after all!!!), but we gotta admit, we’re more interested in hearing what original stuff Bromfield will be serving up for the follow-up album.

Introducing Dionne Bromfield is due October 12th in the UK.

The UK press must have gone into cardiac arrest when they got word that Amy Winehouse and Mutya Buena were joining forces on the summertime duet “B Boy Baby”, a guilty pleasure concoction bursting at the seams with WTF awesomeness.

Whoever had the balls to mess with The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby” deserves to be slapped, then given some sort of plaque for creating such a rewarding pop treat. Dripping with the nostalgic schoolgirl musings of the peerless original twisted into a modern context, Buena’s throaty soul vocal throws out plenty of Beyonce-speed dedications to her Nike-footed idol. Though they appear to be the perfect match, she’s hoards an underlying fear that her freaky bedroom skills and undying devotion aren’t enough to win her the blue ribbon prize of being his one and only babydoll. Cue in the assistance of new pal Winehouse who sounds like a Ronnie Spector clone on the revamped hook (“B-Boy/ Be my baby/ My one and only baby…”) as Christmas bells twinkle and reggae horn blasts conjure up a dope, hip hop edge.

As sacrilegious as it all might seem (screwing with The Ronettes should be a criminal offense), “B Boy Baby” basically demands an instant replay as soon as the final note drops, quickly winning you over with it’s audacious nerve and Mutya and Amy’s endearing performance. Seeing a whole new generation embracing his classic work is probably the only thing bringing a little light into Phil Spector’s world right now.

It seems you can’t open any music mag or read any music blog today without coming across sheer praise for both the immense talent and off-stage debauchery of Amy Winehouse. She’s just that good!! Her stunning streak continues to chuck out the best of 2007 with this offshoot collaboration with producer Mark Ronson, an amazing cover of The Zutons Top Ten UK singalong “Valerie”.

The happy-go-lucky spirit of The Zutons’ “Valerie” playfully merged 60′s pop sunniness with the faceless charm of ’90′s indie rock, making for a decent radio favorite that might not have lingered in memory much after it’s fadeout. Ronson and Winehouse’s rendition completely dominates as the better version, her weary vocals delving deeper into the song’s old lover longing (Amy doesn’t deviate from the script, leading to a cool homoerotic twist) and Ronson’s tattooing of the song with a listless early Motown thump.

The hurried bass groove borrowed from The Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love” sprayed with ethereal strings and chimes and a festive horn additive gives “Valerie 2.0″ a multi-layered sense of royalty, as if a small town is welcoming the passing through of the Queen and giving her a show to outrank all shows. Always sounding like she’s wet her throat with at least two Long Islands before approaching the mic, Winehouse feels much more looser here than she does on Back In Black and it’s a welcome change of pace. No she doesn’t go off on some needless vocal riff tangent, but her spirited performance feels like she’s getting a kick out of the song’s finger-snapping rhythm and gender-bending element.

Completely making The Zutons’ “Valerie” irrelevant, Winehouse and Ronson’s Berry Gordy-approved remake justifies the hoopla surrounding this year’s brightest music sensation.

Confirmed as the third UK single from her critically acclaimed sophomore release, “Back To Black” continues to vividly paint Winehouse as the drunken, depressed, sultry diva with one foot in Billie’s high heel and another in Mary J’s Timberland.

With a tip-toeing bass line and prickly piano chords dating the weepy ballad in 60′s Motown and James Bond guitars and strings adding a classy touch of Spector ambiance, “Back To Black” uses it’s pasting of classic soul elements to beautifully conjure up a tour de force of feminine pain.

A sorrowful Winehouse watches with disdain as a recent ex quickly backpedals to a former bed pal (“He left no time to regret/ Kept his dick wet/ With his same old safe bet”) leaving any hopes of a speedy reconciliation in the dust. Left with only memories and heartache, Winehouse sadly returns to a place she seems to know all to well: loneliness, echoing the refrain “I’ll go back to black” as if the effect represents the cavernous hole her life seems to have fallen in.

It’s another late night tearjerker to sip wine to (accented with the nostalgia of her soul influences) that pulls back the sass of “Rehab” and cleverly reverts the pain she brought on “You Know I’m No Good” to reveal the fragile heart Amy is once again left to nurse all by herself.

Why can’t American pop stars be this good? A UK tabloid fixture with her widely reported fluctuating weight and drunken public escapades, Amy Winehouse would be nothing more than a down-spiralling fluke if her soulful belting, self-admitted lifestyle flaws and solid yesteryear-hinged beats didn’t produce such intoxicating musical results. Her 2003 debut, Frank, won over critics with it’s jazz-derived production and explicit lyricism, (leading to some calling her the new Sarah Vaughn) and now she appears on the verge of international superstardom with 2007′s first bid at album of the year, the arresting throwback-soul gem, Back In Black.

“Rehab”, the album’s first single overseas, easily piques interest as an expert play off of ’60′s Motown thickened pop-soul with the infectious stark honesty of Etta James. Recorded in response to former managers encouraging her to seek professional help after questionable public behavior, Winehouse leave you breathless from the opening line (“They try to make me go to rehab/ But I say no no no…”). Though she admits she might have a problem with the bottle, a 12-step program just isn’t her style, she’d rather find aid through her classic soul music collection (“There’s nothing you can teach me/ That I can’t learn from Mr. Hathaway”). Such salivating internalizing is brought to life with a rolling organ bass Ray Charles would love, a rousing horn section lifted from the big band era and a skittery, candy-coated mid-section you could mash potato your heart out to. A sultry girl group number delivered by one troubled, unapologetic vixen, “Rehab” lives gracefully in it’s retro influence while supplying a feisty mindset that R&B artists sadly seem too self-conscious to ever indulge in nowadays.

On “You Know I’m No Good”, her American debut, Winehouse further explores her self-sabotaging behavior. But this time around she’s more privy to coming clean of her wrongdoing taking the infidelity guilt of Rihanna’s “Unfaithful” to the next level. Unable to keep her paws off of her ex fully knowing she’s got a good loving man at home, Winehouse drowns her sorrows in alcohol at the corner bar, beating herself up over too familiar of a dilemma. As with “Unfaithful”, “You Know I’m No Good” stands out because it flips the tables on the male-dominated theme by showing a woman confessing to cheating without really wanting to put an end to the rendezvous. She unintentionally throws it in her man’s face, coming home with fresh carpet burns, and all he can do is take pity on her hurt over her decisions but unable to let leave her. “It’s the worst to truly stuck the knife in first”, she remorsefully concludes in typical broken English fashion as a steady drum beat lopes, guitars flourish, horns burp and fart and a bluesy backing track rustles ‘neath her sultry growl.

Fan Ghostface Killah reprised “…No Good” on his recently released More Fish, taking the role of Amy’s mister-ess (?) and imposing upon her guilt with his usual dramatic histrionics (“It’s a shame how you can’t get me off the brain/He that lame…/ Got the rug burn stinging and you saying my name”)

Reminiscent of Lily Allen, another tart-tongued UK export experiencing some mild adoration in the States, Winehouse is a welcome breath of fresh air to neo-soul where most artists are satisfied in plainly recreating old vibes than using such classic textures as a familiar base to build original content from. Natalie Portman had it all wrong when she hyped up The Shins in “Garden State” as the artist to change your life. One sniff of Amy Winehouse and you’ll find yourself instantly irritated by the lack of creativity and real-life density those other divas don’t convey.