mixtape maestro (2.0)

“Whatever U Want”, the first single off of Queens rapper/ Q-Tip cousin/ G.O.O.D. Music signee Consequence’s upcoming sophomore album Cons TV, leaked waaay back in the Summer, but somehow we had never come across it until we were flipping through cable channels and happened to catch it’s on-the-cheap-looking Hype-directed video (featuring a striking duo of ponytail-whipping Sasha Fierce-wannabes)…and now, we’re more than a little bummed that we have arrived so late to the party to gush over such a fantastic track.

Honestly, we could listen to Con and Kanye trade the mic back and forth over “Whatever”’s bubbling electronic drum beat and those seducing synth sounds that mark the end of every four lines over and over without complaint. And the addition of John Legend’s romancing croon and the way the different elements to the production beautifully crash together from the mid-way point on only make the song that much more endlessly addicting.

Can this trio form a supergroup of some sort and release a mixtape, EP or album filled with more tracks like this, please?

Catch the video below, then grab a cool remix from Philly’s DJ Gregg Nyce that slaps the “Whatever U Want” vocals over the “Back To Life” beat.

Whatever U Want by Consequence f Kanye West & John Legend

Consequence | MySpace Video

DL: “Whatever U Want (Nyce Back To Life Remix)” (alt)

Uncategorized consequence, dj gregg nyce, east coast rap, john legend, kanye west, new york, philly

Back in 2000, Mya kicked off the release of her second album Fear of Flying with the single “Best of Me”, a Jadakiss-featured/ Swizz Beatz-produced midtempo about resisting a thug that managed a peaking of #14 on the R&B/ Hip Hop Singles Chart. Barely remember it? That’s okay, since most will only recall the remix version that would go on to dominate that year’s summer-time airwaves.

Titled “Best of Me (Part 2)” (aww, remember when urban acts had briefly stepped away from the whole ‘remix’ thing as an attempt to make their records sound like blockbuster big screen events?), the “sequel” completely wiped the memory clean of the original, thanks to one of Jay-Z’s hottest cameo appearances (“What’s a little me on top gon’ hurt?/ Maybe a little…”), it’s use of the shuffling beat behind Biz Markie’s classic debut single “Make The Music With Your Mouth Biz” and the accompanying video’s oh-so-sexy image of Mya in that North Carolina jersey dress (aww, remember THOSE!?!). With all these elements at it’s disposal, and Mya’s featherweight coo as the center, the track quickly garnered kudos as one of the better marriages of hip hop and R&B to ever arise.

Crate-digging remixer Siik (the man behind buttery smoove, soul-bathed re-hauls of “Single Ladies” and “1 Thing”) has taken it in as it latest project, and he succeeds at making it a must-have gem all over again, comfortably underlining the a capella vocals with the instrumental of Slum Village’s biggest hit, 2004’s Kanye West and John Legend-blessed “Selfish” (itself based off a sample of Aretha Franklin’s 1970 #1 “Call Me”).

Lay back and chill with the Mya/ Siik, Slum Village and Aretha Franklin cuts offered below.

DL: “Best of Me (Siik Remix)” (alt)

DL: “Selfish” (alt)

DL: “Call Me” (alt)

Uncategorized 70's, aretha franklin, jay-z, john legend, kanye west, mya, remix, siik, slum village, soul sample

Ghostface Killah’s eighth studio album, Ghostdini: The Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City, will be a R&B-inspired affair? Okay, we all nodded, completely confident that if anyone could pull this concept off with exciting results, it would be the man who padded his incredible catalogue with acclaimed “softer” joints like “All That I Got Is You” (with Mary J Blige), “Never Be The Same Again” (featuring Carl Thomas) and his 2006 commercial peak “Back Like That” (guesting Ne-Yo).

But with the arrival of early leaks “Baby” and “She’s A Killer”, two ill-fitting tracks that traded in the classic 70’s soul-washed soundscapes ‘Face has always sounded so good over for Auto-Tuned-enhanced stabs at radio-friendly thug-love rap and “Pop Champagne”-influenced club-hop, Ghostdini was beginning to sound like a bad idea that needed to be scrapped, pronto.

This week though, we were finally able to let out a sigh of relief thanks to the “web premiere” of “Let’s Stop Playin’”, a mid-tempo crush ballad that finds Ghost right where we’d rather have him when he’s getting his mack-flow on: bathed in soothing soul samples (in this case, Marvin Gaye provides the sophisticated beat source) and supported by a classy crooner like John Legend.

The song’s premise: Despite both being committed to other people, Ghost is really feeling a female neighbor in his building of residence, going so far as too memorize her daily schedule and make sure he’s around when she gets off from work at six to help her upstairs with the groceries because the elevator’s broken. Even when she’s had it out with her man and is giving him the cold shoulder, he still can’t help but find her attractive (“But still, you was lookin’ mad cute to me/ With your lips poked out being rude to me”).

The second verse is the one that completely seals “Playin’”’s status as a solid favorite though, with Ghostface masterfully juggling another dazzling lyrical display of his revered humor and storytelling skills as he scripts out a fantasy sex scene set in a laundromat with him and his dream girl getting buckwild amidst spilled Clorox bleach and scattered Bounce sheets.

Now this is the “soft”-mode Iron Man we know and love.

Ghostdini drops September 29th.

DL: “Let’s Stop Playin’” (alt)

Uncategorized east coast rap, ghostface killah, john legend, marvin gaye, sex-rap, soul sample

The seemingly disparate musical universes of MSTRKRFT and John Legend meshed to surprisingly great effect last fall when the Canadian electro duo serviced the ever-wanting dance floor brethren with their remix of Legend’s “Green Light”, unleashing this killer assault of strobe light sonics and neo-soul man lust.

On “Heartbreaker”, the two forces come together again and the results turn out even better than their first go-round as collaborators.

What makes “Heartbreaker” so superior? Firstly, because MSTRKRFT were smart enough to give John’s favorite instrument (the piano, derrruh) a prominent place in the tune’s addictive tromp of a mix, establishing a more organic connection between the two.

But secondly, and most importantly, it’s simply an overall worthier entry, creating this nice juxtaposition between their mechanized production tricks and Legend’s somber chronicle of a once-promising relationship that hit the skids, leaving him shattered as he watches his ex-lover finding a brand new source of happiness in the arms of another man.

From MSTRKRFT’s highly anticipated sophomore album, Fist of God, which also sees the duo chummying it up alongside the likes of E-40, Ghostface Killah and…once-hot-but-sadly-now-not R&B vixen Lil’ Mo!?!? (Now THAT’S a collaboration we find very enticing!!!).

DL: “Heartbreaker” (alt)

Uncategorized Canada, dance remix, john legend, mstrkrft

Not even an assumed do-gooder like Legend can resist the seductive wiles of a groupie, a situation which forms the basis for this enveloping fourth single from the soul man’s platinum-plus Once Again.

As a dense palette of knocking drums and earthy hip hop-soul grooves brew around his throaty delivery, Legend is trapped in the sexual escapades he shares with ‘Melanie’ (“Says she digs my melodies”), an opportunist searching for a new victim in the next chapter of her inevitable revealing tell-all. Knowing full well the fantasy-driven basis of the fling (“She fell in love with the radio/ It wasn’t really me”), Legend doesn’t stop the affair, pining after her basket of goodies in every city he touches down in, in hopes that they can rekindle their on-going game of passion once again.

It’s a testament to his talent that Legend could make something so scandalous feel so wholesome, yet heartbreaking. “Her favorite colors be platinum and gold/ She only loves in stereo,” he croons, unable to handle the reality of it all. A bit of him wishes there was some way it could all end up differently, that their love could be fueled by something more genuine, but as he states, he’s “seen it before” and is fully aware that no matter how good it feels for the time being she’ll find a bigger star to bed with next and leave him in the dust, another stop on her own tour.

Download: “Stereo” (Amazon)

Uncategorized john legend, once again, R&B, singer-songwriter

We’ve been teased with a new Lauryn Hill project for so long that it’s more likely the long-in-the-waiting Guns & Roses album Chinese Democracy would beat it to stores. Slowly, though, Hill has begun to creep back into the spotlight, announcing some upcoming concert dates and collaborating with the likes of John Legend and Joss Stone. But while John Legend’s “So High (Cloud 9 Remix)” reminded us why Hill was so loved in the first place, her throwaway cameo on Joss Stone’s “Music” signalled that it if she was to come back, it could possibly be more in the form of the angry and confused MTV Unplugged 2.0 Hill, than the majestic hip hop goddess we wholeheartedly embraced from Miseducation.

So touched by the new animated film “Surf’s Up” that she felt the need to hit the studio and record something for it, “Lose Myself”, Lauryn’s first solo offering in a minute, marks an interesting comeback for the troubled rapper/ singer/ songwriter/ producer. Opening with a splash of space age synthesizers before a rushed, melodic folk/ reggae rhythm comes to light, “Lose Myself” initially sounds like something Andre 3000 could’ve come up with after smoking some exotic ganja and tapping into an adoration for Bob Marley. Tragically, Hill is unable to find her footing in the song’s awkward tempo and off-kilter frenzy and on first listen, the entire event could be summed up as a sad mess.

With a little more focus and a better mixing, though, “Lose Myself” could’ve been a grand return. Hill’s now-familiar, suffered alto feels honest and heartfelt as she speaks on a dark period she needed to endure to become the better person she is today (“I peerlessly had to face the danger/ So I could come back and love you whole instead”). Though it’s ultimately a self-love-first declaration, it’s hard not to ignore that it simultaneously ranks as a love letter to her fans. The disastrous results determine that she still hasn’t worked out all her kinks, but Hill’s inspiring new outlook shows promise as she personally thanks those who have waited patiently for her to emerge from whatever prison she was in: “And so it goes that I never meant to hurt you/ Couldn’t stay but I never meant to desert you/…And though it may have taken years I can finally/ Tell you that you were always on my mind.”

As a whole, “Lose Myself”’s inability to settle in a single direction is too apparent to dismiss. It almost feels like an old Lauryn Hill song given an unflattering remix from some amateur, bedroom DJ. Beneath all the chaos, though, faint signs that the Hill we know and love is back instills a glimmer of hope that a new LP should be arriving sooner rather than later. Let’s pray that the Miseducation 2.0 we’ve been feening for so bad returns this massively needed artist to the glorious throne she used to hold so well.

Download: “Lose Myself” (Amazon)

Uncategorized alt-soul, andre 3000, john legend, joss stone, lauryn hill, reggae

Putting the awkward hip hop-oriented concessions of his debut to rest, John Legend really comes alive as an artist on his second outing Once Again. Marketing the singer/ songwriter as a lounge crooner at the Copacabana in 2007 might not be the best way to win over the urban youth vote (or garner a contemporary radio hit), but it’s a more fitting style to Legend’s classic songwriting and old folks’ tenor and has produced some of the richest R&B of the year.

“PDA (We Just Don’t Care)” is a spring lovers’ anthem through and through. Anchored by a buoyant piano, infectious soul claps, brassy horns and a warm, feelgood groove, the song has the capability to make flowers bloom and legs skip, and put a permanent smile upon anyone’s face within earshot. It’s the kind of record that justifies the musician as one of the better Stevie Wonder students, incorporating the beauty of live instrumentation with a vivid study on romance that’s undeniably charming.

Where Wonder could go twee (“I Just Called To Say I Love You” is one of the mushiest songs ever!!), Legend avoids that danger by tapping into his ever-present sexual deviancy. Parents needn’t worry about any R-rated dialogue, the song’s naughtiness arrives via the high of exhibitionism. Pushing his lover to do it “where someone might discover us”, Legend offers the park, the fire escape, his girlfriend’s job and even her Mama’s house (“Maybe she’ll hear us when we scream and shout/ But we’ll keep it rocking until she comes knocking”), all against the unassuming guise of the song’s sunny melody.

Many may find the sentiment a little shocking coming from R&B’s seeming Dudley Do Right but Legend’s lyrics (especially the recurring theme of infidelity) has always lent itself to a nastier aspect of his personality that wasn’t so obvious. This sort of creeping around isn’t the least bit scandalous, just a tasty lesson in how to keep the romance afire.

Uncategorized grown folks R&B, john legend, once again, singer-songwriter