mixtape maestro (2.0)

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

When Marvin Gaye had a need for some “sexual healing”, you could feel it in his wrenching delivery that he was suffering the worst case of blue balls known to man. It was one of those distinctive performances that no one could touch without sounding really karaoke. Apparently, German pop star (and former Wyclef Jean girlfriend) Sarah Connor wasn’t warned of this.

Taking on the yearning R&B anthem and bringing along Ne-Yo (who should know better!) for the ride, Connor’s reading does the typical pop tart thing by equating being whispery with sexiness. To her credit, Connor has shown a hint of soul in her vocals in the past, but here she feels lost, like she’s too afraid to try anything different with the record. Yeah, it’s a scary thought trying to re-create a classic and a trendy remix would have ended in her being burned at the stake, but if you’re not going to add some new spin to a familiar cut, why re-do it in the first place? Ne-Yo’s contribution keeps things from sounding too White, but he too should be fined for basically aping Gaye’s vocal and leaving out the personality. The whole damn ordeal is a pointless retread that never should of moved beyond the “I’ve got an idea” stage.

Uncategorized 80's, blue-eyed soul, cover song, duet, germany, grown folks R&B, marvin gaye, ne-yo, sex jam