Categorizing the productions of Derek Vincent Smith, better known as Pretty Lights, is a little complicated, as he tends to fuze hip hop style beats, often at dance music tempos, with buzzing synths, moving pads, and classic soul and funk samples.  I have to be honest, I embarrassingly didn’t even know about the Pretty Lights phenomenon until my homegirl Allie’s facebook status earlier this year when she said, “listening to my new obsession, Pretty Lights”.  Reading that led me to over an hour of youtube viewing, the whole time in awe of his live performances, pausing frequently to get clear glimpses of what he was rocking on stage.  Besides a drummer playing along to the tracks, Smith was all in the box, rocking out on two Macbook Pros, and riding the only wave suited for what he was accomplishing sonically, that wave being Ableton Live.

It’s great to see someone at the forefront of creativity in his field and really using what’s out there to push the boundaries of sound and performance.  Ableton software is calledLive for a reason as it truly offers endless amounts of tools to take digital music performance to new heights every time you sit down to be creative.  This particular track blends together the familiar guitar riff of “Private Number” by Judy Clay and William Bell with the spectacular vocals of Etta James’ “Somethings Got a Hold On Me”.  This same Etta James sample is more popularly known recently for it’s use on Avicii’s“Levels”. Anyway, enough blogging, I think it’s time to call up Hector and get to work on some DJ ideas. Innovation inspires more innovation, this is a path us producers should all follow and who knows where we’ll end up.  Have a great Saturday guys.

Etta James – Something’s Got A Hold On Me

William Bell & Judy Clay – Private Number

Pretty Lights – Finally Moving

Biggie.  Few conversations lately amongst friends honestly made me think and really consider how much talk about Biggie is people paying respect and how many people are reallllly taking in what dude was saying; to us.  Even though unanimously considered a legend, in the majority of fans top 5 dead or alive… are we still sleeping on Biggie.  I’m thinking so.  In my opinion no hip-hop artist was ever so far ahead of the rest in style and persona.  A friend of mine actually got genuinely mad at me last night for the accolades I was giving Jay-Z over B.I.G.  Another friend of mine who lives in China told me that an experience at a club recently rocking to “Get Money” – while in a Biggie T-Shirt – was one of his all time highs.  Ha.  His influence won’t die so these reminders led me to decide this had to be a B-I song.

I’ll keep it a-hundred with you guys I never heard this original sample until today.  Pretty obvious that the pitch was thrown up way high, and the 8 bars were turned into a hook.  I have to say the original is a cool record (“Dying to Live”), I actually was enjoying the beginning even more than when the sample came in at 0:38. The whole concept of the hook with the rhetorical questions honestly confused me a little when I really tried to make sense of the lyrics.  But then it all added up when Edgard Winter ends it all by saying “You know I’m dying to live until I’m READY TO DIE”. Brooklyn.

Edgar Winter – Dying to Live

Notorious B.I.G. & 2Pac – Runnin’

One of my good friends Pete Walsh, who has assisted me in many-a-Sample-Saturdays, hit me up late Thursday night with this entire entry written out in a BBM msg.  One of me and Pete’s all-time favorite verses, Scarface/3rd verse/”This Can’t Be Life”, was the perfect representation to real life for him, so this week is his…

Amidst the everyday hustle and grind of life it can sometimes become easy to forget what’s truly important and what really matters. We are all guilty of becoming consumed by work, social events, and the desire to reach the top…so much so that we sometimes lose focus on what makes life so great. This week a close friend of mine tragically lost his brother. Upon hearing the news, I was instantly grounded and everything else I had going on suddenly became so infinitesimal.  I reached out to my brothers (both biological and adopted) and let them know that I loved them and would always be there for them. I can’t even fathom the pain and hurt that the family is feeling now, but I hope that my friend can find some comfort in the fact that he has so many people in his corner looking out for him and praying for him.

I couldn’t help but go home and throw on “This Can’t Be Life” after hearing the news. I have always loved Scarface’s verse in this song, and on this particular listen the lyrics hit so close to home that I was overcome with emotion. The combination of ‘Faces raw emotion mixed with Kanye’s soulful production make this one of the most sentimental verses in hip-hop history. I encourage everyone to take a minute out of their hectic lives and reach out to the ones they cherish and let them know you love them.

Amen.  This IS life.  Peep 0:17 in “I Miss You”.

Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes – I Miss You

Jay-Z ft. Beanie Sigel, Scarface – This Can’t Be Life

I’m late, but I’m here, and feeling especially blessed this time around.  Sorry sample fiends for the delayed fix, but this weekend has been dedicated thus far to the presence of a new life in my world, my niece Maggie Elaine.  The music “game” tends to occupy my entire thinking sometimes and obscures my perspective on life, family, and those around me really going through the struggle.  My sister is healthy, my niece is healthy, and any problems of mine pale in comparison to those friends who may be fighting overseas, mourning the recent loss of a loved one, and simply trying to overcome the lack of opportunity they’ve been given from the start.  Battles in life like these are the focus of this week’s record courtesy of Nas and his onetime protege Quan.  I can’t always fight these battles for the people I love, or bring back those we’ve lost, but I can acknowledge my own blessings, and respect their present and past struggles with these words… this is just a moment.

Trapped in the game, not knowin’ how to stop and get by… To live it alive, so instead they live it to die.  Can we please have a moment of peace?” – Nas

As the case with many of my favorite Nas records, L.E.S. is on the beat.  The two bar sample only needed a little pitch adjustment to bring it up to a good speed for some introspective hip-hop.  The sample really does the work and clearly sets the feel for the record.  As the third single off of Street’s Disciple, “Just a Moment” left the biggest impression on me from the album, and provided a taste of what Nas is able to do often better than anyone.  Moment of silence, moment of respect, however you want to look at it, take some time to appreciate what and who we have in our lives.  Raise a glass EMPT’ers and ride out to this one.  Special s/o to the homey Luke Mesanko that I met at Noctambule!

Chic – Will You Cry (When You Hear This Song)

Nas ft. Quan – Just A Moment

In conversations amongst hip-hop purists, you will consistently hear Nas’ Illmatic near the top of people’s lists.  I’m certainly not knocking the undeniable classic that it is, but It Was Written was always my favorite Nas album, largely because of my obsession with “The Message”.  It was my Wu-Tang tape that introduced me to hip-hop, got us two properly acquainted, and built my appreciation for the art-form… lyrics first.  Next up was a few other albums, including Nas’ second.  The spacey guitar in the intro of “The Message” was something that I couldn’t get enough of, as I OD-ed on my rewind>play buttons (I let my tape rock ’till my tape pop).  It was the turning point for me as a listener, and from that point on the beat became my main focus.  It was also the first time that I wanted to know the origin of a sample, and somehow (with no google) I found out.

The Trackmasters, who produced the bulk of It Was Written, used the opening loop from Sting’s “Shape My Heart” to lay the foundation of what would eventually become one of Nas’ standout pieces of work.  The song starts with the loop fading in slowly, with a high pitched tremelo sound that follows the 4-chord progression, this is also used to layer the hook.  The Sting loop marches on throughout the record, and something about the progression gives it an endless quality that refuses to feel played out. The chorus features Kid Capri scratching in a few classic lines from Illmatic, probably the most famous being “I never sleep, ’cause sleep is the cousin of death”.  I have to pay homage to The Trackmasters for sparking something in my head with this beat that would eventually grow into a burning passion for hip-hop production.  So much that here I am talking about it week after week. Thanks for checkin in…

Sting – Shape My Heart

Nas – The Message

On Friday afternoon, we lost one of the true originators of this thing called hip-hop.  Gil Scott-Heron was an accomplished poet, musician, and author, known mostly for his performances in spoken word during the 1970′s and 80′s.  The album pictured above, was in reality the first instance of the hip-hop genre in recorded fashion.  Over heavy percussion and some jazz chord progressions, Heron spoke freely and intellectually regarding the deep-rooted issues effecting the black communities.  That’s hip-hop.  Small Talk at 125th and Lenox opens up with a song called “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” – yea he said that first.  In my opinion the deepest piece on the album is the one titled “Comment #1″, I’ll let him tell it though…

The time is in the street you know
Us living as we do upside down
And the new word to have is revolution
People don’t even want to hear the preacher spill or spiel
Because God’s hole card has been thoroughly piqued
And America is now blood and tears instead of milk and honey
The youngsters who were programmed
To continue fucking up woke up one night
Digging Paul Revere and Nat Turner as the good guys. America stripped
For bed and we had not all yet closed our eyes.”

A list of hip-hop artists that have sampled Gil Scott-Heron goes on and on; Talib Kweli, Common, Brand Nubian, Black Starr, Mos Def, Dr. Dre, Q-Tip, and most recently Kanye West.  Heron’s work is known as the earliest instances of hip-hop, so it seems right for it to be sampled on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, which pretty much is an example of how far the genre has gone, and how far it can still go.  On “Who Will Survive In America” Kanye takes a backseat into just producer, as the vocals are entirely Gil Scott-Heron doing what he does.  Then at two separate points during “Lost In The World”, Heron again takes the mic and his quotes become the centerpiece of the record.  MBDTF will further ensure his words carry on long after his life, as the question can be asked, and answered every day – “Who will survive in America?”.

Kanye West – Lost In The World

This week we have something special for you guys.  EMPT and KevinCaseyMusic got an exclusive interview with one of the pioneers of the art of sampling, the one and only Buckwild…..

I know loyal EMPT go-ers pride themselves on knowledge of music, so if you’re not already familiar with this legendary producer, this is a great introduction.  Buckwild was a major contributor to the 90′s East Coast sound, commonly known as hip-hop’sGolden Age. During that time he accumulated a streak of classic records for Biggie, Jay-Z, Nas, Big Pun, and everyone else who mattered to New York rap. I’m serious,everyone (for real, everyone). As an original member of the Diggin’ In The Crates crew, some of Buckwild’s most famous work was done with the late-great Big L, including his first ever single, “Put It On”…

“When the guys at Sony heard what we had done for L’s first album, they felt like we didn’t have something to use for a single, and sent L back in to do 4 or 5 more records.  He came to my crib and I gave him about 5 beats, one of those being “Put It On”.  Being the perfectionist that he was, it took him a few days to write his verses.  Then he called me up and had everything planned out for the “Put It On” record.  He knew it was gonna have Kid Capri on the hook, he knew what the hook would be, and he knew it was gonna be the single.”

I asked what it was like working with Big L in the lab…

“He always had all his verses prepared perfectly.  He was a cool guy to joke around with and shit but when in the booth the dude meant business like no-one else.  He was so competitive when it came to his music, like… he would constantly ask what I thought, “Yo, if you don’t like it tell me.”  That was a attitude that the 3 Big’s had – Big L, Biggie, and Big Pun – they were never ‘know it alls’ in the studio, and that’s what made them great.”

Because this is Sample Saturday, I had to stick with the formula, and ask Buck about the construction of the beat…

“Beats were flying out quick those days man, I think I made that one that weekend, and then L picked it up that week.  I always liked the Buster Williams record, I would play it while I was just bullshitting, cleaning the studio or whatever.  I always had the whole vision of what I wanted to use before I put the sample in the machine, I got to know the samples very well.  I think I used 4 different sections to create the beat.  As far as the drums, I would always know the sound I was looking for, I had it in my head.  That’s what a lot of these guys don’t understand, you can’t just put any drums to a sample… that’s the key to a successful beat, the tones have to match.  The Skull Snaps break was perfect, so I threw that into my Akai 950, and put the Buster Williams chops into my sp1200… and that was that.”

A few years ago I was lucky enough to work in the same studio as Buckwild, and got a lot of these type of stories first hand. He’s a great teacher, humble person, and obviously an ultra talented producer. Many of Buck’s beats were behind my motivation to make my own, and for that I am very grateful, and I couldn’t think of anyone I’d rather have involved in one of these posts.  Look out for some future Buckwild/EMPT announcements, and take the time to learn more about some of his classics in this Complex article from April.  Until next time folks…

Buster Williams – Vibrations

Skull Snaps – It’s A New Day

Big L – Put It On

via EMPTNYC

The 1966 film The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly was a classic western that tells the story of three men who dangerously pursue information about the location of a buried treasure of coins.  The three characters, including a young Clint Eastwood as Blondie (“The Good”), go through several different stages in their relationships with each other, always depending on how much they need the other person’s help in ultimately finding the gold.  The movie ends with the men in a three-way shootout, leaving one dead, and another left behind hanging by his neck.  Sadly enough, the plot somewhat reminds me of the relationships a lot of people maintain in life, and especially in business (and even more especially in the music business).  I’ve observed all too many times people that keep close ties with an acquaintance solely because of what they know they need from that person, and often when that need comes to fruition or expires, so does that relationship.  It makes me feel good to know that the people I surround myself with have an equal admiration for what we all bring to the table, and are working hard side by side to one day enjoy the gold at the end of the journey… together.  The truth to that statement allows me to use that some-what corny analogy with pride. Ha!

In one of the most epic theme song’s composed to date, musical genius Ennio Morricone masterfully arranges a piano, viola, string section, horn section, timpani’s, and breathtaking opera style vocals, amongst other things.  ”The Ecstasy of Gold”, as it was named appropriately for the movie, was chosen wisely by producer Charlemagne to sample for Jay-Z’s Blueprint 2 album.  The record, which held the same name as the album, was undoubtedly one of the standout track’s, and an extremely overlooked piece of the Nas and Jay-Z feud.  Charlemagne opened the beat with what sounds like a re-played piano part that runs at a slightly slower rate than the original.  Then at 0:21 he brings in the female vocal section, which is laid perfectly over the piano, and chopped and stretched in an arrangement that makes sense in the song’s 4/4 structure.  One of the Jay-Z tracks that for some reason you’ll hardly catch anyone talking about.  Leave it to us.

Ennio Morricone – The Ecstasy of Gold

Jay-Z – Blueprint2

via EMPTNYC

This week, we’re gonna take a look at two men who have been neglected on this site: Eric B. and Rakim. A lot of the most popular all rappers of all-time owe their styles and content to Rakim, who was one of the first to break away from the simple rhyme schemes and high energy that dominated early hip-hop. He developed his own authoratative style on the mic, going against hip-hop norms and using a more jazz influenced flow that held no boundaries or specific pattern. Backed with dope beats from his DJ, and future Mike Tyson bodyguard, Eric B., the duo took the hip-hop scene by storm with their classic debut “Paid in Full”, which raised the bar for hip-hop albums, and fueled the rise in popularity and standard for sampled records. The album was well received and scored perfect reviews from every major media outlet, including the elusive “5 Mic” review from The Source.

“Thinkin of a master plan, cuz ain’t nothin but sweat inside my hand…”

The title track from Paid In Full captured my attention the first time I heard it over a decade ago. The bassline was fly, but it was the lyrics that definitely sealed the deal (that don’t happen no mo).  Maybe it was just the hall of fame break from 3:31 of The Soul Searchers’ “Ashley Roach Clip”.  Rakim, like the rest of us, was just trying to make it.  Pay us in full.(P.Walsh/K.Casey)

The Soul Searchers – Ashley’s Roach Clip

Dennis Edwards – Don’t Look Any Further

Eric B. and Rakim – Paid in Full

I can’t think of two many pairs of rappers that mesh on a track like Raekwon and Ghostface (um, Outkast maybe? M-O-B-B?).  If you take their verses off 36 Chambers it’s definitely not the same project, especially when it comes to tracks that they hold down together like “Can It All Be So Simple”. In my opinion The Chef is the MVP of the album, providing hundreds of classic lines for us to recite the last 15+ years.  He gave the world a vivid look into the reality of life in a New York City ghetto in the 1980′s…

Yeah, my pops was a fiend since sixteen.  Shootin’ that (that’s that shit!) in his blood stream. That’s the life of a crimey, real live crimey. If niggas know the half is behind me…”

The Hype Williams video is as grimey as the lyrics in the song, giving a great visual for the record.  ”Can It All Be So Simple” was amongst the group of songs on my “Rap Mix” tape that lived in my walkman throughout my entire 6th grade school year.  Like Gladys says before the song begins, “Everybody’s talking ’bout the good old days.”

Not too much to be said about what Rza’s production has meant to the game that I haven’t already mentioned on a Sample Saturday post.  No one has proved to be better at combining samples from different sources, this case being another great example.  Source #1 is Gladys Knight & The Pips’ “The Way We Were” which is used for the quote in the intro, and also the chop from 1:08 that makes up the hook and title of the record.  The Gladys sample is combined with a loop from Labi Siffre’s “I Got The”, who’s familiar opening bars are from Jay-Z’s “Streets Are Watching”.  For the Wu record, RZA takes the drum and bass loop from the 2:10 mark, and somehow combines it seamlessly with the Gladys chop.  By 2012 I predict I analyze every track from 36 Chambers on a Sample Saturday. Hey, why not.

Gladys Knight & The Pips – The Way We Were

Labi Siffre – I Got The

Wu Tang Clan – Can It All Be So Simple

via KevinCaseyMusic and Et Musique Pour Tous