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

My big brother Scram Jones has been putting in overtime lately on possibly his most overlooked talent out the triple threat [Producer, DJ, MC].  Scram the Rapper put out a brand new mixtape this week called The Hat Trick, showing off his bars while as expected also handling most of the production.  Download and listen.  I’m not sure how this guy remains not only relevant, but at the top of the game on the boards and in the booth, and still can find the creativity to come up with rhymes like the ones on this project. Hat’s off to him.

Scram Jones ft. The Alchemist – Collision Course

So those that stay up on the now in Hip-Hop, or have twitter, probably are aware that the Boss Ricky Ross suffered two separate seizures yesterday, both that caused emergency landings for the flights he was on.  Luckily for the Hip Hop genre, he is ok and scheduled to perform tonight in North Carolina. With that said – this dude is flat out leaving a real legacy through his music, not just putting out records, but really cementing himself in the history books, writing his story day by day and telling it on wax.  Running his own label on one major, and being signed as a solo on another.  Signing two artists from regions under-represented in Hip Hop, and putting them on the major stage.  Boss moves.  Hate if u’d like.

Musically, the man picks beats as good as anyone, and like the homey Buckwildmentioned on twitter once, he should start a beat-picking consultation service for some of these taste-less rappers in the game. Lyrically Ross talks about the street/party/good-life, and he’s got that whole lane on smash these days. The whole thing.  ”He’s killed everything he’s been on since 2009″ one of my boys accurately claimed to me the other day.  And for the New York sector of his haters, here’s Rozay over some Alchemist drums, the type of instrumental you probably think he can’t hit.  Rapping back and forth with his young gun Meek Mills.  Oh yea, Sample Saturday… chops courtesy of “Jet” by Paul McCartney & Wings. Long live Rozay the perfectionist.

Paul McCartney & Wings – Jet

Rick Ross & Meek Mill – Perfectionist

We are now talking about the man himself Roy Ayers.  In a time frame of almost 50 years (dating up until the present), Ayers has been releasing and working on projects spanning almost every genre of music. The handful of Roy Ayers sampled beats I have made in my day never got placed onto albums, but about 100 other producer’s beats have.  Ayers’ record “Everybody Loves Sunshine” alone has been sampled 35 times! (at my last count) Anyway, here’s a video I came across of the legend discussing his feelings on sampling.  The more I learn about this guy the more I become a fan, doesn’t hurt that he seems like the nicest guy ever…

Now on an only-related-through-sampling note, I also caught an interview today with the recently released DMX.  The direction his life has taken him in the last few years is truly sad, and when you listen to X’s lyrics as far back as his first album, you can easily detect signs of a very prominent dark side to the rapper’s life.  Its hard not to reflect on his recent path during this guest verse on Nas’ “Life Is What You Make It”.

Life is too short to get caught up on some dumb shit; Wake up, 40 years old on some bum shit…..Now realize that you ain’t got shit; Not long ago, you was the man, on some hot shit”

Damn reality is harsh sometimes.  The man did get caught up, I just hope his story isn’t over.  Anyway, the track contains a sample of Roy Ayers’ “Vittroni’s Theme” off of the soundtrack of the 1973 movie Coffy. Since this record isn’t much to really listen to, I threw in “Everybody Loves Sunshine” as well. Life is what you make it, let’s make it.

Roy Ayers – Vittroni’s Theme

Nas ft. DMX – Life Is What You Make It

Roy Ayers – Everybody Loves Sunshine

It’s hard not to notice the difference in Amy Winehouse’s appearance on the cover of her 2003 album Frank in comparison to the latest images released of her during her final attempt at a tour earlier this year.  Her untimely death was as equally sad as it was unsurprising.  A fight against substance abuse is a battle often belittled, but the unfortunate reality is this fight has been lost by so many of music’s greatest minds.  And yes, I look at Amy on that level.  In an industry of so many cloned artists Amy Winehouse paved her own way through superior talent and unique style, both things for which I will remember her by.  Frank and Back In Black are offspring that will Live On, Live Long.

Amy Winehouse – Help Yourself

Les Brown feat. Doris Day – You Won’t Be Satisfied

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