#jay z and timbaland production

[hit-song-showdown]

Year-End Poll #57: 2006

[Image description: a collage of photos of the 10 musicians and musical groups featured in this poll. In order from left to right, top to bottom: Daniel Powter, Sean Paul, Nelly Furtado, James Blunt, Shakira, Natasha Bedingfield, Gnarls Barkley, Chamillionaire, Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé. End description]

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The sound of popular rap is still skewing down south, as seen with Chamillionaire and Slim Thug. The dirty south sound will continue to be popular throughout the decade.

With Timbaland, The Neptunes, Danger Mouse, and Swizz Beatz, we're seeing a lot of established names in the world of music production popping up in the top 10. Timbaland was already a well-known producer in the 90's, especially his work with Missy Elliot, Aaliyah, Jay-Z, and other notable names in rap and R&B (cutting a lot of artists from this list; seriously he's very prolific). In the mid-2000's, Timbaland started working with more pop acts, like Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado, and The Pussycat Dolls (again, cutting a lot out), bringing more mainstream pop listeners to his sound. Like The Neptunes, Timbaland's production style is incredibly distinct and helped to shape what a lot of music in the 2000s sounded like.

This was also the year the second-generation iPod Nano was introduced. This is mostly notable to me because this was the year I upgraded to one from my Walkman, and I saw the music video for Gnarls Barkley's Crazy on that tiny screen and it blew my goddamn mind because I thought I was living in the future.

[lboogie1906]

Timothy Zachary Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is a rapper, musician, DJ, record producer, and record executive.

His first full-credit production work was on Ginuwine...the Bachelor for R&B singer Ginuwine. After working on Aaliyah’s second studio album One in a Million and Missy Elliott’s debut studio album Supa Dupa Fly, he became a prominent producer for R&B and hip-hop artists. He released several albums with fellow rapper Magoo, followed by his debut solo album Tim’s Bio. He produced the hit single “Cry Me a River” for Justin Timberlake, going on to produce most of Timberlake’s subsequent LPs such as FutureSex/LoveSounds and The 20/20 Experience and their respective hit singles. A Timbaland-owned imprint label, Mosley Music Group, featured artists such as Nelly Furtado, whose Timbaland-produced album Loose was a commercial and critical success. He released a solo album, Shock Value, which was followed by Shock Value II.

His production credits include work with Jay-Z, Nas, Ludacris, Bubba Sparxxx, Madonna, Rihanna, OneRepublic, Brandy, Drake, Rick Ross, and others. He has written 85 UK hits and 99 hits Stateside, as of 2014. He has received widespread acclaim for his production style. Entertainment Weekly stated that “just about every current pop trend can be traced back to him — from sultry, urban-edged R&B songstresses ... to the art of incorporating avant-garde sounds into #1 hit.” #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[oliverfinalmajorproject]

Final Major Project - Inspiration 2

The y2k aesthetic is hugely inspired by music too.

Pop Dominance: Pop music reached its zenith during the late 90s and early 2000s. Boy bands like Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, as well as pop princesses like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, dominated the charts. Their catchy, upbeat tunes and visually striking music videos had a profound impact on popular culture.

Hip-Hop and R&B Fusion: The Y2K era saw the rise of hip-hop and R&B, with artists like Destiny's Child, Missy Elliott, and Jay-Z making significant contributions. The fusion of hip-hop and R&B elements with pop and electronic influences created a dynamic and innovative sound.

Electronica and Dance: Electronic and dance music experienced a surge in popularity during this period. Genres like trance, techno, and house found mainstream success, with artists like Daft Punk, The Chemical Brothers, and Fatboy Slim producing iconic tracks that fueled dance floors and influenced the electronic music scene.

Nu-Metal and Alternative Rock: Nu-metal emerged as a prominent genre, blending elements of metal, hip-hop, and alternative rock. Bands like Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, and Korn brought a raw and energetic sound that resonated with the angst and rebellious spirit of the time.

Pop Punk and Emo: Pop punk and emo gained popularity, with bands like Blink-182, Sum 41, and My Chemical Romance contributing to the alternative music scene. Their emotionally charged lyrics and energetic performances captured the sentiments of a generation.

Latin Pop Explosion: Latin pop achieved global recognition during the Y2K era, with artists like Ricky Martin, Shakira, and Enrique Iglesias breaking into the mainstream. Their infectious rhythms and cross-cultural appeal influenced not only music but also fashion and dance trends.

Innovations in Sampling and Production: The era witnessed advancements in music production, with artists experimenting with sampling, synthesisers, and digital technology. Producers like Timbaland and The Neptunes played a pivotal role in shaping the sonic landscape with their innovative use of beats and sounds.

Music Videos and Visual Aesthetics: The Y2K era was characterised by visually striking music videos. Artists embraced bold and stylised visuals, often incorporating futuristic, cyberpunk, or retro-futuristic elements. The visual aesthetics of music videos had a cross-disciplinary impact on fashion and design.

Crossover Collaborations: Collaborations between artists from different genres became more common, leading to crossover hits that blended musical styles. These collaborations often broke down genre boundaries, contributing to a more eclectic and inclusive musical landscape.

Rise of Independent and DIY Culture: The Y2K era also saw the rise of independent and DIY (do-it-yourself) music culture. The accessibility of digital technology allowed artists to produce and distribute music independently, contributing to a diverse and decentralized music scene.

[6sadfox]

Top Ten Music Producers (Arguably)- Written By 6Sadfox

Quincy Jones - Known for producing Michael Jackson's "Thriller," Quincy Jones has worked with many of the biggest names in the music industry over the course of his career, from Frank Sinatra to Ray Charles.

Max Martin - With over 22 Billboard Hot 100 number one hits to his name, Max Martin is one of the most successful pop producers of all time. He has worked with artists such as Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and The Weeknd.

Dr. Dre - A pioneer of West Coast hip-hop, Dr. Dre has produced some of the most iconic rap albums of all time, including Snoop Dogg's "Doggystyle" and his own "The Chronic."

Rick Rubin - A legendary producer who has worked with everyone from Johnny Cash to Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rick Rubin is known for his stripped-down, raw approach to production.

Timbaland - One of the most influential producers of the 2000s, Timbaland is known for his innovative use of samples and his collaborations with artists like Missy Elliott and Justin Timberlake.

Pharrell Williams - A versatile producer who has worked across many different genres, Pharrell Williams has produced hits for artists such as Britney Spears, Jay-Z, and Daft Punk.

Brian Eno - A pioneer of ambient music, Brian Eno has also produced seminal albums for artists such as David Bowie and Talking Heads.

Nile Rodgers - Known for his distinctive guitar playing and funky rhythms, Nile Rodgers has produced hits for artists such as Chic, Diana Ross, and Daft Punk.

T Bone Burnett - A producer who has worked across many genres, T Bone Burnett is known for his collaborations with artists such as Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.

George Martin - As the "Fifth Beatle," George Martin is known for his work with the Beatles, producing many of their most iconic albums. He also worked with artists such as Jeff Beck and America

[lascloz]

Deep hip hop beats for sale

Mobb Deep’s Prodigy and Havoc spun a dark world for their classic 1995 debut The Infamous, with an even darker sonic landscape - chalk it up to Havoc’s keen ear for gritty samples that pull together sounds from different records. Mobb Deep, “Shook Ones Part II,” produced by Havoc It all came together on “C.R.E.A.M.,” a smear of organs, church-y wails, and an unforgettable piano melody that perfectly represented the bleak hood nightmares described by Raekwon and Inspektah Deck.ĥ. His dusty, rich soul samples - here courtesy of the Charmels’ “As Long As I’ve Got You” - inspired folks like Kanye West and Just Blaze, and the drunken drum loop popularized swinging drums in an age of quantized, clockwork boom-bap. The backdrop for Wu-Tang’s most iconic song, this beat exemplified RZA’s ridiculously prolific peak period. Wu-Tang Clan, “C.R.E.A.M.,” produced by RZA It was dizzying and satiating, all at once, playing background to some of the finest bars from the Bad Boy crew.Ħ. But the peak of The Hitmen’s output came with “All About the Benjamins,” helmed by Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie, who slowed down a guitar lick from Love Unlimited’s “I Did It For Love” and made it the centerpiece atop whizzing percussion. Puff Daddy typically leaned on his production group The Hitmen to mine samples from ‘60s and ‘70s records and flip them into shiny bucolic fare ( Notorious B.I.G.’s “Mo Money Mo Problems,” Puff Daddy’s “Been Around the World”). Puff Daddy and the Family, “All About the Benjamins,” produced by Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie With “Drop It like It’s Hot,” the Virginia duo provided a breathable landscape comprised of fingersnaps, mouth clicks and a Juno 106 synth that combined to form a beat that harnessed the pure keyboard sounds of the ’70s and surrounded it with highly experimental percussion that paid off.ħ. But their best instrumental slots in the latter. Since the beginning of their reign as two of rap’s greatest creative minds, the Neptunes’ Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo proved to be masters of both minimalism ( Clipse’s “Grindin’”) and maximalism ( Gwen Stefani‘s colossal “Hollaback Girl”). Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell, “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” produced by The Neptunes Some have become outdated, but the one that still sounds the most like the year 3000 was given to Jay Z for his classic “N-a What, N-a Who?” With its strobe synths and stuttering drums, Timbo provides a sonic template with pockets of silence that Jay fills with a constantly shifting meter. Timbaland has always had a genius knack for crafting beats that sound like they’re from the future. Jay Z featuring Amil and Jaz-O, “N-a What, N-a Who?,” produced by Timbaland That rat-a-tat snare breakdown is the probably most copied drum fill in recent memory.ĩ. Nothing more than a hypnotically repetitive patois vocal sample (from a ridiculously obscure Tribe Called Quest remix) over an 808 drum kit, it’s ridiculously simple, but you could freestyle over it endlessly. Perhaps the most influential beat of the 21st century, this Bangladesh banger single-handedly started a new wave of trap that took the early innovations of Atlanta cats like Shawty Redd and DJ Toomp to the future. Lil Wayne, “A Milli,” produced by Bangladesh Read on for our countdown of the top 10 hip-hop beats of all time.ġ0. Dre - who have minted the best beats in the genre’s history. Since hip-hop’s inception, producers spanning The Bomb Squad and J Dilla to Just Blaze and Kanye West have crafted instrumentals that have stood the test of time, but none more so than a handful of premier craftsmen - DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Dr. See the All-Time Charts: Billboard 200 Albums | Billboard 200 Artists | Hot 100 Songs | Hot 100 ArtistsĬreating the perfect beat is a combined matter of timing, creative genius and just the right rapper to complement it.

[nightcoremoon]

it’s absolutely bonkers how many people make jokes about eminem being racist even tho like

snoop, xzibit, nate, kurupt, obie, royce, d12, 50 cent, timbaland, parliament motherfucking funkadelic, everybody in d12, rihanna, nicki, jay z, and, oh, gee, i dunno, HOW ABOUT DR DRE HIMSELF all have had a lot of respect for him and collaborated. and that’s just the black artists. that I can recall.

and so far after his career has slowed down too. what, no hatred for Elvis? Marilyn Monroe? Benny Goodman??? and then you’ll listen to guns n roses or marilyn manson. hmm gee whiz you’ll say nothing about their n bombs. could it be you don’t actually care and you’re too dumb to admit that you have absolutely no earthly clue that eminem is literally just one of dr dre’s side projects and how influential he was in a positive direction on music production, and the two biggest artists he’s beefed with, limp bizkit and machine gun kelly, are genuinely just the absolute worst people ever? every single black person I’ve ever met IRL who listens to rap has loved eminem (and on another topic all the ones who don’t listen to rap have liked a group that the terminally online tiktok gen cloutchasers will say I’m a liar for saying, including panic at the disco, avenged sevenfold, korn, and disturbed) and I’m much more inclined to trust that if he truly was racist then every single artist of color who has collabed with him and or listens to him would, you know. not do that. and then you have manson literally singing songs titled “rock and roll n*gger”. but sure. eminem is racist. hahahahhahahahahhahahahahhhahhahahahahahhahah hysterical. like yeah he is racist in the same way that all white people are racist because we all benefit from white privilege but he’s not A racist who goes on drunk tirades about white supremacy like phil anselmo or much worse, sober tirades about white supremacy like burzum. that’s like making fun of a rusty 40 year old pickup truck from the backseat of your tesla that’s going to break down in less than a year.

but anyway yeah if eminem is racist then dr dre is a race traitor I guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I mean you can open the can of worms about how being rich erases the drawbacks of being black in this society. yeah go ahead and try to push that. good fucking luck.

[deadcactuswalking]

Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 2000

The year 2000. Y2K. I’m a little too young to have any overt specific memories of this year, so let’s see how the year 2000 started. So, let’s see here... January 2000: the UN sentences five Bosnian Croats to up to 25 years in prison for killing of more than 100 Muslims. Okay, well, at least justice was served. What else happened in 2000? Oh, Dr. Harold Shipman, the UK’s most prolific serial killer believed to have killed 215 people, was found guilty of only 15 murders? Second Chechen War? A leaking petroleum pipeline in Nigeria explodes and kills at least 250? DeviantART is launched? Thanks, Wikipedia, now let’s talk about the Backstreet Boys or something.

The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 2000

This is a weird US Billboard Hot 100 year-end list. Before listening to it, I had no idea what the #1 even sounded like. It’s “Breathe” by Faith Hill – it didn’t go to #1 on the weekly chart and it’s not near the best or worst of this year. There are many reasons for this, of course, the rise of Napster and peer-to-peer filesharing being the most obvious as what the kids were listening to wasn’t necessarily represented through CD sales and radio plays. As a result, these songs fell into around two categories: I either had no idea what they sounded like until this year or they’re some of my favourite songs ever. Honestly, it’s a pretty damn good list of songs too – I’m sure it’s missing many a hit or iconic song from the turn of the millennium in favour of country radio schlock but as we’ll find out, even some of that stuff is good. Despite the mish-mash of genres, it also just felt very consistent sonically, it was a calm bed to rest in more often than not and whilst it could get boring, I was pretty happy to do a 10-song session every couple weeks and gather my thoughts. A good fifth of this list I found to be great songs, and half of that fifth will be talked about in length. I also can’t bring myself not to honourably mention some of the great songs that just missed out and were really tough cuts, like “My Love is Your Love” by the late Whitney Houston, “It Feels So Good” by Sonique, “Say My Name” by Destiny’s Child, “Try Again” by the late Aaliyah, “It’s Gonna Be Me” by (the late) *NSYNC, “Only God Knows Why” by Kid Rock of all people, “Hot Boyz” by Missy Elliott featuring Nas, Eve and Q-Tip, “The Next Episode” by Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Dogg, “Cowboy Take Me Away” by The (then-Dixie) Chicks, and finally, just not cracking my top 10, “Party Up (Up in Here)” by the late DMX. We don’t stray too far away from that kind of song with our first entry, however.

#10

“Party Up (Up in Here)” is an alarming banger for the ages, with aggressive bars from DMX barked in needless fashion and some of Swizz Beatz’s most rumbling productions. That’s why it’s great, but equally the reason why it’s not on this list. See, the year 2000 was at its best when it mellowed out a tad, and whilst I’m not going to say this next song doesn’t have energy, because it’s full of it, I wanted to ease you in with something a bit less cacophonous than DMX’s best tracks. See, this list may end up slightly depressing in terms of the topics we talk about, considering we’ve got vengeful post-breakup tracks, desperate loneliness, suicidal ideation and God forbid, thongs, coming up, so let’s start off this list with something more lighthearted: prostitution.

#10 – “Big Pimpin’” – JAY-Z featuring UGK

Peak: #18 | Year-End: #60

Okay, to be fair to UGK, only JAY-Z really raps about actually “big pimping” in the first verse, and it’s mostly reserved to a casual misogyny that gets ridiculously blunt to the point where even though I know JAY-Z is not joking, I kind of hope he was. I question if Beyoncé has heard this verse. Regardless, even though he sets himself up as this heartless Casanova, he still ends off the verse goofily singing “let’s ride”, so clearly fun is being had. Barely any of that fun would be present without one of Timbaland’s career-greatest beats, as he chops up this Egyptian percussive loop alongside the soaring flute that twists in and out of each measure like a snake. It barely changes throughout the whole song, and I don’t think it needs to, since it has enough bounce to make JAY-Z sound like he can flow competently... which is rarer than fans will admit.

The difference between JAY-Z and his Texan guest stars is that JAY-Z treats this as any other lackadaisical beat that he can mosey over, whilst the Underground Kingz know full well that Timbaland’s production a bit more attack. The late Pimp C brings his signature drawl to a verse that feels breezy and effortless, as he compares his white accountants that pay him at the record label to the white that used to pay him, if you get my gist. That’s all fine and good, but even with Pimp C, this song would not be here without Bun B’s killer verse, where even through an intricate rhyme scheme and content that really is just flexing but delivered with enough charisma to really sell it, he still feels like he’s kind of playing word association. It’s such an observational, casual-sounding verse with its comical asides, brags and put-downs, but delivered with conviction that just lawnmowers through the beat. In the middle of the verse, he tells an “illiterate son of a bitch” to read a book and “step up his vocab”, seemingly out of nowhere, and it just continues on that stream of hunger that deservedly gave Bun the reputation of being the guy from the South who carried JAY-Z, who felt so bad about it that he added a second verse in the video version... and it’s still not better than Bun’s. This is a bonafide rap classic, far from the last that any three of these guys would make, and even with the intimidating and inconsistent discographies overall, this shines right through as a smash hit.

#9

Recently, I’ve had to mourn the loss of my music taste, particularly the fact that I actually kind of like pop-country to an embarrassing extent. Sam Hunt and Jon Pardi have got slappers, it’s time for people to finally admit this. One of the important stepping stones in me finding out that my taste in country is despicable was this 2000 list, which had a lot of really decent if dated country tracks. I’ve already mentioned the despondent power ballad “Only God Knows Why”, but I also appreciated the compelling songwriting from George Strait’s “The Best Day”, the immense power and catharsis of Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance” and the hilariously bad Auto-Tune of the honest-to-God bop that is Faith Hill’s “The Way You Love Me”. The song on this list is probably not as effective a composition or as resonant lyrically, but remember how I said I liked Sam Hunt? Well, I may have just figured out where his general lyrical tone came from.

#9 – “How Do You Like Me Now?!” – Toby Keith

Peak: #31 | Year-End: #82

As far as I’m aware, Toby Keith is basically a punchline now thanks to his biggest hit, “Red Solo Cup”, but this was far away from the bro-country pipeline... not that it’s going to stop me from making connections. A song like Sam Hunt’s “Hard to Forget” is whiny and disjointed, expressing the bitter post-breakup in way of clunky trap beat and Hunt’s pestilent vocals. Now, don’t get me wrong: I like the song a lot, but it’s a messy track, one that doesn’t always feel fully formed. Toby Keith has the same bitter post-breakup track but takes a really different spin on it. Sure, they derive from the same premise of remembering an ex, but “How Do You Like Me Now?!” takes it a step further, with Keith “reminiscing” on how desperate he was to be with the valedictorian of his high school. The valedictorian was too pre-occupied with her other partners and made fun of him for playing his guitar “too loud”. That’s all the reasoning we get for this song, and it’s decent enough detail, sure, but it doesn’t prepare for the freaking vicious attack of the second verse, where he goes on an unwarranted rant about how her husband tore her dreams apart, never comes home and leaves her to cry whilst her children hear. It could play off as kind of a sappy, “you could have been with me” track, but given how cruel and unnecessary this second verse, I don’t think Toby Keith wants anything to do with the woman other than point and make fun of her for her terrible living situation whilst he plays on the radio as she cries herself to sleep.

This should be a terrible, hateful song, right? Well, no, that misses the point: a song can very much be hateful and deliver its hateful message in an uninteresting or silly way that doesn’t work. Toby Keith’s “How Do You Like Me Now?!” delivers it with a scathing punch, starting with that retro-sounding guitar riff that already scratches through the mix before the more traditional country instrumentation comes in for the “flashback” in the first verse. It almost tricks you into thinking there’s a happy ending, but the real happy ending is that Toby Keith is a country star and this woman now has a terrible life with a potentially abusive husband. Yet no, given the deep-voiced rasp of Keith’s yell in those choruses, the sing-songy mock of the guitar in the outro and the quick, one-and-done solo, it’s just a catastrophically pissy song... and I’m not going to lie, sometimes we can do with that. This is technically not the only country song on this list, but it’s the only time you’ll see Nashville proper and there’s no better way to represent the industry other than with unwarranted cruelty and injustice. #1 country song of the year 2000, everyone.

#8

This one might be a bit harder to explain. Daniel Jones and Darren Hayes had just finished writing for their second album after an incredibly successful debut, but they realised – or more accurately, the label came knocking to tell them – that they had no love ballad on the scale of, say, a “Truly Madly Deeply” to pull at the heartstrings. I never liked that song, and I think it’s because it comes off as too genuine. Its sickly-sweet platitudes never appealed to me because they come off as almost too longing and sincere for what is a really bargain-bin production and composition. By 1999, “Truly Madly Deeply” could not be replicated.

#8 – “I Knew I Loved You” – Savage Garden

Peak: #1 for four weeks | Year-End: #7 | Decade-End: #54

In 1997, Darren Hayes was for the first time away from his family and then-wife, and “Truly Madly Deeply” is longing and desperate. By 1998, Hayes was separated and by the year 2000, he’d divorced, and started coming out to his friends as gay. Now, of course, this does not look good for a pop duo who make the middle-aged white ladies swoon, and the album this stems from, Affirmation, whilst immensely successful, was their last. Hayes himself says he felt “wounded by love” in the process of writing and recording that second album so he wrote a love song in 40 minutes to spite his label... and God, you can tell. The instrumental is similarly sickly, but in a more deactivated way this time, with a downtempo drum scuffle and lazy yet well-produced acoustic guitars providing a foundation for Darren Hayes to sell his worst and most meaningless lyrics with as much conviction as possible... and it sounds like it hurts.

I’ve never liked Hayes as a singer but here, he plays up the boy-band inflections in a way that sounds a tad forced, from the beginning hums and riffs in the intro to how he’s drenched in harmonies that render his performance emotionless. What he’s singing about is also complete nonsense, as you can’t know that you love someone before you meet them, at least not in the days of dial-up Internet in 1999 unless you’re a stalker, which isn’t really an angle I can discuss this song at. There aren’t many leads towards that; I’d argue that it’s more clearly about just... completing the song, getting the album done with. The second verse is essentially him voicing his process of writing the song, and there’s this frustration throughout the whole thing as he slightly restrains himself from really singing his heart out. He just wants to end his limelight career, get on with what matters in his life: he had an estranged wife, he was closeted in an industry that was really not open to accepting an openly queer singer in adult contemporary – and given Sam Smith, I don’t think they are now. A contemporary critic – of a Christian fundamentalist organisation no less, which should explain some of Hayes’ strife here – said that this is how it feels to be “hopelessly in love”, but by the time the key change hits, I just think this is how it feels to be hopeless. This is a beautiful song, in all the ways it did not intend to be. I hope it doesn’t get lost and derided with the rest of the slow AC tracks that came out during this time, because it’s something special.

#7

As I said earlier, and as proven by the last two songs, a lot of these tracks will be more sensitive, emotionally resonant and have deep reasons behind me enjoying them. A lot of them also will not. This one is just here because it’s a bop. There’s technically a narrative to this one, but I just don’t care. It goes, that’s all I can say.

#7 – “Then the Morning Comes” – Smash Mouth

Peak: #11 | Year-End: #48

“All Star” is not good, and neither is “Walkin’ on the Sun”. Don’t even get me started on their cover of “I’m a Believer”. In my opinion, Smash Mouth struck gold with the similarly basic “Then the Morning Comes” which gets here essentially entirely because it sounds cool. The song is essentially about a hangover, and the consequences of living life recklessly when “the morning” coming is a looming threat, and they’ll regret everything afterwards and man, this song sure sounds like careless living and simultaneously the regret that comes with it. Steve Harwell’s lyrics are just as admiring as they are condescending, and the main guitar riff is lackadaisical but fuzzed out to Hell and back in this compressed mix that takes a traditional lounge swing and shuffling drum pattern, only to plaster on cryptic sound effects in the intro, robotic backing vocals and beeping in the pre-chorus, and a complete cacophony of buzzing synths in that infectious chorus. This is probably on the song that I find the hardest to really explain what’s so good about it, but it does really come down to how needlessly catchy every part of this song is, whilst it stays as weird as possible.

Smash Mouth tended to like blending genres, but this feels pretty singular in how it mixes the then-current Cocktail Nation trend with cheap synth-strings, a wiry guitar solo and the cluster of synth and guitar work that just gets shoved into a pretty sizeable groove that could have worked well in a more minimal mix that kept the lounge-influenced instrumentation... but it just wouldn’t have fit a song about regret, with the nonsense of it all essentially being the alarms that wake up this character and make them realise the consequences of all the garbage they got up to the last night. Sadly, Steve Harwell himself does not seem to heed this song’s warning, as he’s yet to fully understand the consequences of a drunken Nazi salute or defiance of COVID-19 regulations... but he’s the Smash Mouth guy. I don’t expect moral righteousness from any famous musicians, but if you do, a standout exception has got to be the Smash Mouth guy. We’re continuing a string of Summer pop-rock bangers with our next entry.

#6

This spicy early 2000s Latin rock jam was a #1 hit... in the Winter of 1999. Listen, if you thought that once the clock struck twelve, technology will crumble, society would panic and humanity as we know may cease functioning, this is probably the best song to celebrate all of those Summers you’d end up missing, because it’s a hot one.

#6 – “Smooth” – Santana featuring Rob Thomas

Peak: #1 for 12 weeks | Year-End (2000): #2 | Year-End (1999): #19 | Decade-End (1990s): #41 | Decade-End (2000s): #33 | All-Time: #3

I mean, what better introduction can I give than that? It’s the third biggest song of all time in the United States, and I think what that really comes down to is something that all humans can appreciate in music, especially the kind of popular music that gets played in public and on the radio. Whilst intimacy is just as respectful and has just the appeal – and really, this song tries to be about intimacy – there’s nothing secret or just between you, the listener, and Rob Thomas in the song. It’s all-out honesty, delivered in the most brazenly earnest way possible. Rob Thomas is not really that good a fit for this song on paper but I simply cannot imagine another guy on it. From the opening lines, you can tell that his post-grunge croon, barely filtered in the sensual verses, doesn’t have any right to be on this jazzy Latin groove, with the iconic brass riff and the virtuoso guitar from the legendary Carlos Santana. Three decades into his career, he’d mastered Latin jazz-rock, so running the risk with Rob Thomas seems almost silly... but then the pre-chorus comes in. He’d already been coyly ridiculous when calling this woman the “Spanish Mona Lisa” who melted everyone by speaking, but stripping the filters off gives Thomas’ overly-pronounced rhythm a new sense of liveliness. A song with so much technical expertise is now immediately accessible to sing along to, as Thomas harmonises with himself about how he feels the same as the ocean under the Moon when he’s making love with this unnamed Spanish woman... and does she need to be named? It would almost cheapen the raw emotion here, and the immense breakdown after each chorus that however long feels just as cathartic as it does sexy.

“Smooth” and its success, alongside “Maria Maria” the same year, could have – and probably has had – books written about it. I’m not going to try to explain any of Santana’s career up to this point, God forbid if I’m going to listen to Matchbox Twenty, and I couldn’t care less about the music theory behind what makes this song tick. All I care about is hearing Santana shred on one of the most iconic guitar solos of all time, the little intricacies in the drum fills, and Thomas sing his heart out as if this unnamed Spanish woman is a Goddess. It’s almost profound and makes the point towards enjoying this song when he says “give me your heart, make it real, or else forget about it” – the song stenches of people, and pure human enjoyment. Looking at it from a 2022 perspective, where that feels inaccessible, this is always a joy to come back and I’ll never get sick of it. It’s the third biggest song of all time for some damn good reasons, and the purity of how “Smooth” works on a basic level is commendable on all fronts. If I were more objective or ranking with consideration to legacy, this would be up there, but I’m not Rolling Stone and I don’t care how iconic “Smooth” is. The “Thong Song” is just that much better.

#5

Remember when I said that there would technically be a second country song on this list? Well...

#5 – “Country Grammar (Hot Shit)” – Nelly

Peak: #7 | Year-End: #29

“Ride wit Me” is one of the best rap songs of all time. It is on the 2001 year-end only, and hence is not eligible for this list. In a year with “Fallin’” by Alicia Keys, “Ms. Jackson” by OutKast, “Get Ur Freak On” by Missy Elliott and “Hero” by Enrique Iglesias... the song absolutely would have topped my list, with little hesitation. I just wanted to get that out there before I say I’m absolutely not settling for this Nelly track in place of an unfortunate omission, because “Country Grammar” kicks just as if not even more ass as the general public’s introduction to Nelly.

Much like “Then the Morning Comes”, this is here purely because of how much I enjoy listening to it. “Country Grammar” is a banger, plain and simple, and it’s largely not because of the beat. It’s far from bad, and is actually pretty great, with Jay E adding the knocking and chanting in the intro, as well as the twinkling synths behind that bumping drum beat that has equal amounts bounce and grit. This would be a good beat with anyone on it, but with Nelly on it, it’s a great beat. Much of his time is spent flexing in typical pop-rapper mode, smoking weed, chatting up women and threatening to shoot people whilst bragging about how cool is car is and how much money he has, with pop culture references and brand names that really emulate the modern word-association form of pop-rap flexing. The difference here is that Nelly sells all of this as if it were his life story, with an effortless charisma covering up the effort and craft put into managing the highly melodious and technically manic flows for his time, with slick rhyme schemes and chanting ad-libs that act as his own posse hyping him up. Oh, and Nelly says that whilst he hangs with Hannibal Lecter, he would rather hang with the elite as he pleads Bill Gates and Donald Trump to “let him in” to the exclusive club. He also compares his spending sprees to how MC Hammer ruined his fortunes, compares himself to a Jehovah’s Witness, and disses his own producer because he sold this same beat to another group that did nothing with it. Once Nelly stops rapping, the track would almost feel empty if not for that sharper piercing synth and alarm that comes in to grab your attention during the last few measures of the instrumental outro. It’s a song full of character, to the point of some non-sequiturs that feel aptly of the year 2000, that absolutely goes off in pretty much any setting... though seriously, “Ride wit Me” is even more of an all-timer. 2001 has the less interesting year-end list overall, sadly.

#4

I’ll admit; until we get higher – like Creed at #11 on this year-end list – this list is kind of a sausage fest. You can see in the honourable mentions that songs by iconic women of the era just barely got knocked off and I’m not going to try and mix what I see as “necessary inclusions” to my genuine taste, though I could have absolutely swapped out some tracks lower down the list for, say, “It Feels So Good” or “Try Again”. I’m saying all this because the next song is one I’ve teased this all list – you knew it was coming and it’s basically the musical representation of an erection. It’s only the Goddamn “Thong Song”.

#4 – “Thong Song” – Sisqó

Peak: #3 | Year-End: #14

It’s pretty well-known by now but it still amazes me that “Incomplete” was the Sisqó single that hit #1 instead of this classic. Hate it or love it, “Thong Song” is more immediately recognisable than the painfully forgettable “Incomplete”, which hit #1 largely as a result of both radio and the fact that its B-side was, you guessed it, “Thong Song”. It’s actually lower than its B-side on the year-end list, landing itself at #25 and really, I can understand why because the difference is night and day. Sisqó sounds similar on both songs, both in how he actually performs the songs and how he tackles the instrumentation, which either shows you how not varied he is as a singer or shows that he’s a comedic genius for treating his ass anthem with as much sincerity as his love ballad. The thing is, though, it’s not even really an ass anthem. It’s a thong anthem.

The song is about how he first discovered a thong when his partner was getting undressed and how flabbergasted he was at this new article of underwear. He was so surprised that he ran home, told his friends and a couple days later, one of them announced to him in joy that the girl he’d been with was wearing a thong. So naturally, this needs a string section, right? In terms of songwriting, this is a minimal track, with basically no verse and just a constant chorus, with much of the writing in the later choruses being additional vocal riffs and ad-libs because, well, what else is there to write about? It’s a damn flimsy song concept and he absolutely does the most with it, making the discovery of a thong sound as triumphant as possible. To be clear, he doesn’t talk about this narrative in the track, and much of the song is actually just his surprise at how the girl let him see that thong – not her butt, but her thong. He mentions the butt, and the thighs, and the “dumps like a truck”, but only in reference to the thong and the scandalous dress. Oh, my God, the guy is just pouring his heart out at this sexy revelation. It’s just great “shut your brain off” music, a theme that runs through a lot of these year-end hits. It helps that it has UK garage-influenced percussion that keeps shuffling and emulating the stuttering of the chorus, to make the song feel oddly tense. It’s just a ridiculous song overall that I can’t help listening to for the grin it always provides me with. “Your thighs, your knees, your breasts, your feet!” Lennon-McCartney wouldn’t dare. As a side note, there was a music video made for this song that promoted Nutty Professor II: The Klumps starring Eddie Murphy and Janet Jackson. This is not the last time that the film will appear in this list.

#3

This next entry is not nearly as fun, but I should maybe have a disclaimer here. I’m going to put aside everything about the Red Hot Chili Peppers that is not this song, including all of my gripes. They have an inconsistent at best discography, all of the band members have icky pasts regarding their sexual interactions, especially Anthony Kiedis, and I hope that my praise of this song is no way taken as an endorsement. Whilst this should be inherent and IS inherent for all of the people featured here on this list, since this song involves a more serious topic, I feel like I should preface the song with that note and also that this section will feature discussion of drug addiction and suicidal ideation. If any of that is something you don’t want to hear, I recommend you skip reading to #2. With all of that said, the next entry is “Otherside”.

#3 – “Otherside” – Red Hot Chili Peppers

Peak: #14 | Year-End: #59

I’m kind of surprised this even charted, considering that whilst it’s very much an accessible song, it’s not really within the same sphere of pop music that most of 2000 was in, which felt like an extension of the sunshine-pop late 90s, with just as much random experimentation in EDM and R&B, fluke hits, manufactured boy-bands and pop rock not yet on its dying breaths. To have a song like this sticks out on the year-end list, but it’s for good reason as the way it tackles its topics is as nuanced as it could be from someone who has been on both sides of the “otherside” and ultimately came out clean.

The song’s writing is relatively cryptic in the way that all RHCP songs are as mysterious as they are straight-forward, and it’s never clear what “otherside” refers to but I’ve always seen it as the drawing line between sobriety and addiction, with either playing as the “otherside” depending on what side you’re on. Kiedis said about former band member Hillel Slovak that his addiction had robbed him of “life force”, and that prior to his overdose, which Kiedis largely believes was suicidal, he had essentially been dead and was just coasting off his addiction and denial, hence the chorus. Kiedis goes out of his way to diminish the societal myth that drug addiction makes someone an inherently bad person whilst never ignoring its truly harmful impacts, going into pretty stark detail regarding the metaphor of heroin as a false “soul mate” who starts as a “starlet”. The first few verses are introspective from Kiedis’ perspective, essentially introducing the narrative wherein he takes upon the perspective of his late friend recognising, denying and attempting to fight the addiction and the mental anguish that comes with it. Sure, the bridge could be on-the-nose but through the soaring instrumental break that follows and the distorted catharsis of Kiedis’ yelling over Chad Smith’s chamber of drums, it feels like an almost cinematic moment, and the ability to turn something so intimate and introspective into a theatricality mirrors the facade that rockstars like Slovak and Kiedis have to keep on throughout the most difficult and weakest times in their lives. You can see this same unwillingness to truly elaborate on how addiction affects him in One Hot Minute, which truly sounds like a deathbed album and is probably my favourite from the group.

This is all beautifully performed, of course, with John Frusciante and Flea at their primes with the iconic acoustic guitar riff being twisted into the eeriness of the verses, and set free within the melancholy of the choruses. Kiedis sounds freaking devastated here, and the little touches like having the surrounding voices – represented by Frusciante’s backing vocals – as well as the bass take higher prominence in the mix as the song goes on is just a brilliant touch. This is one of the band’s best songs, and a really stark look at addiction that I don’t think they’ve topped since. By the end of the song, either Slovak, Kiedis or both have just come to the acceptance that it doesn’t even fill them with grief anymore. If it’s the easier way out than living a lie and fighting the undefeated, then it may as well be the best route for everyone. This is the bleakest hit on this year-end, and I will reassure you that from here, it gets happier.

#2

For whatever reason, only the first Nutty Professor movie is on Netflix. I could have just watched the sequel THROUGH TOTALLY LEGAL MEANS for research for this list, but I remember watching the first one at silly o’clock and being utterly confused for just about every second of it... so I imagine I’d just be having a similar if not worse experience watching the second one. Honestly, looking at the plot of the second one, I may have also watched the second one in the same late-night fever. For whatever reason, this bargain-bin sequel – although a big-budget comedy at the time – had a soundtrack album with songs by JAY-Z and Eminem, and the uncensored version of the “Thong Song”. Oh, and it also produced a #1 hit out of Goddamn nowhere. Until the Super Bowl, there really was no stopping this woman.

#2 – “Doesn’t Really Matter” – Janet Jackson

Peak: #1 for 3 weeks | Year-End: #18

This song is a mess. Disregarding its connection to an Eddie Murphy sequel that critics called “obnoxious”, its release and composition as a whole is all over the place. It was leaked to radio stations unmastered, so the mix was a rush job to push it out to release. The lyrics are from a poem that Janet found and sporadically altered and added to whilst recording, the song has two choruses written by both Janet and Jimmy Jam, both of which end up on the final track, it was initially conceived as a slow, lounge song but on a whim, Jimmy Jam decided to both increase the tempo and record the song mostly live on tape, and it’s a stark contrast to the sparse R&B that Janet had mastered on The Velvet Rope. By all measures, it should not work, and to tell the truth, I hadn’t heard of this song until looking through this year-end list... but I quickly fell in love.

This is such a unique hit with so much going on, so the fact that a lot of it wasn’t sequenced should actually show you the talents of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, as well as, of course, Janet Jackson, who spends most of the song in her impeccable higher register, as she coos breathily in a tone that once probably felt intimate at a slower tempo but at this speed feels unrecognisably tense and confident, especially when placed upon the stuffy snares, random squelching percussive noises, and the writing that is so wordy and unfitting, yet also mind-numbingly repetitive, that it creates constant little mantras and earworms through each little crevice of the track. Somehow, through the five minutes, the song never really loses steam, mostly because of the constant hooks and refrains, including the chorus which kind of just feels like a restart of itself every time. It turns the squelching percussion to 11, has Janet double-track every vocal, before it breaks down into a sea of harmonies that took me aback on first listen since it’s just gorgeous.

This manic, broken production honestly really fits the content which is about unconditional love – the writing is clunky as all Hell and I think that’s kind of the point: regardless of any conditions, including what her friends believe, what the situation is – sometimes mentioned to be economic trouble, which would definitely lead to the kind of stress that fuels a song like this – she will love Eddie Murphy in a fat suit forever. It represents this bubbling desire to just be with a person forever in such a uniquely messy way... because love and relationships are messy, especially if you’re married and the finances end up going into the same household and there’s a family dynamic. This couldn’t have been a ballad because a long-term relationship is not just simple, traditional and moving. Janet even tries to go for a half-time ballad in the bridge but even then it’s overwhelmed by the bass and instantly kicked into gear once again. She’s “in love with the inner being”, and the “nutty” image that their relationship gives off is really just a front for how they’ll love each other unconditionally. If everything is perfect, the only place to go is downhill.

Oh, and she does indeed profess her love for the Nutty Professor by the end of the track, before her infectious ad-libs and laugher that’s always a pleasure to the ears come in to decorate an already busy track with as many layers of personality as possible. This song is just pure joy, and for me has been on constant repeat since I discovered it on this year-end list. It’s a bonkers song, but crazy in the name of love, which is a niche emotion that really found its home in pop music.

#1

Something I’ve been thinking about for really the past couple months is why electronic music to me has been so much more resonant in forming a human, emotional response. Any good music will stimulate the brain or create some kind of gut feeling, whether it be visceral hatred, indifference or admiration, and deeper in those categories are two factors: how the song makes you feel and what the song is trying to make you feel. Now, in say, a classic rock song, maybe a Beatles track, “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, the band is trying to make you feel happy. The preferred response is naturally, to be convinced by Paul McCartney’s love-struck performance and infectious chorus, and you feel happy. You could also find the song annoying because of its repetition and lack of self-awareness, but you can’t really debate that the song is trying to make you happy. Electronic music, especially dance music, is where the line becomes harder to distinguish, and the goals of the artist are separate. I could use a more nuanced, narrative-driven folk song to make my point instead of a classic, basic Beatles tune, but electronic dance music, especially the type that hits the pop charts, will also use infectious hooks, one-note performances and repetitive beats and melodic patterns, just like “I Want to Hold Your Hand”. However, the human component is distanced in an EDM song, and whilst the Fab Four aren’t as intimate as a singer-songwriter, they’re using guitars, they’re singing pretty clearly: the humans are available, and you can resonate with the human emotion that a human has written, rehearsed and performed. When the human component is a DJ who hasn’t as much sat down to write the song as much as he has crafted it from samples, programmed beats and synths, that “human component” becomes more fragmented. Whilst there may not be anything as nuanced as a human, what comes close is a human’s thoughts and emotions pushed through a technological lens, which is what to me makes the emotions in electronic music hit harder and deeper.

I did not know this song was on the year-end list until I had nearly finished it and I heard it, seemingly out of nowhere, amidst forgotten R&B and middle-of-the-road country music. It stuck out like a sore thumb, but I quickly remembered why I loved it so much.

#1 – “Better Off Alone” – Alice Deejay

Peak: #27 | Year-End: #88

Sebastiaan Molijin of Alice Deejay says that he wrote the signature lyric of this trance classic about the love of his life, whom he had separated from. She left him, they never spoke again and he never told her that the big hit stemmed from that heartache. Once again, the human component proves its limitations: he couldn’t cough up the aching question of “Do you think you’re better off alone?” to her face, but he can through song, and better yet, through Edith Pronk, a female vocalist. Molijin uses a vocalist closer to his ex-partner’s tones to him to echo those thoughts back. It becomes mutual and confused rather than the basic, simple and aching question, which considering the loaded nature of said refrain, was only ever basic in melody and verbiage. None of that matters though, because by the end of the song and by the time that the one question has been asked repeatedly, that question gains as much gravitas as possible... and remains answered.

The only other in the lyric in the song is the desperate, longing refrain of “Talk to me”, which doesn’t answer the question as much as it echoes the devastated heartache of Molijin, but through Pronk’s voice, it emulates what Molijin wants to hear as much as it does what he wants to say. This lyrical simplicity of course would be an entrapment if not for the ethereal instrumental, which is instantly recognisable and constantly re-interpreted. It starts squeakily, with blaring, dated synths and a plodding four-on-the-floor beat before the synth riff we all know and love comes in... but isn’t complete. It takes until the beat comes to a stop for the synth riff to complete itself in a cloud of cheap but universal synth strings – it’s the closest I’ve really heard music try and replicate the feeling of sudden rain.

Yet, the beat kicks in once again and could get the dancefloor going, kicking in harder than ever, and that’s where a lot of the dissonance comes in. It’s a desperate, depressive track but also just bumps, with an aptly stiff groove but a present one that feels absolutely club-ready. That’s why it’s such a shock to the system when the vocals first come in – Pronk’s a good singer, but it’s a hardly-trained vocal, not Auto-Tuned and just layered over the ethereal synths and a counter-melody that comes beeping in to take over the track for sheer urgency’s sake. It’s imperfect and clashes... and that’s the human component creeping right back in from where it first emerged with the singular lyric. It’s almost a cycle, but Pronk never really stops asking that question. She never stops pleading, even when her only accompaniment is a ribbiting frog of a Eurodance bass tone, and refuses to leave the question unanswered even when showered in a cloudy mist of synth and four-on-the-floor beats that make the whole ordeal seem worthless. She can beg, “Talk to me”, all she wants, but life keeps on going as quickly as possible around her – or him – and even if she can put a stop to it in moments of dreamy bliss, where the synth strings blossom and the percussion takes a backstage role, these moments won’t be forever, and reliving it kind of seems fruitless. Yet reliving is exactly what us humans want to do, and that’s why the song ends with Pronk singing, unaccompanied, a final “Talk to me”. It’s universal.

There’s a reason this song has been constantly interpolated, remixed and sampled by any artist, genre or scene under the sun – it’s purely universal. It asks of two things that we as humans all need: communication and closure, and does so through the most visceral and basic of words yet holds so much nuance and complexity in said words, not to mention the detailed and perfected production choices. When someone samples “Better Off Alone” or even listens to it, they’re definitely the electronics, the synth tones, the entirely digitally-programmed mix, because that’s the only way for the human component to truly resonate and be understood. A dance track with this much energy, melodrama and feverish emotion can really make a song based off two, universally human lyrics work, because it’s taking the human component and layering it on top of what may be more human than any emotional resonance: feeling the beat.

Thank you for reading. I’m not sure if another one of these is in order at any time, since this did take a while to prepare for and listen, even if it didn’t take very long to actually write. These are all great songs, so much so that I feel they could have much more justice done for them than my rambling so I hope I got some of the messages across that I was trying to convey, or that I just convinced you that these are great songs, though really, listening to the songs should prove that in itself. Again, thank you for reading, and I’ll see you on Friday for

REVI

[jcmartinmusic1999]

a crazy Timbaland and missy type track enjoy from the 90′s to the future 

[scenics]

I like that they're back on their neo sound bullshit, I just think they didn't go quite hard enough on it. That flute sample had more potential imo 🤔

from the way everyones reacting, i think they did go hard enuf pdbwdnsdfink. ooohhh yeah i do agree about the flute sample i wish it was used more hmm how should i say this..dynamically? i wish the dem jointz+production team had used the flute / beat from 1:26 to 1:39 during mark’s rap throughout the song more. that part reminds me a lot of the flutes in jay-z’s big pimpin (produced by timbaland, and if you know a big fan of the flute). my second fave of the variation in flute in the last part of the bridge from 3:07 to 3:17, it sounds more like a traditional chinese flute!

[hiphopscriptures]

Jay-Z’s Blueprint Album Anniversary

The Blueprint (2001), which would later land on many music critics' lists of the best albums of the decade. Its release was set a week earlier than initially planned in order to combat bootlegging. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2001 at Manhattan Center Studios and Baseline Studios in New York City. Contrasting the radio-friendly sound of Jay-Z's previous work, The Blueprint features soul-based sampling and production handled primarily by Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Bink, as well as Timbaland, Trackmasters, and Eminem, who also contributes the album's sole guest feature.

At the time of the album's recording, Jay-Z was awaiting two criminal trials, one for gun possession and another for assault, and had become one of hip hop's most dissed artists, receiving insults from rappers such as Nas, Prodigy, and Jadakiss. The album is also famous for both its producers Kanye West and Just Blaze's breakouts as major producers. West produced four of the thirteen tracks on the album, including the songs "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" and the controversial "Takeover", which included diss lyrics aimed at rappers Nas and Prodigy, while Just Blaze produced three tracks, "Girls, Girls, Girls", "Song Cry", and "U Don't Know", also including the hidden bonus track "Breathe Easy (Lyrical Exercise)".

The Blueprint received universal acclaim from music critics, with praise being directed at Jay-Z's lyricism and the production. It is considered one of his best albums and has also been labeled as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. Despite its release coinciding with the September 11 attacks, it sold over 427,000 copies in its opening week and debuted at number one in the US, holding the spot for three weeks. It was later certified 2x Multi-Platinum by the RIAA. Read more about Jay-Z’s life and career here.

[lboogie1906]

Timothy Zachary Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is a rapper, musician, DJ, record producer, and record executive. His first full-credit production work was on Ginuwine...the Bachelor for R&B singer Ginuwine. After working on Aaliyah's second studio album One in a Million and Missy Elliott's debut studio album Supa Dupa Fly, he became a prominent producer for R&B and hip-hop artists. He released several albums with fellow rapper Magoo, followed by his debut solo album Tim's Bio. He produced the hit single "Cry Me a River" for Justin Timberlake, going on to produce most of Timberlake's subsequent LPs such as FutureSex/LoveSounds and The 20/20 Experience and their respective hit singles. A Timbaland-owned imprint label, Mosley Music Group, featured artists such as Nelly Furtado, whose Timbaland-produced album Loose was a commercial and critical success. He released a solo album, Shock Value, which was followed by Shock Value II. His production credits include work with Jay-Z, Nas, Ludacris, Bubba Sparxxx, Madonna, Rihanna, OneRepublic, Brandy, Drake, Rick Ross, and others. He has written 85 UK hits and 99 hits Stateside, as of 2014. He has received widespread acclaim for his production style. Entertainment Weekly stated that "just about every current pop trend can be traced back to him — from sultry, urban-edged R&B songstresses ... to the art of incorporating avant-garde sounds into #1 hit." #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpm74P8r0Yq/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[youngboy-oldmind]

ALBUM REVIEW: THE BLACK ALBUM

“And this was the stress I lived with/ 'Til I decided to try this rap shit for a livin', I pray I'm forgiven/ For every bad decision I made, every sister I played/ ‘Cause I'm still paranoid to this day/ And it's nobody's fault, I made the decisions I made/ This is the life I chose, or rather, the life that chose me/ If you can't respect that, your whole perspective is wack/ Maybe you'll love me when I fade to black”

After the masterpieces of The Dynasty and The Blueprint & The Blueprint 2, Jay-Z comes through with ANOTHER masterpiece that’s borderline a greatest hits album within itself. With a variety of producers, flows, tones, and topics, Jay-Z displays legendary, iconic versatility. This 55 minute walk through territory of hip hop heaven is one fo the best illustrations of hip hop expertise to ever impact the industry.

In honor of the 17th anniversary of this album’s release date (November 14th, 2003), I decided to revisit The Black Album, one of my favorite hip hop/rap projects. This is among one of the three albums where I have every song saved to my playlist, the other two being Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Chance’s Coloring Book. Like I said earlier, this project is practically a greatest hits record. The history behind why it has that feeling is actually quite interesting.

This project was initially planned as Jay-Z’s retirement project, hence “fading to black”. So, Jay-Z formed an all star team of 12 producers to fuel The Black Album, which explains the variety sounds, including the trumpet-ty, soulful instrumental of “Encore” produced by Kanye West, the hard rock sound in “99 Problems” produced by Rick Rubin, and the traditional hip hop melodic sound of “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” produced by Timbaland. Jay-Z utilizes these sounds expertly, creating a project that differentiates yet mushes together perfectly.

There’s no understating Jay-Z’s lyrical ability. He wouldn’t be considered one of the best to ever do it if his pen game was average. Here, he brings some of his best storytelling, flexing, and reflection. Back to back tracks "Lucifer” and “Allure” talk about his drive for revenge, admittance of his internal evil, and wish for his peers who’ve passed to be accepted into heaven and forgiven for any evil in their heart because it was Lucifer’s fault. “Allure” discusses his experience with drug dealing in high school. These tracks transition back to back so well, when I first heard it I didn’t realize the song switched. While they’re made by completely different producers and have different instrumentals, the transition created perfect cohesiveness between the two tracks. “Moment of Clarity” has Jay-Z reflecting on his career and success, twisting his past albums into a clever chorus over a beat produced by Eminem. It sounds like an instrumental straight out of The Eminem Show, which considering that’s Eminem’s best album, is definitely a good aspect to have in a project of this magnitude. And of course, Jay-Z flexes a little throughout this journey, my personal favorite being “Encore”.

I have 0 complaints about this record. Every facet of this album was carefully constructed and combined into a Hall of Fame jewel. If Jay-Z left the rap game with this album and went onto production and business, I’d be a happy fan. However, Kingdom Come, 4:44, and Blueprint 3 are stellar, and the idea of those being wiped from existence is definitely a downside to Jay-Z retiring in ‘03. Overall, the expertise of this project cannot be overstated.

To quote Jay-Z, what more can I say?

Top 3 Tracks:

1) December 4th

2) 99 Problems

3) Allure

Overall Grade: Hall Of Fame

[vimesbootstheory]

I was craving the illusion of productivity so I went through an arbitrary list of popular songs for each year I have been alive, to see when exactly I completely lost touch with popular music

here are my findings, including a couple fave songs from each year 1990-2019

1990 -- 40% awareness of this year's popular music 3 faves: black velvet by alannah myles, tom's diner by suzanne vega & dna, vogue by madonna

1991 -- 40% awareness 3 faves: crazy by seal, smells like teen spirit by nirvana, i've been thinking about you by londonbeat

1992 -- 33% awareness 3 faves: finally by cece peniston, rhythm is a dancer by snap!, jump around by house of pain

1993 -- 41% awareness 3 faves: two princes by spin doctors, i'm gonna be (500 miles) by the proclaimers, what is love by haddaway

1994 -- 56% awareness 3 faves: all I wanna do by sheryl crow, you gotta be by des'ree, the rhythm of the night by corona

1995 -- 42% awareness 3 faves: beautiful life by ace of base, breakfast at tiffany's by deep blue something, gangsta's paradise by coolio

1996 -- 43% awareness 3 faves: head over feet by alanis morissette, i love you always forever by donna lewis, no diggity by blackstreet

1997 -- 46% awareness 3 faves: tubthumping by chumbawamba, everybody (backstreet's back) by backstreet boys, i want you by savage garden

1998 -- 47% awareness 3 faves: the rockafeller skank by fatboy slim, the boy is mine by brandy & monica, doo-wop (that thing) by lauryn hill

1999 -- 61% awareness 3 faves: i try by macy gray, every morning by sugar ray, no scrubs by tlc

2000 -- 49% awareness 3 faves: around the world by atc, it's gonna be me by nsync, independent women by destiny's child

2001 -- 74% awareness 3 faves: hit em up style (oops!) by blu cantrell, let me blow ya mind by eve & gwen stefani, clint eastwood by gorillaz

this year, at the age of 10-11, my awareness of popular music peaks

2002 -- 66% awareness 3 faves: a thousand miles by vanessa carlton, work it by missy elliott, objection (tango) by shakira

2003 -- 68% awareness 3 faves: seven nation army by the white stripes, never leave you (uh oooh uh oooh) by lumidee & busta rhymes & fabolous, trouble by p!nk

2004 -- 72% awareness 3 faves: 1 2 step by ciara, mr brightside by the killers, this love by maroon 5

2005 -- 65% awareness 3 faves: pon de replay by rihanna, feel good inc by gorillaz, gold digger by kanye west

2006 -- 64% awareness 3 faves: sexyback by justin timberlake & timbaland, crazy by gnarls barkley, say it right by nelly furtado

2007 -- 71% awareness 3 faves: stronger by kanye west, you know i'm no good by amy winehouse, thnks fr the mmrs by fall out boy

2008 -- 64% awareness 3 faves: disturbia by rihanna, paper planes by m.i.a., sex on fire by kings of leon

2009 -- 58% awareness 3 faves: all the right moves by onerepublic, tik tok by kesha, run this town by rihanna & jay-z

2010 -- 62% awareness 3 faves: raise your glass by p!nk, telephone by lady gaga & beyonce, take it off by kesha

2011 -- 46% awareness 3 faves: blow by kesha, countdown by beyonce, rolling in the deep by adele

ten years post-peak, my awareness starts to decline

2012 -- 38% awareness 3 faves: some nights by fun., primadonna by marina and the diamonds, i love it by icona pop

2013 -- 47% awareness 3 favess: my songs know what you did in the dark by fall out boy, counting stars by onerepublic, papaoutai by stromae

2014 -- 24% awareness 3 faves: bang bang by jessie j & ariana grande & nicki minaj, take me to church by hozier, rather be by clean bandit & jess glynne

I have no idea what happened in 2014 but here’s where my awareness plummets

2015 -- 28% awareness 3 faves: elastic heart by sia, sorry by justin bieber, uptown funk by bruno mars & mark ronson

2016 -- 19% awareness 3 faves: the greatest by sia & kendrick lamar, human by rag'n'bone man, formation by beyonce

2017 -- 25% awareness 3 faves: new rules by dua lipa, despacito by luis fonsi & daddy yankee, praying by kesha

2018 -- 17% awareness 3 faves: idgaf by dua lipa, finesse (remix) by bruno mars & cardi b, without me by halsey

2019 -- 16% awareness 3 faves: bury a friend by billie eilish, sucker by jonas brothers, you need to calm down by taylor swift

aaand by the time we get to the present day, the 3 faves are labeled as such by default, because I basically don’t know any other songs. sorry ‘you need to calm down’ but you wouldn’t have been top 3 in any other year.

[strictlyfortheculture]

MY 5 TAKEAWAYS FROM THE RZA vs DJ PREMIER BATTLE (ON APRIL 11, 2020)

Last night saw a historical moment in Hip Hop history as two of the men responsible for producing crating some of the most iconic songs in the previous 25 years, RZA and DJ Premier squared off in a VERZUZ beat battle series live on Instagram. VERZUZ, a friendly competition started by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland where the two men chose 20 of their best songs in the head-to-head competition.

The eyes of the culture focused on a performance that not only showcased the catalogue of these two giants but reminded us why we LOVE this music. And why we love the individuals who created it.

Below I am offering my five takeaways from the proceeding. The comments below are mine, and mine alone.

20 SONGS EACH WAS NOT ENOUGH. These two men could undoubtedly have played another 20 each. Even playing some unreleased tracks would have worked. I am not going to critique their choices, because I do not believe anyone could have pieced together a better arraignment. I just wanted more. The selfish side of me wanted more music.

RZA's BEST WORK WAS  ON ONLY BUILT 4 CUBAN LINX, IRONMAN, & SUPREME CLIENTELE.  We all know RZA is one of the best producers, and his work was unmatched during the 1996-2000 run. During that time, it was evident that his peak production went to Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Ironman, and Supreme Clientele; three albums that are considered Wu-Tang classics. Three albums from Raekwon and Ghostface Killah Motherless Child, Buck 50, Verbal Intercourse, and Ice Cream; and those are just the songs played during the battle.  That leads me into the next takeaway. 

GHOSTFACE KILLAH IS AN APEX LEVEL EMCEE. The songs that RZA did play from three albums mentioned above contained unforgettable verses from Ghostface Killah, whom I consider to be the best MC in the WTC (Wu-Tang Clan). Who better than Ghost? Nobody. And nobody can craft masterpieces over one of RZA's instrumentals than Tony Starks. Pay homage. 

DJ PREMIER AND RZA ARE FANS OF THE CULTURE. Just seeing the way Premier would react to the selections made by RZA was apparent that he is a real fan of the music. Although last night was a competition, it was clear that he was in it for the love of the art. I also appreciated how both men would talk about their selections or tell stories surrounding them; not only acting as a segway for their next hit but sharing insight with the audience. That was a master-level activity.

HIP-HOP WON. Usually, a battle such as this takes place to declare an undisputed winner. However, when two masters of the art of production are lacing the audience with over 40 CLASSIC beats, there is no way to pick one winner. So who won? Hip-Hop won, that's who. Our culture as a whole was victorious. We returned to the moment when we feel in love with the music. We were taken back to the "Golden Era" when the Wu-Tang swarmed the airwaves; to when DJ Premier not only had Gang Starr handled but provided Nas (NY State of Mind), Biggie Smalls (Kick In The Door), and Jay-Z ( D'Evils) as well.

[hittmobb411]

On December 28, 1999 Jay-Z released his fourth studio album, Vol. 3…Life and Times of S. Carter. It was the final project in his volume series, with the rapper always doing things in threes. On Vol. 3 Jigga displayed his growing understanding of how to embrace his crossover appeal, perfectly blending the themes and styles of the first two volumes. Upon release Vol. 3 was received positively by critics and had substantial commercial success. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, selling 462,000 copies in its first week. This debut was 30% higher than the first-week sales of Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life. These impressive numbers came after the original version of the album had been leaked three months earlier, and then after the revised album (with newly recorded bonus tracks) had been leaked two weeks before the Christmas release. Within the first month Vol. 3 had moved over 2 million copies, and it was certified 3x Multi-Platinum by the RIAA in February 2001. Jay had begun 1999 by winning his first Grammy Award for “Best Rap Album” and his success had only grown from there. He released the hit single “Jigga My Nigga” on the Ruff Ryders dime, picked up a large bag for recording Blue Streak’s lead single “Girl’s Best Friend,” and had his first #1 Hot 100 single with his and Mariah Carey’s “Heartbreaker.” He began recording Vol. 3 in June ‘99, and the first iteration of the album was finished within a few weeks. On Vol. 3 Jigga bettered his song architect skills and showed a commitment to providing a range of content for his ever-growing fan base: commercial raps for the club, love-themed R&B tracks, gut-wrenching story-telling, and a dose of the gritty street rhymes he did best. In combination with the all-star production team, the range of themes and styles corresponded perfectly with his desire to hit all markets. Jigga made sure that DJ Premier, Irv Gotti and DJ Clue returned to provide his known rugged sound, and Virginia’s own Timbaland provided the bounce. “Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up)” and “Big Pimpin’” were the most well-received singles, with the multi-million dollar “Big Pimpin’” video proving Jay’s superstar status. #JAYZ 📸 @jonathanmannion

[cinemaocd]

hey I'm trying to get into Missy Elliot and I wonder if you have any suggestions? I feel like you mentioned being a fan? If not then big oops

Wow I’m so flattered you came to me because I am indeed a fan!

OK I think you need to start with 1997′s Supa Dupa Fly. It is her debut, produced by Timbaland (who has produced most of her records), with lots of help from Busta Rhymes and Da Brat. It’s really musical and Missy’s rhymes are so smooth and often sung so they don’t even really seem like rapping most of the time. Missy’s quirky, distinctive voice and rap style are unmistakable though. Her chill style coupled with Busta and Da Brat who are both heavy hitter, rapid fire rappers, defines her early efforts. Another aspect that defines her style, is her sense of humor. Missy just feels like she’s having fun and laughing and making jokes. She doesn’t take herself so seriously which was a huge breath of fresh air after the seriousness of gangsta rap.  This is probably my favorite Missy record, it’s such an easy, good time vibe. You can just put it on in the car and drive around and enjoy the feeling. Elliott also stood out in the way she presented herself and her music. Missy’s first hit The Rain, the video for which had a very distinctive filming style that kind of defined what her videos would be like and put Missy on my radar. Sock it to Me is a very sexy explicit record yet the video has Missy in some kind of animated space suit in a video game landscape, with a blistering rap break from Da Brat complete with baby talk. Weird? YES, but so good.

Her second album was darker and more rap-heavy. The single “She’s a bitch” has Missy rapping the whole way through without cutting away to singing or to a guest rapper.

2001′s So Addictive, with “Get ur Freak On” which combines Bollywood backing tracks and a chopped up style of rapping and production. The rest of the record is hung on the template of that single, but still has a variety of styles like R&B and House mixed it. 

In 2002 Missy was on the cutting edge of Old School Rap nostalgia with Under Construction, which looked back at the origins of hip hop both thematically and with the sampling choices. Missy’s rapping style holds its own alongside Ludacris and Jay Z, and her singing hangs out with Beyonce’s.

Her 2005 album The Cookbook, was her final album until Iconology which was released this week. Check out the video for “We Run This” which uses visuals and arrangements borrowing from traditional black colleges more than a decade before Beyonce’s Homecoming. The whole record was an ode to black music going back to the roots of jazz. Again, all of this feels very 2018 to me. While Missy’s records often had a collage feel, with a variety of different styles mixed within the same track, songs on The Cookbook often had radically different tones within the same track.