Billy Paul. In the collection of records my pops gave me, I found some Billy Paul. He has some great music. You don't hear singers like him anymore. That is one of the coolest parts about crate digging. You find all kinds of good music. If I got signed to a major label, I would try my hardest to get Mr. Paul in the studio to do something new. I liked how this remix came out. Remixing a classic like this is hard because you have to come with the real. I should have taken some of the air out of the sample but I liked how the chops came out. One of my better remixes.
I tried hard as hell to get G-Unit to use this beat but I had no luck. I got the synth from a program called Massive. And that it was... Massive. I couldn't have anything else running when I had this application open. I played the synth and then chopped it. I spit over this beat myself but I laso thought it was a good for for this remix.
Starting out as an older beat, I traced it over these vocals and then I ended up changing the chops up completely from what it started as. I shoud have worked a little more with my drums but I got frustrated. The vocals were kind of sped up so I was having a hard time lining things up. So no matter what I did I couldn't get the drums to do what I wanted to I gave up.
Another Illmuzik contest entree. I ended up using the beat for this remix. There are two versions but they are almost identical. The piano chop is the only real difference. You know I can't remix this cut without doing Jigga's. That is coming in due time.
What can I say. I was really trying to force this Conan flip. I thought it was a fat idea... I just didn't execute well. It was an older beat I was trying to shop and no one bit because the sound quality was so bad. I tried a bunch of different things so that is why there are so many different versions.
020a instrumental ::: 020b instrumental
One of my favorite RnB singers is Rahsaan Patterson. I like singers who have unique voices. I found his CD when I used to work for the Wherehouse music store. I chopped the hell out of his songs and really tried to find a place to use the samples. I experimented and just tried a few different things for fun. You know... a lot of people sample old soul so I tried to sample new soul. He has some great music. Look him up on iTunes and listen for yourself. I liked Version B the best even though that reversed snare sound can get a little annoying.
Bravehearts. This was an older beat I had and I matched it up with this acapella. The original was so dark and murky I had to pump it up with some chops to make it something you could ride to. The original version was way too criminal.
Man, lets get to it. Cass is one of my personal favs. The flow, the hunger, the attitude. There is gutter and then there is grimy. Cass gets the grimy crown. Anyone else is more gutter than grime. I really liked this song so I was bugging when I got the vocals. Version C came out to be my best version after my failed attemps with version A and B.
I had a rough time trying to remix this classic. The tempo was a lot slower than what I am used to. Version A was an older beat that I matched up to the vocals but Version B was a new chop. A lot of people sample Issac and used to the same break. I tried to use a different break from the same song that a lot of producers used to see what I could come up with. I like the beat but I don't think it compliments Common right. The piano is too crisp and Common is a little more gritty than some clean piano keys. Maybe not gritty but like the original song he is more of a funk guitar than he is a piano cat.
I remember when this song first came out. It was so different. No real melody. Just some raw ass percussive shit. It took over everything. I was in Hawaii and they was blasting this song. I still don't understand these underground producers that don't give the Neptunes their props because they are pop. They still pop out some dope street shit from time to time. And as far as production goes... if you can't recognize this guys are good.... well that might explain why you ain't getting no where production wise because you can't recognize dope production when you hear it. Version A was an attempt not to sample and Version B is my chops. I liked B a lot better.
Why do I have 4 remixes of this? First I used a beat I did from an Illmuzik Beat This contest. Then I just started lining up different beats I had that seem to go with Deck's flow. The timing of his flow makes it easy to chop beats too. Version C was my favorite flip and D was just the original Beat This beat entree.
From the beginning I fuct this remix up. When I pulled the acapella off the record, I had too much weight on the turntable needle and I picked up all kinds of air. You can hear the hiss really bad at the beginning of the track. I tried to use a desser and it worked really well but I should have given MOP a little more respect and repulled the vocals correctly. Version B came out a liuttle better than A but my kicks are kinda off. I got lazy and gave up.
Another remix contest that I did not make the deadline for. I like the emcees flows but most of the rhymes are ass. The same rap about rap shit. I make money... I am ill... I smoke weed... I make hits.... blah blah blah. You can't drop a "no dose" line about how you don't sleep and think you dropped some heat.... seriously? All I am saying is if you gonna rap about being label nightmares I'd like to hear more rhymes about that instead of generic rap lines. Version A had a decent sample chop but Version B was all synths.
This was for a contest but I never made the deadline. Version A has an annoying horn chop. I was focused on the bass line and I completely ignored how that horns sound really slow and sloppy. But this was just for fun. Version B came out a little better. The beat doesn't match AG's energy but the overall sound came out cool to me. That is why I bounce the instrumentals and the remixes. Sometimes they don't work together.
I tried to lay an older beat over this acapella. But I only ended up liking the guitar part of the track. So I got rid of everything else and built around the guitar. I get a lot of complaints about the synth. But that is my favorite part of the track. A lot of times, I am making beats til about 3am. At that point I am so tired that everything starts sounding dope. So the first thing I do the next morning is wake up and listen to the last track I did to see if it still sounds good to me. This still got me hype so I left it alone.
Volume 2 is a wrap. 30 beats down, hundreds more to go. I wish I could have saved such classic songs to remix for when I get better at producing but I figured, I'd use what I can while I can. No sense in saving anything. And it's not like I am making any money off of flipping home grown remixes. And I think I will evenutally get away from remixing because it takes so much time and remixing does not end with the desired results for me. It's probably faster and better for me to just make beats and focus on the beats. That way, I don't have to worry about staying within the boundaries of the original song or messing up a classic song. Or messing up a decent beat by matching it up with the wrong acapella. As always, enjoy. Send me something dope, funny or interesting. Put the hate in your pocket and save it for someone else.
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