LowClassConspiracy

oneweekoneband:

A Garden of Piece by Lonnie Liston-Smith (1983)

I always listen to the beats more than the rhymes and I’m not ashamed to admit that. It’s not to say that I don’t appreciate good rapping, but personally I would rather listen to a mediocre rapper on a sick instrumental than vice-versa. This is part of the reason why Jay-Z is one of my all-time favorite musical artists. Although he never made his own beats, Jay-Z’s fifteen year career boasts work with some of the best producers on his day: DJ Premier, Ski, Clark Kent, Irv Gotti, Puffy & The Hitmen, Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, Just Blaze, The Neptunes, and of course, Kanye West. His discography reads like a who’s-who of hip-hop beatmakers, and pretty much all of those guys have enough good material for a week’s worth of blogging. Jay’s back catalog is a smorgasbord of great production: dusty east coast shit and superficial pop sheen alongside edgy funk beats and romantic soul samples.

Because of my interest in beats, I always find it interesting to listen to the sample material. Melodic lines are interpolated and massive switches in tone and tempo can turn one song into a completely different one.

Ski produced “Dead Presidents,” a beat so good that Jay rapped on it twice. The main melodic sample comes from this song called “A Garden of Piece,” a lilting, sorrowful tune by jazz pianist Lonnie Liston Smith.  It is an emotional and compelling melody in its original form. Ski would not be the last to sample it; it is, for example, the backing for a particularly good Mary J Blige single. On “Dead Presidents” Ski upped the tempo and ran the the song through a low-pass filter to emphasize its bass-line. The piano ceases to sound like a piano at all and takes on a glassy, shimmery timbre. The high notes recall a flurry of snow or the glitter of street-lights; the bass line sounds resigned but not resolved. It is a beautiful, memorable beat with a slightly cold and uneasy vibe.

Both versions of “Dead Presidents” are highly regarded among hip-hop purists and Jay-Z stans alike, and we will get to it (and its other famous sample). But before we do, consider “A Garden of Peace.”