Friday, January 08, 2010

Better beats #1: Slum Village - Get Dis Money

I doubt I'll keep up on this, but each Friday I plan to post a new entry with some music I like. The genres will be all over the place, and will likely center on (real) hip hop, funk, jazz and rock. It's my hope that not only will you be inspired to try some different beer after reading the blog, but that you will also discover some new music. I don't really listen to the radio, so perhaps you'll encounter something different here. Which brings me to the first better beats entry...
 
Get Dis Money by Slum Village (off the album Fantastic, Vol. 2)
Why this for the first entry? Well, I think it is representative of my musical interests in a number of ways. First, the group hails from Detroit and features songs with beats by one of my favorite hip hop producers of all time, J Dilla. Sadly, Dilla passed away in 2006, but like many artists, the regard for his work has only grown following his passing. In fact, my interest in his music only really took off after seeing a tribute concert led by Mos Def and his band ("Watermelon") at the Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor on MLK day, 2008 (full concert audio here!). Second, as part of a sick instrumental background on this week's song, Dilla samples Herbie Hancock's "Come Running to Me" off his 1977 album Sunlight. Hancock will definitely make another appearance in the better beats, but suffice it to say he was a fundamental player in the electronic funk/jazz scene. Lastly, this song caught my eye as it was featured on the soundtrack to the movie Office Space, along with a number of other excellent selections. I'm not wild about Slum Village lyrically (which is normally damning for hip hop artists, in my mind), but it's hard to argue with underground hip hop from Detroit and beats by J Dilla. Enjoy.


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