October 3, 2011

Styles Upon Styles Upon Styles: The Top 5 Recycled Lines From A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory



Last week, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of A Tribe Called Quest’s seminal album, The Low End Theory, and after spending quality time with the LP, it became clear that many artists may have snagged sonic gems from the trendsetting hip-hop quartet over the years. If you’re a fan of rap music, you already know that sampling and re-working existing songs is commonplace in the creative process; similar to contemporary art’s idea of the “readymade,” producers will lift elements from one song and add them to a new canvas to re-envision their use. But what happens when the same thing is done with lyrics?

One little-known fact: Lil’ Wayne’s“A Milli” is a slowed-down sample of one of Phife’s lines from a remix of “I Left My Wallet in El Segundo” off Tribe’s first album, 1990′s Peoples’ Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. Sometimes referred to as swagger-jacking, a rapper re-purposing the bars of artists before him or her can in other circumstances be seen as a salute-beckoning sign of respect. And in Tribe’s case, it should be! In addition to sitting down with ATCQ for their first joint interview since 1998, we also got to chat individually with in-and-out, behind-the-scenes group member Jarobi White to scoop his brains for memories on the group’s incredible second album. In honor of its Album-Versary, we present you with Jarobi’s exclusive interview clips, and the Top 5 Recycled Lines From The Low End Theory.

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Tags: , , , YC, En Vogue, Nicki Minaj, Salt-N-Pepa, DMX, Lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes, Kid Rock, A Tribe Called Quest

July 11, 2011

Spice Girls’ “Wannabe” Milestone Triggers Sexy Waterfall of Girl-Power

Fifteen years ago, Spice Girls released their first single in the UK and set the pop world ablaze with a sassy little tune called “Wannabe” that introduced the duel concepts of Girl Power and zig-a-zig-ahhhhh. Eventually hitting #1 in thirty countries across the world, Spices Scary, Ginger, Posh, Sporty and Baby parlayed the “Wannabe” phenomenon into fame and fortune, selling twenty-three million copies of their debut album Spice and seizing the throne for the best-selling girl group in history.

Because we’re sentimental when it comes to all things pop culture, other fave lady jams started flooding our memory bank and got us thinking that, well, sometimes they can get a bit raunchy. However, to us, that’s the beauty of girl groups: They balance with one foot on the empowerment soapbox, and the other foot on the soapbox that reads “gimme some.” Maybe we have it all wrong, butthis list of ten anthems that say “come hither” all while commanding some R-E-S-P-E-C-T will bring you back in time and get you set for a (hopefully) spicy week.

10. Dream, “He Loves U Not”
Puffy’s Bad Boy girl grouppre-Danity Kane was sort of flop-ish, but their single wasn’t! And while the lyric “he’s into what he’s got” might be somewhat tame, it serves it’s purpose to give off a “there’s more where that came from” warning to ladies trying to steal their men.

9. Destiny’s Child, “Lose My Breath”
“Put it on me deep in the right direction,” demands Kelly Rowland in this uptempo Destiny’s Child track. Serving as both an aphrodisiac and a challenge, the entire song begs the question of the ladies’ male suitors: “Can you keep up?”

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Tags: , , , Dream, Xscape, SWV, En Vogue, Bananarama, Cee-Lo, TLC, Salt-N-Pepa, Danity Kane, Destiny's Child, The Pussycat Dolls, Spice Girls

September 18, 2008

Pep Under Attack: New Book Excerpt

As part of Salt-N-Pepa, Sandy Denton struck a blow for women rappers everywhere. The famed trio’s string of hits, including “Push It” and “Let’s Talk About Sex,” opened lots of doors and lots of minds. Since her pioneering heyday of the ’80s, Pep’s gone on to participate in VH1′s Surreal Life, be celebrated on Hip Hop Honors, and show us the subtlties of the reunion with her old partner on the Salt-N-Pepa Show. Of course, she lived her life, too – it’s had its ups and downs.

The new Let’s Talk About Pep, a tell-all autobiography, is filled with the particulars of those ups and downs. Her rough childhood, teen stardom, falling out with Salt, battles with domestic abuse , premonitions of death, promise of celibacy, and lots more. You can purchase the book right here.

We grabbed one of the book’s more dramatic chapters to illustrate how candid the whole thing is. Here’s a section of “The Nightmare.”

“In my dream, I was standing at the top of this huge staircase. This staircase was like something out of Dynasty—with its white, wooden railings that seemed to go on forever. It was the kind of staircase you find in a mansion, splitting two wings. The staircase was so huge that in this dream I couldn’t stand in the middle and grab the railings—they seemed like a mile apart. In my dream, I’m at the top of the stairs and I’m in a fight. I’m on the wrong end of this fight, with my back to this huge staircase. I’m being beaten and I’m not really fighting back because I’m over this staircase—this long, hard, wooden staircase—and if I fall, that’s it. So I’m holding on to this person, trying to hold on to my life. But in my dream, I lose this struggle and end up at the bottom of this staircase broken. I don’t know whether I’m dead or paralyzed, but I’m not moving.

I was barely speaking to Brad. I was recuperating from that last incident with the IUD. I spoke to him long enough to tell him about the no sex for two months. But why was I even entertaining being with him again after that? I was not in my right mind. I was not in a good place…

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Tags: , , The Salt N Pepa Show, Salt-N-Pepa

October 9, 2007

Blog Best-Of: Britney’s Boobies

britney_links.jpg- A racier cut of Britney‘s “Gimme More” video hits the web with scenes of a shirtless Brit dancing with tape over her boobs. I’ve never felt such sympathy for adhesive. [Dlisted]

- Rihanna takes to the streets showing off her new toy poodle. That’s not a euphemism, unfortunately. [CONCRETELOOP]

- Fergie goes head to head with Salt-N-Pepa and J.J. Fad in a mash-up. And in the end, all that’s left of Fergie is a puddle of Botox. [CityRag]

- Janet Jackson says she’s writing a book about her weight loss and gain. It’s called Ribs: Scarfing ‘Em Down and Taking ‘Em Out. [Crunk + Disorderly]

- Joel Madden, please remove your shirt. I’m craving beef (but not ribs, obv!). [Seriously? OMG! WTF?]