Every so often I think about how wasted this beat was. Kanye flipped Buffy Sainte-Marie into a masterpiece. I think about what could have been if he had saved it for himself or given it to Jay, Freeway, or Beanie instead.
It's 8 seconds on a loop. And there are hundreds of people selling beats just like it all over the internet. So, no. Not really. Beats don't make tracks great. It's what you surround it with that matters. _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
Whilst it's not Cam's best verse, he still does justice to this. Jim Jones was infamously bad at rapping at this point in his career.
However, suggesting giving this to Freeway or Beanie over Cam is just silly. He's a far better rapper than either, and I would also argue that he was at least as good as Jay around this time (and slightly later), although this album doesn't necessarily focus on his strengths - the ability to mix hilarious, outsized, absurdist boasts with poignant, pre-fame memories via endless quickfire internals - in the same way Purple Haze (much of which was recorded around this time) did.
But yeah, his verse is still absolutely solid. No guarantee whatsoever that any of the others you named would've handled it any better. _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
Whilst it's not Cam's best verse, he still does justice to this. Jim Jones was infamously bad at rapping at this point in his career.
However, suggesting giving this to Freeway or Beanie over Cam is just silly. He's a far better rapper than either, and I would also argue that he was at least as good as Jay around this time (and slightly later), although this album doesn't necessarily focus on his strengths - the ability to mix hilarious, outsized, absurdist boasts with poignant, pre-fame memories via endless quickfire internals - in the same way Purple Haze (much of which was recorded around this time) did.
But yeah, his verse is still absolutely solid. No guarantee whatsoever that any of the others you named would've handled it any better.
My rationale is not that Freeway and Beanie are better rappers than Cam - I would need to dig more into all three discographies to decide. But they definitely wouldn't have given two verses to Jim Jones, who is the real anvil around this song's neck. So yes, while there's no guarantee, I would absolutely take my chances. _________________ Add me on RYM
It's 8 seconds on a loop. And there are hundreds of people selling beats just like it all over the internet. So, no. Not really. Beats don't make tracks great. It's what you surround it with that matters.
I don't consider myself a master of hip-hop at all. But I will just say the opposite of this is true for me sometimes in all forms of music. I think of beat and rhythm (extending to full rhythm section of bass) at least 40-60% of the song/work if not upwards of 80%. You can surround genius melody/ambience/lyrics on top of a flat beat and the song goes from something that could've been cool to mediocre to terrible.
For me, that's actually what makes the difference between Beatles/Led Zeppelin/Rolling Stones and all their "sound alikes"- the former had killer bassists and drummers.
Last edited by RoundTheBend on 01/20/2020 21:03; edited 1 time in total
Whilst it's not Cam's best verse, he still does justice to this. Jim Jones was infamously bad at rapping at this point in his career.
However, suggesting giving this to Freeway or Beanie over Cam is just silly. He's a far better rapper than either, and I would also argue that he was at least as good as Jay around this time (and slightly later), although this album doesn't necessarily focus on his strengths - the ability to mix hilarious, outsized, absurdist boasts with poignant, pre-fame memories via endless quickfire internals - in the same way Purple Haze (much of which was recorded around this time) did.
But yeah, his verse is still absolutely solid. No guarantee whatsoever that any of the others you named would've handled it any better.
My rationale is not that Freeway and Beanie are better rappers than Cam - I would need to dig more into all three discographies to decide. But they definitely wouldn't have given two verses to Jim Jones, who is the real anvil around this song's neck. So yes, while there's no guarantee, I would absolutely take my chances.
Ah man, you need to check out Purple Haze. Cam was arguably the best rapper alive at that point. So fun. _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
Joking aside I think American Boy was him... and that was in the game and got kinda far? idk... all I know is dude seemed to be a really good beat producer, but was kind of wasted on mediocre lyrics, etc.
For me, that's actually what makes the difference between Beatles/Led Zeppelin/Rolling Stones and all their "sound alikes"- the former had killer bassists and drummers.
... the... former? Y'sure?
And there's bad verses overtop great beats all the time. Luckily, they don't reach our ears often
"VERSES!!! I GOT VERSESSS!!!" Drake yells whilst not having verses, "BOOTAY GROOPAY'"
It was early in his careers and released for free, so whatever. Plus, it's not actually the track, so it isn't necessarily 'wasted'. It's just Drake going over it.
Anyway, most of post-2008 Jay-Z fits the bill. 4:44 is insanely better as an instrumental album. Like,
That's not bad. Probably the best beat off the album. Then he threw some corny ass thirsty garbage ontop that a 16-year-old might tweet after a break-up. Blueprint Jay might've killed it, but yeah. Doesn't help it sounds like his verse was recorded on a microwave.
Maybe throw in some Nicki Minaj tracks. She's ruined acouple beats too.
For me, that's actually what makes the difference between Beatles/Led Zeppelin/Rolling Stones and all their "sound alikes"- the former had killer bassists and drummers.
... the... former? Y'sure?
Which sound alike rock bands had better bassists/drummers? I suppose this is a subjective question so I'll clarify -
I find Ringo to be one of the best drummers because he played to the song. He wrote his own melodies. He didn't just drop a standard beat like a drum machine. His tone was fantastic. He was one of those types of players that less was more because of his feel and tone.
If you thought I was mistaken for including Ringo in great drummers, then I guess that's where we disagree. But curious if you thought maybe like Yardbirds had a better bassist or something?
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Y'sure?
