The Notorious B.I.G. A true MC. As I am sure I will get to my personal views of him in some other post, I would like to get to that some other time. As this is absolutely a favorite song of mine! Let's see why right now!
The 1st time I heard it, it must've been on Pandora Radio. Right from the beginning I was caught. The exploration of music will always lead you to some unexplainable feeling on occasion. Such is the case here my friends. The beat just grabs me, wouldn't let me go, and made sure I was paying attention to appreciate every little bit it had to offer. Perhaps I can describe this feeling. Have ever had a song that just stops you? Exactly what this was. New material, that just appeared on Pandora, and blew me away.
So what exactly is the beat like? Well the feel of it is indescribably incredible. But what I can describe to you is why it always leaves me feeling good. The beat itself is pretty simple. Makes it easy to just ride with the beat, which I find with a lot of old school rap. The bass line is absolutely incredible! Also the beautiful vocals from Carl Thomas only top this production off. I find his addition to the song runs parallel to Tony Williams vocals on We Major. Both carry the chorus strong by themselves with no other singers. Which really lets you admire their singing. The beat itself could not be felt the same without the lyrics.
I wanna keep this post short so I shall say this! Everyone absolutely destroys this song, having a lava hot flow. This may sound ridiculous but Puff Daddy's verse is my favorite. Not that I credit him for anything, except a chill voice that goes perfect with this beat. Now I imagine B.I.G. wrote his verse, but there is nothing that actually credits him to that. Despite the fact he probably didn't write his verse, it was just so laid back, and I love rapping right along with that verse every time. As for Biggie's verse, what can you expect? Straight fire, with hot lines throughout. Although the editing to his voice sort of turns me away, still great however. So that leaves Too Short's verse, which he puts a lot of emotion into the words than any other rapper on this track. Plus his rant at the end is quite humorous and I always find it interesting. The whole song is basically a pop and gansta rap style. You'll find the lyrics contain a lot of boasting, but keeping on subject with pimps & hoes. Which really helps chill you out, imagining a wealthy life with no worries, obviously erasing all the stress. The Too Short rant really ties together the song at the end, putting the words straight-forward. Definitely a track I recommend to chill out.
In fact, one of my favorites to blare from the speakers, when I'm home alone lying down on the couch, watching the world outside the window, as I reflect on the day's work accomplished. When I can only dream on what lies ahead...
We Major is a highlight of Late Registration. In fact around the internet it is without a doubt over looked and underrated when looking at Late Registration. The track deserves all the praise I will be giving it. What Jon Brion and Kanye West have done is create what I feel one of the best beats of all time. Now of course it is to our opinion that we truly decide what beats are great. However, We Major is so complex and gives such incredible feeling when listening to it has to be my favorite beat of all time.
Often considered a victory-lap track; which it most certainly is; the idea of this track is well, "We [are] Major". There are tracks on Late Registration that do cover ambition, and this one is the track to celebrate . Giving the listener the idea that not only Kanye West is major and has reached achievement(reaching his dreams through music with The College Dropout), but that the listener has also done something incredible, unique, and it gives them a sense of accomplishment. This feeling comes from the outstanding production and incredible hook that Penafire sings, as well as the verses. And so a victory-lap it shall be for the verses.
The first to speak is Really Doe. He raps the chorus with a lot of emphasis on words, dragging out a lot of the syllables. It works beautifully with the beat. The chorus; repeated 3 times; stands alone strong as its own verse. The rap itself is very strong. The lyrics are great, and go perfect with the theme. The first few lines really describe the feel of the song for me:
You motherfuckers better do your job and roll up
And watch how we roll up
I can't control it, can't hold it, it's so nuts
I take a sip of that n'gak, I wanna fuck
As the verse says the feel is indescribable but it feels great and you just gottta let yourself go, and give up all control. The rest of the verse contains lines that symbol perfection,"don't fuck up the rotation" and "High off the ground, our status skyscraper". This incredible verse gives way to Mr. Kanye West.
Kanye West goes from present to past to present. First stating, "Feeling better than some head on a Sunday afternoon." From there he goes to tell of struggles whether real or not that. A good example of such is the lyric; "Get they first car and then IRS show up" ; that runs parallel with Heard Em' Say: "but they can't cop cars without seeing cop cars". At the end of the verse Ye jumps back to the present saying that:
I ain't in the Klan, but I brought my hood with me
I looked at this metaphorically. What I understood was that he hasn't reached such success before(joined the Klan), but god dammit he is ready to reach it and join the others, bringing his hood with him.
Next after the Really Doe goes in again, is perhaps the greatest rapper alive, Nas. Nas takes Kanye's idea to the next level. Having a longer career as a rapper he discusses his humble beginnings. Telling us that he is major and has reached legend status:
I survived the livest niggas around
Lasting longer than more than half of you clowns
Look, I used to cook before I had the game took
Either way my change came like Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke was a famous singer, since passed, one of his greatest songs is called, "A Change is Gonna Come". Nas really puts a lot of life into this track, not only because he feels that "companies being stealing the life", but because he loves to give, "my[his] blood sweat and tears to the mic. Simply a fantastic job, everyone on the track had killed it, and stuck to the same scenario, putting their own twist on it. However, I believe I forgot to mention a Mr. Tony Williams?
The track that Tony Williams stands out, and is brought to attention. singing the beautiful chorus after Nas finishes. All attention he is given is simply great, when Kanye West asks in the end if you think if he sings beautifully. All I can think to say is yes. And that is true, his voice is so beautiful. His chorus is just amazing, having an incredible piece to add to the track. Just nailing the theme that everyone else stays with. Which is so great to be "Feeling better than I ever felt before today" when the beat rides with him to the end.
The production is something that just blows me away everytime. There is just so much going on and it all blends so beautifully to create the ultimate vibe. Thus I claim it to be my favorite beat of all time. 10 seconds in the first time I just knew the beat was going to be classic itself. We Major consists of glorious horns, trumpets, and a great arrangement of drums. And every once in a while a drum snare just hits you. The harps also add a sort of heavenly sound to it. Everything comes together to make something that even I can't explain. It is just some natural high you achieve. Again, making the listener feel accomplished and victorious. The song just keeps at it for a good 4 minutes. While I was unaware of the length of the track, the beat just stops at what you would feel to be the appropriate time. Then for a split second it just stops, and synthesizers step in as Mr. West says, "Can I talk my shit again?". On a track like this, yes you can Kanye, yes you can. He goes on to mention everyone on the track, as he puts an echo to his voice, mentioning Tony Williams, Jon Brion, and Warren Campbell. The synthesizers have replaced the trumpets, and have made the track pure magic, and have really made the track that much better. Knowing that Kanye could keep the beat the specific structure just changing the instruments. At this point in my headphones, I feel there is some kind of aura surrounding the beat, like a halo.
With all this said. I can say that everyone can together to make this track pure gold, a classic right on its release. Crowning Kanye West as an incredible producer, alongside John Brion. In fact, the beat is entirely original. The sample, "Action" by Orange Krush has no major connection with We Major, I believe a drum was sampled. That is what truly surprised me. A legendary beat, without a base sample? Which is why We Major is something that will always live. A pure victory-lap in all forms. Pure celebration, and the reminiscing of rougher times, teaching us that we are major for getting through. Listening to all struggles in the album at this point, and coming to success, coming to a break, and what I feel the highlight of the track.
So do you now know why they call it Late Registration?
Cause we taking these mothafuckers back to school!
Roses. Roses is another very dramatic song from Late Registration.
The song tells the story of Kanye West and his sick grandmother. The song is also a critique of the health care system. And that not everyone has the access to medical aid. Such an example is the line:
If Magic Johnson got a cure for A.I.D.S.
And all the broke muthafuckers past away
Keyboard and Bass accompany all the verses, as a feeling of sadness from Kanye is conveyed through the rap. One of the greatest thing about his rapping is he shows incredible emotion. As heard in these lines:
I asked the nurse did you do the research.
She asked me: can you sign some t-shirts?
Bitch is you smokin' reefer?
You don't see that we hurt?
But still....
The chorus then begins.The chorus includes vocals from Tony Williams and Patti Labelle. Which really help elaborate the song along side the vocals from the sample "Rosie" by Bill Whithers. The chorus is accompanied by an assembly of drums.
A very powerful song, once again Jon Brion and Kanye West produce a track that conveys the emotion Mr. West wanted to.
As I mentioned before the emotion in Late Registration changes a lot. Feelings of loss, hope, ambition, celebration, happiness, disdain, and many others are brought into the tracks that build Late Registration.
Drive Slow is a track that gives us a lazy-boy attitude. Just a track to kick back on and blow off everything. Simply being cool and ignoring all authority and responsibility. GLC and Paul Wall accompany Mr. West on this track. Kanye West discusses one of his friends and how he grew up with him. While Penafire and Paul Wall lead a very strong chorus, with beautiful singing as always.
While GLC does rap primarily about cars, he does a very good job of it, having a lot of swag in his rap. As I don't promote the: Money/Cars/Hoes style of rap. I can only remind myself that it fits the track well, and that is important. Fitting right in alongside the storyline of Late Registration(Which I can discuss later). In fact, GLC fits very well in this beat.
The sample on this one is from Hank Crawford: Wildflower. Which samples the keyboard and the beautiful saxophone we hear. While the body of the beat can be found in about the 1st minute of the track, I find the sample itself to be very uplifting farther in. Definitely another great quality of Mr. West's work: the discovery of older and incredibly interesting music. That and Jon Brion's skills come together to produce a great beat.
There will be a lot more themes covered as we continue.
As mentioned before Late Registration is a truly amazing album, and an epic piece of work. Each song is layered with instruments, thanks to Jon Brion who Co-Produced the album with Kanye West. Kanye West did an excellent job producing all that he did. He produced every track except Touch the Sky which was produced by Just Blaze. The album itself is one that can be listened to in its entirety without skipping tracks, as the songs and skits are all placed carefully so the listener doesn't get bored.
The mood of the album sways back and forth. At first starting mellow, and a feeling of loss in the opening track "Wake Up Mr. West" which crosses into "Heard Em' Say". Which is one of the tracks I would like to cover this week. There are reasons I love the opening skit. I can relate well to it, and I feel as though alot of what is said by Deray(the man performing his Bernie Mac impression on the track) is true. As he speaks the piano begins to play the sample, "Someone that I Used to Love" by Natalie Cole.
The track then transitions into Heard Em' Say. I absolutely love this track. The beat is very light considering the rest of the album, and Mr. West has a very strong flow as he laces a lot of meaning into each and every rhyme. That and Adam Levine's vocals make for an amazing piece of music. One that is a great opener into Late Registration.
