What's so good?
By sweeneykovar | July 29th, 2011
Most often, hip-hop covers bring to mind images of indie bands rapping something that could be found on one of those Now Thats What I Call Music compilations, with their tongue firmly in their cheek.
Well, that’s not quite the case here. For this Friday Five, I’ve gathered a collection of songs by hip-hop artists that are covers of non hip-hop songs, not just samples for production or rehashed for their hooks. It took a bit of digging, but I was able to find songs by the likes of Mos Def and Ol’ Dirty Bastards that cover such classic artists like Nina Simone, Michael Jackson, and even 80s sensation A-Ha.
Some of these tracks are pretty standard covers; others are more like remakes, keeping the theme of the original or flipping it to examine the idea from a different angle.
It is interesting to consider how a genre like hip hop — indebted to music of the recent and distant past for its foundation — doesn’t quite practice the art of covering nearly as much as other genres. It could stem somewhat from the fact that hip hop has this often-regurgitated notion of being a very personal genre; the performer is almost always assumed to also be the author (even though hip hop employs songwriters probably almost as frequently as other genres, just much more secretly).
Another part of the reluctancy could be due to the fact that hip hop is not a genre where performers are necessarily considered good vocalists, and therefore a cover of another’s material could lose some value to the listener. Well, while you ponder your own theories of why Jay-Z has yet to record his own version of Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” enjoy a bit of inter-generational and inter-genre experimentation with this edition of our Friday Five.
"Mos Def - Human Nature"
Mos Def is an icon in hip hop, and Michael Jackson is an icon in pop. A few months after the latters' passing, Mos performed his version of "Human Nature" live at the Newport Jazz Festival. Almost an audio-eulogy of sorts, Mos wonders aloud about the kind of surreal solitude and paramount pressure Michael must have felt growing up. I am not completely certain this is accurate, but I believe that some of the musicians backing him are Robert Glasper on keys and Chris "Daddy" Dave on drums.
Download from:
IndieShuffle (right click save as)
Note: In many cases we can't share a track for free. So, we either link to sites that can, or provide purchase links (e.g., iTunes).
"Zo! (Feat. Phonte of Little Brother & Carlitta Durand) - Take On Me"
School teacher/musician Zo! definitely deserves the title of underrated. With more than a dozen projects to his name, the former college athlete who still does music just on the side, has silently proven himself time and time again. One interesting and fun project he has been an integral part of is his 80s covers EP with Phonte of Little Brother/The Foreign Exchange.
Perhaps the best cut from the album is their take on A-Ha's biggest single. Zo! and Co. replayed and extended the song; Phonte sings the verses we are all embarrassed to know verbatim and female vocalist Carlitta Durand supplies a few added musical ideas to the mix as well.
Download from:
IndieShuffle (right click save as)
Note: In many cases we can't share a track for free. So, we either link to sites that can, or provide purchase links (e.g., iTunes).
"Reflection Eternal - For Women"
Arguably the most powerful of the five covers presented today is Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek's (collectively known as Reflection Eternal) cover of Nina Simone's classic "Four Women" tale, now renamed "For Women."
Over a soulful beat reminiscent of the underground vibe of the early 2000s, Kweli recounts the four stories of bittersweet struggle from four separate black women of differing ages and backgrounds. A third person narrative supplants the first person view Nina originally used in the song, but Kweli succesfully taps into the deep-cutting soul of the original, all the while subtly updating it for a more modern audience. One of the duo's best songs on wax.
Download from:
IndieShuffle (right click save as)
Note: In many cases we can't share a track for free. So, we either link to sites that can, or provide purchase links (e.g., iTunes).
"J Dilla (Feat. Dwele) - Think Twice"
Many people mistakenly think that because he is credited as a featured artist on the track, Dwele is singing this cover of the Donald Byrd classic, "Think Twice." But it is actually the late great maestro of beats, J Dilla, who is doing the crooning; Dwele is playing the trumpet on the track.
Dilla recreated the 70s song by replaying every instrument, with the exception of the aforementioned horns. There is not much more to say about the sublime beauty of this recreation -- Dilla added his trademark calculated soulful slop and a new classic to match the old one was born. Interesting side note: in an interview, Dwele confesses that Dilla recorded his parts of the song while smoking a blunt, singing in between drags.
Download from:
IndieShuffle (right click save as)
Note: In many cases we can't share a track for free. So, we either link to sites that can, or provide purchase links (e.g., iTunes).
"Ol' Dirty Bastard (Feat. Lil' Mo) - Good Morning Heartache"
Ason Unique was a soul MC. His cadences and flows lacked the lyricism of some of his Wu Tang counterparts, but his capacity to emote calculated chaos made him one of a kind. His duet with Lil' Mo -- from his sophomore album N***a Please (which was one of the first major label projects to prominently feature production duo The Neptunes, by the way) -- highlights that quality from Ol' Dirty.
Originally performed by Natalie Cole, daughter of old-school legend Nat "King" Cole, ODB turns this otherwise smooth melancholy ballad into a drunken gem. He goes for a subtler but still eccentric approach to the song while Lil' Mo serves as a great counter-balance for the Brooklyn MC.
Download from:
IndieShuffle (right click save as)
Note: In many cases we can't share a track for free. So, we either link to sites that can, or provide purchase links (e.g., iTunes).
