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For me, the defining characteristic of a great emcee is the ability to tell a coherent and entertaining story in intervals of sixteen bars. Just about any rapper can string some punchlines together, but it's a rare breed of emcee that can spin a yarn and still keep the words rhyming and the audience eager to hear more. Given the fact that Zilla Rocca had the gall to question why the master storyteller Slick Rick deserved to be mentioned as one of the greats, he may not entirely agree with that sentiment. Yet it's certainly an ability that Zilla possesses, as he displayed on the song Vaguely Jamaican, a cautionary tale for any young male eager to spend his hard earned singles at the local strip club. If you haven't heard the song, think of it as Zilla's take on I Got a Story To Tell, without the gun play and Allan Houston cameo.
For week eight of Bring Me the Remix of Zilla Rocca, the weekly series in which Zilla's favorite producers have remixed tracks from his debut mixtape Bring Me the Head of Zilla Rocca to internet acclaim, Haj of Dumhi has put his talents toward revamping Vaguely Jamaican. This is something of a departure from the previous remixes, as Haj has actually pared down the beat on his version and made it more subdued, which effectively serves to bring Zilla's lyrics to the forefront; it's a testament to Haj's ability as a producer, as it's a lot harder to take the subtle approach and still come up with a memorable beat. There's still a decidedly Caribbean feel to the beat, it just relies less on the stereotypical Jamaican sound that the original was built around and more like the kind of music you hear on the island once you get away from the tourist spots. Irie, indeed.
Here's what Zilla had to say about the remix:
The original beat for "Vaguely Jamaican" was a random DJ Babu beat from a Nature Sounds sampler that I fell in love with. I had the phrase "Vaguely Jamaican" floating around in my head for a few days and once I heard that beat, it became the story of a horrid night at a strip club.Zilla Rocca - Vaguely Jamaican (Dumhi Remix produced by Haj) (d/l link)
For the remix, I wanted a more reggae feel to it. I'm not a reggae fan unless I'm drunk and I see some delicious thighs swaying side to side at the club or whatever! So I hit up my man Haj of Dumhi who's got at least one aspect of Jamaican culture down pat (hint hint puff puff). He's really good at making straight ahead boom bap feel good shit, and I really loved the work he did on his last EP "Yoga At Home" with Reef, Jermiside, and Random. So yeah -- he got the call and I probably stole some of his Yuengling!
Zilla Rocca - Vaguely Jamaican (O.G. Mix by Zilla Rocca) (d/l link)
Coincidentally, I've been meaning to post a couple of songs off of Haj's Yoga At Home EP that Zilla mentioned above. Check back in a few days, as I'll be posting some tracks featuring Dumhi collaborations with Sadat X and Reef the Lost Cauze. In the meantime, head over to Haj's Myspace page where you can hear a couple of songs off of his upcoming album, Flowers.
And of course, you can still download the best mixtape of '08, Bring Me the Head of Zilla Rocca, for free. Here's the sendspace link for it.
Previously on Bring Me the Remix of Zilla Rocca:
Part One (Nex Millen)
Part Two (Douglas Martin of Fresh Cherries from Yakima)
Part Three (Small Pro)
Part Four (DJ Apt One of the Philadelphyinz)
Part Five (Y?Arcka a.k.a. Young Architect)
Part Six (Zilla Rocca)
Part Seven (WDHQ aka BNUT)
Oh, and I have to admit I had a tough time coming up with an image for this week's entry. Try doing a search for "Jamaican Stripper" with google's safe search off and you're guaranteed to get an eyeful. Here was my backup option to go with Vaguely Jamaican:
01/14/2009 08:31:01 PM posted by Fresh