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Throw the word "Fresh" in the title of your song and I'll give it a listen. Get MC Lyte to drop a guest verse on it, and its pretty much guaranteed that I'll throw it up on the site, even if it's a pop R&B track. That's my explanation for putting up the following song from Zshatwa, an unsigned artist out of Los Angeles. Not to say that Zshatwa isn't a talented singer - she seems to have a good enough voice, or at least access to a sound engineer with the software to make it sound as if she does, to compete with the current crop of female pop singers - just that it's not really the type of music I'm normally checking for. MC Lyte, however, sounds as sharp as she did twenty years ago even if she only spits a few quick bars (around the 2:10 mark) during her guest appearance.
Zshatwa featuring MC Lyte - FRESH
As with a lot of artists that have come out in the past couple of years, it's hard to tell whether Zshatwa's throwback sound (sampling an 80's classic for her debut single) and look (the multiple dookie ropes that she wears during photo shoots) has developed out of an actual appreciation for the early years of hip hop or if it's a gimmick being fostered by her handlers. I admittedly don't know enough about her to make the call on that, but I can at least appreciate the fact that she got MC Lyte to pick up the mic once again. Her manager tells me that they will be performing together at a few upcoming shows, so perhaps they will do a few more collaborations in the future.
For the 80's and 90's babies in the crowd who may not recognize the sample, Zshatwa's song is built around the 3 Fresh MC's classic F.R.E.S.H., which, I'm sure you'll be surprised to hear, is one of my favorite songs of all time. Here it is:
Zshatwa on Myspace
MC Lyte - Wonder Years
03/04/2009 09:00:01 PM posted by Fresh