In Defense: Lullaby Covers, Part I – Hip-Hop

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Jul 302015
 

In Defense takes a second look at a much maligned cover artist or album and asks, “Was it really as bad as all that?”

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It is easy to understand how someone could find a pre-school appropriate cover of “Big Pimpin” musically lacking. By stripping all lyrical content from hip-hop and infusing a heavy dose of xylophone, artistic value becomes shaky. While this style of cover might fit well in a high school talent show, superficially they offer little more than a tight chuckle and warrant slightly more than a participatory prize.

So, why are these covers being defended?
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Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera Goes Full Circle Covering the Song Kanye and Jay-Z Sampled Him For

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Jun 102015
 
RESIZE-PHIL-MANZANERA

Samples in hip hop are a main ingredient of many successful hits. “No Church In The Wild” is no exception. That beautiful looped guitar riff comes from the talented master, Phil Manzanera, of Roxy Music. Phil’s solo work, “K-Scope” from 1978, was sampled by Kanye West and Jay-Z in their 2011 song. Continue reading »

Aussie Duo Twin Caverns Release Chilling “Gold Digger” Cover

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Mar 022015
 

Tender, haunting and undeniably impressive – enigmatic duo Louise Millar and Michael Macias take on Kanye West‘s 2005 smash-hit “Gold Digger” and reinterpret it with their own seductive, downtempo spin.

It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since the racy tune featuring Jamie Foxx was first released, sweeping us all up in a Kanye-induced dance craze, but a decade later, Twin Duo still manage to find a way to reinvent it. The Sydney-based pair rework Yeezy’s classic radio hit with chilling grace, expertly weaving their way through the song and stripping it down to a gentle and minimalistic rework – ultimately transforming the once raunchy and vigorously executed “Gold Digger” into a heart-wrenching, moody serenade, rich with mellow synths and chilled vibes. Continue reading »

They Say It’s Your Birthday: Jay-Z

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Dec 042014
 

They Say It’s Your Birthday celebrates an artist’s special day with other people singing his or her songs. Let others do the work for a while. Happy birthday!

jay-z covers

The American Dream is to be self-made. To carve out an identity wholly one’s own and to succeed beyond one’s wildest imagination.

The life and times of Shawn Carter are a blueprint of the American Dream and bear striking resemblance to one of modern American fiction’s greatest protagonists, Jay Gatsby.

Both F. Scott Fitzgerald’s eponymous parvenu and the Brooklyn-born MC sprung from conceptions of themselves – impoverished Midwestern teenager James Gatz morphed into the infamous Jay Gatsby while Shawn Carter took on the nom de rappeur Jay-Z.

Both knew the excesses and trappings of extraordinary wealth as young men and both fell in love with golden girl goddesses with voices full of money.

One noteworthy difference between Gatsby and Jay-Z?

Gatsby was a man, a mere mortal, damned and doomed from the onset, whereas Jay-Z is also Jay-Hova, and gods are not as easily felled.
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Violet Skies and Ben Freeze Tackle Kanye West’s “Power”

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Jun 032014
 

I’ve got to admit I came to this one quite cynical but as most cover junkies will admit cover versions are always so intriguing as we get to see how an artist has put their own spin on a song. This is one of my favourite Kanye songs, the production on it possibly his best work so I was intrigued to see how a Welsh singer-songwriter with a dream-pop and James Blake-esque sound could do it justice. Continue reading »

Lorde Takes on Kanye West’s “Hold My Liquor”

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Sep 252013
 

Lorde has taken the world by storm with her infectious hit “Royals.” Even though her debut album, Pure Heroine, won’t be released until September 30th, the 16-year-old New Zealand native has been dubbed the new queen of alternative and opened up New Zealand’s iHeartRadio festival. During her set, she pulled out this cover of Kanye West‘s “Hold My Liquor.” Continue reading »

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