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June 08, 2005
Straight Outta Sri Lanka
I've long thought it was kinda hilarious that N.W.A.'s revolutionary Straight Outta Compton album ends not with one final statement-type track in the blistering vein of "Fuck Da Police" or "Gangsta Gangsta", but rather a totally good-natured party jam. I bet I probably hated "Something 2 Dance 2" the very first time I heard it...or I don't know, maybe it was actually the only song on the album that didn't scare the crap out of my suburban teenage self. I can't really remember. In any case, the upbeat dance tune is actually a pretty amazing slab of electro-funk, one that gives a big tip of the Raiders cap to Dre's background as a producer for The World Class Wreckin' Cru. It's not just the beat that makes the track, though. I always crack a smile and give a mental salute to self-awareness when I hear those naughty-word fake-outs ("Man, I don't give a.....") or the funny back-and-forth exchanges where the group members discuss in real time how the song's instrumentation ought to be tweaked ("What the hell, you think we need some bells?" "Yeah, homeboy, might as well.").
For the last several months, N.W.A.'s "Something 2 Dance 2" has been popping up pretty frequently in my DJ sets. Probably a little too often, to be completely honest. But sometimes I can't help myself, it's just such a great electro/hip-hop track and lately it's seemed pretty ideal for keeping a really uptempo dance-y set alive.
Anyway, in hopes of keeping "Something 2 Dance 2" kinda (wikki wikki) fresh (er, at least fresh to my ears), I decided I would attempt to change it up by trying to mix in some acapellas from M.I.A., a much more recent artist but one who also seems to enjoy landing her feet on both sides of that dance/revolution divide. M.I.A.'s "Bucky Done Gun" is basically an electro/"funk carioca" track anyway, so her vocals from that song seemed like they'd be a pretty logical match for the N.W.A. electro-funk. In the spirit of M.I.A.'s city-silencing cries at the beginning of "Bucky Done Gun", I'm calling this one "Compton, Quieten Down". You can download the MP3 here:
Compton, Quieten Down (6.61 MB)
Coming right out of the "Quad City Baile Funk" blend, this track keeps my mixtape zipping along at a surprisingly brisk 130+ beats per minute. I definitely can't keep that pace up for too much longer, so for the next round I think I'll slow things down and stay on the M.I.A. tip. After all, her record label is making it really easy to do so.
Big ups to Pat at The Merch for creating the visual M.I.A./N.W.A. mash-up for me. I've always loved that N.W.A. font. Incidentally, The Merch's online shop has been open for business for a little while now, so go buy some dope limited edition T-shirts before they all run out, making way for the next round of Merch designs.
Posted by Tim at June 8, 2005 01:12 AM
Comments
nice mash, tim. I have been sporting my dynasty teeshirt all over the damn gym, but no one has any idea what it's about up here. too bad it's not a picture of a bird with a stick, huh?
LAX 4EVA.
Posted by: claire at June 14, 2005 05:32 PM
on the real, something 2 dance 2 was my JAM....all i could picture was eazy-e doing the running man with jheri curl juice flying all over...
real gangstas dance
Posted by: cia at July 5, 2005 09:03 PM