Features

 

09 Feb 2010

 

 

Common
 
In the hands of talented producers, great samples can transcend the boundaries of genre. This is the case with Bobby Caldwell's Open Your Eyes which was used famously in Common's superb hip hop track The Light and recently sampled at length in Brookes Brothers' drum & bass tune of the same name.
 
Common's producer on The Light was Jay Dee, otherwise known as J Dilla. He made the track by blending samples from Caldwell's song with the drums from You're Getting a Little Too Smart by the Detroit Emeralds. Dilla made some amazing tunes in his all-too-short career (he died tragically of a blood disease at the age of just 32), and this is one of his best. The beat has a groove and sexiness that testifies to Dilla's skillful touch – the simple but delicate piano and synthesiser parts perfectly complementing Common's voice and the tone of Caldwell's sample.
 
As a standalone piece, Common's track is notable for being a touching love song, thought to have been written for Common's then-girlfriend Erykah Badu. It's a far cry from the posturing aggression of gangster rap and reflects a strand in hip hop that many outsiders dismiss or fail to see. (Another pro-female respect anthem is Mind Sex by Dead Prez). It's proof, if proof were needed, that hip hop is bigger and deeper than the media stereotypes of money, guns and bling.
 
Brookes Brothers may well have been inspired by Dilla / Common's track to take a longer sample from Caldwell's song and work into a lively and soulful drum & bass number. Their skill and appreciation for the source song shine through in this, one of the best liquid drum & bass tunes to come out in 2007.
 
As for Caldwell, his influence on the world of sampling is so great that he could fuel countless posts on this blog. Hip hop producers in particular are enamoured of his voice. But I'll leave you with another example from drum & bass: Goldie's What You Won't Do for Love, featuring vocals by Diane Charlemagne, is a cover of Caldwell's famous track of the same name, originally released in 1978.


 


 

 


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