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Melvin Bliss, a relatively unknown 1970s crooner, died Monday (July 26), according to variouship-hopblogs.
The Chicago native is widely recognized for his 1973 B-side throwaway “Synthetic Substitution,” which became the most-sampled song in hip-hop history. The list of rappers who “borrowed” the breakbeat to create classic rap hits is long and varied. Along with Bliss’ soulful vocals, “The World’s Most Recorded Drummer” Bernard “Pretty” Purdie played the iconic drum patterns on the song, which was produced by Herb Rooney.
At the time of his death, a documentary on Melvin Bliss’ life was in production by filmmaker Earl Holder.
Every “golden-era” rapper and producer owes a debt to this man and maybe even some back royalties (quiet as it’s kept).
Check out a selection of artists who utilized the classic breakbeat in their songs:
Welcome to another installment of “The Beat Goes On” where we present you with the hottest rap joints on the Internet. I hope you guys are enjoying the summer, so far. We are going to flip the script on this column and present this week’s hottest mixtapes, first. So without further ado . . .
Just in time for summer, apparel company UNDRCRWN teamed up with DJs Jazzy Jeff and Mick Boogie to present Summertime the Mixtape that is hotter than an armadillo’s butt at a Texas picnic on the Fourth of July. It’s a FREE 49-song mixtape of classic summer jams that’s perfect for your next pool party. Just download and play.
Although he’s a day late, Cleveland, Ohio rhyme-spitter Chip Tha Rapper shows his American pride with his latest mixtape offering, Independence Day. DJ Steph Floss is on hosting duties.
Houston rapper Paul Wall (aka “The People’s Champ”) is a changed man. Through the years, Wall’s unhealthy diet of pill poppin’, fast-food eatin’ and beer drinkin’ turned him into the “People’s Heavyweight Champ.” Last year, the rapper weighed in at a hefty 320 pounds and was struggling with weight-related issues, including diabetes. He went on a diet but that proved to be unsuccessful. “I tried doing it the legit way. I stopped sippin’ syrup, stopped taking pills . . . but it ain’t work,” Wall tells BallerStatus.com. “So I went out . . . and got [the gastric bypass] surgery. I lost 100 pounds, so I’m back at my fight weight. I’m ready. The champ is back.”
Paul Wall is indeed back. His new mixtape Sole Music features him spitting rhymes over head-nodding, guitar-tinged southern rap jams. Guests include Yelawolf, Pitbull and fellow Lone Star rappers Slim Thug and Dorrough. Now this is some good ‘ol sole food.
Big Boi’s new solo LP Sir Lucious Left Foot . . . the Son of Chico Dusty is in stores now. But before you go out and cop the stankiest album of the summer, check out his new mixtape Big Boi’s Mixtape for Dummies: A Guide To Global Greatness. It’s a great music retrospective of Big Boi’s career both as a soloist and as one-half of OutKast. Tracks feature on the mixtape include, “B.O.B,” “Shutterbugg,” “Elevators,” “Kryptonite,” “Playa’s Ball” and others.
By the way, Big Boi’s Sir Lucious LP is one of the best rap albums of 2010. It’s a crunk-filled ride of beat-pounding southern rap that knocks harder than anything in music right now. If you need an OutKast fix, pick this up — it’s a great album.
**BONUS**: Big Boi — “Follow Us” (featuring Vonnegutt)
Tanya Morgan rapper Von Pea just dropped a mixtape that should get you motivated for some hot quality music. So Motivational: The Most Skullduggery of Mixtapes is a teaser of great things to come from Von Pea on his solo debut LP Pea’s Gotta Have It (due Sept. 7). I included some of my favorite joints from his mixtape below. Enjoy.
Harvard Bass explains, in-depth, the production techniques for his remix of Felix Cartal’s “World Class Driver.” Since reading is now overrated, this nifty video should make things a lot easier for you to understand. Be sure to pick up the full remix EP on June 15th through Dim Mak Records.
This is the official video for the “Look Pon Me” single from Sticky’s recently released Jumeirah Riddim EP out now on Mixpak. Shot in Kingston, Jamaica and starring Natalie Storm, this video, like the single, represents one of the strongest funky bashment collaborations between London and Kingston to date.
Ms. Thing and Psycho Tanbad jumped on Dre Skull’s Smoke Machine Riddim (the riddim underlying Vybz Kartel’s “Yuh Love”), and they shot a proper video to boot. “Bonify” is screening on Hype TV in Jamaica and making a strong push in Trinidad and Barbados. Grab the mp3s below!
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