This is that dirty dirty. That Dirty South… of France. Clapper Lark comes with a huge beat, bouncing high up into dark matter, while getting low in the gutter to get that money. Recorded deep underground amongst chanting cult members, pulsating synths escalate in intensity and speed, creating a sense of urgency. The track is free, but they’ve got an upcoming EP on Radio Los Santos. Like a sandwich artist stackin bread, green, guacamole, and cheese…
This track is all punchy percussion, triumphant android trumpets, clicking cog rolls and backwards melodic jibberish. The bass drums that drop early on are so big they should be nominated for listing in the world wonders registry. It’s the type of beat-driven genre splicing you’d expect from labs on the West Coast but comes from New York-based RL Grime (an alias of Clockwork, a well known peak time kinda guy). The track was part of his recent free EP, Clipz, which is mostly comprised of hip hop and R&B influenced jump offs. This particular record is probably the only serious club banger on there, the rest of which are more nuanced in emotional range. (Image by Graham Phisher.)
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Melvin Bliss, a relatively unknown 1970s crooner, died Monday (July 26), according to various hip-hop blogs.
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:
