Doing away with the name Science O'Mega

From now on, I shall be addressed as OMAR KAREEM!

This is my first and middle name. My real name is closer to me than my moniker.

The Science of making a Science O'Mega beat

So time and time again I've had people observe and sometime mock and criticize how I may opt to take a month or two working on what I think is the perfect beat. Usually by cats who have catalogs of rushed material that doesn't make it out of their respective town and cities unless posted online. They rarely get hits online at that. First and foremost, I'M AN ARTIST, A SCIENTIST. I go at everything in that manner.

Like many artists, I don't like to be rushed into completing a project. Like many scientists, I know it's not wise to rush and do a half-ass study on what you're doing. You're bound to mess something up terribly when you do. It pays to know what you're doing.

One day this girl I met who used draws/used to drew told me how she was taught to break their model down in their heads inch by inch. I guess she meant in a grid. This way the person drawing can gauge when to start that curve or darken that part, etc. etc. I don't know the full mechanics of that medium of visual art but the little she
told me was something I understand and respect. Scientists who work in chem labs do the same thing. They study things, break them down, then study again! When they want, they can build their specimen back up or use their studies to form something else. (Genetic Engineering for instance) Like the visual artist, like the scientist, I study what I do. I knew a lot of what I was doing before I got started. I know even more now. It was NEVER from lucking up and just coming up with something great. That never works. You can never expect anything good from a process that doesn't entertain
the law of CAUSE AND EFFECT. Most do not know or believe in the law of cause and effect. It shows in almost everything people do.

So yeah, back to the music. I break it down when I hear it. When I listen for samples, when I listen to music in general,when I listen to people talk, I'm breaking down what I'm experiencing as opposed to accepting it blindly. You have to analyze in these days when damn near everything is 'accidently' inaccurate or a boldfaced lie. I break the sample down when I hear it to see what else I can do with it other than using a damn loop. Forget just accepting what I'm hearing on face value.

After all this, If I don't have something that makes me not know how to react in a good way, the song or beat ain't there yet.

I'M JUDGING YOU.

If you're not down with mid-nineties hip hop, and u claim u hip hop, I'M JUDGING YOU.

Jay-Z - Death of Autotune

I don't like the beat that much, but the spits!? TIGHT! I hope no one finds the a capella to this. Don't wanna hear no herb ass remixes of this AT ALL regardless of what I think of the beat.

"I know we're facing a recession, but the music that y'all makin, gone make it a great depression..." - Jay-Z

So I be twitting.

www.twitter.com/scienceomega

Right now I'm online talking shit about autotune. It's my favorite thing to talk about this morning.

So I dropped myspace for good, I'm sure.

I started seeing myspace.com as the Wal-Mart-ized version of personal and music web pages for a while now. From myspace and sites like it, I have found the WORST, emcees, deejays, producers, etc. on the internet. I want to go back to browsing the internet for fun and not so readily running into such garbage ass crews and soloists. That's not to say that I think I'm better than everyone else at all. I feel good about the idea of not being hit up by wack ass beatmakers about buying/leasing their beats for 20 dollars and what not. No more shitty off beat remixes, no nothing. Soundclick.com has a lot of clowns on there too. I do regret closing a pathway to some beasts. However, I think I get my weight up, I'll get to build with the right people despite a wanton use of the internet. It's already happened like that!

I hope reverbnation.com doesn't take this turn. I like how convenient that site is...it's very efficient and convenient in a lot of ways. Imeem.com is another site I dig. it's like youtube without the retarded home videos.

I *heart* my prepaid phone

As much as people preach to me about getting a "regular" cell phone. I have saved a lot of time and money not making myself fully available for frivolous phone calls. Case and point: I don't have to talk too much saying "Yo, this is a pre-paid phone. Make it fast please?" Everyone texts now even which is better than a fast, clear, and concise phone call. It costs me 15 cents to tell you all that you need to know. If you forget what I told you, you can go back to your inbox. If there was any important info left out, it costs me 15 minutes to clarify instead of paying $75 or more per month to essentially say the same amount of info...give or take :) Only thing I wish I could have conveniently is web access. Other than that, you can send me a text, talk very concisely, or call me at the crib, a phone in which I'll use to shoot the shit on..."at my earliest convenience." I'm surprised more people don't just use pre-paid phones. I bet the most efficient businessmen and businesswomen probably can scale down to a pre-paid cell phone if they wanted to as they are good at filtering out ALL useless information before it even gets to them. Alright.

Guru "No Time To Play"

Cesar Comanche - Die In Your Lap review

http://www.okayplayer.com/reviews/may-2009/cesar-comanche-200905047930/

Cesar Comanche
Die In Your Lap
(ABB Records : 2009)
80B-
Posted on 05/04/2009
Cesar Comanche was mad cool when he bigged up the mom and pop record stores on Little Brother’s “Heaven” off the Just Us Bootleg a few years back. Yet, his exclamations of “the small chain record store got shit you never heard before!” wasn’t so much an endorsement to independent hip-hop retailers as it was a tribute to the originality and legacy of underground rap both past and present. Spin a couple of revolutions of Comanche’s solo album Die In Your Lap, and the vitality of his encomium for the local record shop becomes apparent. A long time ago, this boom bap North Carolinian realized he better pucker up to the very coterie of retailers that would most likely stock his own music.

Produced by the prodigious 9th Wonder and a slew of alternative ‘hop mainstays like Khrysis, Science, and Apple Juice Kid, Die in Your Lap is the offspring of the conscious subbrand that influenced it. Soaked in Comanche’s vocals is the throaty-shout flow that engraved acts like EPMD and A Tribe Called Quest onto the abstract hip-hop emblem. The foils, on the other hand, to such a profile would be wannabee organic hip-hoppers which Comanche addresses in the title track. He spits, “You’re with the sideshow/ With the other save hip-hop ass niggas, you all could die/ But wait, you sound contrived with kick drums, snares, and samples/ Fan based can never be ample enough…” showing that even in a more peaceful subcategory of rap, there is clash.

One of the more charming cuts on Die In Your Lap is actually an interlude called “Hello World.” On the two-minute interlude, Hip-Hop practitioners from all over the globe rep their birth places with homage-paying drops. The interlude is cornered by an archipelago of solid tracks like the 9th-assisted “Hands High” which presents the best of Cesar’s elevated delivery.

It’s up to underground hip-hop’s secret society of fans to determine whether the small chain record store will indeed swing business to Die In Your Lap. Although very shiny, the LP is still a pebble amongst a sea of conscious sediment and lyrically, it’s still under the sun in terms of subject matter. Nonetheless, experiences show that audiences who love this kind of academic hip-hop, tend to love it again and again.

- Sidik Fofana

Rev. Al Green & The Shock

For those who care, I'll go over all the stuff I used for "The Shock".
(check www.myspace.com/scienceomega)

One day I was really feeling like some Al Green. So I was chilling at the crib with a pint of Jack Daniels and my Al Green collection. Here's what I used for that jawn:

Jesus is Waiting (string hits)
Still In Love With You (crooning during hook)
For The Good Times (organ sample chopped and 'keyed')

The drums came from a couple different Al Green songs too. It was kind of risky 'cause there was stuff playing over the drums (other instruments). I found the quietest part in whatever songs I get 'em from and hoped the sample laying and EQ'ing would obscure the little organ sound that was on top of the snare. That worked out. I don't recommend making a practice of this for logistical reasons.

***okay I think I used Love and Happiness for the drums. I THINK.

FYI: The said three songs are 3 of my FAVORITE songs by The Reverand. I was listening to Al Green's greatest hits driving down South Street last Friday. I tell you. It was a good feeling.

jesus is waiting


i'm still in love with you


for the good times


Chopping and layering samples is fun right!?

Out with the old, in with the new

I was listening to this song from this kat's myspace music page and the hook incoporated the phrase "Out with the old, in with the new". There is NOTHING new. The current trend(s) you're into is/are based on something older. Noone is truly "creative". We can only produce. What people should say is "Out of the old, we're attempting something new." or "Out with the old, in with the new" in the sense of you're coming out with something old that is accepted as new. What you have is something old and altered to be called 'new'. So yeah, OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW. If you can't accept or understand that, you're playing yourself out. Don't confuse your personal discoveries with being new.

FYI: I update my beat player every so often

peep it. it's on the side. comments/feedback welcome!!

I like this new Raekwon jawn!

So I'm a get me a SP 1200

Yeah, I'm a get me one. I don't NEED it. I just want it. Ya heard!?
Income tax is a muthafucka!

You know what I miss yo!?

I miss simply working in the lab with emcees that know how to make a song and have some musical inclination to create more of a session atmosphere. I be feeling mad distant making beats and sending off thru the email to receive a song back...on some ebay/amazon order type shit. What happened to having demo sessions with people whom you jell with and actually come up with something reasonably dope the very day of conceptualizing a song? Does this kind of song making behavior exist in hip hop anymore or are we just sending shit thru gmail?

Pete Rock @ Guitar Center

where/how can i get the whole thing on DVD!?

X-Cal "My Life" sample source

So I've been asked about this song and the sample source quite a few times. Here's the song and the original below. Just a loop, plus some other stuff, and X-Cal spitting. :)


Gene Chandler - You Can't Hurt Me No More



X-Cal "My Life"
http://www.myspace.com/a51xcal

CESAR COMANCHE - DIE IN YOUR LAP 2009 ON ITUNES 1-27-09!!!!

CESAR COMANCHE - DIE IN YOUR LAP 2009



Die In Your Lap Track Listing

1. Don't Be Afraid
2. Die In Your Lap produced by Lord Quest
3. Choose produced by 9th Wonder
4. Merciless
5. Mercy produced by Cesar Comanche
6. Ghetto World produced by Science O'mega
7. Shame produced by Khrysis
8. Hello World produced by 9th Wonder
9. Hands High produced by 9th Wonder
10. Whats Wrong produced by 9th Wonder
11. Our Song
12. Lamb to Lion 2 produced by Cesar Comanche
13. Guf 2 produced by Apple Juice Kid
14. Everything produced by Marvelous Beats
15. Reborn produced by 9th Wonder



Cesar's forthcoming sixth studio album, Die In Your Lap, which will be available at iTunes January 27, 2009. Avaliable in Stores, Feb 24th 2009!!


Watch Cesar Comanche's first video from the Die In Your Lap LP entitled "Hands High"

PROPAGANDA: Is SAMPLING Dying?

Noise
Is Sampling Dying?
How greenbacks and red tape are tearing the heart out of hip-hop.
By Matthew Newton 11.21.08 4:29 PM

Clearance agencies like Carr's began sprouting up in the early '90s to facilitate the proper licensing of samples and broker deals on a case-by-case basis. While there is no set formula, the length and prominence of a sample plays a major role in determining price. It also matters who is being sampled (e.g., Barry White is expensive; Stax Records artists like Wilson Pickett are more reasonable). One response to rising prices has been the increased use of interpolation, the practice of having a musician rerecord a sample to help reduce costs.

"Take the temperature of mainstream hip-hop and it's obvious that sampling just isn't a large part of it anymore," says indie rapper El-P, also label chief at Definitive Jux. "And the people that do sample [are the ones who] can afford to." The practice is, in many ways, a millionaire's game, populated by artists like Jay-Z or (until recently) West, who can pay to play -- and who can lean on fame as a bargaining chip. "When [Kanye] sampled Ray Charles for 'Gold Digger,' everybody was like, 'It's not going to get cleared,' " says A-Trak, West's former DJ. "But then he called whoever's in charge of [Charles'] estate, and it eventually got cleared."

"In the old days, samples were $2,500 or $1,500," says RZA. "I paid $2,000 for a Gladys Knight sample for 'Can It Be All So Simple' off Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). That was a big intro, and the hook was repetitious. Something like that nowadays would cost $10,000." The problem, RZA says, is that high prices are discouraging producers like him from using samples, which in turn impacts all parties' ability to make money.

"For Gladys Knight, even though [that sample] only cost $2,000, that was an advance," he says. "Enter the Wu-Tang went on to sell millions of copies. She probably made about $50,000 [from publishing]. The master owner probably made a good amount of money, too."

A sample must be cleared with two camps: those who own the master recording (typically the record company that released the song or whoever purchased the catalog) and those who own the publishing rights (usually the songwriter). "Generally, one side is going to cost about as much as the other," says Eothen Alapatt, general manager at Stones Throw Records. Sampling a major artist like James Brown would cost about $20,000 -- $10,000 for the master recording side and $10,000 for the publishing -- a figure that rivals the entire budget for an album released on Stones Throw. But to not clear the samples on an album poses a high risk. Though he wouldn't get specific, Alapatt says that Stones Throw has paid $25,000 to $35,000 to have samples cleared after the release of an album.

For a time, many producers believed that obscure artists -- one-hit wonders and lesser-known jazz and soul musicians -- were the gateway to cheaper samples. But as Alapatt explains, that wasn't to be. "That was false hope in a lot of ways, because you'd be surprised who's out there Googling themselves," he says. "People are using the Internet to search out information that my generation thought was only possible through a secret handshake."

source: spin magazine

So I put the EB16 effects card in my MPC2000XL...

After a year or so of being kind of scared to open up my MPC2000 and 2000XL, I went ahead and took the efx card out of the MPC2000 and placed it in the 2000XL. This allows me to do soooooo much more than I was doing before. A lot of beats I hated can be made into some HEAT (according to me) now. The MPC2000 has its limitations as far as convenience is concerned. With the effects card stripped from the MPC2000, that MPC2000 less useful. Now that my 2000XL has the effects card instead, I can chop as easy as it is with the effects on top of that. I feel like I have a new machine, because it also works a little differently. It does more stuff. Wack. Producer. Beware!

TIP 1: Oh yeah. If you don't know where to place this shit and don't want to risk opening the wrong compartment on the MPC2000XL, it's the bottom panel. The EB16 effects card has a PCI looking slot (mine was white) in the middle. I took off the damn face plate assuming it was like the MPC2000 where you can fool with most of the stuff inside from the top...under the faceplate. I should've figured since the chassis in the 2000XL is smaller. Think "small cars" when you fuck with the inside of a 2000XL.

TIP 2: If you ever want take off the face plate to your MPC, and you've beat your buttons to death, example: the PLAY/PLAY START AND RECORD BUTTONS, I'd suggest putting some scotch tape over it so that the button at least stays with the faceplate as opposed to falling somewhere on the floor.

MORE FYI: In the MPC2000 the effects card goes in the area near where all the air holes and "mpc2000" writing would be if it were closed. There is a screw you can put in to hold it tight, but like the usual card, it fits tightly enough without it...at least mine did. *shrugs*

Digging on YouTube

So I had been browsing "English-ized" videos on youtube...and got inspired by the music on this vids...and Madlib :) I'll edit this post later with some BEATS!!

INDIAN BOOBS


Indian Thriller


May He Poop


alright that was SOME of the finds... :) XD

DIGGIN' IN THE DRIVES

I admit, even as a self-styled/proclaimed record snob, I'm feeling these crate digging blogs. I support checking these sites, even if it's to not to go the store and end up diggin' in the crap. Besides some stuff is so hard to find on vinyl, and you don't want to wait until you find the record to listen to it. Really and truely do you just have to have the record to deserve to listen to it? lol Although, what is good, and what is crap is subjective, I'd suggest downloading some of the links on the blogs listed below!

The CTI never sleeps
Diggin' In The Crates
The Hip Hop Collection
My Jazz World
Golden Age Hip Hop
Four Brothers Beats (you need to be allowed in, but there are enough of these sites floating around anyways apparently.)

I'll post a few more in the future.

The art of beatmaking is being made disposable by wack beatmaking videos.

I was going to go into a long shit about it, but um, there is enough insight given into how to fuck up the beat game more than it is already on youtube. Just do a search for "beat making" on youtube sometime. The vast majority are wack as shit.

every now and then...i watch this one though! :)

20syl - far away

Love From The Sun

Check this jawn out. Let's see what you think.

Science O'Mega on Jake Palumbo's "District Selectman" LP

Jake Palumbo's 2007 release "District Selectman" is available on iTunes, CDBaby, and other places. It's good. I'm featured on a song called "Get Off The Prozac"

Diggin' In The Crap

Among some dope pieces of vinyl I've been taking chances on some vinyl that I thought seemed a little suspect. Every now and then, they have like one dope sample on them. Right now I'm only writing this to see how I can make a sub blog entitled "Diggin' In The Crap". I'm also working on a sub blog called "Diggin' In The Drives", and "Diggin' In the On Demand Movies". But yeah diggin' in the crap...

...and I just figured out how to separate certain blogs from the rest. Cool.

CESAR COMANCHE - DIE IN YOUR LAP

So I got a joint on the new Cesar Comanche "Die In Your Lap" album. CHECK IT OUT.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I haven't had much to say. Check me out on myspace when you get time. Add me and all that there. HOLLA AT ME ABOUT BEATS AND COLLABS FASHO.

Damu the Fudgemunk

embedded playlist



kid is crazeeee

Sample nerding

I took this down from my myspace page about the video PR did on the Future Music Magazine video. So there the joint is again. You download this if you please.

Word

A really dope PR interview.

"They don’t know what to do with the (sample) time. They just find the loop and keep moving."

Jerry Barrow:

About a year ago Super-Producer Pete Rock invited me into his home to talk beats, his upcoming album, New York’s Finest, and why some people said he didn’t make “T.R.OY. “

It’s late January 2006 in the city that never sleeps and a restless gathering of fans and critics are waiting to meet their doom. In the cavernous belly of the Nokia Theatre Pete Rock is charged with moving the crowd between performances by Little Brother, Big Daddy Kane and MF Doom. After spinning some of his requisite classics Soul Brother #1 brings things back to the future with “G’s Up,” a track he’s produced for Jim Jones. But as the broken piano comes through the speakers, the anti-establishment crowd isn’t drinking the Dip Set Capo’s Kool-Aid. A smattering of boos echo throughout the venue but Pete is undaunted, “You gotta respect it cuz it’s me though!” he counters from the stage, headphones dangling off of his neck. Reluctantly, the haters about-face and give the legend his due props.

“They probably didn’t like Jim Jones, but it’s all good. He has a following that’s incredible,” Pete says months later from the comfort of his home studio in Spring Valley, NY. “It’s good to diversify. I’d like for the fans to support anything they see my name on.”

Judging from his recent output, Mr. Phillips is like Dondi in the rail yard trying to put his name on everything moving. Dipset, 50 Cent and The Black Eyed Peas have all gotten the soul glow in the past year, along with Ghostface, Raekwon and the BCC. In an age when the phrase “bringing New York back” has become cliché, one of the architects of that sound simply wants to lead by example. So after 2004’s Soul Survivor 2 Pete is readying his latest project, New York’s Finest.

Pete Rock: I’ve been working on this album for almost a year now. It’s called New York’s Finest. I did a song with Styles and Sheek called “914” a song with Jim Jones called “We Roll.” Gotta joint with Papoose, Red Café, Slum Village, my man Rell. I always liked the way he sang. And I gotta couple of solo joints. I’m also working with DOOM, Ghostface and Inspecta Deck. Plus I have a song with Raekwon and Masta Killa called “PJs.”

JLB: I noticed for that one you flipped the same sample Large Pro did for “Mad Scientist.”

PR:Yeah, that’s from the album for the movie Dune, David Matthews did the scoring. I just felt like when I did the beat, I had the CD and Rae heard it. He really did his thing on that.

JLB: You have a lot of collabs with Wutang cats…

PR: It’s a respect thing. They love my music and I love the way they spit. Plus, I’ve always made beats like that, but I didn’t stress the Al Green and Anne Peeples like RZA and TRu Master and 4th Disciple. We was always on that same level of thinking.

JLB: Right, on “Head Rush” from Soul Survivor 2 you really channeled that Shaolin sound.

PR: When you’re a connoisseur of records you know what they use when it comes to making a Wu street record. So I found this old Mavis Staples record and chopped it up. It had those sounds like what they use. I EQ my stuff bugged out, just to bring the sounds out.

JLB: How did you make it?

PR: That actual beat was made in the SP, so before I sample the music I EQ it first, so it sounds fatter once it goes in the drum machine. When I mix it in the studio I add a Tube Tech EQ or some effects to make sound more ‘out there.’ It was perfect for RZA and GZA to get on that.

JLB: What about the Flaming Embers joint you flipped for “One MC, One DJ”

PR:I was just having fun with it. I like Skillz and we were way over due to do a joint. I think Diamond heard it.

JLB: I want someone to do Diamond’s “Sally” over.

PR: I got that record. I could definitely re-do that. I got the drums, the loop…I’m making over Dougie Fresh’s “Rising To the Top” for Jae Millz and he’s trying to get Doug E on it. I’m just perfecting the beat, making it sound like it did. You have to sit and listen to the record for like a month, study it. Get the elements and arrange it. It was a bad beat.

JLB: What hardware did you start out with?

PR: I started with the SP 12 first, with no disc drive or anything. Saving sounds on a separate disc drive. Then I got the 1200. I used that until 2000 and I started buying new equipment. I bought the MPC 2000, 3000, 4000…but I liked the 2000 the best. It’s like the SP with more sample time.

JLB: How did you manage to get so much sample time out of the SP?

PR: Just spinning records on 45, then slow it down in the SP. But when you do that this ringing sound comes out, I had to EQ it out. I’d sample it on 45 then slow it down. I would sample it, chop them into little pieces then save them all. That gives you a little bit more time. The SP has a crunchy sound in itself. The drums and kicks hit really heavy coming out of the SP, more so than the MPC. But I’ve got my MPC sounding like an SP. With a lot of EQing.

JLB: Do you think having all of that sample time in the MPCs and computers now has made it too easy?

PR: They don’t know what to do with the time. (laughs.) They just find the loop and keep moving.

JLB: Do you remember the first beat you made?

PR: It was some James brown shit and taking his snares and kicks. I worked on Groove B Chill’s album when I was 17, the Starting From Zero album. That was the first shit I did by myself. Then I started doing remixes, then All Souled Out,
Mecca and the Soul Brother, Main Ingredient, Soul Survivor, Soul Survivor 2 and Petestrumentals, now N.Y’s finest

JLB:That’s a lot of history you just glossed over lol

PR: That’s just to let people know that I have a passion for this beatmaking. I ain’t going nowhere.

JLB: Are you incorporating more software into your set-up?

PR: I (use) Pro Tools and Logic. It’s fun and fast. Very different from working on a two-inch, but it cuts through all that work. My MP is hooked straight into the Pro Tools. I don’t mix here in my house. I have an engineer ten minutes from here or in Manhattan at Chung King. I’m still a vinyl cat though when I DJ. I think Serato is a cool new way to do parties, but I’d rather a record skip on me than something totally just freezing on me. There’s nothing like vinyl to me.


JLB: How important is the DJing in your production?

PR: Very, it’s like A to B to C. DJing is just another form of producing. You scratch and the beat is going back and forth, it’s manual looping.

JLB: A big part of your career is doing remixes like “Shut Em Down,” “Jump Around,” and “Jussummen.” How do you approach it?


PR: First I get the tempo of the original beat and then I’ll mess with stuff I have and see what sounds the best. I had the bassline and drums of “Shut Em Down” already, then I just started adding (things)…I had those “Long Red” drums, the
“clap your hands to what he’s doin…” I used that a lot, maybe four or five times, like “Return of the Mecca,” but it sounded so good. I had that in a crate of records. Bambaataa and them used to (use) back in the day. No matter what snare you have…if you have a dope kick and snare with “Long Red” behind it, it makes the beat sound bigger.

JLB: I was just listening to David Axelrod’s “The Smile” and there was so much stuff you could use in that record. What made you take the very end of it for “Strange Fruit.”?

PR:I was on some gutter sh*t and those pianos sounded so eerie. When I sampled it I turned up the gain at the end where it’s fading out and eq’d it so it would sound like it was still going. I loved those pianos that much and they weren’t anywhere else in the record.

JLB: Now Large Professor said flat out that you produced “T.R.O.Y.” Why do you think a controversy was started over who produced it?

PR: People just put stuff out there. Haters. I know (people) wish that they heard what I heard. Cats had the record before me! He put me on to the record. He was like ‘yo, you got this?’ I took it home and heard the “Similak Child” loop but I
was like ‘they ain’t use this.’ I even had Tom Scott tell me that was dope.

It’s pretty warm inside of Pete Rock’s house but I still manage to get a chill. Sitting in a discrete corner of his den/ studio is a dusty SP-1200. Getting nosy I lean in to read some words written on a piece of tape: “Grap, touch and die.”
There will be no fire sale on Ebay anytime soon.

JLB: You and DJ Premier both sample Jazz but there is a difference in your approach…

Pete Rock: I noticed with him he goes for the darker sound, I go for the dark and soulful together. I have some muddy beats, but I like to bring out the soul. My drums are more to the point, his are more hip-hop. I try not to give the kids these days too much heavy snares cuz their ears seem so used to the prepackaged drum sounds.

JLB: So I hear that you’re working on a remix to Bob James’ Nautilus?

Pete Rock: A good friend of mine reached out to me and worked with Bob James. He introduced me to the whole project. The one song that’s been sampled by a hundred thousand producers, he asked me to remix. I think I have a way of doing it. I did Nautilus one way that never came out, so I may use that and
add on to it. If I could just have a drum loop going I’d sample that whole record.

JLB: Ghostface got you back on Hot 97 for a minute with “Be Easy” but I still like “The Game” from Soul Survivor better.

Pete Rock: Yeah, that was this orchestra from this famous conductor. Producers have it. If you’re a digger you know what it is.

JLB: You haven’t used the horns as much in your recent productions…

Pete Rock: I wanted to try something new. I was known for that and I didn’t want people to pigeon hole me.

JLB: When it comes to “T.R.O.Y.” Everyone gets into the horns, but the drums were crazy. It’s like the pattern doesn’t repeat.

Pete Rock. I programmed it in segments. I think I had 7 or 8 different drum segments. You just put it in song mode. If CL’s first verse is 20 bars, you make five different segments for a 20 bar rap and put in acrobatic stuff where you think it’s needed. When you put them together that’s what makes it sound
phenomenal.

JLB: Do you still filter samples to get bass lines or play them out?

Pete Rock: Yeah, I still filter, but I make my own too, just hum some sh*t in my head and do it on the pads. And the filtered bass lines are just when I’m listening to music, and I hear something, then I use it…The SP 1200 has a channel assignment, I think it’s set-up 18 or something, it has channels 1-8, one and two are filters, 3-8 are separate tracks where you can break up the sample. I learned tricks of the trade and put maybe two samples on one channel. I’d use up a lot of tracks on the Neve board so it helps if you can juggle the music on one track.

JLB: So what happened with the reunion with CL?

Pete Rock: With Corey? Nothing happened. He’s one way and I’m another. I just want to do music and not deal with asshole shit. It’s just about the music and the audience. I don’t care about your materialistic life. It’s bigger than me and you. We don’t gel as individuals. I don’t like him and he don’t like me. When you start getting money and you don’t know how to be humble and be an asshole, then nobody’s gonna want to deal with you. When you work with someone, you just want them to respect you.

JLB: Speaking of respect, you had a lot of issues with your old label BBE…

Pete Rock: Oh, lawd have mercy. They are the worst record label in the world. They f*cked me on a lot of shit. They didn’t pay me my back end on Soul Survivor 2 and they put out Surviving Elements without my permission. Those were left over beats on a hard drive and Eddie took them off of there. The ill shit is when I mastered SS2 they didn’t even want to give me a copy of my own album. They were trying to tell me how to make my music. Ya’ll gave me this deal so I could be me and they violated me. So when I saw Peter Dockwell on a plane I
just started spitting on him for being a disrespectful thief. I ain’t put my hands on him. If I did that it would ruin my litigation. Now they trying to put out my best remixes or some shit. The Jeru and Gang Starr shit. Doing shit without my
permission and slapping my name on it. I’ve never done anything like that. Selling my old work. It was a wack time to be working with them.

JLB: You saw Eddie again at the release party for Dilla’s The Shining…

Pete Rock: I saw Eddie and spit right in his face. When you disrespect me like that you’re gonna get it back full scale. I went up to the DJ booth, got on the mic and had everybody say “f*ck BBE.”

JLB: You don’t think maybe that wasn’t the right place?

Pete Rock: Yeah, it wasn’t the right place, but he’d been sending nasty emails to my fiancée, the thievery, the hovering over my shoulder. All that just brewed up and it came out. If you feel disrespected and that person is standing right
there…it happens. It wasn’t the right place and time, but I wanted to let people know what type of dudes these are.

(Note: Due to legal proceedings, reps for BBE Records would not comment on their past relationship with Pete Rock but in a statement said, “We wish him all the best in his present and future endeavors.”)

JLB: You and Jay Dee were really close, what was it like working on “Once Upon A Time,” for that first Slum Village album?

Pete Rock: I remember being in the basement with T-3, Baatin and Dilla, buggin’ out and playing beats. They would rock certain songs in the D and the crowd would go nuts.

(Dilla) was my dog. He came to NY, we hung out. I went to the D with my brother and left me in his studio. He let me know how much he was influenced by me. His mother pulled me to the side and whispered, “you are his favorite.” He was really
humble. We could call each other anytime. Dilla would inspire me at times when I couldn’t make a beat. He’d play some shit over the phone and spark me up.

JLB: Do you think there’s a difference between Dilla and Jay Dee?

Pete Rock: Dilla is like the now version, the weirdness, the samples. The way he would do his shit was like, what? Jay Dee is the quiet cat in the Ummah making all the beats doing De La’s “Stakes is High.” Dilla is the Madlibish side of him. The Jay Dee part was his rhyming too. The way he’d make certain beats. He was cleaner. Dilla was the ill side of him. It was like Jekyll and Hide. He was just doing anything. I loved it. I’m listening to the work side in Donuts. The work was fuckin’ immaculate. The way he chopped shit and arranges shit and how he plays basslines was ultimate. I never knew he was sick, never told me…I found out through the grapevine.

JLB: You mention Jay Dee being Dilla’s rhyming side, but what about yours?

Pete Rock: I just do it for fun. I never took it seriously. But what I do take serious is the music. When I’m makin my music I want to make sure the right person gets on it. I gotta secret project with one of my DJ friends that can spit really well. It’s gonna be called Tango and Cash. I just got a beat from Dilla’s mom that I’m rhyming on. She’s doing a Dilla mixtape. Karriem Riggins and them are working on it out in L.A.

After this interview Pete Rock came up to my office and I did my impersonation of Bobbito Garcia where I played the track and Pete Rock stated the facts:

“1,2,3” Boot Camp Clik

That’s an MPC beat. You would think it came from an SP. They had a beat CD with my beats and sent the song back two-tracked. I mixed it and it was done. I engineer to a certain point but they had their own engineer. I told him ‘here’s the EQ, keep them at these levels and you’re good.’

“T.R.O.Y”

The guitar in the beginning is a funk group from Jamaica, Beginning to End. We put the echo on the horns. There are things we did to make people ask questions. We EQ’d it with the mixer before I sampled it, that’s how I got the drums to
sound like that. I muffled the part with no horns and that’s me going “ooooo” in the chorus.

“Down With the King” RUN DMC

Those same sounds came from the Tom Scott album.

“Carmel City”

I got the Rhodes from Milt Jackson. We did a version to this that no one knows about with Vinia Mojica singing the hook.

“The Game” f Raekwon, Ghost and Prodigy

This is one of my sh*ts right here. The opening is from Flash Gordon, when I was on Loud these dudes gave me the utmost respect. The only one that wasn’t in the session was Ghost.

“PJs” f/Raekwon

This is off the new album. This is a song I wanted to do…I had this beat made and it’s just been sitting there for a couple of years. The intro is from an old school 80’s rap record “Its Your Rock.” That was one of my favorite records.

“Jump Around” (remix), House of Pain

When they dropped the original they immediately called me. I did this and “Down With the King” in the same session.

"Jussumen” (remix) Das EFX

You can’t chop Lodi Dodi now. Sample clearance is a motherf*cker on that record! I’m never touching that record again. It’s such a classic record and they don’t want nobody f*cking with it.

“The Yearn,” The Lost Boys

I loved doing this video. Freaky Tah was still here. It was a great time.

“Juicy” Notorious B.I.G

I’m not really mad at Puff for that. I’m really only mad that Biggie isn’t here and I can’t do more stuff with him. It’s not my typical style, but when Big came to the crib I just had the drums playing from Ntume’s “Juicy Fruit.” He was like, “What’s
this Pete?” When Big was there, Puff was there…he saw the record spinning…it’s all good. I should have just known better. It was just a learning experience.

“Fly Til I Die” Talib Kweli and CL Smooth

I was in a good mood that day when I made this record. I put a lot of compression on the track to get all the noise out, so it sounds cleaner than usual.

“Fakin Jax” InI

That was fresh from the break up with CL. That first verse was talking about him. You can’t call yourself family then turn around and bite the hand that feeds you. That’s how that song came about.

“Be Easy” Ghostface

I went out to Staten Island and some studio on a dead end street. The first beat CD I played he picked 8 beats. We made 5 songs and he used 3. Somebody tampered the mix on this. It’s not Ghost’s fault though. I had more bottom on it. They flattened the drums a little bit. The kick drops out.

“Verbal Murder” f/ Common Pun and Nore

I got the Fat Albert shit off the Halloween Treats record. It sounds like its coming off the cartoon.

“Back On The Block”

This is when I tried to give CL a chance to rekindle himself with me. It’s something we did for Japan, but a lot of people in the U.S got wind of it.

“The Rap World” f/ Large Professor (from the High School High Soundtrack)

I did the drums, the bassline and the “Nautilus” chip you hear in the background. Pro added the “let me hear you say” and “in the world.” That was a collab that when it was finished we were like “oohh shit, son. You wanna rhyme on this?!” I hope we get to collab again. I’d love to.

“Once Upon a Time f/ Slum Village”

I showed him a few tricks like sampling two snares together. His ear was sharp.

“Revenge” f/ Grap Luva

Damn, you got this? I’m only on the hook on this. I did the beat. It’s the Tony Yayo sample but I just chopped it, (Roberta Flack’s “Feel Like Makin Love” used on “You Know you Don’t Love Me.” )

“G’s Up” Jim Jones

Jadakiss loves this beat. The intro is Dionne Warwick. When they play this in Harlem the reaction is crazy.

“Let It All Hang Out” Adore

He got signed to Atlantic and that was the first and last you heard of him. He was one of the first solo white boys to rhyme.

It's not the tool it's the worker

Because I use the MPC so much, people assumed I used it for all the beats I've made. Well, I was given a copy of Fruity Loops 4. I've used it seriously once after playing around with it a few times before. The one serious time I used it produced "The Shock". A kat I'm cool with tells me how he wants to use the MPC so he can do the beats I'm doing. The beats I'm doing have nothing to do with the MPC. "The Shock" took me longer to produce since I didn't know it as well as well as the MPC 2000. It's never about the tool. It's the worker yo.

I have a kat who keeps telling me about Reason plus there's others still preaching to me about Fruity Loops. Man let me say I'm tired of people preaching me about these pieces of software. I've tried the computer thing as sure I've tried the MPC. Most of these brothers haven't done fully produced beats on both. It's not a good look to tell me that I'd be better off with software when I've gotten along just fine for seven years with the same MPC 2000, not even the 2000 XL, just the 2000. I got the 2000 XL now and the combination will make your eyes bleed.

Of course I don't need to run both I know but um, that's too many programs to transfer from the 2000 to the 2000 XL. I'd rather just sync them until I get tired of the drums, then sell my old joint off. Might just keep it though. Having lots of machines around helps my muse.

"The Shock" is currently posted on www.myspace.com/scienceomega

Replace those RCA cords on your Technics 1200's

I've been sitting on a turntable with a messed up RCA cord for the longest and just never really took the time to fix it. I have 3 turntables so it's not that called for to fix one. However, having a fully functioning 3rd 1200 comes in handy. However with this nice little tutorial, I'm more interested in wanting take time to fix it. Check the link!

Bill O'Reilly: Buffoonery at its best!

http://mediamatters.org/items/200709210007?f=h_latest

THIS is how it should be done

Where can I get some assistance on this nightwatch!?

I was bumping this before I wrote this entry



Yeah sometimes it's hard to get motivated with all these comical albums being shipped nationwide like EAF said. I was sitting back today watching the videos posted on Kev Brown's myspace and shit. People ask me what my motivation for to Philly is...well...When I'm online, I normally type 215 >>> 865 just to sum it all up. Having a crew helps but it don't mean shit when our schedules are all disagreeing and shit. It doesn't help to be in a place like Knoxville with 99 percent of the other rappers, deejays, etc. are straight up wack, clowns, or wanna-bes. Anyway I need the new atmosphere and the competition. However, one thing I worry about is still not being motivated. Having the ideas, the know-how, and the work-ethic is no problem. However at the end of it all, I've been feeling like...what's the point? Here's why I ask:

1. Good music and intellect is not "in style" right now.

2. Everybody thinks they're on that next shit that will change the game, but the vast majority of it is still garbage regardless of how 'different' the shit is.

3. People can't be on the up & up on the business tip.

4. You got kats who have pull in every scene that are too cowardly to let the next
man do their thing, especially if they figure that next man is better.

So lately I've been laying around looking at the countdown on my myspace page and listening to a lot of hip hop. It's almost like, if you're into anything that requires integrity and respectability you're all on you're own. However, when you're all off point and not taking care of business, you're cool to deal with because even your overall standards are sub-par. That's perfect for the half-ass person 'cause then you're more accessible and tolerable for them. Because of this, I am forced to play the hermit role and not talk to these clowns, which means...not talk to anyone really. Now I'm like "Where can I get some assistance on this nightwatch!?" I don't expect it, but um still...I'm a see what Philly got and how I can enhance the 'scene' there. After all if I'm gonna be local, I'm not gonna be local in a small town on top of that...with of course an even smaller scene. How can you grow fucking with the same 10-20 people!? Staying here when I have no reason to stay would be silly. That's why I'm out.

Rare Fluid Engineerz "Love4This" 12 inch vinyl

NOW ON SALE. WE HELD A FEW OF THEM BACK. NOW YOU CAN HAVE YOUR VERY OWN COPY.

SIDE A:
1. Love 4 This Clean vocal
2. Love 4 This TV Version
3. Love 4 This Acapella

SIDE B:
1. The Basics featuring Cesar Comanche
2. The Basics TV Version
3. Love 4 This Instrumental

***The version of The Basics is original version, which is NOT on the album!***

CHECK THE VIDEO:

Oh wow, soft pads and everything

Pete Rock is number 1 on my influence and favorite producer list.

Blogger.com is dope...

Blogger.com is dope yo! I can keep you updated and keep myself entertained without really having to deal with the annoyance of overpopulated myspace.com. I like how these blogs are much more personal and not so bogged down by ridiculous talking ads and what not. Possibly I'll make a beat or two tomorrow and post them. Holla.