I’m usually not one with much too say in the way of hip hop, but I must admit that this post (and my life for that matter) have had some real hip hop trends as of late. I made a comment a while back, about the time that Ed Banger’s lone hip hop act DSL made an appearance, about how it seems as though France and the US have seemingly begun to swap music tastes (we’ve handed rap over to them in exchange for gnarly electro), and three months later, I’m only further convinced. Check it out:
DatA
A month or so ago, the venerable ol’ Ekler’o'shock artist known as DatA released his first single in quite some time, and to more than a bit of acclaim: His collaboration with Sebastian Grainger of DFA79[R.I.P.] put enough class into his classic French electro to push his beats to the top of The Hype Machine (and all those other lists that tell us what’s up), and all of us were most definitely thinking, “Wow, props to that kid. He’s come a long way from Aerius Light.” I think it’s safe to say, however, that what we definitely were not thinking was, “I can’t wait for the hip hop version of this track.”
“What!?”
Shh shh shh child, this is nothing to get upset about. I assure you, he’s pulled it off quite well. (In fact it seems as though DatA is quickly becoming one of those artists for whom you resign all forms of doubt and simply allow yourself to trust that whatever their endeavor be, it shall be phenomenal.) Essentially, the guy’s emulated a version of the synthesizer that has been the [oh so cliched] backbone of awful American hip hop for too many years, and combined it with a remarkably executed auto-tune effect on Grainger‘s voice (think Romanthony’s part on Daft Punk’s One More Time) to stitch together a track that’s both fresh (for the French) and refreshing (for the US). It’s also probably worthwhile to mention that the hip hop style of Rapture Pt II really brings out an element of sadness and desperation in Grainger‘s voice that was partly masked by the thick electro waves of the original; It really does give the lyrics a bit of an impact boost.
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MP3: DatA – Rapture Pt II
So we’ve hit the hip hop side of disco, now how about the disco side of hip hop?
Aesop Rock
I realize I’m more than a bit behind in commenting on a track from way back in the 2007 era, but some strange form of supernatural has thrust the following across my path so many times in the last week or so that I simply can’t help but share. I’m sure that if you aren’t already familiar with the fast rising act known as Aesop Rock, that you’ve at least heard the name. Aesop has, in the past year or so, been summoned to participate in projects as large as Nike’s Running Man (the very same project for which A-Trak just finished a piece), so naturally, there’s no need to doubt that he has more than a bit going for him, but because that’s likely not enough motivation to get yourself down to Amoeba to pick up his record, I’m going to take the liberty of sharing with you the track that’s been on repeat on my playlist for days. It’s clear that the roots lie in hip hop, but a gently driving 1-2 beat pushes the feel closer to something that could easily have come from Kid Sister, or one of the many other hiptronica fusions we’ve been seeing so much of. I’ll leave you with this piece of advice, if you’re planning on traveling anywhere sometime in the near future, I highly recommend that you reserve the first impression of this track for your journey; I’ve found that it does an excellent job of making the wonder and beauty of everyday life astonishingly apparent.
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MP3: Aesop Rock – None Shall Pass
Much more to come later today.
Tags: Aesop rock, Daft Punk, Data, Death From Above 1979, Kid Sister, Sebastian Grainger
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I was wondering..is there any way to find the lyrics of rapture? I don’t understand a few sentences
DatA – RAPTURE
I’ve been walking in the rain again
Too bad for the record we were never friends
I want you with your back up against the wall
I want you in the hallways at the shopping mall
She said, “Baby, we could never be friends. I love you until the end. I’ll never tell you again.”
Well, she’s been telling her lies again
Running around with other men
I’ve been wasting my life with this heart break baby, been done out in this rapture of love
Well if she brought time to the table, it was never enough
I see the train, going home, that could never pull out
She gets high in the station on her way home from work
She gets high before we fuck because I’m never enough, no no.
We could never be friends etc. etc.
She’s been telling her lies again
Running around with other men
I’ve been wasting my life with this heart break baby, been done out in this rapture of love
I am really thankful for this!
Some parts were just too hard to understand for a frenchie like me..
Excellent blog, keep up the good work!
I think the original is so wonderful there could be countless versions… i would love to hear an acoustic version & perhaps an m83 remix!
But I agree I can definitely sense the heightened desperation which makes me adore rapture so much more
I wasn’t actually sure about the influence… the formula of the track is very similar to Air’s… and now that I imagine Jean-Benoit’s voice in the place of Jence’s you could definitely be right… but they did disguise it quite well with some heavier sounds
I love Air by the way!! I saw them live a few months ago at a secret myspace show they were sensational!
myspacially related… are you going ahead with the myspace group? (i just created an account for my blog)
Thank you so much! I’m in love with this osng and I was looking for the lyrics! Thanks again!
Thanks a lot for the lyrics… this song is amazing! ^_^
i was just wondering if you could tell me who sang the original of this song and what is it called?! x
Rapture pt.II is like Chris Brown stuff)
Data pt.II is like Chris Brown stuff!
i llove this song!
i loveeee thiss songg soo muchh :]
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