I may be one of the few non-potsmokers out there. The ridiculousness of a “holiday” just annoys me, though. I couldn’t care less about people that smoke. It doesn’t bother me. This notion of a “holiday”? Bothers me. I understand why some do it. Legalizing marijuana. Bla bla bla. Fine. Hell, I sort of agree with you. Tax that shit. Help get us out of the financial rut our country is in. Guaranteed that if it was legalized and taxed? Potheads would bitch about that, too. It’s our pastime.
So just to be a complete jackass, at first I was going to post the following song.
Why? Well, Adolf Hitler was born on 4/20. Somewhere, some little stupid prude would get all huffy and up in arms over how “offensive” it was, though. That and I didn’t have the song. So instead, I wanted to post something happy I was listening to to get my mind off of a whole bunch of bullshit. It really has nothing to do with 4/20. Or pot. Or much of anything. I just like the song. So go listen to it. And afterwards? Bitch me out for being “insensitive”.
April 20th. The day for all the stoners. People get together and smoke marijuana. Usually the festivities hit a peak at around 4:20PM. The history behind 420 is clouded in rumors and misinformation. Explanations range from the number of chemicals in a burning joint to the idea that 420 was a police code for pot possession. Whatever the origins, it’s here to stay.
The burning question should be, what will I listen to tomorrow!
For me, getting high needs a soundtrack. Tomorrow is an interesting day for new releases. Check out this list, any of these albums would be a good choice for your 420 celebration:
For me though, it’s going to be the Mos Dub project created by beat extraordinaire Max Tannone. Max gained some signficant fame with his Radiohead/Jay-Z mash-up project, Jaydiohead. His next project was a well received mashup of the Beastie Boys with Beastie’s instrumentals all from the Check Your Head album that was called Double Check Your Head.
Mos Dub is a project that takes some classic Reggae and Dub music remixed with some hot lyrics from Mos Def.
I requested an in interview with Mr. Tannone about this project, and he was happy to oblige. Check it out below:
inALLcaps: First off, I’m a big fan of both your Jaydiohead and Beastie Boys mash-up albums.
I’m also a big Mos Def fan, I find him to be very underrated as an artist. Why did you choose to make a mash up project using Mos Def vocals, and why did you decide to go reggae/dub for the beats?
Max Tannone: I too am a big Mos Def supporter, and since I made Jaydiohead, I wanted to use Mos Def in a project. His vocals often touch on political and societal issues, as does reggae and dub music. I thought it would flow nicely to put them together. The sounds of reggae are kind of like the musical form of a lot of Mos Def’s lyrics. Themes of struggle, injustice, overcoming odds, these were things I wanted to support with the music.
IAC: Did you ever get contacted by either Jay-Z, Radiohead, or the Beastie Boys?
MT: Jay-Z twittered about Jaydiohead, which was pretty cool. I never heard anything from Radiohead. The Beastie Boys were really supportive with Doublecheck Your Head and they thought it was cool.
IAC: How has the success of these projects changed your life/career?
MT: The biggest change is just the realization that if you put out quality mixes, people will appreciate them, even with a deluge of remixes, mashups, etc. from pretty every conceivable genre happening every day. I am still trying to turn music into a career. I’m not making money from these projects – as cliche as it sounds, I am doing it for the love and hopefully getting my name out there as a byproduct. But ultimately, I’m going to be creating, mixing, etc. because I enjoy doing it, regardless of my day job. I would call it an enjoyable challenge.
IAC: Can you give us the scoop on what will be your next project? Felt just released the instrumentals and a capellas to the Rosie Perez album… have you thought about making something happen with that material? MT: To be honest, I’m not sure what I want to do next. Its hard for me to jump into something so quickly after finishing a project. If I do another remix/mashup type project, I want it to be equally if not more interesting and challenging than Mos Dub. I define a successful project as one that makes you think a little, while still being somewhat accessible to an average listener. I love hip-hop, and am always drawn to it in some way or another. We’ll see…
IAC: What software/hardware are you using for these projects? What would you recommend to someone looking to get into the remix/mashup scene?
MT: I use FL Studio for everything. I’ve been using it for years and will continue to do so. As far as recommendations go, I would say to get any type of music making software you can, whether its FL Studio, Reason, Logic, Cubase, etc, and just start playing around. There are tons of YouTube tutorials for all of these programs – so you really can learn quite a bit by researching. I am used to FL Studio, and would choose it over any of these other programs – but that’s just because I’m used to it. Use what suits your workflow.
IAC: Tomorrow is 4/20, any plans? Do you smoke marijuana? Is it a part of your creative process?
MT: No I don’t smoke – but I do think it should be legalized. Medicinal marijuana is a step in the right direction. New Jersey has begun this process, and I hope New York follows suit. It really is amazing to me that its still this taboo thing. As far as my creative process is concerned, I like to be totally sober when working on music – I work more efficiently and am able to get the ideas out of my head and into the machine much quicker. That being said, I hope everyone reading this enjoys a relaxed and safe 4/20. Put on some Mos Dub while you’re at it!
Thanks inAllcaps readers for checking out the music, I definitely appreciate it.
How was your 4/20? Did you get nice and high? Did you smoke 2 joints before you smoked two joints? Did you get an ounce of the kind buds?
Maybe you were too stoned to realize that Asher Roth released his album “Asleep in the Bread Aisle” on that haze filled day.
In case you have missed all the hype around this kid, let me fill you in real quick. White, skinny, suburban kid who is fresh outta college.
…and he can rhyme and rap with an easy and intelligent flow.
Apparently his label was too dazed and confused to be ready for his release date, and under delivered CDs to the music outlets. With all the extra promotion that was on MTV leading up to the release, you would think the label woulda been on top of it. Maybe the label was too busy removing the leaks on priatebay to properly plan?
inALLcaps.com to the rescue! You could go down to your closest music store and…WHAT!? They closed their doors? Oh. Fuck it. Go to iTunes or Amazon and download the album while you still can!
It’s a hot little album, reminiscent of Eminem’s first album, The Slim Shady LP. Asher hates it when I do that though. Comparing him to Eminem. (See the song As I Em below.) I mean, they look and sound the same, so the association is easy to make. Asher is right though, even though Eminem may have opened the doors to someone like him, Marshall he is not. Eminem even gives Asher Roth some props!
“Asher Roth, I haven’t had a chance to, like, really get into everything, like, really get into what he’s about, because I’ve only heard a couple songs. There was talk about people saying he sounded like me, and he was doing this and that and, you know, trying to take what I do and do it. You know, shit like that. I’ve heard things. But the stuff that I’ve heard from him honestly, which certainly isn’t enough for me to make my own opinion and say, ‘Yeah, he does sound like me’ or ‘No, he doesn’t.’ But the couple of songs I’ve head, I don’t really think he does. You know what I mean? He’s doing his own thing. I can respect it, too, because at the end of the day, I think he’s dope.”
Roth is more party/college/tech savvy/funny than Em is. The beats, collected from many of the top producers, help to make this release a trunk rattling affair. I get the feeling that I might be out of the loop on Asher. Maybe he doesn’t get the respect he deserves, and is scoffed at by any self-respecting fan of hip-hop and rap because he is white, preppy and appears to have sold out? I have watched his freestyles though, and he has the skills in and out of the studio.
So, forget what you have heard, and trust me. It’s a good album that sounds refreshing in the recently stale categories of rap and hip hop.
If you want more proof than the track we share above, then check out this mix tape (torrent) which is freely available across the interwebs.
