Pete Rock vs. Lupe Fiasco: Out With The Old, Out With The New

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If you follow Twitter and hip-hop sites over the past few days, you no doubt came across a new song by Lupe Fiasco entitled, “Around My Way (Freedom Ain’t Free)”. If you’re like me you intended to ignore it completely because you’re not a fan of Lupe at all. But apparently most lots of people like Lupe for whatever reason. I was going to ignore it but then I read the description and I noticed that Lupe rocked over a sort of refurbished version of “T.R.O.Y.” by Pete Rock and CL Smooth.

Scrrrrrrrrrrr?

Okay, let’s lay it all out. I listened to a recent (like few hours old) radio interview with Lupe Fiasco at WGCI in Chicago, where he explained that he spoke to Pete about remaking the seminally classic record beforehand. That’s nice. I don’t really feel that was necessary but its nice that Lupe felt a need to reach out and respect the elders so-to-speak to get his blessing. So let’s assume that Pete Rock gave his (unnecessary but understandable) blessing to remake the track. Lupe then enlists some producers to remake the record and then he rocks out to it.

Cool beans. He then releases the record and the Internets, who often clamor for Lupe records, go nuts. That’s where we were Monday when the joint dropped.

Then Pete Rock chimes in. I’ll just provide his entire Twitter rant for your pleasure:

No disrespect to lupe fiasco and i like him alot but TROY should be left alone. Feel so violated,the beat is next to my heart and was made. Outta anguish and pain. When it’s like that it should not be touched by no one! It’s so hard for folks to make original music, I possess that, but these dudes are scared of that and this is supposed to be HIP HOP? Man I’m a lupe fan and everything but TROY was my homie man. I think about him and Hev every fucking day!!!! Smh

Who ever Re-created that didn’t do a good job @ all. #nohate.This business can be so lame, sometimes I make beats blindfolded with one hand tied behind my back and still these cats can’t be original to. So untalented and unoriginal. Makes me feel like I’m truly the best that ever did it. Yo hev and t-Roy I love and miss da shit outta y’all. U guys have been violated with no Vaseline. So fucked up this business smmfh!!! And I don’t care who got something to say about it, kiss my.. I’m not flattered @ all. Dat shit is wack, and the producer should be ashamed of his fuckin self. Smh That record is dear to me yo fuck deez niggas!!!! I’m still Dat nigga out here believe it or don’t. Ur ignorance not mine, lame duck bullshit. I think lupe is a great artist, I’m that angry with him but it’s a major label idea. I can feel it. And y’all need to stop the childish games, I’m a fan of lupe and he is a great artist and a great person.

Alright, so that’s where we’ll start.

Full disclosure, I’m a huge Pete Rock fan. He’s probably my favorite producer of all time. And anybody who knows me knows that “T.R.O.Y.” is hands down my favorite hip-hop record of all time. I even spent $30 bucks to have the Tom Scott album that the sample came from, Honeysuckle Breeze, shipped to me from Japan. Hell, the monthly party I throw is called “Reminisce”. Point is, I’m emotionally invested in that song.

[By the way, I only feel comfortable with putting out that sample source, long considered snitching in the hip-hop world, because everybody and their grandmother has posted the original sample on sites. Even though I've seen it online in a few places one, you'll never hear me disclose the sample for Gangstarr's "Mass Appeal".]

Which is why I understand where Pete Rock is coming from. His issue isn’t that the song was made. No. His issue is that the song was remade and it…

…sucks.

The beat is little bit faster and whole lot suckier than the original. They Drake/40′d it up a bit with the filtering, which does exist on the original “T.R.O.Y.” but something about it is just off.  If you’re going to remake a track, but do it only slightly differently, and it doesn’t sound as good, you should probably just not release it. Or try again. Which I think is Pete’s point. You said you wanted to remake the joint, but you did nothing different and somehow made it worse. Either you flip it or leave it alone. Not mess it up. It’s a classic dammit. When they reminisce over you (my God) you’d be pissed too.

Of course the hiphop Internets went ham with some folks claiming Pete needed to shut the f*ck up and others claiming that Pete was right and that some joints just shouldn’t be touched because they’re too classic. And here’s my issue: both sides are right.

See, I understand where Pete is coming from but at the same time, folks remake stuff all the time and rarely does it sound as good as the original. In fact, I can only think of a few times where somebody attempted to remake something that came out as good if not better (K-Ci’s remake of LTD/Jeffery Osborne’s ”Love Ballad” comes to mind…WHAT!!! SAY SOMETHING!!!). At least they asked for your blessing. Since you gave it, at that point, you just have to accept whatever comes out. Nobody owns a loop. Nobody.

Further, I do find it somewhat (again somewhat) ironic that a person who made his entire living off of sampling would take issue with somebody doing the same, just not doing it as well as he’d like. I’m aware that Pete is one of the best to ever do it, but I’m fairly certain that there are artists that he’s sampled who weren’t happy with the final product. Especially with his later productions (which definitely fell off), if the artists even got a notice about their music being used at all. I remember reading an interview with Bob James talking about people sampling “Nautilus” and he said the only version he realy liked was RZA’s flip of it for Ghostface on “Daytona 500″. So Pete’s beef isn’t a new one, it’s just…ironic that he’s beefing about a remake of a beat that isn’t even wholly original in the first place. Hell, Tom Scott’s song “Today” is a remake of the Jefferson Airplane song of the same name from their Surrealistic Pillow album (a dope album by the way, white people drug music is way better than gangsta rap/drug music). Point is, no idea’s original. Some stuff is just good. Some stuff is just bad. But it’s all just stuff.

So while Pete has a point, its really that he just doesn’t like what they did because they just tried to recreate his beat and didn’t do a good job at it. That’s a fair point. It’s lazy and unoriginal. Which is what he said. But I have to wonder if he’s listened to much of Lupe’s catalog anyway? Lupe the rapper is phenomenal, even if I think he’s a pretentious douche. But Lupe the beat miner is pretty much on Nas levels of craptasticness. His beat selections often suck at the highest caliber of sucktitude. If there’s any reason to beef, that’s the reason. He should be mad at himself for letting somebody who sucks with the beats attempt to remake  his classic song.

Touching classic records is going to happen so all old school producers and rappers need to just let that go. In every other genre there are standards (hell they’re called standards for cripes sake) that get reinterpreted frequently. Hell, there are at LEAST three different versions of “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”. Donny Hathaway’s “A Song For You” has numerous versions even if we associate that song with him. It’s part of music. Reinterpretation happens. But it shouldn’t be noticeably worse than the original if its going to sound similar. Either make it different or just don’t f*ck it up. And Lupe f*cked it up. His lyrics? Eh, passable. I don’t care. But the beat immediately sounded off. No passion. No something. Whatever it took to make “T.R.O.Y.” special is totally missing from Lupe’s record. And that’s why I get the issue with it. But ultimately, it’s one he just needs to let go.

They reminisce Pete. They just don’t know how to do it like you did.

That’s what makes you Pete Rock. Embrace it and move on.

Community, thoughts? Reactions? How many f*cks do you give?

-VSB P aka THE ARSONIST aka MR. 4532 BEST PRODUCER OF ALL TIME aka GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRL HE A 3

***Speaking of REMINISCE, you can now RSVP for free entry before 11pm ($10 after) for the June 2nd edition, which just so happens to be the Panama birthday jammy jam!!! If you’re in DC, make sure you come out to party with P…for free!!! And drink for free…reminiscedc.eventbrite.com. Peep the Facebook event notice here!!***

594 thoughts on “Pete Rock vs. Lupe Fiasco: Out With The Old, Out With The New”

    • *Resists urge to rant about how overrated Moscato is and question why everyone and they momma likes that sh*t.*

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        • It’s not about cheapness. It justs tastes bland, and you don’t even get drunk off the sh*t. But entertainers and black folk alike be co-signing that sh*t like they party hardcore or something.

          Drink 2-3 SHOTS (or a entire cup if you’re dumb like me) of Everclear straight and then come holla at me about partying. And I’ll know if you’re lying about taking it straight because if your story doesn’t conclude with you ending up butt naked somewhere in the Artic, waking up next a nude Michael Clark Duncan, a Kardashian sporting knee pads, 3 Anteaters, Lil Kim’s plastic surgeon, Toure’ dressed up as Grimace from McDonald’s, and a DVD copy of Soul Plane…I’ll know you’re full of sh*t.

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          • Why?!

            F1 racing cars have been known to run on nothing but everclear for days on end (proven fact cause I said so), and you drink that ish? I haven’t had that gasoline like substance since freshman year of college, and I even regret that, cause it has resulted in some strangely horrible, so drunk I can’t remember who dressed me, why am I in the middle of the streets of DC, who put me in this hummer, nights.

            Anyway… Whiskey is enough for me.

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            • +1 on alladat meisarebel. If the only liquor that existed was rum and whiskey you wouldn’t hear NO complaints from me ( I would miss Cognac and Brandy tho)

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          • The alcohol content of Moscato is usually around 15% because it’s a dessert wine, which is why many people get drunk drinking the inexpensive drink. The grapes used for Moscato, muscat, is also one of a few grapes that can be used in Sherry. The content is more than a typically glass of wine or beer. It’s definitely not higher in alcohol content than Everclear but who is drinking Everclear? But, you’re right, people shouldn’t drink Moscato either because it sucks and its in rap songs.

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          • I’ve had Everclear. That stuff is Liquid Freakin’ Neuralizer! Though I ended up decidiing to do things like having out with a female friend talking about our day while drinking a six-pack. I didn’t even try to hit. I must be a pu$$y. LOL

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          • *having flashbacks of a party 4 years ago* …damn that Everclear and damn the first person who introduced it to college students. The last time I had it, I remember bargaining with God, begging him not to let me go out like Jimi Hendrix. Yeah, that stuff makes you feel like you’re going to die.

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            • All I know is, Everclear gave me the WORST hangover of all time. I felt sooo miserable the next morning. Not to mention it was sunny as hell outside, but like the true thug that I am…..I acted like a b*tch and went back in the house until the sun went away.

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        • Baileys is delicious. You should try their ice cream milk shake.

          I like my drinks sweet though. Never been a fan of wine.

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          • Bailey’s is delicious! I even like using it in desserts (brownies, cookies, cake frosting, milk shakes)….

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      • ̶be̶c̶a̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶I̶ ̶a̶m̶ ̶b̶o̶u̶g̶i̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶s̶c̶h̶o̶o̶l̶e̶d̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶w̶i̶n̶e̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶w̶h̶o̶ ̶l̶o̶o̶k̶e̶d̶ ̶d̶o̶w̶n̶ ̶u̶p̶o̶n̶ ̶m̶o̶s̶c̶a̶t̶o̶ ̶d̶r̶i̶n̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶k̶n̶e̶e̶g̶r̶o̶w̶s̶ I’m not a moscato fan either.

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      • Resists urge to rant about how overrated Moscato is and question why everyone and they momma likes that sh*t.

        His name is Aubrey Graham… Moscato sucks.

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          • Omfg! Anybody that said either mascoto and/or baileys is an AMETURE!! Neither has any alcohol in it. Mascoto is like 9-10%. Same for baileys. Both bullsh*t after-dinner drinks. Puh-leeeeez. *sips the everclear & passez the bottle to TUK* I see u homey!!

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            • Nevermind TUK.. i just seent where u said u like baileys. You’re officially out the circle! (Evelyn voice).

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              • Lol, aye, I said I rock wit it, didn’t say I like it. I’ll drink it if nothing else is around though. Moscato, though? I won’t touch that sh*t. I hate it…

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                • Ok, glad u cleared that up. I was startin to think you were p*ssy lmao. But really, i think us midwesterners are the hardcorest drinkers. (I live in the A, via st. Louis). Ijs: what do they kno bout that everclear, that hot damn, that boones farm, that mad dog? And thats all in high school lmmfaooo

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                  • “I was startin to think you were p**sy lmao. ”

                    As a very strong believer of “you are what you eat” I have no problems with being one. I’d rather be called that than an azzhole…

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                    • Lmao @ TUK! Now THAT was a good one. Although I personally will still shank a n*gga for callin me pu$$y, but that was a good comeback.

                      FYI I’m team rum, team whiskey/bourbon, team dark (cognac and brandy) and even though I know y’all gon hate I’m team Tequila. Y’all can have vodka and gin though. Can’t stand either one

            • I don’t really understand your point here…I mean, most wines are in the 10-13% range. Yea, moscato is kind of like wine for people who don’t really like wine….but I enjoy a glass (or 5) on occasion when I’m bored on a tuesday , but it’s not like the only reason you should ever drink is to get extra faded. I mean, a lot of people like beer and American beer is 3-5%…

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              • +1 Shamira- Ain’t nobody in college no more. What’s the point of ever clear, 151, or golden grain anymore. It’s hard enough drivin home as it is. What I look like having a debilitating headache 24 hours after the fact? I got sh*t to do tomorrow. I don’t do sloppy drunk no more. It looks tacky on a grown man. Plus my level of enjoyment from drinking has a law of diminishing returns. I’m looking to get to that perfect level of faded, nothing less and certainly nothing more.

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                • +2….and it looks even WORSE on a grown woman. I wanted to throttle my homegirl who, at the age of 30, got so drunk she had to be carried to the car…AND threw up all over the hallway of one of the city’s finest hotels. By now, we all ought to know our limits. We all have an “I was soooooo drunk” story, but it should be from years ago, not last week.

                  And if you haven’t tried authentic moonshine, you don’t know what it means to be drunk. I had a CAPFUL and I thought I could fly.

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                  • right? nobody has time to be getting the spins and fighting the urge to upchuck. and blacking out isn’t cute after a certain point except for that annual trip to vegas/miami/atlantic city…i can afford to take my time when i drink. it’s not like we’re 19 and if you don’t drink it all in one instance you don’t know when you’ll have access to some again….

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            • LOL! I am not gonna front I am a lightweight. I cannot eff with Negros back home nor these Irish folks ’round here. I can only hang with Bailey’s–it’s like chocolate milk. Guinness tastes like muck and Jameson will make you a man.

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      • Agreed Moscato is fairly bland, i’ll take some Welch’s White grape juice. I still blame Aubrey for not knowing a better word to rhyme with “bravo”

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  2. I give ZERO fugs.

    Oh mi gosh, I was up waiting for a decent post, and then you just had to put me to sleep jammy jams! Shiiiiid.

    Goodnight follks. Who the hell are these people. Aiyaiyai. VSB’s post stock depreciated faster than Facebook’s! I read the first sentence, and BAM, was done.

    Jay was good boo!

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    • oh miiiiii gosh hooooolddd the fuuuug up, you mentioned in your birthday blah blah

      jammy jams?! *SCRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREAMS and ululates*****!!!!!!!!!

      that’s the spirit right thurrrrrrrrr!!!!! YEAH. But I still ain’t buying no damn stock from you today! Urrrgh.

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    • In order to understand this post, you actually have to be a hip hop head instead of a rap fan (and there is a difference between the two of them, by the way). The post isn’t boringby any means- it’s just that you with your taste in music may not be able to comprehend the level of intellectual discussion. Just wanted to throw that out there…

      Reply ↓

        • It may not make sense to you if you are not a serious music fan, but the reality is that it is possible to have an intellectual discussion on music- even in hip hop. You do know that music is just more than songs with good beats and catchy hooks, right?

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            • Hip hop is all grown up and yes, we have intellectual discussions about it as a genre as well as its content. We also know how to draw contextual parallels, such that we can use the wisdom of the streets to guide us in our academic and professional endeavors.

              One of the realest things I ever read was when a black professor flipped Biggie’s “Ten Crack Commandments” to school new professors coming into the academic game at new institutions. This right here is STRAIGHT DOPE.

              http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2007/08/28/ford

              #EachOneTeachOne

              Reply ↓

              • @ PA, I am a music fan, but I guess not as serious as some. There are other topics that I, personally, consider more intellectually oriented.

                Not trying to rain on you or PJ’s parade. But, as I’ve said before, I enjoy when he posts this kind of material because I do learn from it and the comments. I apparently just don’t have a lot of value to add, so I learn. Your comment just caught me by surprise I suppose hence the epic side eye.

                And, thanks to NY2VA for going a little more in-depth on an explanation. It helps to understand.

                Apologies PJ. Didn’t mean to come off like that.

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      • Thank you so much for saying this. Interesting how those who won’t get on topic, start a topic completely OFF topic. Disrespectful IMO

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        • @ Trina- Interesting that you see it that way. I purposely stayed off this topic because I was actually trying to be respectful. If I discussed the topic at hand I probably would’ve accidentally disrespected a lot of hip hop heads (which I have no qualms admitting that I’m not). Hell, Petey even asked if we gave a fug, and I refrained from answering as a sign of respect. Even though part of me REALLY wanted to answer that question because when I saw the topic I immediately decided whether or not I gave one lol

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          • @ P- yeah I meant out of respect for the sensitive ones. I can tell u wouldn’t be offended. You don’t strike me as the type that would get all butt hurt because ppl don’t find the same things interesting as u do. And yeah the muscatto discussion was random and funny. Ur right tho. Couldn’t write the script for reality. It’s so unpredictable lol

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            • yeah. im not offended. but i do find it interesting. mostly b/c at times you do wonder, as a writer if folks give a sht about what you write about. and this proves that no, unless they care, they don’t. not only do people not care, they may just co-opt a convo to show you just how much they don’t care.

              its just interesting from a sociological standpoint. again, not offended in the slightest. its VSB. im glad folks like eachother enough to have entirely different convos. truly reminds me of like nahrights comment section.

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              • I can relate. As a writer, I DO get butthurt when I write these amazing, thought-provoking, witty (in my mind) blog posts…and no one comments. I’m thinking to myself: “Did the Internet shut down and no one told me?” LOL

                As for the original blog topic, I can’t comment because I don’t know much about hip-hop. If I said something, I feel like the music would stop playing, folks would pause with the red cup almost to their lips and hit me with the blank stare.

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                • @ K. Marie- you and I are not only on the same page, but we’re on the same paragraph. All that old school hip hop is a different language to me. It’s so overwhelming that I don’t even try to get caught up. The snobby, close-minded, and condescending hop hop heads that seem to be the most outspoken are all the more reason for me to not even give a tenth of a fug tho. It was hard enough doing homework before the “teachers” starting insulting me and my people’s culture. I’ll pass

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              • Oh miiiii gosh!!!!

                Errybody send your e-love and e-hugs to jammy jams!!!! This is gerring serious, I had NO idea. Oh miiiiiii gosh!!!

                e-hugs, lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of e-love too!!!!!!!!!!!

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        • @ Trina,

          Disrespect ke?! I think then a lot of things can then be deemed as being disrespectful in this life. Like right now, one of my nails just straight up disrespected me, it broke and it’s length is shorter than the rest. How rude!

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      • it’s just that you with your taste in music may not be able to comprehend the level of intellectual discussion.

        Give me a gotdamn break with that piece of blazah blazah you just uttered boo! Urrrrrrrrgh!!!!!!!!

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        • I’ll explain this further. Imagine if you were having a discussion with me about the last few albums by The Roots and I say something about Dave Kutch mastering their last few albums on Def Jam. Or I’ll say something about how Kanye West made the right choice in picking Manny Marroquin as a mixing engineer. I’m quite sure you would look confused and quickly dead the conversation.

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          • I know what you meant the first time boo!

            So it’s like my taste in music is so damn dense that I cannot step to a hip hop INTELLECTUAL discussion?-of which by the way, iCant,iWont,iShant. What bananas and avocados! That’s what getting me heated—–> you talking smack about my taste as if it is shid. #whatevvvvvvvvv

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    • its boring b/c you’re not interested? lol.

      that’s definitely a mispaced shots fired. like i can understand not being interested..but to say its not decent b/c of that? thats a bit unfair, no?

      VSB stock depreciation? you’re kind of one right now dont you think homey?

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      • jammy jams,

        What in the world are you on about?! Sociological discussions blazah blazah. To sum what I feel about your post, it is BORING, like DEATHLY BORING to ME, African Mami. You asked a question, how many fugs we give, I gave ZERO. If you did not want a response as to how many zero’s and 100′s then, that question should have been left off. Simple!

        Clearly, there are hiphop head fans out hurr, and they outnumber my outspoken zero giving. I don’t know why you are getting emotional over what I said. I really don’t!!!! I am NOT always going to appreciate your writing, or connect with it, or pretend to. Personally, to me your POST stock depreciated TODAY! It may shoot back up tonight depending on topic of discussion and interest. Does that mean you are not a good writer? Of course not, it just means African Mami ain’t feeling the words on screen. :)

        Jammy jams, c’mon! It ain’t that serious to warrant a sociological observation and a dissertation from African Mami.

        I still luuwwwwwwwwe youuuu!!

        Reply ↓

        • while i feel you. and this is more a semantic thing…to say something is not decent b/c you find it boring…isn’t that a bit…off?

          the post could very well suck donkey nuts. so thats a valid issue. but if it only sucks b/c you find it boring, then that’s bull malarkey. that’s my point. but such is life.

          i’m good. and you’re good.

          we’re all good.

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          • Aaaaaaaah I c where the PROBLEM is, my use of “DECENT”. hahaha! And you thought that…..never mind! Semantics is the culprit. I’ll take you out for dinner, the next time I’m in DC!!!!! We gon have us some Ethiopian dinner, and intemellectualize alla dis!!!!

            Now, we are good. Before, we were not. And you know it!

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  4. Pete Rock’s rant was a bit insipid, IMO.

    “Who ever Re-created that didn’t do a good job @ all. #nohate.”

    …followed by a a stream of hate-filled rambling. Yah, m’kay.

    You injected more sense into it than what was there. Perhaps you are a champion for the inarticulate (you’re a good dude, Panama). By inarticulate, I’m not even talking about grammar. His own blatant hypocrisy seemed to fly over his head.

    “Further, I do find it somewhat (again somewhat) ironic that a person who made his entire living off of sampling would take issue with somebody doing the same, just not doing it as well as he’d like.”

    That’s what I was thinking right after I reading Pete Rock’s rant…and I find it to be completely ironic.

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        • PRECISELY.

          When you give somone permission to take whatever inspiration they got from your record and re-create it, that’s the risk you run. At the end of the day Pete Rock, your mission was accomplished. Your record inspired someone so much that they felt the need to produce SOME form of art. So actually Pete, you coulda kept that rant for yourself. You allowed the jawn.

          There are indeed few remakes which would completely hold it down against their predecessors (I.E.: Kobe vs. Jordan). But one you MUST listen to is eLZhi’s Illmatic (a remake of Nas’ Illmatic), which is not so much a remake as it is a re-interpretation of the project through his own eyes and based on his experiences. IMO, that’s what make sampling cool in hip-hop b/c ppl (READ: ALL PEOPLE) aren’t biting entire songs. Kanye/Dilla/Q-Tip are sample BEASTS b/c they’ll take an ELEMENT of a song, or a feeling, and build upon it. If it helps get your point across, I say do that ish.

          In terms of Lupe, I ain’t even listend to the joint and i’m a Lupe fan. I’m scared now. Word to all artists: Keep an honest person on your team whose main job is to tell you your sh!t might kinda suck.

          It was rude to change your whol convo up thread. I was like o_O….. when did he say the word moscato in this post?

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        • He did, but he DIDN’T~it was trickery. His rant reads like they stole it, and as a few someones mentioned this morning, “sampling leaves you wide-the-fug-open” (summarized), you can say no (which he should’ve). All of the people who fondly recall the beat would have understood, but he doesn’t control that property. Many artists hated what happened to their music during the revolution, but some willingly participated.

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          • thats how his rant reads…but in the radio interviews Lupe called Pete in the first place to ask for the blessing. only after that did he enlist some producers to remake the beat. so again, its on Pete to take that L.

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  5. I do find this whole thing ironic. I also find your taste in beats ironic as well. Just mandate that everyone has to drop albums to producers in the Hypnotized Minds/3 6 Mafia camp and let it go.

    But yeah, some remakes make the song, and some don’t. For every En Vogue’s “Giving Him Something He Can Feel” or Mary J. Blige’s “Be Happy”, there’s garbage. Heck, sometimes people can have better concepts for a beat than an original. Remember, Ras Kass was supposed to release something with the same beat as Jadakiss’ “We Gon’ Make It”, but who remembers that now? And that’s not the only example.

    My point? Can Lupe Live? Though Pete Rock is keeping one eye open like CBS. Catch that? ;)

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  6. The new beat is ass. Pete Rock is right. He is a god in hip hop. He can say whatever the F%@$ he wants. What’s funny is that Lu already killed the original beat years ago. Lu is the same dude that didn’t listen to A Tribe Called Quest before signing up to pay tribute. He’s a really talented dude, but he needs a handler disparately to help guide his career.

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  7. Since the beginning: The worse thing about rap is also the best thing about rap, everydamnbody gets a chance.

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  9. I listened to Lupe’s track and wasn’t feeling it. To me, “T.R.O.Y.” is one of the classics and I’d love to see it (or a portion of the beat) remade. Lupe missed the mark though.

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  10. it could have been soulja boy or lil wayne making it….I Love Lupe…I LOVE PETE ROCK/CL Smooth, but i rather lupe make an attempt at it than some of these other rappers out here…the message is positive, the beat is still hot, it was hot on TROY, it was hot on tom scott which is why it was sampled in the first place…just my opinion

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    • i dont get that.
      i mean im sorry Lupe has not proven that he can make a dope song
      so he doesnt get a pass on the attempt
      in the grand scheme of thing lupe is a mediocre artist. id rather no mediocre rappers attempt to remake classics.
      regardless of “potential”

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    • Lupe doesnt get a pass b/c of who he is. crap is crap. and Lupe is no different than many other artists in chasing mainstream success either.

      honestly…and i TRULY mean this…i’d rather hear somebody like Lil Wayne on a remake. why? b/c Lil wayne has proven that on certain tracks for certain artists, he will rise to the occasion. he respects hiphop. i firmly believe that.

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