Upon giving Tip’s new album a listen, this track stood out as one of my personal favorites. The album is dope overall as well… be sure to cop Trouble Man this Tuesday. Also, after the jump is the second episode in his “Countdown” vlog series.
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J. Cole shows off flicks from a studio session with himself, Frank Ocean, and No I.D. in the lab without any word on what exactly the trio is working on. Cole World’s sophomore effort, perhaps? Spotted at DreamVillain.
We all know what Marshall is capable of doing, and we all know what Dion is capable of doing. Imagine if the Windy City producer and Motor City legend can do together…
No I.D. knows a thing or two about producing for rap greats. With a discography which already includes unforgettable tracks with the likes of Common (“I Used to Love H.E.R.”), Jay-Z (“Run This Town”) and Nas (“Daughters”), the Chicago beat wizard and Def Jam executive looks to get in the studio with another primetime hitmaker: Eminem.
“I definitely sat down and spoke with Eminem about working and we agreed to get in the studio and see what we could do,” No I.D. told MTV News on Wednesday in Los Angeles while he attended a G.O.O.D. Music party in the Moet Rosé Lounge at Bagatelle. “He’s one of the best, I want to work with one of the best and try and give some music contributions. I think that would be one of the next steps in that lineage of what I’m trying to do.”
Let’s hope this actually happens, and not wishful thinking like that Nas x DJ Premier album that will come out in 2099.
Helping start the weekend off right, No I.D. just liberated a lost Common joint.
Off Mikkey’s Don Cannon-hosted Castro mixtape out in full next August 13. Shouts to Complex.
While at the ASCAP Rhythm and Soul Music Awards, MTV caught up with the producer/vice-president of Def Jam, who revealed that his former protege plans on dropping a new solo album by year’s end. Let the jibba jabba commence…
PREVIOUS: “Mercy” Goes Platinum
Artwork by Alex Haldi.
Guess the cut couldn’t stay vaulted until its May 1st iTunes date. Credit DJ Prostyle for that. Much better than “Another Black Girl Lost.” Life Is Good, coming July 17th.
Hit the jump for Nas explaining the concept of his new single.
The Chicago-reared producer and Executive Vice President of A&R at Def Jam spoke to Complex about his new job, his contributions to Jay and ‘Ye’s 2011 album and, interestingly enough, the negative impact Nas’ debut album has…
In the 2000s there were a lot of records where you had to get a big name guy for your single or else it didn’t really work out for you.
Yeah. I always joke with Nas and tell him it’s his fault, that Illmatic caused a problem. Before that, when I started doing music, there wasn’t a concept of, “I could work on a Public Enemy album,” or an Ice Cube album, or A Tribe Called Quest, or Gang Starr. It was a closed issue. You didn’t submit a beat to Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth.
When Nas didn’t have a DJ-producer in his set-up, he reached out to some of the better people and they respected him enough to work on it. That was the, “Oh wow. You can work with these guys?” Then you had Puff put together The Hitmen and have success, and I think that’s when it turned into, “Well, using a lot of people might work better.”
READ: No I.D. Talks Def Jam, Kanye West, & How He Affected “Watch The Throne”
The two legendary Chicago beatsmiths are teaming up on a joint album for the first time ever (I did not know they had never worked together on an album until now) for fellow Windy City artist Mikkey Halsted. I’m interested in hearing the end results of this.
No I.D. is unofficially the hardest working man in Chicago, or at least in my eyes. He sat down with the house of Harris and opened up on his history (from Dion Wilson, to Immenslope, to No I.D.), his longstanding relationship with Common, his allegiance to G.O.O.D. Music and much more. A fascinating read, if I say so myself…
His myopic vision would haunt him. He may have passed up the opportunity to work with A-listers, but he did show interest in working with promising Chicago talents, including Kanye West and Infamous Syndicate—a femcee duo that featured Shawnna of Disturbing tha Peace fame. Common, for his part, viewed things differently, which led to tension during the making of 1997’s One Day It’ll All Make Sense.
“I think me and him clashed a lot during that time because my idea of a business was, ‘Let’s start a label and let’s sign all these talented people around us,’ and his idea was, ‘Nah, let’s take this music to another level,’” says No I.D.
Despite guest appearances by a red-hot Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu, ODIAMS moved a paltry 284,310 units. The record’s commercial failure launched a streak of misfortunes for the producer. His two-and-a-half-year marriage fell apart, and he was shut out from Common’s fourth album, Like Water for Chocolate—coincidentally the first gold-selling album of the rapper’s career.
“I was upset,” he admits. “As I start seeing the way the music industry was actually forming and going and I was like, ‘OK, wait a minute, I’m the fool.’ A lot of those years, me and Common weren’t speaking too much. I felt like, I just helped build this thing up, and then as soon as you go and get a real major deal I can’t get a beat? Nothing?”
READ: No I.D.: Rise and Shine
As if the original version of Ghetto Dreams wasn’t enough, FSD liberates yet another alternate version of a track off Common’s The Dreamer, The Believer (which is available now).
With The Dreamer, The Believer dropping on December 20th (pre-orders available now), Com jump starts a new viral series breaking down the album track-by-track. Up first? The No I.D.-produced intro.
PREVIOUS: Common – The Believer f. John Legend (prod. No I.D.)
