Welcome to THIS edition of GOOD QUESTION, brought to you by THISENT.com! I’m your columnist M.J. Walker.
We’re longtime fans of Red Alert Studios’ award-winning producer/recording artist Sam Rhansum, and with this series we wanted to honor him and his incredible career in the music industry.
During our recent conversation I asked Rhansum THIS GOOD QUESTION: Who are your TOP 5 favorite music producers?
His fifth answer was, “The Neptunes.
Just like the others I gravitate toward, these dudes changed the sound of popular music for years.
At the time they came up, everything was sounding fat and complex. Dirty south was ruling the charts and Crunk was king. I loved it. That’s my home. That’s my history. And Lil Jon should be on my list. But my connection to him and the whole crunk scene is obvious through my Atlanta mentor Billy Hume and his Zone Studios – Lil Jon, Ying Yang, David Banner, Bone Crusher.
That heavy 808, powerful sub, thick techno synths, busy hi-hats and a high-pitched Nord/MicroKorg worm vibe was killing the streets and the clubs. Sonically it was so thick. The complete frequency spectrum was full. On top of that the aggressive chants, stacked gang vocals and attitude. The whole sound, the whole vibe was so heavy.
Then out of nowhere, The Neptunes came with simplicity.
A simple kick drum, tight clap/snare and a hat. The groove opened back up to breathe. They had some hits already before people were speaking their name. ODB “Got Your Money”, Nore’s “Superthug”, and Kellis’ “Caught Out There”. It was so uncomplicated. Almost the same drums on each, chopped guitar/fuzz keys samples used as one-shot hits, but it was this unmistakable fresh air to the scene.
Then Mystikal’s “Shake Ya Ass” hit. And damn. It hit. It was the perfect blend of Crunk and open groove. Dude had the voice and delivery to rock on Lil Jon tracks. His flow was made for Crunk. But on this open groove, simple melodic-chops track he was golden. Pharrells pimp-singing vocals on the hook was just like damn, this is the new shit.
Jay-Z’s “I Just Wanna Love You”, which had Jigga flowing melodic for a surprise, Mystikal’s “Danger”, and the throw them ‘bows anthem “Southern Hospitality” by Luda packed dance floors. Then taking that sound to pop with Britney’s “Slave 4 U” was just natural evolution.
The Neptunes were the go-to kings, and their sound was the sound of the club now. Fabolous’ “Holla Back”, Usher’s “U Don’t Have to Call”, Diddy’s “Diddy”, Nelly’s “Hot in Herre”, Snoop’s “Beautiful”, and Justin Timberlake’s “Rock Your Body” were all playing on the same night. If you were a DJ and you didn’t play these joints, you didn’t know what you were doing.
Clubs survive by packing dancefloors. Dancefloors survive by packing it with ladies. And every one of these was a hold-my-drink jam. Every producer I know was either copying this vibe or studying it because the mindset was the total opposite from the sonic thickening that had been happening beforehand.
They ruled for years and left a legacy of changing the sound of genres with them. That earns mad respect from me.” |THIS.
[By M.J. Walker]
“My five favorite producers is a tough one. I dig every style of music out there and try to find something that moves me in every song I hear. But I do gravitate to those that evolve and create stuff that influences their entire genre. Like, it made such an impact sonically with their style and pallet that what they created became the sound of music for a while. When I get impressed by these types, I study them. I go back and follow their evolution. And I can talk about them like I was there. As much as Hip Hop and music in general is who I am, not just what I do, I’m still just a student and a fan.” – Sam Rhansum
