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Electronic music gets a shitty rep sometimes. When you use words like “DJ” or “dance music,” people expect raves, ecstasy, poundingly simple music and a lot of neon. Now, nothing against all that, but it’s very rarely my style. Paisley > Neon. Where a good portion of the electronic music scene slants heavily towards the fun, party music that so many people associate with it, there’s a lot more going on under the surface. At times, these productions sound less like a rave and more like a hip-hop beat.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been listening to something and thought, “man, [rapper’s name] would really kill this track.” Confusion and I came up with list of experimental producers and paired them up with a rapper we thought could do some serious damage over a particular track. Listen to the beats, close your eyes, and use your imagination. Here are some collaborations that, in our heads, sound like pure gold.
Common x Star Slinger
Duo Name: Lonnie and The Astronomy
Common has a commanding voice. He really should be able to carry any track that comes his way, and he seems to anchor any track he really takes control of. However, whenever he’s tried to experiment with anyone outside his comfort zone (most notably with Pharrell on U.M.C.), the results have been abysmal. Finding a more experimental producer for Common was not something we set out to do. We’d be fine hearing him over Dilla and old-school Kanye until the end of time. However, listening to some of Star Slinger’s tracks, The Chicago MC couldn’t help but be brought to mind, with the warm soul samples and enough pizzazz to the percussion to make the beat really pop out over anything in hip-hop right now.
Caribou – “Pelican Narrows”
