common & just blaze: the light '08.

dl: COMMON f/ MARSHA AMBROSIUS - The Light '08 (It's Love) (Smirnoff Signature Mix) (YSI)

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While it may seem lame to blog about corporate MP3 offerings, Smirnoff's latest inclusion in the Smirnoff Signature Mix Series is quite divine. This week, producer Just Blaze (Jay-Z - "Show Me What You Got", Diddy - "Tell Me", Kanye West - "Touch the Sky") teams up with rapper Common and Marsha Ambrosius (formerly of Floetry) for a recreation of Common's 2000 single "The Light". The original version of this song is arguably Common's most commercially successful single, falling short of Top 40 status at #44 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Some regard it as one of hip-hop's classic love songs, an open letter for the whole world to read declaring Common's love for then-girlfriend Erykah Badu.

Eight years later with a new beat and vibe, "The Light" is just as charming. While the feelings for Erykah might not be there anymore, this song still makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Admittedly, part of that warm-fuzzy feeling may rise from the rather emotional piano line paired with the "shoutout to J. Dilla" from Common. Is it bad that I get a little teary every time someone mentions his name?

This is the second offering from Smirnoff's Signature Mix Series, preceded by DJ Premier and KRS-One teaming up to rethink Boogie Down Productions' "Criminal Minded". Next week promises a collaboration between Q-Tip and Cool & Dre, putting a spin on A Tribe Called Quest's "Midnight".

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- BUY IT - SITE IT - SPACE IT - HYPE IT - WIK IT -

q-tip: work it out.

Q-TIP is apparently coming back.

Technically, I guess you could say he never left given his guest appearances on songs by Busta Rhymes, DJ Shadow, Hi-Tek, and R.E.M. since the disbanding of A Tribe Called Quest and his first solo album Amplified.

Due to label politics, two Q-Tip albums Kamaal the Abstract (2002) and Open (2005) were never released. Apparently the tunes weren't "commercial" enough. Now that he's parted ways with Arista and signed to Motown/Universal, it seems like we may finally hear a new album from Mr. Kamaal Ibn John Fareed. The Renaissance is set to be released in October 2007, with the lead single being "Work It Out".

While I don't think "Work It Out" has the commercial appeal that Arista could never find, I ask--- who cares? While I definitely have nothing against mainstream hip-hop production (a la Swizzy), it's really refreshing to hear Q-Tip with a live band. In some ways, I feel like this is how he's meant to be heard. Not to mention that there will be a few more unheard J. Dilla productions on this album.

PS: Word of advice. This track is a grower. Give it about four listens before you dismiss it.

d/l: Q-TIP- Work It Out (YSI)
(new hip-hop)
- buy it - space it - wik it - hype it -

WEBBYVANDERQUACKIN': Speaking of Swizzy, have you heard the new Busta single "Watch Ya Mouth"? It's definitely doesn't have the commercial appeal of "Touch It", but once again--- who cares? Busta sounds great on this one, even if I don't really like him much...hear it at allhiphop.