(A full video of their stream, which will surely be taken down before the night is over, can be viewed here.) But judging the winners can turn into philosophical debates about music: Are radio hits more important than street anthems? Should we celebrate singular breakout successes or sounds that defined a regional movement? Does a beat count as yours if you had a handful of coproducers? Does presentation matter as much as substance? There are no one-size-fits-all answers, but it’s clear a lot of people want to get in on the discussions, especially as they related to Wednesday’s competitors: Scott Storch and Mannie Fresh dominated Twitter’s trending topics throughout, and their battle drew upward of 200,000 viewers on Instagram at its peak-nearly 10 times as many as Swizz Beatz and Timbaland’s did the week before. These friendly competitions are the perfect antidote to shelter-in-place restlessness: In the absence of live sports, they sate our hunger for competition. (T-Pain dropped out after saying on IG that Scott Storch would “curb stomp” him.) T-Pain, an underrated producer in his own right who was originally slated for the showdown with Storch. Since then, the pair have become the hosts of these unofficial throwdowns, recruiting contemporary superproducers Boi-1da and Hit-Boy, songwriters The-Dream and Sean Garrett, and rappers French Montana and Tory Lanez, among others, to participate. Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, two of the most influential producers of the past 25 years who have sparred in the flesh before, kicked things off on Instagram on March 25. The Mannie-Scott showdown was the latest entry in an emerging online trend of these early days of coronavirus quarantine: live battles, which have typically pitted beatsmiths going track for track, but have expanded to include singers and rappers in the past week. But would you rather win the battle with questionable tactics or win the entire war on the strength of your individual work? The round-and to many, the entire matchup-seemingly went to Storch. He sat at his keyboard with his trademark sunglasses on, replaying his part with a blunt lodged between his right middle and index fingers, as buddies (and one-time clients) like Lil’ Kim, Fat Joe, and 50 Cent cheered him on in the comments. On Wednesday, however, he claimed “Cry Me a River” as his own. Storch is credited for cowriting the song and playing its (admittedly infectious) clavinet line, but at that point in his career, he was best known as the former Roots keyboardist and Dr. In a move that summed up Wednesday’s battle, Storch responded with “Cry Me a River,” the 2002 Justin Timberlake megahit (and top-50 all-time breakup song) produced by Timbaland. That card: a multiplatinum track he isn’t even the credited producer for. “Imma just pull out one of the cards I’m holding right now.” What a great remix, and what a great way to end the year for Crosstown Rebels.“I see you, I see you,” Storch said as soon as Fresh hit the stop button. They take the original version of ‘Shiva’ into darker territory adding a growling bass, flanging percussion and incessant hi-hats as Shiva’s vocals strain above the rolling groove. The Bronx based Martinez Brothers have had some stunning releases on Dennis Ferrer’s ‘Objectivity’ label in recent years and are now highly in demand, and by the quality of this remix it’s easy to see why. ![]() On the flip and The Martinez Brothers remix Fosky’s ‘Shiva’, which originally appeared on Damian Lazarus’s Get Lost 4 album this September. ![]() Next up is the great ‘Jealous Guy’ by Guti, a great low slung sub-aquatic house track, a great combination of pot & pan percussion, eerie keys and outer-worldly vocals hang perfectly together strung up along the shimmying rhythm. Play this loud and witness the devastation it causes in a club. Clever use of percussion, huge timbales, muted horns and that throbbing subsonic bassline push the track forward as the soaring soul-drenched vocal pierce the omnipresent bass. Working together on the A Side ‘Step’ title track they have created something quite special indeed.Ī simple snare introduction with sampled vocal gives way to rib rattling percussion, a low slung Hammond, casual bongos and then the most monstrous bass you’ve ever heard this side of Dusseldorf explodes out of the track and headlong into the stratosphere. It’s simply outstanding!Īfter Guti & Dushape’s huge ‘Every Cow Has A Bird’ release last year on Crosstown and after his great ‘Patio De Juegos’ debut album on Desolat, he now teams up with long-term friend Fosky on this great EP. The ‘Step EP’ is something special for Christmas, which you’ll be playing all through next year. Last release of the year for Crosstown and what a year it’s been and what a release to close the year with! Guti returns to the fold alongside Fosky, armed with a Martinez Brothers Remix.
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