Category Archives: Pop

THE SALAAM REMI COLLECTION

Posted on November 2, 2009 | 26 comments

Today, Salaam Remi is the guy who flies down to St. Lucia to work with Amy Winehouse; he’s the guy who executive produced the Sex & The City soundtrack, for god’s sake. But in the early ’90s, he first made his name as the man to see if you wanted to fuse hip-hop with reggae. In fact, his work with Bobby Konders on Super Cat‘s “Ghetto Red Hot (Remix)” arguably kick-started NYC’s whole obsession with rap/dancehall fusion.

The son of studio musician and producer Van Gibbs, Remi started out playing keys on Kurtis Blow records in the mid-’80s. After stints co-producing records with Konders, Marley Marl and Funkmaster Flex, he gave The Fugees their first hit record (“Nappy Heads (Remix)”), and crossed over to the mainstream with his massive reggae-pop hit “Here Comes The Hotstepper” by Ini Kamoze. In the last decade, he’s continued his mainstream success as both Nas and Amy Winehouse’s most reliable production partner—he’s produced so many records I love, I had a hard time narrowing this one down. I compiled 35 of my favorite Salaam Remi-related songs for one of this week’s Uggh…Nice Watch releases…

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TRACKLIST + DOWNLOAD LINK!!

26 Comments

Posted in Pop, Rap, Reggae, Uggh...Presents

THE TREVOR HORN COLLECTION

Posted on November 2, 2009 | 8 comments

It’s hard to say exactly what kind of music Trevor Horn makes. This British genius is widely acknowledged in his home country as one of the greatest pop producers of all time, but in the states, his amazingly diverse discography is largely overlooked. Using a fearless mix of synthesizers, samples and live instrumentation, Horn made it clear that he was playing by his own rules as the driving force behind both Art Of Noise and The Buggles in the late ’70s. And his early-’80s work on Malcolm McLauren’s Duck Rock—including the seminal track “Buffalo Gals”—still stands as some of the most instantly-recognizable (and most sampled) beats in hip-hop history.

But aside from his more experimental work, Trevor kept winning throughout the ’80s by bringing his innovative touches to a string of mainstream hits from acts like Yes, Pet Shop Boys, Grace Jones, and Frankie Goes To Hollywood. In the ’90s, he reinvented himself as the man behind Seal (he’s written and produced practically every song the singer has ever recorded), and since then he’s been staying busy with an unpredictible slate of work, from faux-lesbian teens t.A.T.u. to indie rockers Belle & Sebastian. I compiled 25 of my favorite Trevor Horn-related tracks for one of this week’s Uggh…Nice Watch releases…

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TRACKLIST + DOWNLOAD LINK!!

8 Comments

Posted in Electro, Pop, Uggh...Presents

THE CLIVILLÉS + COLE COLLECTION

Posted on November 2, 2009 | 4 comments

Anyone who came up in the early ’90s probably still has the ubiquitous order stuck in their head: “EVERYBODY DANCE NOW!” But there’s much more to C+C Music Factory than one-hit-wonder status—David Cole and Robert Clivillés, the masterminds behind the group, are in fact one of the dopest production duos of all time. Starting in the late ’80s with a house crew called 2 Puerto Ricans, A Black Man And A Dominican, Clivillés and Cole churned out a steady stream of hits that fused the NYC club music they loved with pop music. After early crossover success with freestyle-infused girl group Seduction, their stock as mainstream songwriters grew, leading to high-profile work with Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. In fact, before Mariah discovered hip-hop, it was her house-driven collaborations with David Cole (“Emotions,” “Make It Happen”) that defined her sound. Sadly, Cole suffered from spinal meningitis, and he passed away in early 1995 at the peak of the group’s power. I put together 25 of my favorite C+C-related productions for a new Uggh…Nice Watch compilation…