Throwback Raps: Black Mikey – Exorcism b/w Somthin 2 Bump 2
Black Mikey “Exorcism”
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Black Mikey “Somthin 2 Bump 2″
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Alright, I’m back from a short break. Time to do some homework.
Black Mikey mentioned this in both part 1 and part 2 of our interview with him. It’s the first piece of music he ever put out, back in 1996, which is crazy when you think (1) about the fact that he’d been rapping on at least a semi-professional level since he hooked up with Gangsta Ern in the earlier part of that decade and took years to release a song; and (2) about how it hard it seems to have been to actually release music back then, in comparison to today when any kid with Fruity Loops, a Macbook, and a mic can “release” his/her music to any and everyone in the world in a matter of minutes. Ayo technology!
But back to the point. “Exorcism” was Black Mikey’s first single, courtesy of A.F.T.E.R. LIPHE Entertainment. The single and its B-side, “Somthin 2 Bump 2,” both come in three different versions, and no, I’m not talking about the instrumental track and the vocal track to each. “Exorcism” comes with the original and also two different remixes. The original is pretty standard, bouncy boom-bap, really just some drums and a stiff bassline punctuated by wheezing horns and something like a kazoo during the hook. The first remix sounds more like something you’d name “Exorcism” with paranoid sheets of sound that cover the track like a thick night fog on a cemetery. The last version, subtitled “Lodi Do Di Da,” is like a layering of the first two versions, at once bouncier, more uptempo and also more urgent, more paranoid. It even comes with a new vocal take from Black Mikey, who eats up rappers like the horror of Amityville and spiritually possesses the crowd to jump up and down to this song. All three versions are produced by E-Low and Shysti.
“Somthin 2 Bump 2″ comes with the original, a remix, and a third version that keeps the original beat but lays down wholly different verses that re-envisions the song as “Somthin 2 Grind 2.” The original (produced by Wicked Ass T) is a laid-back, smooth groove with a little bit of that 90′s RnB-tinged gangsta lean in it. The remix (produced by Prophet) is entirely more boom-bap in approach, with harder drums, harder bass, these cold piano plinks, and a flute sample that dares you to look around the corner so it can jump you. On “Somthin 2 Grind 2,” Black Mikey takes a break from beating the shit out of rappers to spit game and beat up on pussy, which is obviously a good call.
You only get to the hear the originals of each song today but I highly encourage you to cop the full CD single (now THAT’S old school), which is practically a steal at Access Hip-Hop for $3.95.
Reading be fun though:
