Marvin Gaye

Album: Yasiin Gaye: The Return (Side Two)

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Yasiin Gaye - The Return (Side Two)

I can’t tell you how excited I’ve been for the second half of Amerigo Gazaway‘s magical blend of Marvin Gaye and Yasiin Bey. This project is a must, along with the first half, and if you grab a free download it comes with a pdf, including liner notes going into some detail behind each song. Enjoy.

I wanted to build this side from more of Marvin’s original production work. He was doing a lot of what we do now, in terms of looping and pulling samples from other pre-recorded sessions decades before hip-hop made it common practice to do so. This also gave me the room to feature other artist [Chuck Berry, The Temptations, Talib, etc.] and re-present those classic Mos [Def] versus in a new context.

Yasiin Gaye – B Stands For Beef

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Yasiin Gaye - B Stands For Beef

After causing quite a stir, and being taken down almost immediately, Yasiin Gaye is making a return. The Amerigo Gazaway constructed collaboration between Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) and the late great Marvin Gaye will soon see the release of the second instalment of the dream project. The first release from The Return is B Stands For Beef, with the vocals from Yasiin‘s What’s Beef? and Marvin‘s soul filled T Stands For Trouble. Enjoy.

This track has a completely different vibe from “Side One”, but that was intended. “Side Two” explores more of the darker and serious themes/aspects of Marvin’s life, and this one in particular addresses his early death. The original sample came from Marvin’s “T Stands For Trouble”. I knew I wanted something more ominous and suspenseful when I started working on the track and the Trouble Man soundtrack has plenty of that. I always dug the way that Marvin sample was flipped on Brand Nubian’s “Meaning of the 5%”as well (watch here). I then added sound-bites from news-clips at the beginning and end to help build the narrative surrounding Marvin’s death. There are some clips from Mr. T (from the Trouble Man movie) in there as well. I feel like a there are lot of people out there, particularly in the younger generation, who still don’t know how Marvin died. I see this as a way to not only pay tribute but to educate people through the music as well. – Amerigo Gazaway

Yasiin Gaye – The Departure (Side One)

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Yasiin Gaye - The Departure (Side One)

UPDATE: Apparently this album has already received a takedown notice from the Recording Industry Association of America. Sit tight and prepare yourself to get Side Two before it get’s taken down as well (Side One will still be floating around the internet for you).

If you’re a fan of Mos Def, Yasiin Bey or Marvin Gaye then this is for you. Amerigo Gazaway, the man behind albums like Fela Soul (mixing Fela Kuti and De La Soul with excellent results) has kicked off a new series. Soul Mates, will see Amerigo constructing collaborations that never were; with Yasiin Gaye being the first instalment. As the title suggests he is working his magic to bring together the musical genius of the Marvin Gaye and Yasiin Bey. People have been attempting these ‘mashup’ albums since DJ Dangermouse put together his Grey Album, but often they fail or produce one or two decent songs; Amerigo manages to bring the two greats together in a project that plays far more like an album than your regular mashup, and for that I thank him. Enjoy.