So smooth. Londoner and trip hop legend Martina Topley-Bird’s new album titled ‘The Blue God’ is around the corner and it’s produced by the man—’round the way New Yorker come UK resident—Danger Mouse of Gray Album, DANGERDOOM & Gnarls Barkley fame. We’re excited. The first tease of the record is ‘Valentine’, a morose and thoughtful song about love.
Martina Topley-Bird, emerged on the world stage in 1995 alongside trip hop artist Tricky, on his debut solo album, ‘Maxinquaye’. Martina Topley-Bird contributed greatly to some of Tricky’s finest tracks throughout the 1990’s (including all but two on ‘Maxinquaye’). A young Martina Topley-Bird was only 15 when she recorded her first song with Tricky, ‘Aftermath’. Her voice speaks of experience well beyond her age, I was properly and delightfully fooled.
Here’s some more favorites from the first pair of Tricky records including a Stereo MCs B-Side remix. And ‘Sandpaper Kisses’ from her 2003 solo debut record ‘Quixotic’:
I knew it was a serious situation when Hype Machine and elbo.ws had no Chill Rob G tracks! Get this man some props already!
Chill Rob G’s career began in his home Jersey City, New Jersey when met the established Mark The 45 King and the pair began recording. At about the same time, the duo helped found Flavor Unit. The material they produced received radio love from DJ Red Alert which peaked the interest of (ill-fated) Wild Pitch Records. Chill Rob G was quickly signed and the first 12″ single, ‘Dope Rhymes’ (b/w ‘Chillin”) was released:
Now here’s where it gets complicated, and I hope that I’m getting the story straight! The second 12″ release made it into the hands of two then-off-the-radar German dance music producers by the name of Snap! who decided to sample (steal?) the lyrics from Chill Rob G’s ‘Let the Words Flow’ (from the single’s a cappella) and put them over their own beat with another R&B sample and call it their own creation titled, ‘The Power’ which became a hit in their native Germany. When the labels of Snap! and Chill Rob G got together they concocted some possibly shady deal whereby Chill Rob G was to record a new verses over the Snap! production for international release of ‘The Power’. But the version Chill Rob G recorded was never pushed or supported, and another version with new vocalists was created. New jack rapper Turbo B. also recorded a version of ‘The Power’ with his new lyrics for the international release, and it was the Turbo B. version that was ultimately used and promoted as Snap!’s official version. This is sad for two reasons, one because Chill Rob G’s version gloriously trumps the official Snap! release, and two, because Turbo B. was just some schmuck the label (Arista in Germany) plucked almost at random to to mimic Chill Rob G’s sound and record without a contract and probably received very little compensation, if any.
Here is the superior Chill Rob G version of ‘The Power’ and the international hit (#1 UK, #2 Ger, #2 US) version with vocals by Turbo B:
Not to say Snap! is bad. ‘The Power’ is a seminal dance track and rather amusing music video—All I’m saying is that it is inferior to Chill Rob G’s version. …And we can’t front on ‘Rhythm is a Dancer’ either. Hah.
‘The Power’ does appear on Chill Rob G’s first LP, ‘Ride the Rhythm’ and did reach the ears of the underground. It was rumored that this discounted dance anthem damaged his street reputation and that is why after his debut album he virtually disappeared (for over a decade), however I disagree. I think his MC reputation was always solid. Chill Rob G cites in this interview that it was primarily stress within his personal life (and hints at frustration with his label, Wild Pitch) that caused his recessing into obscurity at the peak of his career.
Every track on the first album is golden, but here’s a more favoritest favorite:
Here’s another ‘Ride the Rhythm’ favorite titled, ‘Bad Dreams’ and a lovely Trip-Hop cover version of it by Tricky with raps by Martina Topley-Bird from Tricky’s sophomore ‘Pre-Millenium Tension’ album (also another mix appears on Tricky’s debut record ‘Maxinquaye’ titled ‘Black Steel’):
Chill Rob G stayed off the radar until the early 2000s, when he resurfaced, only slightly, to release an underground album in 2000 titled, ‘Black Gold’, which includes truly random tracks from the previous decade. I’m not fond of it, and on the whole, it wasn’t very well received. Even Chill Rob G thinks it isn’t very good, as it was a disjointed collection of scraps with only a bit of really good. He also recorded two tracks with Ninja Tune artist, DSP in 2002 that weren’t too amazing either. That said, here’s the cream from the The Chill One’s return, a 45 King remix off ‘Black Gold’:
Yet, Chill Rob G is on the up and up again, with plans to come back with a full-fledged LP. Here is a recent song he’s done that I snagged off his MySpace. It sounds way more promising and is on heavy rotation at my house. He’s speaking on his life and doing it rather well—and I’m never mad at that. What y’all think?
‘Ride the Rhythm’ is undoubtedly one of the best hip-hop albums ever and from what I can tell, it’s a pretty common opinion. This is essential material, so if you don’t have it in your stacks, you ought get right and find it! Despite being re-issued in 2001, it is now out of print again, but both the original and re-issue can still be purchased from Amazon affiliates. As always, original pressing, 12″ and other rarities can be found on eBay.
Visit Chill Rob G on MySpace. Visit The 45 King at MySpace, too.
