Boomshots

Tag: The Don

  • HEAR THIS: Super Cat “Ever Ready”

    HEAR THIS: Super Cat “Ever Ready”

    In Comes A Classical Wild Apache Selection Produced By Jah Thomas

    A few years ago the Boomshots massive bucked up Jah Thomas chilling backstage at Reggae Sumfest 2012. The foundation reggae DJ and pioneering producer said he was the “happiest man on the planet” because his production, “Dance in New York” by Super Cat, had recently been sampled by Salaam Remi for the hit Nas tune “The Don.” [Check the full story behind the making of that song HERE.] During the interview Jah Thomas casually mentioned that he still had some unreleased Super Cat joints on tape. This came as a revelation to Wild Apache fans who haven’t a new Cat tune since 19-how-long… Well, good news: one of those 1984 Midnight Rock masterworks has now surfaced on the Internet. Give thanks & praise. Audio & Video After The Jump… (more…)

  • HEAR THIS: Mr. Easy “The Don”

    HEAR THIS: Mr. Easy “The Don”

    Big Bad Musical Selection Straight Outta Ricky Blaze Basement

    Mr Easy has always been that dude who was “Easy like Sunday morning” but beneath the surface he’s killing shit. This is a guy who won back-to-back episodese of “Showtime at the Apollo” singing “On The Wings of Love” inna dancehall style. This is a dude who grew up in Trelawney knowing a young Biggie Smalls, and went to the church where Biggie’s uncle was a pastor! And of course his BK dancehall credentials are impeccable—not to mention his work for Dave and Tony Kelly. But recently he’s been getting busy in Ricky Blaze’s basement studio, cutting tracks like this. No wonder the gal dem a call him “don.”  Audio After The Jump…

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  • INTERVIEW: Jah Thomas Speaks on Super Cat & Nas “The Don”

    Reasoning With A Dancehall Legend
    Besides being a crucial entertainer with the mic in his hand, Jah Thomas was one of the first dancehall DJs to take control of his own destiny as a businessman. His “Midnight Rock” label did not just release certified boomshots like his own “Shoulder Move” and “Friday Night Jamboree,” he also released the work of fellow artists like a young Super Cat. Cat’s Midnight Rock release “Dance Inna New York” became a big sensation when it was sampled to create Nas’s Salaam Remi-produced banger “The Don.” Backstage at this year’s Reggae Sumfest, we were fortunate enough to bump into Papa Thomas and a legendary interview ensued. He said that proceeds from the Nas sample has changed the color on his house, and that he recently discovered an unreleased Super Cat song called “Ever Ready.” (We’re more than ready to hear that.) Props to Snowcone for making the introduction. Video after the jump…

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  • Salaam Remi on the Making Of Nas’ “The Don”

    The Ace Producer Tells How A Super Cat Classic Evolved Into A Hip-Hop Banger

    Ever since Nas dropped “The Don,” he’s had the streets on fire. We knew it was a Salaam Remi production, based on a classic Super Cat sample, and “Heavy D gave this beat to Salaam for me to rap on.” But the details surrounding the creation of this modern-day classic have remained murky until now. As part of their big Nas cover story, Complex scribe Rob Marriott spoke with Remi about the making of “The Don.” Read on to learn the half that’s never been told…

    Salaam Remi: We were talking about reggae stuff, and Hev was like, “Yo, here’s this Cat record, ‘Dance Inna New York.’ You ever heard it?” I’m like, “Nah.” He’s like, “Yo, I’ve never heard it before either. I’m going to send it to you. If you could find some way to flip this, I’m telling you, it would be crazy.” (more…)

  • HEAR THIS: Nas “The Don”

    Heavy D Flips a Classic Super Cat Sample, Salaam Remi Tees It Up and Nastradamus Spits Fire

    It’s well known that Salaam Remi and Nas have a very special creative chemistry—as seen when the producer and MC collaborated on classics like “Made U Look.” What’s less well known is that both are big reggae fans. The track was actually built by the late great Heavy D, whose collabos with Super Cat are well known. Hev passed the track to Remi—who  produced Spragga Benz’s epic Shotta Culture album. Nas of course collaborated with Damian Marley on the album Distant Relatives, so Remi felt it was only right to put him on the record. During the Distant Relatives promo run, Nas spoke about his early reggae and dancehall musical menu: “It was the 80s,” he recalled. ‘Who was the dudes? Pass the Dutchie Pon the Left.’ [Musical Youth] It was a lot of old-school cuts. You had Yellowman, of course Bob Marley, Peter Tosh. A lot of the early dudes. We listened to everything. Shabba Ranks, all a that. I was Supercatted-up… I studied the battles with Supercat and Ninjaman.” Now Nas and Remi have brought their mututal interests together on this blazing new cut called “The Don.” Remi’s track is built around a sample from a rare Super Cat single “Dance Inna New York.” Nas’s rap is built on Henny, blunts, and sheer genius. (more…)