Friday, December 19, 2008

Who Flipped It Better: Timbaland Vs. Cat Power



It seems like everytime I do one of these posts, it always turns out to be my favorite to date. This episode of Who Flipped It Better is no different since it pits Timbaland against Cat Power. Seems like an unlikely match but yet they both have used the same, though common, sample.

Let's go back to the year 2002 when Missy Elliott released her critically acclaimed and most cohesive record to date Under Construction. From start the finish the album was just the right length, filled with the perfect songs that showed the skills of both Missy and Timbo and introduced the throwback 80s flow that Missy still uses today. The album was also very sample heavy. Take for example, track #6 Missy's "Funky Fresh Dressed." Dope track, sick flow, and she added a couple ill verses from Ms. Jade with the Timbo beat change which we will be looking at today:


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Now let's look 4 years before Under Construction in 1998 when an artist named Cat Power was recording her incredible 4th album Moon Pix across the world, in Melbourne, Australia. With the lunar theme in mind, Cat Power and her teams wrote 1/2 the album in just one night. One track that caught my attention when I heard it was the haunting "American Flag"


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So you should know the sample, it's an easy one, but the question is Who Flipped It Better?

Sure I could have compared the Tim track to many tracks out there who've used this sample but I thought I'd mix it up and go for two polar opposite artists. If you've been sleeping on Cat Power up to this point definitely check her out, she's amazing!!

7 comments :

  1. I'm going to have to go with Timb on this track. Cat Power is tight no doubt but the sample doesn't really seem to fit at a slow tempo. I would have liked to hear her sing over the sample at a faster tempo.

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  2. I'd never heard the Cat Power song before this, but I'm gonna go with hers. I might argue that Tim didn't even really flip the sample--I think they used the beat as an homage to the original, and classic hip hop in general, but Tim didn't take the sample anywhere. But the Cat Power song takes the sample and builds something very interesting with it. A good pick, J Boogie....

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  3. Both tracks are dope in my opinion

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  4. its crazy when timbo flips a sample. u would neva think of timbaland flippin a sample becuase hes got a fuckin arsenal of sounds in his lil vault. but dats what the best do. its easy to make a beat from a keyboard its hard to take something already created and turn it into sumptin else

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  5. " its easy to make a beat from a keyboard its hard to take something already created and turn it into sumptin else"

    Oh my God... are you serious? Wow...

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