Mystikal's vocal style can be a little grating (a cross between Busta Rhymes and Tom Waits?), which kept "Bouncin' Back" out of the DOTY Top 5 but he's got loads of personality; when his rhymes fail him, you can be sure that some sort of grunt or growl will be there to pick him up. He also benefited early on from some ingenious production by The Neptunes. As far as we can tell, they managed to recreate a perfect sweaty 60's soul/rock vibe without the use of any James Brown samples (or any samples at all), so they get this really eccentric-sounding version of golden era hip hop, which of course relied heavily on James Brown-esque samples.
The squealing trumpets that fade in and out sound like something Public Enemy or DJ Premier would have used. The snycopated horn melody in the chorus sounds like something from Eric B. & Rakim. And we're not the types of dudes who think live drums are better than drum machines, far from it in fact, but the one real benefit of live instrumentation here is the cool, snare mini-fill that precedes each chorus, right when Mystikal barks, "You keep". It really sets up your anticipation for the chorus and helps stands out from the rest of the song.
No comments:
Post a Comment