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Nas – “Cherry Wine” (feat. Amy Winehouse) (Video)

Pizzo — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 10:58:38 +0000

Nas’ fourth single from Life Is Good is his excellent collaboration with Amy Winehouse, “Cherry Wine”. Playing a bartender in the clip, Nas views posthumous footage of the late Ms. Winehouse performing the track.

Nas – “Life Is Good” Snippets

Pizzo — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 15:15:28 +0000

Nas’ next LP hits July 17th. Check out 30 second snippets of the whole thing right here.

Salaam Remi Says Nas’ “Life Is Good” Is Comparable To “The Score” and “Back To Black”

Pizzo — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 12:52:48 +0000

Nas speaks on his July release Life Is Good, explaining that it is a “complete piece of work”. He reveals that producer Salaam Remi compares the album to both Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black and The Fugees The Score, both of which he had a hand in producing.

?uestlove Speaks On Amy Winehouse’s Deep Jazz Crates

Pizzo — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:24:10 +0000

Before Amy Winehouse died, she wanted to start a “supergroup” that included Questlove of The Roots. The drummer says he misses the British singer, who he calls his “Skype buddy” and teacher of jazz music.

Amy Winehouse – "Lioness: Hidden Treasures" – @@@@

Pizzo — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:05:28 +0000

Let’s face it, posthumous albums usually suck. Reason being, the estate and/or record label gathers up all of the leftover material from said deceased artist, slaps some fonts on an old press photo, and tries to pass it off as an album. Even worse are the remixes, which attempt to “update” the artists’ sound for today’s audience, usually utilizing Bruce Hornsby samples or something. All in all, it’s usually a bad deal.

In the case of Amy Winehouse, she released one of the greatest vocal albums of all time with the now classic Back To Black, and then struggled to finish a follow-up. It was a Motown throwback LP that delved into dark territory, revolving around how drugs and alcohol effected her relationships and shaped the world around her. While her life imitated her art on the world stage, ultimately leading to her demise, Back To Black was an integral LP that many people could relate to, even if not to the level of Amy’s real world extremes.

Lioness: Hidden Treasures is a compilation of alternate versions and unreleased tracks, but one that plays like an album. Featuring the unified sound of producers Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson, Lioness isn’t quite as topical as Back To Black, but is put together perfectly in her absence.

There are a number of familiar moments here, such as alternate versions of “Tears Dry On Their Own”, “Valerie”, and “Wake Up Alone”, all of which sound completely different and “new”, in comparison to their previously released counterparts. She also covers Frank Sinatra’s “The Girl From Ipanema”, in perhaps the album’s lone weak moment.

We do get glimpses of the depression that Amy was so good at channeling into bittersweet songs, such as on the doo-woppy “Between The Cheats”, the dysfunctional “Best Friends, Right”, and the post-one-night-stand anthem, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”, her last recorded track. The album also includes two gorgeous duets, “Like Smoke” with Nas, and “Body & Soul” with Tony Bennett. Both show her range as a collaborator and are great for different reasons.

It’s clear that a lot of care was taken in the creation of this project. Reportedly compiled by Remi and Ronson from “thousands of hours” of unreleased vocals, Lioness really defines Amy’s talents, as her scraps are better than most people’s entire catalogs. Sure, it’s not Back To Black 2 – nor is it intended to be – but surprisingly, it plays beautifully throughout, as if it was her third LP. If only we could have heard what she actually intended for us.

Nas Remembering Amy Winehouse

Pizzo — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:02:17 +0000

Nas Remembering Amy Winehouse from #rememberingamy on Vimeo.

Nas speaks on recording with Amy Winehouse, which sees the light of day on her just released Lioness: Hidden Treasures LP.

Amy Winehouse – "Like Smoke" (feat. Nas)

Pizzo — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 21:16:16 +0000

From Amy’s Lioness: Hidden Treasures coming soon.

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Posthumous Amy Winehouse LP, "Lioness", To Feature Nas, Salaam Remi, Mark Ronson

Pizzo — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:45:48 +0000

Amy Winehouse’s long-awaited follow-up to Back To Black will take shape in the form of Lioness: Hidden Treasures. A collection of new, previously unreleased tracks, and alternate versions, the album will feature production from usual collaborators Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson, as well as a guest spot from Nas called “Like Smoke”. We’ll also be treated to alternate versions of each “Tears Dry On Their Own”, “Valerie”, and “Wake Up Alone”, some cover tracks, and a duet with Tony Bennet, “Body & Soul”. The 12 song collection is due December 5th, and proceeds will go to the Amy Winehouse Foundation.

01. Our Day Will Come (Ruby & The Romantics cover)
02. Between The Cheats
03. Tears Dry On Their Own (Alternate)
04. Wake Up Alone (Alternate)
05. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow (The Shirelles cover)
06. Valerie (Alternate)
07. Like Smoke (feat. Nas)
08. The Girl From Ipanema
09. Halftime
10. Best Friends
11. Body & Soul (feat. Tony Bennett)
12. A Song For You (Donny Hathaway cover)

Nas On Amy Winehouse, Detox (Video)

Pizzo — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 15:42:28 +0000

Amy Winehouse – "Tears Dry On Their Own (Organized Noize Dungeon Family Remix)"

Pizzo — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 23:04:19 +0000

Big Boi Soundclouded this remix for Amy’s “Tears Dry On Their Own”, which never was approved or released by the label.

Talib Kweli Speaks On Amy Winehouse Passing (Video)

Pizzo — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 21:24:10 +0000

Talib Kweli Speaks On The Passing Of Amy Winehouse from HipHopSite.Com on Vimeo.

In part one of our interview with Talib Kweli, he speaks on the tragic death of Amy Winehouse.

R.I.P. Amy Winehouse

Pizzo — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 13:15:32 +0000

27-year old UK singer Amy Winehouse was found dead in her London apartment this morning (June 23rd), according to reports. The cause of death is currently “unexplained”, according to a press release from the Metropolitan police that read: “Police were called by London Ambulance Service to an address in Camden Square NW1 shortly before 16.05 hours today, Saturday 23 July, following reports of a woman found deceased. On arrival officers found the body of a 27-year-old female who was pronounced dead at the scene. Inquiries continue into the circumstances of death. At this early stage it is being treated as unexplained.”

Winehouse struggled with drug and alcohol addiction throughout her career, as well as with her tabloid relationship with former video-production assistant Blake Fielder-Civil. Her problems with drugs found her in-and-out of rehab, leading to public meltdowns, violent outbursts, and most recently the cancellation of her European tour, after she was an hour late at the first performance, forgetting her lyrics, dropping the mic and walking off stage mid-set.

Despite Amy’s Twitter rant blasting Mark Ronson last September, the following message today was delivered by the Back To Black producer, “she was my musical soulmate & like a sister to me. this is one of the saddest days of my life.”

?uestlove, Amy Winehouse, Raphael Saadiq Form Super-Group

Pizzo — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 11:57:53 +0000

Long before Amy Winehouse became a walking tabloid, the hardest working man in show-business, ?uestlove, was singing her praises, turning a whole generation of hip-hoppers on to her unique, soulful sound. In a recent article published in the U.K.’s Sun, ?uesto and Winehouse will join Raphael Saadiq for an as of yet unnamed supergroup project.

“The group will definitely happen,” he told the publication. “It’s just the closest she can come to the States is Jamaica. I’m off to France soon so I’ll see if she’s up for discussing it over dinner. We’re Skype-ing the s*** out of each other.”

Amy Winehouse – "Frank" – @@@@

Ryan Harrison — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 01:52:46 +0000

Who exactly is Amy Winehouse? Is she the reincarnation of so many Jazz and R&B/Soul legends to whom she is so often compared to like Sarah Vaughn, Billie Holiday, and Lauren Hill? Or is she nothing more than a product of over sensationalized marketing techniques and tabloid scandals? With the belated U.S. release of her brilliant debut album Frank, Winehouse disproves both theories by not only showing she is worth the hype but that she is also a creative songwriter and vocalist in her own right.

What makes Frank so ingenious is how the album could be interpreted. It is said that this album was named after and inspired by the Chairman of the Board himself, which could be seen through the excellent fusion of hip-hop and jazz/lounge music. It is as if while listening to the LP you could get a sense of being in a hybrid time warp where you are at the Sands Casino in the early 1960s, sitting in the front row of the smoke-filled room tapping your shell toes or ACGs to the beat. But the title could have some other meaning, one being that Frank is a metaphor for a specific man or men in general. For instance, on the song “Take the Box,” Winehouse arrives at her boyfriend’s apartment to give back all the prized possessions he had given her so that she would not be reminded of the relationship that went wrong, or on “Amy, Amy, Amy” where our heroine finds herself unable to control her attractions to an unnamed gentleman.

But even deeper, this album through its superb songwriting is maybe a metaphoric description of the straightforward and honest approach in her lyrics. Take for example the lead track “Stronger Than Me,” where Winehouse tells her boyfriend to be less sensitive and be more of a man as exemplified in lines like, “Always want to talk it through/I’m okay/Always have to comfort you/Everyday/But that’s what I need you to do/Are you gay…” Another example is on the Salaam Remi produced “Made You Look” sampled “In My Bed.” Here, the artist discusses the dwindling flame of a relationship that is nothing more than sex, “The only time I hold your hand is to get the angle right…” But the best example is on “I Heard Love Is Blind” where Winehouse is so honest in her rationale for cheating that the listener is not amused by the notion of her actions, but sympathetic to her reasoning at the same time.

To be honest, there is not one bad song on this album, but there are some misguided elements present. One is the track “Fuck Me Pumps,” a terrific song that brilliantly depicts a woman in her late twenties still trying to hang in the social scene all the while battling her insecurities. The problem is that this song does not mesh well with the scheme of the album by that it does not coincide with the predominant subject matter of relationships, attraction, and heartache. Also, the song “Cherry” comes off as a demo track due to its dated sound and recording. But these miscalculations should not ruin the view of this album. In culinary terms, Frank is a prime cut that just needs to be trimmed of the little fat it has. – Ryan Harrison

Amy Winehouse – Back to Black

Pizzo — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 07:00:00 +0000

Amy Winehouse isn’t a hip-hop artist, but she comes from the hip-hop generation, and it shows in her music. Whether drowning her sorrows out in liquor over missing the Slick Rick gig (“Me and Mr Jones”), or enlisting Ghostface to rhyme on her “You Know I’m No Good” single, Amy Winehouse takes this rap shit serious, so to speak. With tastemakers like ?uestlove and DJ Jazzy Jeff championing her album, esteemed hip-hop producers Salaam Remi (Fugees) and Mark Ronson producing it, and NYC deep funk all-star Neal Sugarman of The Dap-Kings playing on it, Back To Black definitely has all the right names attached to it. But what exactly is it?

In a nutshell, Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black is a modern tribute to 60′s soul, with a tinge of dancehall influence. It’s almost what Lauryn Hill attempted to accomplish with her single “Doo Wop”, but mixed with unabashed real talk. Winehouse doesn’t beat around the bush – she tells it like it is. However it’s done in such a subtle manner, with its retro sound accomplished perfectly, you barely notice that she is singing about her bad habits, like infidelity and alcoholism. Sure, she may not have a lot of class – constantly showing up in the British press for spats of public drunkenness and unruly behavior – however the honesty of her music explains why.

The title, Back To Black refers to her heavy, alcohol induced depression, with each song peeling away like layers of her personality like an onion. Like Portishead before her, Winehouse’s misery makes for incredibly interesting subject matter; such that listeners finding themselves in similar predicaments will relate. She almost makes a joke of her condition on the upbeat, catchy first single, “Rehab”, suggesting that she’ll be just fine as long as she’s got the company of a bottle with some Ray Charles and Donnie Hathaway records. The title track, “Back To Black”, instead shows the real side of her condition, suggesting that while her man will go back to his ex, she will go back to a state of blackness, or void.

Songs about tainted lovers or broken relationships also stem from her bad behavior, such as on “You Know I’m No Good”, (included here with regular and Ghostface remix versions), which bangs with snapping funk drums and the quacking sax of Neal Sugarman. Here, she recounts a tale of being caught cheating by her man through, uh, carpet burns. “Love Is A Losing Game” finds Ms. Winehouse at rock bottom, in another bittersweet ballad, but the sun comes out shining on “Tears Dry On Their Own”, which interpolates a piece of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”.

Aside from having a collection of great songs with highly addictive content, what really puts this album over the top is the production. Producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi – both best known for their contributions to hip-hop music – have flawlessly recreated the sound of yesteryear. Given the parties involved, it’s done in such a way, that your first thought is to assume it was all sampled. Samples do in fact appear on two songs (“Tears Dry On Their Own” and “He Can Only Hold Her”), but amazingly enough most all of the music is played live. The two producers tapped over forty musicians for the record – including Winehouse herself, to emulate the classic doo-wop soul sound.

But this is nothing new – we’ve had throwback groups like Breakestra and Poets of Rhythm for a while now, but Amy Winehouse lends a persona to the sound. The songs are about her, making them as interesting sonically, as they are lyrically. Bottoms up.