Netherfriends and Blake Rules are Hip Hop artists who are NOT scared to deliver something different. Prolific beat makers, rappers and producers, nearly every month there is a new release by this dynamic duo. But does quantity affect quality? Here we are with one the duos more daring releases entitled Beatles Shit; a record made up exclusively of Beatles samples
Imagine making one of the most expensive records of all time? That's exactly what Netherfriends and Blake Rules have achieved with the release of Beatles Shit. We're certain if they paid for the rights, they'd be long out of pocket by now. But what an interesting idea though, to sample exclusively Beatles tracks on one album. Let alone that album being a Hip Hop record. Question is, does it work?
Quite simply. Yes. And sometimes, though not very often, no. Listening through Beatles Shit you excitedly skip through track after track waiting to listen to the new sampled versions of your Beatles favourites. They're all there, in some form or other. The second question is, do the samples work? By that we mean, do they sound good in their own right and do they also do the original justice? Truth is, so much works on this record, it's scary. The first three tracks I Hate Your Boyfriend, King Of Logon Square, and Half Of What I Say Is Meaningless are just superb. Especially the last one. They work so naturally in looped samples, and credit to Blake Rules, the lyricism freshens up and enhances something that you've known for so long. The list goes on and on. Oregon Trails, Cat Girls, Girls, each an example of how something as well-known as a Beatles track can be re-born. The humour is great, the lyrics are well though-out, move over Childish Gambino. But a word of caution. Not everything works. Some Beatles songs were just meant to be left alone, or at least, with such short loops they don't quite hit the mark. Girls Girls Girls, for example, is better left as Twist And Shout. Vegan Burgers is better as Hey Jude. Not enough has been added here. But this happens so rarely on the album, it can only be regarded as a success in our opinion. That's why we spoke to one half of the duo, Netherfriends, to find out his view on the release of Beatles Shit. Read the interview below...
Hi Shawn AKA Netherfriends. Out of all of your records, how did the idea for Beatles Shit come about?
Blake Rules and I used to live in Chicago and we came up with the idea of making the most expensive album every by sampling the Beatles. It took 2 years to make the album because we both moved to Texas at different times. Converting perhaps the world's most famous group into a Hip Hop venture. Quite daring, isn't it? Ringo is the og hip hop drummer so I don't think it's that daring! For you then, which Beatles track works best in beat form on the record? Blake cut up some loops and sent me the samples which made it real easy to make beats. Like Two of Us or Girl.
What's a live gig like with you? Have you been gigging together with Blake Rules?
I perform everything live using loop pedals, drum pad, and guitar. I don't use a laptop and I go crazy. Blake sometimes makes appearances. We've toured together before. Finally, tell us a little about the 50 songs in 50 states project? In 2010, I went to all 50 states in one year and recorded a song and performed a show in each state. You can check out the 50 song album on Spotify and everywhere else. I wanna do the project again in 2020.
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