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J-Swift is a Spanish music producer responsible for songs with groups on the Delicious Vinyl label. He has produced the hip hop groups The Pharcyde and The Wascals.
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J-Swift is a Spanish music producer responsible for songs with groups on the Delicious Vinyl label. He has produced the hip hop groups The Pharcyde and The Wascals.
J-Swift was born Juan Manuel Martinez-Luis in 1971 in Madrid, Spain. His Afro-Cuban father, Pedro, was a salsa bandleader and multi-instrumentalist. His mother, Dolores, was a native of the Canary Islands. [1] In 1974, the family headed to Los Angeles, California, settling in Inglewood. At age six, J-Swift enrolled in a piano conservatory, quickly proving to be a prodigy. The all-rap radio station KDAY introduced him to hip-hop in the early 1980s, and the first record he ever got was by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.
Around 1988, J-Swift attended Locke High School, where he met his mentor R&B musician Reggie Andrews, producer of Dazz Band's 1982 funk hit "Let It Whip" and collaborator of Rick James. [2] After J-Swift composed three new jack swing-style songs to get his attention, Andrews suggested that he concentrate on writing and producing, and set him up with a recording studio (complete with a then-state-of-the-art Akai MPC60) at South Central Unit (SCU), an after-school program for disadvantaged young talent. This gave J the opportunity to submit songs to A&M Records' Rondor Music publishing, while additional work came via BMI's Cheryl Dickerson. Though much of this early music went unreleased (like an album by Bell Biv DeVoe spin-off STR8-Ahead), J-Swift's official songwriting/producing debut came in 1991 with Keisha Jackson's "Feel You Out."
Around this time J-Swift began making music with a crew of dancers-turned-rappers. With Reggie Andrews' record collection at their disposal, J-Swift and The Pharcyde crafted a three-song demo in '91 and subsequently a hip-hop classic, 1992's Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde. Featuring the hit single Passin' Me By , Pharcyde's debut went certified Gold. Disputes over production and credits caused a rift between J and the group (although they would later reunite on The Pharcyde's "Trust" remix in 2000, not to mention several J-Swift-produced tracks on Fatlip's 2005 solo debut The Loneliest Punk, and Fatlip and Tre Hardson's 2007 holiday song "All I Want for Xmas").
With his own "Fat House Productions" acts Jazzyfatnastees and Quinton, J-Swift signed an ill-fated million dollar deal with Tommy Boy Records in 1993. Another of his groups, The Wascals, dropped several singles including "Class Clown" and "The Dips" in '94, but broke up before releasing their debut. The crew was started by members Alfie and Buckwheed, the latter of which met J-Swift while they were going to high school together. [3] (Wascals' Greatest Hits, completely produced by J-Swift, was finally released by Delicious Vinyl in 2007.) In the mid-'90s, J-Swift lent his signature style to a string of remixes, including Prince's "Letitgo (Sherm Stick Edit)," Massive Attack's "Protection," and Urban Thermo Dynamics' "Manifest Destiny" (featuring a young Mos Def).
J-Swift was the subject of the 2007 documentary film 1 More Hit . [4]
J-Swift recorded new tracks from 2005 through 2010, providing not only the beats but also the rhymes. Featuring soul-baring rap confessionals ("Off My Chest") and tales of perseverance through struggles ("Born To Win Despite Myself") — while still celebrating recreational drug use ("I'll Do Mine") — J-Swift's new project began with an alter ego Negro Kanevil.
In 2006, J-Swift was arrested for possession of narcotics. In 2015, his permanent resident status was stripped and he was deported back to his birth country of Spain. [1]
The Pharcyde is an American alternative hip hop group, formed in 1989, from South Central Los Angeles. The original four members of the group are Imani, Slimkid3, Bootie Brown, and Fatlip. DJ Mark Luv was the group's first disc jockey (DJ), followed by producer J-Swift and then J Dilla. The group is perhaps best known for the hit singles "Drop", "Passin' Me By" and "Runnin'", as well as their first album, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde (1992). The group continues to tour and record, both collaboratively and in solo projects—the most recent being Hardson's collaborative EP with DJ Nu-Mark released in 2014 on Delicious Vinyl.
Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde is the debut album by American hip hop collective The Pharcyde, released on November 24, 1992, through the Delicious Vinyl and EastWest labels. The album was produced by former group member J-Swift, and features only one guest appearance, provided by little-known Los Angeles rapper Bucwheed. In the years after its release, Bizarre Ride has been hailed by music critics and alternative hip hop fans, as a classic hip hop album along with Souls of Mischief's 93 'til Infinity, and has appeared in numerous publications' "best albums" lists.
Anthony Henderson, better known as Krayzie Bone, is an American rapper, singer, producer, and entrepreneur. He is a member of the rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.
Derrick Stewart, known professionally as Fatlip, is a Los Angeles-born hip hop musician. He started his career in the hip hop group The Pharcyde.
Labcabincalifornia is the second album by The Pharcyde, released in 1995, three years after their debut Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde. The album's production was handled by The Pharcyde themselves and Jay Dee, with additional help from Diamond D and M-Walk. The video for the album's first single, "Drop", was directed by Spike Jonze and used footage of the group performing the song backwards, replayed backwards, giving it a surreal quality. The song was a hit, as was the follow-up single "Runnin'," which peaked at #55 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Letitgo" is a song by American musician Prince from his fifteenth studio album, Come (1994). Despite statements that the album consisted entirely of "old" material, "Letitgo" was actually newly composed for the album. The mid-tempo song relies heavily on a drum machine pattern and bass guitar with synthesizers in the refrain. A keyboard and percussion solo appear toward the end. The song is sung in falsetto in unison with another track layered in his regular, lower register. Kathleen Bradford provides backing vocals, while Eric Leeds provides flute accompaniment.
Plain Rap is the third studio album by Los Angeles hip hop group The Pharcyde. The album was released on November 7, 2000, on Delicious Vinyl/Edel America Records. Slimkid3 left the group after the release of the album.
"Passin' Me By" is a song by American hip-hop group The Pharcyde, released in March 1993 through Delicious Vinyl Records. The song was the second single released from the group's 1992 debut album Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde. The song, produced by J-Swift, samples "Summer in the City" by Quincy Jones, "125th Street Congress" by Weather Report, and "Are You Experienced?" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Chris Taylor, also known by his monikers The Glove and ChrisGlove, is best known as a DJ and producer on the West Coast hip hop scene in the 1980s and 1990s. Taylor is known for his appearance in the film Breakin' alongside Ice-T. Taylor is credited on "Phone Tap" (Nas) as producer. Other production credits include "Reckless" "Tibetan Jam" "Go Off" "Itchiban Scratch" Taylor claims to have produced "Stranded on Death Row" and "Doggy Dogg World" on the genre-defining albums The Chronic and Doggystyle, though he is not credited on either album and also claims to have written/produced the tracks for Xxplosive and Hello (NWA) also uncredited.( Other sources name Taylor as an engineer, mixer and musician on The Chronic.
Delicious Vinyl is an American independent record label founded by Matt Dike and Michael Ross in 1987 and based in Los Angeles, California.
Trevant Hardson, best known by his stage name Slimkid3, is an American rapper from Los Angeles. He is a founding member of The Pharcyde.
Sold My Soul: The Remix & Rarity Collection is a compilation album by Los Angeles hip hop group The Pharcyde. It was released on November 8, 2005 and features a number of remixes and rare songs by the group.
Cydeways: The Best of the Pharcyde is a greatest hits album by Los Angeles hip hop group The Pharcyde. It was released November 14, 2001. The album features songs by the four emcees; Fatlip, Slimkid3, Imani and Bootie Brown from their first two albums Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde and Labcabincalifornia while they were signed to label Delicious Vinyl.
The Loneliest Punk is Fatlip's debut solo album. The album was recorded on Delicious Vinyl records. The name is a play on "Thelonious Monk", the famous jazz pianist.
"She Said" is a song by The Pharcyde featured on the group's second album Labcabincalifornia. The song contains two verses by Slimkid3 and Fatlip, Fatlip's verse in particular is highly regarded among fans and critics of the group for its conversational style delivery and easy flowing pace. Both verses address issues of love and relationships. Slimkid3 does his first verse in his trademark incorporation of both singing and rapping. He also sings the ending of the song.
"Runnin'" is a song performed by The Pharcyde and produced by J Dilla. It was released as the first single from The Pharcyde's second album Labcabincalifornia in 1995. The song peaked at #55 on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached #35 on the U.S. R&B chart. Also featured in The Pharcyde's greatest hits compilation Cydeways: The Best of The Pharcyde, "Runnin'" is one of Pharcyde's most remembered songs, along with "Passin' Me By".
Instrumentals was released September 13, 2005 by Delicious Vinyl Records. It contains the instrumental tracks of songs by The Pharcyde found in their debut album Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde and its follow up release Labcabincalifornia.
Sunset Blvd. is the debut LP by Detroit-based hip hop duo Yancey Boys, released on October 29, 2013 by Yancey Media Group in conjunction with Delicious Vinyl and distributed through Traffic Entertainment Group. The record is built around a recently unearthed batch of music created by Illa J's late elder brother, James "J Dilla" Yancey. The album features the latter's past collaborators like De La Soul's Posdnuos, Slum Village's T3, Common, The Pharcyde's Slimkid3 and Talib Kweli. Additional guests on Sunset Blvd. include DJs Rhettmatic, C-Minus, and J. Rocc as well as rapper Guilty Simpson and R&B singer Eric Roberson.
Yancey Boys is the debut studio album by Detroit-based rapper/singer Illa J, featuring instrumental production from his late brother Jay Dee, also known as J Dilla. The album was released on November 4, 2008 under Delicious Vinyl. The beats were created from 1995 to 1998 during Jay Dee's tenure with Delicious Vinyl. The album's release was supported by two singles – "We Here" and "Sounds Like Love" featuring Debi Nova. Recording sessions for the album took place at Yancey Boys Studio in Los Angeles in 2008. Stones Throw Records released a digital instrumental version of the album in 2009.
"Otha Fish" is a song by American hip-hop group The Pharcyde, released September 16, 1993 through Delicious Vinyl Records. The song was the fourth single released from the group's 1992 debut album Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde. The single peaked at number 35 on the US Dance Sales chart.
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