Vinyl @ Center Stage – Atlanta, GA – April 14, 2011 - The stage was set – 3 empty seats awaited one of the most buzzed about production team’s arrival, as iStandard Co-Founder J Hatch hyped up the anxious ATL audience. “Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Kenny, Rook, and Colione, known to most as The J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League y’all!”. As the group walked up on stage, they all gave me a pound, as I blasted my personal favourite of their vast catalogue, “Maybach Music” by Rick Ross feat. Jay-Z. Hatch asked them a myriad of questions, from their formation in Tampa, FL, to working with such artists as Ross, Fabolous, Drake, Bun B, Lil Wayne, Keri Hilson…the list goes on, as well as future projects. Then Rook said, “We’re working on a project with our artist LAWS, and it’s a Paul McCartney mash-up album.”
To be honest, my immediate reaction was “Great, another mash-up album, ala The Grey Album (Danger Mouse’s 2003 combination of Jay-Z’s The Black Album and The Beatles The White Album), that spawned countless substandard remix projects. Then Kenny said, “and we have Paul McCartney’s blessing on this…” I immediately stepped out from behind the DJ booth and asked them “What, you got his approval?!?”
The League just nodded and smiled.
As the months went by, I started to download some more LAWS music, and fell in love with joints like “Flashback”, “Honor”, “Run Away”, and more… The anticipation for this Macca / LAWS collabo grew. Kelly “Kels” Williams (TN2 Productions / iStandard) told me “Wait til you hear this Don, it’s incredible.”
Finally, this week, on June 7, 2011, Yesterday’s Future, was released.
Being a fan of Paul McCartney since childhood, my ears skeptically pushed play, and there was Paul from his 1970 self-titled post-Beatles debut album, counting off “Momma Miss America”. “Me and Paul like a lit match made in heaven…flow so poetic, this is for the ages”, the Tampa raised MC spits on the groovy Macca instrumental. I remember having a conversation with Rook about the project, and he told me that I’m not going to know what’s a sample or which songs they recreated with live musicians. I am going to say “MMA” is a loop of the original tune, after listening back-to-back with the original. But well done, smooth, and natural.
Hearing the “Knocking At The Door (Intro)“, LAWS is not just an MC. He possesses a keen sense of tone, melody, and pitch. His singing over the piano intro to Wings’ 1976 Album Speed Of Sound, sounds as if it were..a lit match made in heaven. He descriptively tells the story of his signing to Rawkus Records (shouts to SlopFunkDust), how they promoted 50 cats, and didn’t pay him for his shows. He still sounds like a kid in a candy store when he got a “message from Rook of The J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League said he heard that “Horns” track and he loved it…Maaaaan!” This was the beginning of a transition of a local MC being ignored by his newly signed label to signing on with one of the most revered production teams of the new millennium. As things progress throughout “Knocking at the Door”, the clever wordsmith plays off of Paul’s sultry vocals – “And now suit and ties’ like – Let em in!”
Throughout the mixtape, there are various press conferences, in which somewhat stuffy British broadcasters question why Paul McCartney would do such a project with a fairly unknown MC? Are these press conferences real? It doesn’t really matter here, as they are intertwined perfectly and compliment the project’s “mash-up theme”.
“Fly” is a track in which I could not locate the original Macca composition – had to do a bit of googling, and discovered that “I Want You To Fly” was an outtake from 2005′s Nigel Godrich (Radiohead producer…Must I say more?) produced Chaos And Creation In The Backyard – shows Laws, Rook, Kenny, and Colione aren’t just doing this project for novelty – they’re genuine McCartney fans.
“Say Say Say” is a beautifully replayed instrumental version of the original 1983 collaboration, with the King of Pop, the late Michael Jackson – from Pipes of Peace.
“Homeland” is LAWS ode to Tampa, as the Macca sample from the 1975 cut “Love Is Song” – from Venus and Mars – weaves throughout the highly musical J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League instrumental. “Happiness in my homeland” – Paul “I been long gone, need to find my way home, but I didn’t forget you, I’ll never forget that I been around the world and I, I let you know my hometown, I didn’t forget you” - Laws.
Beautifully put, Mr. Laws.
One of Paul McCartney’s recent releases (2007′s Memory Almost Full) features an epic song called “Mr. Bellamy”, which in my opinion ranks up there with some of Sir Paul’s best work. Laws and The J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League take this modern classic to a new level, as they sectionalize the composition into three parts – “Not Coming Down”, “Delusionary State”, and “Yesterday’s Future” – where Laws taps into the rough time McCartney was going through – Heather Mills’ divorce, George Harrison’s death, and more…and relates his own life struggles.
All in all, this release is one of the most well put together, emotional, and eloquent, projects I have heard in years. A new respect level has been established by this writer, to Laws, Rook, Kenny, and Colione. Salute gentlemen, you’re reaching heights only seen by greats.
94 out of 100
Don Di Napoli aka Thrill Collins
www.iStandardProducers.com
@iStandard
www.ThrillCollins.com
@ThrillCollins
