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Now, I'm not gonna get as detailed as song concepts or titles, but I will go for producers and features.
3 tracks total (not each) from Nottz and DJ Scratch - I think this is self-explanatory. Both of these guys have given Busta some of his most "knockingest" stuff, so, to get back to that, you have to revist old trusty. To me, these are my anchor tracks, as in, these are the ones that will help to add some kind of homogenization to the project. As in, due to the number of producers I plan to include, there is the risk of there being a hodge podge feel to the album, but, these 3 tracks sprinkled throughout will give the album a recurring theme throughout. It could go 2-1 in favor of either guy, but each one will get at least one track. Truthfully, it might end up being 4 with one ending up on the bonus cd, just to give it a nice round number and fill it out.
1 track from Swizz - Swizz just brings that raucous off-kilter club stuff better than anyone else.
1 track from Rashad Smith or Easy Mo Bee - This is mainly nostalgia here and something for Busta's longtime fans. I do also think Easy Mo (It's A Party, Everything Remains Raw) and Rashad (Woo Hah, Rhymes Galore) give Busta that obtuse sounding stuff way before Swizz and other cats filled that void. Like I mentioned in another post, I probably don't want something new. I would much prefer something from the archives from around the time of their great contributions to Busta's first two albums.
1 Dilla track - another nostalgia pick. Dilla's been on almost every Busta album except for Back On My B.S. and E.L.E. and they do have a great chemistry. I believe still has to have something in the archives to shock us.
2 tracks from Jelly Roll and/or Battlecat - Just something for the west. And, both of these cats can do that synth heavy, Zapp influenced stuff so well, it's kind of hard for me not to have something like that on here, especially with the great job Jelly Roll did on Sugar off of BOMBS and I'll Do It All from The Big Bang. Quik could be another viable option if he doesn't come with his signature sound and give me something more like Cutthroat from Young Joc. I'm pretty sure Jelly Roll would get a placement based off of his past work with Busta, but, if either of the other two guys can bring some heat, they might get the other track. Once again, these two are gonna be semi-anchor tracks. I really didn't like Cat's Ass On Your Shoulders off of Genesis, so, this might be his chance to redeem.
1 track from Pharrell and nem - I'm sorry, proof is proof. They hit gold with Light My Ass On Fire and What It Is. Yes, Kill Dem was horrible off of BOMBS, but, that's 1 out of 3, if I'm correct. I'm telling them I'm looking for a single on this one.
1 track from Sha Money XL, Green Lantern - Now, this one is up for grabs by either of these cats. I really liked the great job they each did on Been Through the Storm and In The Ghetto (respectively) on The Big Bang. Those songs had that "big" feel that hip hop producers speak of all the time but normally are unable to achieve. This was most due to the heaping helping of studio musicians included on each track, with Sha even going for full on orchestra. Just Blaze is also a possible option for this one, as could RZA if he keeps it simple. With the list of possible options for this track getting longer every time I think about it, this could quite easily end up being two tracks and one end up being the bonus track on the deluxe edition.
1 track Diplo/Afrojack/Switch or some combination of the three, but definitely including Diplo - Now, this one is a total offering to the current sound that is dominating urban radio today. You can try to avoid it as much as you'd like, but, it is what it is. And, each of these guys is quite capable of creating something to play on the radio. If not them, then I think I might consider Daft Punk.
1 collabo track from Pete Rock and Large Pro - Now, I know this is a curve, but, hear me out. He has worked with both of this guys previously, but, I think only a track each. I really liked what they came up with on In The World off of the High School High OST and I think they could make magic once more.
1 track from Dre or Focus - He has worked with both of these guys before and quite extensively with Dre, as we all know. Now, I would definitely prefer Dre over Focus, but, I don't know what the current status of Trevor's relationship is with Dre at this point, so, if we can't get Dre, we go Focus.
1 track for a newbie producer to Busta's production lineage - This could be Black Milk, Dibiase, Mono/Poly, Lex Luger, Alex Da Kid, Shawty Redd, Toomp, Hudmo, T-Minus, 40, 1500 or Nothin' etc... Don't matter. For this track, I plan to just lump the best track from each of these producers on a disc and let Busta pick one. Whoever gets it, gets it. And, to be honest, it might end up being 2 tracks, with the other ending up on the bonus cd of the deluxe edition.
1 Madlib track as the Itunes bonus track - I just need to get these two working together some how. But, none of that weird Madlib shit. I want some Talib "Everything Man" or MED "Too Late" epic sounding stuff, maybe with Madlib doing the foundation and getting some studion musicians to flush it out.
Now that that's said and done, features...
For the Dilla track, I'd love to get a nice lineup, like maybe Pos, Tip, Talib and Mos and, if possible, Black Thought. This one is of course to bait in the "heads". I'd also like to maybe fit on a new cat, like a Blu or Fashawn, kinda like a passing of the torch, somewhat.
Some will hate me, but, gotta get Drake on one. He's one of the better hook writers and he can spit. Honestly, I'd like to get him on something different though, like, maybe the Rashad/Easy track, or maybe a one of the Nottz and Scratch joints, just to switch shit up on folks.
Now, call me playing it safe, but, I would like to get Chris with Bus over another Diplo/Afrojack/Switch/Daft Punk track. Kind of like a part 2 of Look At Me Now. The chemistry was great on that track and the "part 2" aspect of it would be a great build up for a single.
Now, I'd like to get Adele over the Sha Money XL/Green Lantern/Just Blaze track. Since I'm going for the "big" feel here, I think a singer is necessary. Stevie and Rick did their thing on their respective tracks on Big Bang and now would be the chance for a newer cat to shine. Corrine is another viable option, as someone mentioned earlier. Or, if we could pull it, maybe Sade, but, we all know that's a prayer.
I see The Game over one of the Jelly Roll/Battlecat/Quik tracks. It just feels right for some reason. If not that, then over the Dre track.
Now, I'd like to get Danny Brown on the hook of the Swizz track. I like his feel when he gets to yelling and I think it would gel perfectly with a Swizz backdrop. If he comes with a hot verse, he might get a 16.
That would be it for my features, with maybe the exception of maybe Badu on the Madlib track, if possible. They did great on One off of When Disaster Strikes and if we could maybe replicate that, it would be great.
Also, if I could get Rah Digga on a track with Bus again, that would be great. Obviously on one of the Scratch/Nottz ones.
Two other feature options I would consider would be Rae and Ghost or Meth and Red on one of the Nottz or Scratch tracks. Not too sure about this one. I wouldn't want any quickly becoming irrelevant rappers bringing greater attention to Busta's possible placement in that category.
That's it. Now, there of course would be hella lot of other stuff I would want to take care of, like getting Busta to lose weight, getting Hype on some videos, etc... But music wise, that's how I see it.
I would kind of view this album as a last hoorah for Bus. If it doesn't sell, then, that's probably it for him. If it does, then, back to the drawing board on the next one. But, I kinda wanted to include the best of Busta on this one by teaming him up with folks he's worked with throughout his career and as kind of a spring board for younger cats who don't know his catalog.
So, for example, if this is some young buck's first Busta album and he liked the Dilla track, then he can see that Bus worked with Dilla on almost every album and he can go buy those songs or check for them specifically when he gets those albums. And, almost the same can be said for most of the other producers I lined him up with on this one.
Now, also, I would like for him to choose a lesser known cat for the 1 newbie track. That way, he can kind of say that he brought mainstream attention to this cat. Black Milk would be my best choice for that since I think he's best groomed for the big time out of all of the lesser known cats that I mentioned in my list.
That's how I'd attack this project, right or wrong.
P.S. I'd also like to steal loveluv's idea of letting Dan and Paul handle the skits and stuff. That would definitely give the album a nice concept feel.
Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.
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