"And when the children [...] saw it, they said one to another, It is manna [...] This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat" - Exodus 16:15When the heavens open, gifts fall recklessly from above. Insurance covering any acts of God is curiously absent. The nutritional and shelf life are mute points. Whatever is present will be consumed; and like NASA's best creations, it shan't expire in the Sun's lifetime. All relevant praises are sent forth, and the wise appreciate. The rest, the insatiably curious, remain parched. A thirst consumes their clan and this desire ravages any remaining rationality.The solution lies in the answer to a question: was it God, O.G. or the BasedGod?
Similar to Different Sleep and Keyboard Kid, Sxmplelife's music is digitally emotional. Yet the style at hand goes beyond cloudy comparisons and cults of personality. Squinting is not required to differentiate Sxmplelife remixes and bootlegs from the field. The man has an affinity for hip-hop; his selections vouching for good taste. Of course, having no qualms with singles has its own advantages. While tugging at his audience's heartstrings with tortured vocal harmonies - not to mention melodies as gentle as a masseuse's touch - it can be difficult to distinguish nostalgia for memories of hearing the original and the results of prodding at a sea of feelings below an anonymous audience's icy exterior.
A brief aside:
Original works of rearticulation - where Noggle is concerned - can be divided into three bins; a Venn Diagram of sorts. The left circle is for re-imagined works (auteur>original): a new creation built from the blueprints of an another structure; the song's origins remains intact, merely viewed through a lens. The right circle is for re-created works (auteur>original): a novel structure is erected from the remains of a finished project; little remains of a song's original intent as the two reside parallel each other (see: Richard D. James's 23 Mixes for Cash). The center circle is re-fixed works (original>auteur): seeking to improve upon the original, an element, a theme, or any other source of influence is embellished; artistic license is utilized to improve upon a song, not unlike an homage.
But I digress..
A Sxmplelife bootleg often times resides between the re-imagined and the re-fixed. Yet, if his last two releases serve as any indication, gravity is pulling this producer towards the latter. Crime Mob's "Knuck if You Buck" is a confrontational and unapologetically aggressive sons; qualities at odds with this beatmaker's flare. By gutting Lil' Jay's beat, though, a disconnect is created with the spoken words. Lyrics are detrimental to these articulations, even more so on this newest release. By replacing the xylophone with a keyboard, as well as inserting the scene's cloudy ambient effects and distorted, distant vocals, associations with the original are expunged. The opportunity to reflect on the song's content is provided. Solitary reflection on a bar such as "Bullets bustin constantly, rappin in yo city streets/Broken bones lay alone scattered 'cross the concrete" is possible, rather than merely repeating it in the heat of the moment. Another rare collector's item out of New England, sufficient to tithe over followers until his bootlegs EP is released...soon.
- John Noggle
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