Tag Archives: Josh Smith

Is it vanity to hide a broken heart?  Josh Smith (Smitty) answers that bit by bit in his fresh new mixtape, Vanity, in which his 7 tracks and intro/outro work together like scenes in a vintage jazz movie.

Seriously, lets take a movie like the 1960 classic, Breathless that was done by Jean-Luc Godard and combine that with the classy 1988 production of Bird, which is a stellar Clint Eastwood production of a struggling jazz musician dubbed “Bird” played by Forest Whittaker.  Really, you get the old school feel with the jazzy elements from the production by Josh Freed (i’m not kidding, look out for him because i’ve got my hands on some of his beats-to-be-used and i really don’t think i’ve heard anything like this since Dilla produced the Tribe and Slum Village).

The intro by Sarah Vaughan really sets the tone, with the beautiful melodies and the stunning guitar, for this album that takes so much from the past and fuzes it with the gruff Michigan-raised voice from Josh.

Josh Smith – Vanity (Intro by Sarah Vaughan)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Rock My World comes next, during which we hear the introduction of Sam Kay into the mix, with the Michael Jackson lyrics.  Funny story actually… one of Smitty’s first lines in Rock My World is “…You know we eating good right, Before that, grab my MacbookPro rep that Sug Knight…” the story is that both Josh and Josh (Smith and Freed) can’t actually grab their Macbooks as they were seized by the Ann Arbor PD, as they caused too much noise… THE NIGHT BEFORE THIS TAPE DROPPED.  Luckily they had some saved work on another buddy/collaborator/inspiration’s computer, but that next day, all i can say is that there was non-stop work at finishing this mixtape… and it all paid off.

Josh Smith – Rock My World (Ft. Sam Kay)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Heading into Beautiful (my favorite track), we get the extreme production from Freed, where we get the great, simple piano, the booming, repetitive “Beautiful” and then the drums chime in with the incredible Miles Davis trumpet flip, followed on the hook with some whooping, which we’ve all heard similar sounds of on Kanye’s Barry Bonds.  Smitty really puts his heart into this track, working the rap and singing the hook.  I must say of all the songs i’ve heard from Smith, not one of their lyrics comes close to landing a punch on this track.  This is a song that you HAVE TO bump on your best sound system as the production and its value can only be heard on that and it will only make you understand the magic of this track.

Josh Smith – Beautiful

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

We then transition into Lose Control which rocks the whiney guitar and the witty high-hat that lets Josh have his way with his lyrics, as there really isn’t a timing restriction with the stanzas.  Fade out of that into the next track, Monogram Burning, which is another bass heavy beat that is a great song to drive to while bumping it.

Detroit comes next, which is a shout to Smitty’s home-town(ish), with a mellow beat and a more conversational flow, as i could basically imagine sitting in a comfy chair across a coffee table from him and basically just hear him read this track as poetry.  This track is really a testament to the lady who has been good to the man for enough time, that lady being the city, Detroit.

We then rock Get Right Back, followed by the Outro, which is a great finale of a track accompanied by a great bookend to this mixtape, which could lull me to sleep because of the story and the once again soothing voice of Mrs. Vaughan.

BONUS TRACK!!! Actually though…  I love this mixtape even more because of the inclusion of a Bonus Track… WOOOO, but seriously, 4:20 AM is a solid way to cap off this tape, bringing just a bit more of Josh’s personality into his lyrics and letting the other Josh (Freed) use his talents for one more track.

Josh Smith – 4:20 AM (bonus track)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

DOWNLOAD THE MIXTAPE HERE!

[tweetthis]