This collaboration was posted on every blog out there when it dropped a couple of months ago, just before "Harlem Shake" went viral and Baauer's career changed forever. Actually, change that "forever" to "for now" because I guarantee you no one's going to remember that shit a year or two from now. So all of you so worried about Baauer's future career forever being doomed as a "meme-producer", whatever that is, I wouldn't worry too much. He can do anything he wants with this new found fame. You should be happy for him.
Anyway, I just now got around to listening to this. When I first saw it, I was like, "Damn, that's gotta be good." But, I was too busy at the time to give it a listen. Then, it kind of got lost in the ever-changing musical landscape known as the internet and I forgot about it for awhile. But, I just came across it again when I was perusing the site today and realized I must give it a listen.
Disclaimer: I'm really not a big fan of trap music, and I'm a certified dubstep hater, but I love what artists like Baauer and Rustie are doing with this style of music. And I love "Harlem Shake", even when there's not 100 crazy people dancing to it in a YouTube video.
So what do you get when an inventive producer like Baauer joins up with (imho) one of the top three best hip-hop producers of all time? In a word: WOW. In some other words: dopeness, magic, God Damn!, Holy Shit!, That Was Fuckin' Crazy! This song is a towering behemoth of pure beat-making awesomeness. There's all kinds of things I love about it.
For one, it samples one of my favorite rap songs of all time, "U Don't Know" by Jay-Z. For two, the samples are just incredible and used incredibly well, as you would expect with anything that Just Blaze puts his name on. For three, it's such a perfect blend of everything awesome that's going on in electronic and hip-hop music right now. For four, everything about this song is awesome.
I think "Higher" will stand throughout the year as one of the best electronic songs (or songs, period) of 2013. It will be the standard that other incredibly talented producers like Hudson Mohawke, Diplo, Rustie and others will try to live up to or top. If you haven't heard the song yet, buckle up and give it a listen below.
Fresh?
Just Blaze and Baauer talk about the making of the track (via Pitchfork):
Posted in: #NP,Baauer,dubstep,Electronic,Experimental,Hip Hop,Just Blaze
