Mike Dean Delivers a Tour Version of Goosebumps

Even though Mike Dean stays behind the scenes making a lot of the music from your favorite artists, my ears perk up when he drops a breadcrumb or two on remixes. The latest example is his Tour Version remix of Travis Scott and Kendrick's Goosebumps. The remix isn't a huge departure from the original, but there's much more of an ebb and flow with the tempo breaks added on the remix.

In related news, if you're wondering where the moodiness of Kanye's music comes from look no further than Mike's new single Three Jewels. The edgy synths and reverb bass remind me of tracks like Love Lockdown off 808s and Heartbreak. Diving deep on the inner workings of who is responsible for music being successful is something I geek out on. You may not care about the ingredients as long as the final product sounds good, but without knowing the ingredients, I wouldn't have an appreciation for the Mike Deans of the world...#Goosebumps

BONUS - check Mike doing his thing in studio back in 2015...

Travis Scott feat Kendrick Lamar - Goosebumps (Mike Dean Remix / Tour Version)

"Timmy Timmy Timmy Turner He Been Wishin' For a Burner"

Over the past decade, XXL has done a pretty stellar job at showcasing who is next in Hip Hop. For reference check their list of the top freshman (breakout artists) in Hip Hop since 2007 (via Wikipedia) and you'll understand what I mean...
One thing is for sure, they were only getting started in 2007 with names like Crooked I and Lupe Fiasco.

Fast forwarding to present day and their latest crop of 2016 freshman and one name in particular is beginning to stand out. By now you know about Anderson .Paak and Lil Dicky, but despite the Kanye co-sign you may have written off Desiigner as a one hit wonder with his breakout hit Panda. For me, the track was interesting in a lot of ways because of how grimy it sounded, but I wasn't convinced yet. This week, that sentiment changed a bit when I listened to his freestyle turned full track, turned remix with Kanye called Timmy Turner. The unexpected harmony from a rapper that I had written off as nothing special is where it all changed from me. It's really hard to understand what he's saying, it sounds like straight gibberish. Yet, it's so well executed that you feel like you have to sing along with your own made up words. All I know is you need to see his 45 second version of the freestyle, then listen to Kanye's verse on the track to get a full appreciation for it. Respect Desiigner, I get it now...#TimmyTurner

Desiigner feat Kanye West - Timmy Turner (Remix) (prod by Mike Dean)

"Curiosity is the Key to My Frequency"

Over the past year or two, Kid Cudi has continued to make increasingly experimental music. There's always been some dabbling into alternative music, but he's ventured pretty far from the moody, yet strangely inspirational music that help solidify his fan base on Man on the Moon. Anybody who is a fan of Scotty knows that his penchant for pushing his own boundaries is part of what makes him such a unique artist. That being said, the amount of experimentation has largely pushed his music out of my life.

Then, today, a new track surfaced out of the blue that provided a huge sigh of relief. The thoughts of "he's back" came back to the forefront with the Plain Pat and Mike Dean assisted Frequency. The production sets the tone from the start, perfectly matching that moody, somber Cudi we all fell in love with. It provides the perfect setting for the gentle ebb and flow of emotions emanating from the choppy and emotional vocals. It's not anything like what we heard on Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven, which is a good thing. Join me in collectively hoping there will be a lot more like this in the future as Man on the Moon III draws nearer...#Frequency

Kid Cudi - Frequency (prod by Plain Pat & Mike Dean)

"Oh My, Oh My What a Wonderful Time"

It's as if The Weeknd was starting to worry that the public perception of him was full-on-pop the way he's been attacking the Hip Hop scene the past week. First it was his collaborations with Future on Low Life and Jeremih on Pass Dat, now it's Travis Scott.

With all due respect to the first two tracks, Wonderful is by far my favorite of the three. It has that type of gritty, bass heavy production that Kanye West fell in love with when he started shouting out Travis. Normally I get annoyed with the use of autotune, but there's something tasteful about the way Travis utilizes it that adds to the value of the track. It's hard to mess with a bangin' beat (shout out to T-Minus and Boi-1da), a couple catchy verses and a hook that listeners can latch onto with ease. Love everything about this collaboration because of how well these two artists' styles work together...#Wonderful

Travis Scott feat The Weeknd - Wonderful (prod by T-Minus & Boi-1da)

"Might as Well Make a New Casket"

For those of you wondering whether Kanye's upcoming album is going to sound similar to his previous album, press play below and tell me if you think of Black Skinhead. The aggressive, industrial vibe of God Level intentionally as alpha-male as it gets lyrically. Because of that, I'm skeptical that it would be fitting for any soccer ad, but Adidas went ahead with the Messi dominated ad below...

The video snippet (above) is even shorter than the unfinished audio version of the track (below), but I'm betting the next week will bring a more finished version. I will say that the star-studded list of producers on the track is more than a little noteworthy with HudMo, 88 Keys and Mike Dean leading the way with Kanye on the beat. The real question remains, is anybody surprised that he released the this track on the day of his wedding?...#KanyeWedding

Kanye West - God Level (prod by 88 Keys, Kanye West, Hudson Mohawke, Mike Dean, Noah Goldstein)

Kanye Has Blood on the Leaves TNGHT

I'm still at a bit of a loss trying to wrap my mind around Yeezus. Maybe I'm missing the whole artistry of it because I love Daft Punk and I love me some Hudson Mohawke and they both heavily contributed to the album's sound. After a couple laps, I'm still struggling to pick a favorite and I'm beginning to come to terms with the fact that I'm not a big fan of the abrasive tone of the album. It's clearly written with anger as a driving force, which isn't necessarily a bad thing because emotion can be a driving force behind the creation great music. Kanye sort of backed that up that angry assertion today by posting an American Psycho inspired Yeezus promo on his website today.

So if had to pick a favorite, it would be the Blood on the Leaves, which features Tony Williams and samples Nina Simone's Strange Fruit and TNGHT's R U Ready? Click below for the old school sample..

Whatever happened to the joyful 808 sound and the uplifting music? Maybe the album will grow on me, but for the time being, I'm not as excited as the general populace...#Yeezus

Kanye West feat Tony Williams - Blood on the Leaves (prod by Kanye West, TNGHT & Mike Dean)