It's my opinion that instrumentals play just as much a key role in the music world as the the song as a whole. It's pretty much a fact that the lyrics and the tune go hand in hand. But, when you can strip down the track to the beat alone, it leads to a whole other venture for me. Personally on any given day I can come up with tons of different beats, in my head at least. I have the software to put it down, but that's pretty hard to do when you're listening to music at the same time. I guess my problem has an easy solution: don't listen to other things. I can't help it though. As soon as I get a tune in my head, I try and get it down, but then the silence bugs me a bit and I have to play some music to get the vibe right. I suppose I try to have my cake and eat it too, I don't know. I just love a nice instrumental to help me mellow out to, get some house work done, or freestyle to (I'm not all that good, but it's a good laugh). Getting back to the subject, I think that instrumentals give the listener a chance to interpret the tone the way they want to. The lyrics already solidified by the artists give the beat a singular definition. However like I mentioned earlier, when you can create your own vision, it automatically creates a personal portrayal.
These are some of my favorite beats:
Average White Band - "Overture"
Jay Z - "Allure"
Ice Cube - "It Was A Good Day"
Letoya Luckett - "She Don't"
Mc Lyte "10% Dis"
Superstar - "Lupe Fiasco"
OK Go - "Get Over It"
New Birth - "Been Such A Long Time"
Aaliyah - "4 Page Letter"
En Vogue - "Free Your Mind"
Queen Latifah - "U.N.I.T.Y"
Seals and Crofts - "Summer Breeze"
One for the choosing
