Out of the duo Willie Green is the beatminer. Just listening to the first ten seconds of "Diary of a Dreamer" I knew good things were coming. The harmonica inspired horns harken so much soul and jazz it almost numbs me. Green keeps the beat eclectic by infusing a remittent high pitched horn and that's only just a part of it. What amazes me the most is that there's all these layers of sound going on and yet it still manages to stay very light and whimsical. It is mostly Green's choice of bassline (very very minimal) which keeps it crisp and not convoluted. Everything sounds so on point: to the near unidentifiable percussion instrument (Cabasas? Maracas?) at the beginning of the chorus, to the beginning of drums hitting, and to the stars-of-the-show-horns seeping throughout the track. Turn up the volume and take it in with a good pair of headphones. Bottom-line: it is one of the better productions I've heard in a long time.
Of course with this a beat like this you need some serious lyrical artistry behind it. Part two of duo, Premrock, seems to shine the most with these kind of light jazz-soul-funk beats. Some critics will complain that his rhyme scheme isn't all that complicated but it shouldn't be in this kind of track. He has a poetical rap and his flow matches it perfectly. His rhyme scheme and delivery is precise with the production that his voice completely melds together with the sonics. Not only that he puts thoughts into his lyrics like:
I interrogate fate like, "sir I don't approve"
I keep it cyclical if you were unaware of the shape
Thoughts outside the box get each corner erased cause if
you're not from within my circle
Stay outside of my space!
Prem is going to take control of his own destiny. You can immediately tell he takes his time with his craft:
Life's only a bitch if you don't you can't study her hips
so I created a developed penmanship based on being a gentleman
to jot down the notes on where she likes to be kissed
(Que Common's "I Used to Love H.E.R.") If you didn't get the clue, Premrock is personifying hip-hop as a woman and he wants to treat "her" right by studying the craft and writing dope rhymes. He flips styles within verses, throws in slight changes to his pacing, emphasizes certain words... its dynamic. It keeps you on your toes and it's a joy to listen to. He exemplifies this throughout the song but especially in his second verse.
And wherever I land there I am
Who I am PremRock rock the land
watch the crowd pop, lock in the spot
like Goddamn
Yes sir. The beauty of groups like Gangstarr, Eric B. & Rakim, the super group of producers and Nas on Illmatic, etc. is that the marriage between the producer and the emcee have to be equal. When one outweighs the other the songs sound disjointed, but when they come together that is when classics happen. You can say it's too early for me to crown "Diary of a Dreamer" as a classic but I'm going to do it anyway.
I always have to leave this kind of piece with a quote. Love, love, love the chorus:
The diary of a dreamer
I live between the lines
My destiny to shine
You ain't taking what's mine, mine, mine
You can never marginalize
Whats inside the margins I find
Is every part of my mind, mind, mind
Dream on. There are no limits.
