There Can Only Be One King - Sting & 'The Message'

Sting - 'Shape Of My Heart'
taken from Ten Summoner's Tales (A & M, 1993)

Nas - 'The Message'
taken from It Was Written (Columbia, 1996)

Engaging with the music of pop artists can be a dangerous game if you're into hip hop production. You only have to look at the David Bowie/Rod Stewart/Lisa Stansfield inspired dross created by Bad Boy towards the end of the '90s to know how awful these endeavors can be when in the wrong hands. Now Sting might seem like an odd source for some of that good ol' NYC rap, whose more obvious fanbase is likely to consist of fathers around the world who wear socks with their sandals and vehemently tuck their t-shirts into their jeans (don't tell anybody, but I'm actually kind of a closet fan), but with 'The Message', Poke & Tone manage to incorporate his work into one of the most outstanding platforms for Nas's street narratives on his sophomore effort It Was Written.

'Shape Of My Heart' is taken from Sting's fourth solo studio effort Ten Summoner's Tales, which incidentally sold over three million copies in the U.S. alone, and was actually one of the first albums that I ever bought with my own money (W H Smith vouchers actually). The album is so ingrained in my psyche that it makes it difficult for me to gain any sense of detachment from it, but I still have a soft spot for 'Shape Of My Heart'. The wistful guitar refrain and clean rim hits create a pensive atmosphere and Sting's vaguely mystical lyrics, which discuss the 'geometry of chance' and meeting men 'with too many faces' contribute effectively to this reflective vibe. Granted, the harmonica and strings get a little cheesy, and this isn't exactly gonna boost the status of my ghetto pass, but I like it. Blame the forces of nostalgia and overblown sentimentality.

I know Poke & Tone come under fire for their more commercial offerings, but they come correct on this song with the first two bars of 'Shape Of My Heart' working exceptionally well in their newfound context. The keys to the success of this beat are simplicity and savvy production skills: beyond the guitar loop, drum track and bassline there really isn't that much to this song, and yet it feels richly textured, full and warm. I believe the other instrument used at the beginning of the track and during the chorus sections are distorted strings which open out towards the end of the cut, and they add a necessary depth to an otherwise stripped down formula: at the chorus, alongside Kid Capri's Nas-sampling scratches, the result is certifiably dope. Despite little variation throughout the course of the groove, there are little touches that make it special, most notably the evenly spaced bass drum kicks and cymbal crashes that precede some of the key beat drops as well as intermittent placements throughout. Paired up with Nas's mafioso persona, with his lyrical references to rolling dice and 'twenty G bets', the resulting composition is for me the clear standout on the album, one of the only points on It Was Written that feels truly homogeneous.

Whatever you may feel about the Trakmasterz in general, there seems to me little ammunition for criticism of this particular song, and it remains one of only three or four cuts on the album that still really light my fire. Sting may be an unlikely musical partner to hip hop, but this song demonstrates that simply relying on a crate of dusty funk and soul 45s for your inspiration isn't always the answer to slammin' hip hop production. Consider yourself learned.

FDB Hits The Big Apple

Sting - 'Englishman In New York'
taken from Nothing Like The Sun (A & M, 1987)

Following on from the Sting theme above, I'm likely to be rocking this song out when myself and my lovely girlfriend head off for our summer holiday in NYC next week. Here's the deal: I know that the majority of my readership comes from the U.S., and that a lot of you reside on the east coast (and no, I haven't been obsessively pouring over my StatCounter data... much), so what I want are a few suggestions for places to go, and I don't mean the Empire State and all the obvious tourist shit like that, but rather hints from those with insider knowledge. So, if you know of any great record shops, clubs, bars, restaurants, trainer (yes, that's sneakers) shops, places of Hip Hopping significance or anything else of interest that would pass your average tourist doing the rounds in Manhattan by, then I would really appreciate a little information. I've actually been to New York a few times before, but always with family, so although I know the city relatively well, I've never really had the chance to take it on under my own steam. I'm particularly interested in any suggestions for Brooklyn, a suburb which I've only scratched the surface of in the past. Any information would be greatly appreciated: thanks in advance.