Soundcheck: Can A Drummer Get Some?
posted in: Music News • Urban
Is it possible that the most ground-breaking hip hop album of 2011 will come from a punk? Punk rocker that is, as in Blink 182, +44, bad ass super drummer, Travis Barker. While he’s floated around the hip hop scene for years, (touring and collaborating with Cypress Hill, Paul Wall and T.I among others), he’s about to pull a whole new rabbit out of his hat. His full-length, solo album, Give The Drummer Some is jam packed with hard-hitting tracks, laced with lyrics by some of hip hop’s best including Lupe Fiasco, Snoop Dogg, Drake and Lil’ Wayne. The all-star line up is as eclectic as the music”which fuses hip-hop, punk, rock and electro” resulting in a truly unique style.
The album’s rap roster is rivaled by its impressive production credits which include DJ Khalil, The Neptunes, Swizz Beatz, RZA, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Chuck Inglish, Kool Kojak, Dr. Luke, Benny Blanco, Dr. Dre, Eric Valentine, A-Trak, Kanye West and Barker himself. The album’s title comes from the Ultramagnetic MC’s track of the same name, appropriately derived from James Brown‘s hit, “Funky Drummer”.
Give The Drummer Some features an unbeatable line-up of rappers rocking out, including RZA, Rick Ross, T.I.,The Cool Kids, Raekwon, Tom Morello of RageAgainst the Machine, Slash, Steve Aoki, Pharrell, Kid Cudi, Yelawolf, Swizz Beatz, Bun B and Tech N9ne.
With a roster like this; it’s no wonder some songs have already made it onto the internet; some being released by Barker as previews, and others leaked before their time. On January 28, Barker released a preview of Come N Get It, a track produced by The Neptunes, featuring Clipse (together in rare form since Pusha T‘s solo signing). The official single, Can A Drummer Get Some? features Lil’ Wayne, Rick Ross, Game and Swizz Beatz and was released on February 1. In it, Game goes hard, spitting lyrics over Barker’s banging like Back from the dead but they never found my killer/So I jumped up out this grave like Michael Jackson in Thriller/Iller than most emcee’s cause I be killin’ ˜em/Most emcee’s turn into ghost emcee’s/Yeah, give a drummer some.
Barker has been a mainstay on the pop/rock scene since his days with his uber-successful band, Blink 182, ruled the charts in 1999, and his family-based reality show, Meet The Barkers, aired on MTV in 2005. His on-again, off-again romance with ex-wife, Shanna Moakler kept him in heavy headline rotation until their 2008 divorce. The California native snagged serious media attention again in 2008, after he and the late DJ AM survived the tragic plane crash that killed four people. The drummer spent months in the hospital and suffered second and third degree burns over much of his body; ultimately battling through to make a full recovery.
Now, the inspiring rocker is ready to take the hip hop world by storm, finally bringing his brilliant idea to fruition with this 12-track masterpiece; adding one more accomplishment to his growing list when it hits stores on February 22.