In April, Sage Francis's indie hip-hop label Strange Famous released Working Man, the debut collaborative full-length between UK beatsmith Buddy Peace and Rhode Island cerebral rapper Prolyphic. Lyrically, the album spoke of the working class, tackling such tense topics as unemployment, family turmoil,and the lack of healthcare, while Peace's crate-dug beats propelled the record's throwback sound. These words now have a new context in Kraftwerking Man, a remix album by Peace that consists musically of Kraftwerk samples.
Here's what Buddy Peace had to say about the project:
I always had something in mind for some kind of alternate version of our album, some kind of remix project of some sort... I wanted to make it in a certain frame though and have some kind of concept — and when the Kraftwerking Man title hit me all the smoke disappeared and that was my concept. Kraftwerk are true pioneers and I love them dearly, and I've always wanted to get dirty with their back catalogue so this was the ideal chance. And Pro sounds ill over their music so it worked out great!
Kraftwerk samples are not unusual for hip-hop, considering Afrika Bambaataa's highly influential "Planet Rock" from 1982 and its electro aftermath, but creating an entire album's worth of beats based on Kraftwerk samples is a feat of dedication for Buddy Peace, bringing to mind Danger Mouse's career-making Beatles/Jay Z bootleg, The Grey Album.
Peace has been the go-to knob twiddler for Strange Famous since the turn of the millennium, appearing on a high percentage of the label's releases in the role of a DJ or producer, while Working Man was the first time Prolyphic has been heard since The Ugly Truth, his 2008 album with producer Reanimator.
Exclaim! has been given an exclusive stream of the Kraftwerking Man remix album, which will later arrive as a free download through Strange Famous. In the meantime, check it out below.
UPDATE: This stream was available for one week only and is no longer available.
Here's what Buddy Peace had to say about the project:
I always had something in mind for some kind of alternate version of our album, some kind of remix project of some sort... I wanted to make it in a certain frame though and have some kind of concept — and when the Kraftwerking Man title hit me all the smoke disappeared and that was my concept. Kraftwerk are true pioneers and I love them dearly, and I've always wanted to get dirty with their back catalogue so this was the ideal chance. And Pro sounds ill over their music so it worked out great!
Kraftwerk samples are not unusual for hip-hop, considering Afrika Bambaataa's highly influential "Planet Rock" from 1982 and its electro aftermath, but creating an entire album's worth of beats based on Kraftwerk samples is a feat of dedication for Buddy Peace, bringing to mind Danger Mouse's career-making Beatles/Jay Z bootleg, The Grey Album.
Peace has been the go-to knob twiddler for Strange Famous since the turn of the millennium, appearing on a high percentage of the label's releases in the role of a DJ or producer, while Working Man was the first time Prolyphic has been heard since The Ugly Truth, his 2008 album with producer Reanimator.
Exclaim! has been given an exclusive stream of the Kraftwerking Man remix album, which will later arrive as a free download through Strange Famous. In the meantime, check it out below.
UPDATE: This stream was available for one week only and is no longer available.
