“You can kill a man, but never the idea“
With its crunching guitars, blues howl and of course the booming voice of your new favourite rapper of all time, B. Dolan “King Bee” (preview video above) was an obvious first single from the eagerly awaited “House of Bee’s Vol.2” mixtape.
However after the death of Adam “MCA” Yauch Dolan ripped up the plan and instead went with what felt right.
“Still Here” was originally written as an ode to his father who passed away after being diagnosed with lung cancer in 2010. So as a mark of respect for Yauch and of course his father Dolan decided to leak a song that’s truly fit to honour his passing and the moment.
I have to say I’ve only met B Dolan once but the generosity of spirit he showed turning up as a surprise guest at some random bloggers (me) charity gig, then getting a train back to Reading from deepest North London at ridiculous o’clock having stayed till the bitter end seems to me to be a mark of the man. If you couple that with the sheer jaw dropping quality of the music he’s releasing right now, and with each new tune seemingly raising the bar higher still, you can’t help but think his dad must have been a very proud man!
The work of his producer Buddy Peace on “Still Here” is key too. I’ve absolutely no idea what the looping bag pipe sounding refrain actually is but good god its addictive…I’ve listened to this a dozen times on repeat since downloading it.
What’s more its available for FREE so download it by clicking on the little cloud in the bottom right of the player below, and spread the word if you can.
Here’s what B. Dolan has to say about “Still Here” :
“In 2010 my father was diagnosed with an extremely aggressive form of lung cancer and died within the span of 8 months. All of this happened at the same time SFR released ‘FALLEN HOUSE, SUNKEN CITY’, and I embarked on the most ambitious touring schedule of my career.
Needless to say, that year was devastating in every way. For the first time since age 12, I found myself questioning what I do and considered walking away from it. I’ve always taken pride in the ‘dues paid’ for my art, but in the face of a loss that great, everything can suddenly seem too awful, too futile, and too difficult to continue doing.
The beat used for “Still Here” was literally one of the most important parts of finally pulling myself out of that tailspin… Something about those bagpipes or whatever that sound is that Buddy sampled. I remember listening to it for the first time and feeling the hair on the back of my neck stand up. ‘They haven’t killed me yet.’ is the thought I immediately had when the beat dropped, and everything followed from there.”
Rest in Peace to MCA and all of our dearly departed. Through the impact they’ve had on our lives and the legacy they’ve given to the world, they’re Still Here.
[audio:https://www.musiclikedirt.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/STILLHERE.mp3|titles=STILLHERE]Physical pre-orders & package deals now on sale at:
http://tinyurl.com/HouseOfBeesVol2
Digital pre-order now on sale at:
http://tinyurl.com/HOB2Digital
http://www.Facebook.com/BDOLANSFR
http://www.twitter.com/BDOLANSFR
http://www.StrangeFamousRecords.com
BOBAFATT 60 MINUTE MCA / BEASTIE BOYS TRIBUTE MIX
There’s been a slew of tribute posts and mixes but I’d add BobaFatt’s 60 minute mix comprised of a variety of noises that NYC’s Beastie Boys released over the past 30 or so years to the list of absolutely essential listens.