Tag Archives: Reflection Eternal

Reflection Eternal – Ghetto Afterlife

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Gene Chandler AKA “The Duke” has been making songs since the early 1960′s. Real name Eugene Dixon, hails from the windy city of Chicago and is best known for his single “The Duke of Earl” (sampled by Cypress Hill). What many don’t know is that he worked with the oft-sampled great Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler – both from The Impressions. While best known for his doo-wop, Hi-Tek flipped his 1970′s cut “Tomorrow I May Not Feel The Same” for Reflection Eternal‘s “Ghetto Afterlife” featuring Kool G Rap.

Hi-Tek chopped the intro rather than using a straight loop and used several other elements such as the vocals in the Reflection Eternal track. How did hardcore Juice Crew member Kool G Rap get a guest spot on the album? For those that don’t know, Kool G Rap was signed to Rawkus records at the same time as Reflection Eternal. Hi-Tek also produced some tracks for Kool G’s solo effort on Rawkus. However, he ran into problems with the label and the album was eventually released through Koch (missing many tracks). If you want a verse by Kool G Rap, hit up his twitter account. He charges $2,000 per verse, last I heard.

Reflection Eternal – In This World

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Kimberley Briggs was a soul singer on Fantasy records. Like many artists at the time, she got her start in the church. Prior to her solo debut, she sang back up for better-known artists such as Bobby Bland, Junior Parker, Sam & Dave, and Otis Redding. What made her different than a lot of female soul singers at the time, is that she actually wrote a lot of her own music, including the 9 minute jam “What in this World’s Happening to Love“. The song is arranged in a very Isaac Hayes-ish style – very drawn out and almost medley-like.

Underground allstars Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek, otherwise known as Reflection Eternal used Kimberley’s track for “In This World” off their highly anticipated 2nd LP – Revolutions per Minute. At this point in Hi-Tek’s career, he abandoned the mostly sample-based production style that made him famous in exchange for live instruments/musicians. “In This World” sampled the vocals from the Kimerbely track, but most of the main loop was replayed. Backup singers were also used to sing over the hook and add a bridge. Check out the original to see how far Hi-Tek took it.

Samples are Dancing

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Isao Tomita was a Japanese experimental musician who played electronic instruments, most notably the Moog. His album “Snowflakes Are Dancing” is actually electronic versions of Debussy songs (Debussy was a classical French composer if you didn’t know).

In 2000 the classic album Reflection Eternal dropped on Rawkus records featuring the rhymes of Talib Kweli and beats by Hi-Tek. Hi-Tek flipped “Passepied” for the track “Too Late“. The other sample in the track (the one that sounds like a muffled vocal) is also from the same Tomita album on the flip-side. For the bonus trivia question, this album also has the sample to the intro of “Pyscho Dwarf” by The Beatnuts. Enjoy.