I went on a bit of a Wikipedia hip hop binge last night and came across a rapper/producer named Tony D that died a couple years ago. He was apparently a pretty big deal in the late 80s New Jersey hip hop scene, and claimed for years that Naughty by Nature jacked the "O.P.P." beat from him. The group pretty much disparaged the dude in rare interviews where they were asked about it, but Tony pretty much stuck with his story to the grave. That they heard his instrumental album from 1988, and jacked it for use on O.P.P.
It took me a long time to dig it up but I found it. The song is called "Adam's Nightmare" and can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo5_K6EGtPQ
The beat starts at 24:44.
Now I'd be the first to admit there's a lot of artists who use the same samples as others (remember the Onyx and AZ controversy with the "Welcome Back Kotter" sample?) but I gotta say, this is pretty damning. It's...the same exact beat, with the same exact samples used in the same exact unique ways (especially the lyrical vocal samples).
The fact that Tony D was from the same area as NbN and his instrumental album came out a good 3 years before OPP, and it makes it incredibly likely to me that they heard this beat and straight up jacked the dude's production for their own.
Just wondering what everyone else thinks. I think Naughty are an extremely talented group and I'm not trying to shit on their legacy, but I do feel bad that this dude essentially got fucked out of any recognition for what a great beatmaker he was. I also didn't like the way Vin and KayGee came off in an interview when asked about it. They were genuinely assholes about it, while Tony D was always really diplomatic about the whole thing.
Thoughts after hearing the beat I linked?
I'm graduating high school soon and I really want to become an AMT. Spartan College is the only A&P school in the Denver Area where I live. I really want to stay in Colorado but it seems like I'd be getting ripped off as it's $50k and it looks like some schools are closer to $15k for the full program. Has anyone else gone here and been able to get a good job right out of school or seen any benefits from going there over other schools? or should I make the sacrifice and move away for a couple years?
I have gotten Aβs in all my pre-reqs so far but A&P seems to be a whole different animal. My school offers a 6 week summer classβ has anyone taken an A&P class that short and survived (and ended up with a good grade)? If I do take it it will be my only class that quarter.
Thank you :)
TL;DR - Paid $330 for a bass that's as pleasant to play as my $900 main bass (Charvel Pro Mod San Dimas). Crazy impressed by this model.
I had considered buying one of these when I was first starting out on bass last year but couldn't find any basses to try out locally during the pandemic, and ended up going with an Ibanez Talman for about half the price. Along the way I've picked up a few other (mostly cheap, < $300) basses, but somehow never looked at another Squier.
I noticed earlier this week that Musician's Friend had a few Squiers on sale, including the specific surf green CV 70's P-Bass that I once drooled over... and I'm pretty sure there's some law that requires all bass players to own a P-Bass, so I bought one Thursday morning for $330 (down from $430). It shipped from a Guitar Center about an hour and a half from me, and I had it by last night.
Finally unboxed it this morning and I am just floored by the overall quality of this thing.
The neck finish is a hard, very shiny gloss. The only other bass I have with a similar finish is a Gretsch G2220 - which is still not nearly this glossy. It almost looks plasticy from a distance, but doesn't feel cheap when held. Looking at it in the corner right now, the neck is as shiny and reflective as the rest of the body.
The action was pretty decent out of the box. No fret buzz and not sky high, though I'll probably lower it just a touch when I get around to replacing the (awful) stock strings. The fret ends are perfect. None of the roughness/sharpness that I'm accustomed to seeing on cheaper basses. I don't have any means to truly weigh it, but by hand it feels lighter than my Talman, SBMM Ray4, and Charvel San Dimas.
Hardware is fine. Knobs are a light metal - they feel solid, probably not painted plastic, but they're not heavy. Tuners and bridge look about standard for the price point, but they get the job done.
It's still in the 5 AM hour here right now, so I haven't been able to crank it, but... at low volume, it sounds like a P-Bass.
I also recently bought my first slightly expensive bass, a Charvel. I spent $900, and could easily tell how much better the instrument was in almost every way compared to everything else I've owned up to that point. I feel like this Squier is closer in quality to that Charvel than the rest of my lineup. The Charvel still win
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