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“Worst Comes to Worst” – Dilated Peoples
(Words/music: Dilated Peoples, William Bell, and Booker T. Jones, available on Expansion Team, Capitol Records 2001)

We’re quick to ask songwriters where their inspiration comes from, whether we’re looking at lyrics or wondering about melodies.  However, I’m incredibly fascinated with the way that DJs and hip hop producers create a track, particularly when it’s based around a sample.  While a songwriter might talk about influences, DJs hunt through crates of their idols (and others, too), looking for the perfect element to turn into a beat.  Take “Worst Comes to Worst” for example – The Alchemist builds this beat around William Bell’s “I Forgot to Be Your Lover,” a wistful, Curtis Mayfield-like soul ballad co-written by Booker T. Jones.  It’s a gorgeous ballad with an awesome guitar introduction, but it’s also been the basis for samples for Brand Nubian, Ludacris, and a handful of others in addition to Dilated Peoples.  Specifically on “Worst Comes to Worst,” Alchemist and DJ Babu turn Bell’s ballad into a light-hearted bounce.  The Alchemist pushes the tempo and adds in some more distinct drums, and Babu cuts back and forth on his turntables, whipping the original’s slower pace into something lively.  Evidence and Rakaa (with a spoken verse from Gang Starr’s Guru) run with the beat, trading off verses that sing the praises of their friends and family in addition to their love of hip hop.  It’s hard for me to listen to “I Forgot to Be Your Lover” without thinking of “Worst Comes to Worst,” but I’m not sure I see a direct line between the two.  I’m very curious what The Alchemist heard in that somber original that inspired such a spirited beat.

I also think back to my friend Scott, a DJ and emcee himself, who first introduced this song (and a lot of other slightly esoteric hip hop) through the radio show he did in the timeslot after mine.  He’s had his hand in a couple different projects where he’s proven himself as a crafty lyricist.  Most recently, Scott co-founded an educational hip hop project called Smart Songs, selling their first collection of songs through Highlights Magazine.  While this might sound horrible on paper, Scott and his collaborators manage to make the tracks feel like authentic hip hop rather than the type of offensively awful “hip hop” usually dubbed “educational.”  Even if they rhyme about the United States presidents, they’re also giving kids (their audience, after all) a taste of hip hop that’s more than the Nickelodeon show version.

More on Dilated Peoples: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm