Thursday, January 7, 2010

Music Review: Imma Be - Black Eyed Peas



Speed: 92 bpm, switches to 123 bpm halfway through

The DJ’s Take: The song is a little generic, but definitely danceable - that’s what the BEPs do. What’s interesting, especially for the DJs, is the tempo change halfway through. So you can be going along, warming the crowd up early on with something like Blame It, when you start thinking, “Maybe we should speed things up.” But you don’t want to just fade out and then abruptly cut in with something faster. Imma Be actually speeds up at its midpoint, so you can smoothly mix into some Lady GaGa, or the faster BEP singles like I Gotta Feeling and Meet Me Halfway.

Coincidence? I think not. Props to producer will.i.am, even if he didn’t mean to do it. Way to monopolize a club DJ’s playlist. Also, Imma Be is currently making a move up the Billboard charts, so it’ll satisfy the average crowd’s pop sensibilities.

Download the MP3: Imma Be
Posted by TL at 8:34 AM
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2 comments:

  1. Love the blog man, quick question...

    When you list songs that mix well with the track, are you basing it purely on similiar bpm, style, and key, or are there any other factors?

    Also, playing at a college bar, do you scratch very often? Trying to decide whether I should get some turntables and go DVS or stick with a midi controller.

    Thanks!
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  2. Thanks Doc - good questions.

    First off, when I recommend a specific song to mix with the featured song, you are exactly right. Bpm and key are the bigger factors, and style is right behind. I've mixed a lot of these together in live settings too, and they sound good. Quick note though - my turntables have a key adjust button, so no matter how much I bend the pitch, the key stays the same. So that influences my recommendations.

    I have not scratched in a live setting since maybe 2003 - I'm not good at it, although I can do it a little bit in certain situations. Honestly, I don't think it helps you in a bar/party/club setting. It may impress other djs, and it may be better than just cutting or fading into a new song that you can't beatmatch in, but I think your average customer just wants a smooth mix.

    To me, scratching is more of a battle skill. I'm impressed when I hear guys like Invisible Skratch Piklz doing it - those dudes are ridiculous. I got too much respect for scratching to be anything other than great at it, which is a secondary reason that I don't do it.
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