Big-8 [2022] - Return [Misty Records]

It's getting to the stage where I am more or less able to determine whether something is going to be any good before listening from the artwork and I'm usually about 90% right. However, it has always been said 'don't judge a book by it's cover' and this release yesterday (16 Mar 2022) from Tokyo beatmaker/producer Big-8, "Return", is a case in point.  Opening it I just assumed that it was going to be the usual run of the mill R&B / hip-hop, so was pleasantly surprised when I heard the soulful melody in the first track. 

These tracks are obviously beats using samples and the opening track "City Romance" uses samples from Patti LaBelle's "Somebody Loves You Baby (You Know Who It Is)" written by Bunny Sigler from her 1991 MCA album "Burnin'" which sets the scene for the remainder of the album. The next track "Make Love 2" speeds up samples from Phyllis Hymans' "Be Careful How (You Treat My Love)" from "Somewhere In My Lifetime" (1978).

Nothing else is immediately recognisable to me but I'm sure you may recognise some of them. They are all quite short tracks with three less than a minute and another three less than two minutes long.

I knew the "Soul Emperor' (DJ Kool Keith) would be sniffing around this one and has identified "For Everyone" as sampling Aaliyah's "(At Your Best) You Are Love" (1994) originally done by The Isley Brothers (on "Harvest For The World" 1976).

This is Big-8's fifteenth album/mixtape since 2019.

Click icons below for further information or to connect with the artist.

Details

Rating:	7.7
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Beats / Sample
Format:	Album
Media:	Digital
Label:	Misty Records
Cat No:	None
Date:	16/03/2022
Value:	£7.92