Single: Night and Day
Artist: Marco Polo ft. Big Daddy Kane
Released: March 12, 2013
A chief underground producer hailing from the East Coast, Marco “Polo” Bruno initially gained recognition in the hip hop scene when legendary Brooklyn MC Masta Ace was scouting for beats for his 2004 LP A Long Hot Summer. So even before previewing his latest track, I knew I was playing with fire. Sure enough, Al B. Sure’s original “Night & Day” jumps off as the premier sample in Marco Polo’s latest release, entitled “Night & Day”, featuring Big Daddy Kane (Scratches by Shylow). From the upcoming LP “Newport Authority 2”, the track shines as it exemplifies Marco Polo’s production style heavy on its use of samples, big bass, and a crisp beat that acts as the perfect platform to showcase some legendary emceeing. Perfectly accented scratches of Big Daddy Kane quotable (“Bring truth to the light”) act as the backdrop as Golden Era MC Big Daddy Kane drops a few gems on the track:
“Every minute that we be pretending to be
Something that we’re not because of an image we see
Lost in the wheel of fortune, we’ll spin it and see
Instead of frontin’ I’ma show you it ain’t no limit to me.”
Given Marco Polo’s impressive clientele of rap legends (Rakim, Masta Ace) and musical influences (DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Jay Dee), the track remains consistent to what any beat-centric fan of the producer can expect- he’s simply a beast with a keyboard and an MPC. Upon first listen, the provocative beat captures the listener’s interest, but it’s the selection and quality of rhymes that adorns the masterfully crafted beat which results in a thought-provoking track that leaves us wanting more. Says Polo, “ Hip-Hop is definitely not dead, you just gotta make quality music and you gotta work extra hard to get it out there. I gotta just let the music speaks for itself. I’m trying to show anyone from anywhere, if you work hard enough you can make it happen… and make some real shit.”
He’s definitely making it happen. Also on the horizon for Marco Polo, look forward to his “Port Authority 2” LP to be released this spring, featuring appearances from Talib Kweli, DJ Premier, Masta Ace, Posdnuos (De La Soul), Styles P, Inspectah Deck, & many many more.
-Leslie Dizon (Big L in ya area)
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