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Amerigo Gazaway
Background information
Birth nameAmerigo Gazaway
Born (1985-11-09) November 9, 1985 (age 39)
OriginNashville, Tennessee, United States
GenresMashup,[1] Hip hop, Experimental
Instrument(s)Keyboards, Turntables, Samplers
Years active2010–present
Websiteamerigomusic.com

Amerigo Gazaway (born November 9, 1985) is an American producer, emcee and DJ known for remixes, original instrumentals and digital sampling.[2] He is best known for his documentary style conceptual collaboration albums which have incorporated the music of A Tribe called Quest, The Pharcyde, Fela Kuti, De La Soul, Marvin Gaye, Yasiin Bey, James Brown and others.[3] In 2014, his Yasiin Bey/Marvin Gaye remix You Are Undeniable was used in an Apple iPad commercial.[4] and charted on Billboard’s best-selling singles.[5]

Early life

Gazaway was born in Nashville, Tennessee on November 9, 1985. He is the son of internationally known jazz trumpeter Gary “El Buho” (the Owl) Gazaway from the Ozarks and US-Brazilian vocalist Tatiana Mindlin.[6] Gazaway has said that he was influenced by radio growing up including the local WRVU radio station which introduced him to many old Jazz tunes as well as Hip Hop. As a teen, Gazaway worked at computer shop which introduced him to programming. Gazaway senior took his son on tour when Amerigo reached 17, which further drew him to a life of music. After graduating from Middle Tennessee State University in 2011, Gazaway started The Soul Mates Project, a platform for his conceptual collaborations with his brother, Rickey Mindlin.[7][8]

Career

Under The Soul Mates project, Gazaway’s work has been called “legally iffy”[9] and often uses more than a dozen unauthorized samples from different artist. Frequently facing legal challenges for his work,[10] Gazaway has lectured on what he describes as "overly restrictive and unconstitutionally long copyright laws."[11] at the University of Southern California[12] and a Google Tech Talk: “Redefining the Remix with Amerigo Gazaway”.

Gazaway’s first full-length instrumental album, Selective Hearing Vol. 1, was released in 2010 on the Cold Busted label and charted on Beatport’s top-selling Chill-Out sales Chart.

Gazaway released his sophomore project, Fela Soul, in 2011. This was a mixture of the music of Afrobeat artist Fela Kuti and Hip-Hop group De La Soul.[13] In December of 2011, the album took top 5 ranking on both NPR and Soul Train’s year-end “Best of 2011” list.[14][15]

One year later, Gazaway released his third album, Bizarre Tribe: A Quest to the Pharcyde.[16] Again Gazaway mixed the music of two significant music acts — this time A Tribe Called Quest and The Pharcyde.[17] Bizarre Tribe earned early praise from the Los Angeles Times, New York (magazine), and Okayplayer.[18][19][20]

In 2014 Gazaway produced the album Yasiin Gaye, in which he presented an imaginary collaboration between Yasiin Bey and Marvin Gaye.[21][22] Gaining Marvin Gaye’s original multi-tracks, Gazaway was able to deconstruct and rebuild the samples to re-orchestrate the instrumentation into new arrangements.[23] The album earned Gazaway a five star review from BET.[24] and praise from Marvin Gaye’s widow Janis Gaye.[25]

As an emcee, Gazaway has released several singles, including I Can't Get Off of the Facebook, in 2011[26] which was reviewed by Time Out (magazine).[27]

Style

Gazaway’s mash-up style remixes are created from a process known as “reverse-engineering,”[28] which heavily relies on a method of deconstructing and re-orchestrating original samples to bridge overlapping themes of two separate musician’s catalogues.[29] The resulting product has been described by the Los Angeles Times as “drawing a different design within a similar framework.”[18]

References

  1. ^ "Finding Fela Archives: The Best Fela Kuti Mashups". OkayAfrica.
  2. ^ "Interview: Amerigo Gazaway Breathes New Life Into Your Favorite Classics". The Source. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  3. ^ "Yasiin Gaye : The Return (Side Two) [Stream + Download]". Okay Player. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  4. ^ "Yasiin Gaye Apple Commercial". 2 Dope Boyz. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  5. ^ "Amerigo Gazaway re-releases Fela Soul". HipHop Gods. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  6. ^ "[NEW MUSIC] Marvin Gaye x Mos Def = !!!". Ebony. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  7. ^ "EVOLT Premiere: Yasiin Gaye: The Return, Side Two". Revolt. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  8. ^ "Interview with soul mates project co-founder rickey mindlin". Stop The Breaks. October 30, 2015. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  9. ^ "Friday Picks & Sleepers". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  10. ^ "Sony Issues Takedown Of Mashup Album That Did Reinterpretation Using Original (Non-Sony) Samples". TechDirt. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  11. ^ "Amerigo Gazaway: For Love of Hip Hop". Huffington Post. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  12. ^ "Yasiin Gaye – "B Stands For Beef" [Soul Mates Tribute] + Bizarre Tribe Lecture Tease". Okay Player. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  13. ^ "Gummy Soul Explain the Origins of "Fela Soul" 2011-9". MTV Hive. September 9, 2011. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  14. ^ "Who Needs A Record Label? The 5 Best Bandcamp Albums Of 2011 2011-12". NPR Music. December 21, 2011. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  15. ^ "Best Independent Soul Music of 2011 2011-12". Soul Train. December 27, 2011. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  16. ^ "Best Mash-up Album: Gummy Soul/Amerigo Gazaway, Bizarre Tribe". Nashville Scene. By Stephen Trageser.
  17. ^ "What If A Tribe Called Quest And The Pharcyde Did An Album? 2012-9". Urban Daily. September 16, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
  18. ^ a b "Weekend mixtape: The Pharcyde collides with Tribe Called Quest 2012-9". Los Angeles Times. September 14, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  19. ^ "Download Bizarre Tribe: A Quest to the Pharcyde, a Free, Album-Length Tribe Called Quest–Pharcyde Mashup 2012-9". Vulture. September 13, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  20. ^ "ATCQ x Pharcyde – Bizarre Tribe: A Quest To The Pharcyde [LP Download + "Runnin" Video] 2012-9". Okayplayer. September 13, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  21. ^ [Year in Review: Ty Segall, D'Angelo, Beck among musical faves for 2014"]. Commercial Appeal, Bob Mehr, Chris Herrington Dec 23, 2014
  22. ^ "Marvin Gaye and Mos Def: Yasiin Gaye: The Return (Side Two)", By John Garratt 22 July 2014 PopMatters, Associate Music Editor
  23. ^ "Carson Daly's New Music Pick: Amerigo Gazaway's Mos Def/Marvin Gaye Mashup, "Yasiin Gaye"". CBS Local. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  24. ^ "Mixtape Review: Yasiin Bey & Marvin Gaye, Yasiin Gaye (The Departure)". BET. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  25. ^ "Marvin Gaye's Vocal Connection". Voice Council. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  26. ^ "Five Rap Songs That Shout-Out Facebook 2012-5". MTV Hive. May 18, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
  27. ^ "Top 5 Facebook Songs". Timeout Magazine. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  28. ^ "Peepski's Web Treats: A Quest To The Pharcyde 2012-10". Peep This. October 22, 2012. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
  29. ^ "This year in local hip-hop 2012-12". Nashville Scene. December 6, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2013.

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