Happy 15th Anniversary to Jake One’s debut studio album White Van Music, originally released October 7, 2008.
While many fans and critics (including myself) have spent countless hours arguing about hip-hop’s direction and “real” vs. “commercial” hip-hop, most artists don’t give a fuck. This is especially true for producers. They tend to spend their time hustling, either in the lab making beats or working to get placement on emcees’ or groups’ projects. The ones that I’ve known or interacted with don’t give a shit how “true to the game” the artist is who signs their check.
Producer Jacob “Jake One” Dutton has never seemed to concern himself with any distinctions we foist upon the genre. The Seattle born beat-maker has been plying his trade for over a quarter of a century. He began as an in-house producer for his home city’s Conception Records, then branched out to other independent artists within Seattle and from around the country.
Jake One is one of the few producers that created beats consistently for both mainstream heavy hitters and underground darlings. In 2003, he developed tracks for independent artists like Rasco and Krondon, but also produced a song on G-Unit’s Beg For Mercy. He’s probably best known for producing the bugged-out “Rock.Co.Kane Flow” for De La Soul and for composing the entrance music for WWE superstar John Cena.
Jake One is extremely versatile. There is no one “Jake One sound” and that has served him well. He both samples and incorporates live instrumentation into his creations. He can work with multi-platinum artists without sounding like he’s pandering to the lowest common denominator. He can work with left-of-center artists without sounding inaccessible. No matter the emcee or crew who works with the Emerald City resident, chances are they will sound good rocking to a Jake One beat.
This is exactly what Jake One demonstrated with his debut LP White Van Music, released 15 years ago. He works with a wind range of artists, some superstars and some with dedicated cult followings. Put out via indie label powerhouse Rhymesayers Entertainment, White Van Music is a compelling mash of songs.
Some tracks are finished recordings intended for an artist’s own project but didn’t make the cut for whatever reason. Others were initially incomplete recordings that Jake One completed after the fact. And still others were solicited specifically for this compilation. Jake One details all of their origins in the album’s liner notes, giving the audience a pretty thorough look at how the sausage got made. Put together, it resulted in one of the best albums of 2008.
For a time, Jake One was part of G-Unit’s in-house production team, so he worked with many artists on the label over the years. “Gangsta Boy” gives listeners a flavor of M.O.P.’s never completed album with G-Unit, as the Brownsville-born pair sound properly energized over replayed mid-1970s Blaxploitation soul mixed with mid-1990s G-Funk. “Dead Wrong” is one of Young Buck’s best songs, as he challenges all comers to test his street credentials over a mischievously evil track.
Bishop Lamont’s “Kissin’ The Curb,” featuring Busta Rhymes on the hook, is also one of his best recordings. Jake expertly manipulates a pair of synth notes from a psych rock song, transforming it into a rugged and sinister anthem. Bishop Lamont never quite broke through while on Dr. Dre’s Aftermath label, but here he proves to be a force of nature. “And my backpack, n***a, is where I tuck that tool,” he warns. “I’ll be waiting in your kitchen to hop out like Zool.” Busta’s adlibs make the song an all-timer, as he delivers an all-time great shit-talking performance at the beginning and end of the song.
Listen to the Album:
White Van Music features two tracks that Jake specifically created for MF DOOM, “Trap Door” and “Get ‘Er Done.” Of the two, “Trap Door” is superior, as DOOM records a lengthy, slurring, pop-culture reference-laden verse to some gritty surf-rock grooves. It’s not clear which project both songs were intended for, as neither would fit on MM.. Food (2004), released on Rhymesayers. Jake would later produce four tracks on his Born Like This (2009) for Lex Records, so these may have been part of an earlier version of that album.
Jake One recorded a lot of material with Hieroglyphics crew lyrical monster Casual over the years, including a pair of songs on Smash Rockwell (2005). With “Feelin’ My Shit,” Casual elaborates on his credentials by demonstrating just how long he has put in work, while listing just how many of your favorite artists, from the ’90s to the ’00s, are fans of his. Casual would eventually release the entirely Jake One produced Return of the Backpack (2013) through his own Bandcamp page.
In some cases, Jake One adds verses from other emcees to otherwise unfinished songs, creating interesting combinations. “The Truth” was originally conceived for Freeway’s Free At Last (2007), but the Philadelphia-based emcee couldn’t get Jay-Z and Kanye West together as he’d hoped. In their stead, Jake secured a verse from the underground hero (and Rhymesayers signee) Brother Ali. The beat, with its soaring vocals and strings, works well for both emcees, both of whom Jake would produce full-length projects for in the coming decade (Freeway’s The Stimulus Package (2010) and Brother Ali’s Mourning In America (2012)).
Many of the songs recorded specifically for White Van Music are especially entertaining. “I’m Coming” is a collaboration with Black Milk and Nottz, two of the best “producers who rap” out there at the time. Two of Detroit’s finest, Elzhi and Royce Da 5’9” describe radiating pure light and energy on “Glow.” “Create an illy scene, here's what I really mean,” Elzhi raps, “I make the whole city glow like the video for Billie Jean.”
The album occasionally features some conceptual material. Columbus-based emcee Blueprint kicks a vividly detailed story on “Scared,” mixing humor with extreme violence as a girl he’s seeing turns out to be a lot more dangerous than he expected. “White Van,” featuring Evidence, Alchemist, and Mobb Deep’s Prodigy, is a well-crafted homage to early 1990s gangsta rap. Jake One recreates the soulful groove featured on Above the Law’s “Flow On,” while all three emcees contemplate life’s obstacles. Little Brother hold things down on the inspirational “Bless the Child,” describing how they work to confront adversity and not shrink away from challenges. “And that's the main difference between me and my opponent,” Phonte explains. “They just say, ‘Fuck the world!’ I bone it like I own it.”
“Home” is a pitch perfect love letter to the city of Seattle. Jake One enlists longtime friends and local contemporaries, such as producer rapper Vitamin D and C-Note, each describing life in the city, name-checking local landmarks and clubs. Maine dedicates his verse to the city’s sports heroes (Shawn Kemp, Nate Burelson, and racehorse Seattle Slew) and its goats (Brian Bosworth). The song wraps up with an extended verse from Ish, a.k.a. Butterfly of Digable Planets a.k.a. Palaceer Lazaro of Shabazz Palaces. He sounds as slick as ever riding the mellow groove as he gives listeners a tour of Seattle’s predominantly Black neighborhoods.
Jake One continued to work at a pretty furious pace over the next decade and a half. He’s since produced for just every superstar rapper around, from Drake to J. Cole to Jay-Z to Rick Ross to Future. However, he’s also recorded three albums with singer Mayer Hawthorne as one half of the ’70s/’80s-inspired soul group Tuxedo. As a hip-hop producer, he’s not quite as active as he used to be, but he’s still doing great work, recently delivering beats for Freddie Gibbs and Larry June.
White Van Music gave listeners the full Jake One experience, effectively showcasing the wide range of his talent. He may not have released another compilation like it, but his discography is deep enough to show just how his peers hold him in high regard. By staying above any fray and letting his music speak for itself, he’s quietly become just as good at his craft as anyone out there.
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