Rock And Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) Part 2

"Rock And Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) Part 2"
Song by Handsome Boy Modeling School from the album White People
Recorded	2004
Released	November 9, 2004
Format	Digital, CD, Vinyl
Length	7:16
Samples	Antonio Vivaldi - Concerto No. 1 in E Major, Op. 8, RV 269, "La Primavera" (Spring) Luigi Boccherini - String Quintet in E Major, Op. 11, No. 5 Fatboy Slim - The Rockafeller Skank
Writer	Chester Bennington, Dan Nakamura, Mike Shinoda, Robert Hall
Producer	Handsome Boy Modeling School
Label	Elektra Records
White People track listing Intro (feat. Father Guido Sarducci) If It Wasn't for You (feat. De La Soul & Starchild Excalibur) Are You Down With It (feat. Mike Patton) The World's Gone Mad (feat. Barrington Levy, Del the Funky Homosapien & Alex Kapranos) Dating Game (feat. Hines Buchanan, Neelam & Tim Meadows) Breakdown (feat. Jack Johnson) It's Like That (feat. Casual) / I Am Complete (feat. Tim Meadows) I've Been Thinking (feat. Cat Power) Rock And Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) Part 2 (feat. Lord Finesse, Mike Shinoda, Chester Bennington, Rahzel, Qbert, Grand Wizard Theodore & Jazzy Jay) / Knockers (featuring Tim Meadows) The Hours (feat. Chino Moreno, El-P and Cage) Class System (feat. Julee Cruise & Pharrell) First... And Then (feat. Dres) A Day In The Life (feat. The Mars Volta, RZA, A.G.) / Good Hygiene (feat. Tim Meadows) Greatest Mistake (feat. Jamie Cullum & John Oates) Dating Game (Part 2)" (feat. Hines Buchanan, Neelam & Tim Meadows) Outro (feat. Father Guido Sarducci)

"Rock And Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) Part 2" is the ninth on the album White People by Handsome Boy Modeling School.

Background

On June 17, 2004, Rob Bourdon gave a interview to XFM, saying:

"We're planning on doing some writing soon, but we find we can write and demo stuff on the bus or wherever. Once you get started on a track and have ideas you need to preserve the spontaneity of them.

As for collaborations, I'd love to do some stuff with a number of people. I've recently been working with [Gorillaz and Deltron 3030 member] Dan The Automator, and [Automator side project] Handsome Boy Modelling School have offered us the chance to do some stuff with them. I can't say exactly what I've contributed - you'll have to wait and see."

Handsome Boy Modeling School was a collaborative project between renowned hip hop producers Daniel Nakamura (aka Dan The Automator) and Paul Huston (aka Prince Paul), with whom Linkin Park collaborated on a unreleased remix for Reanimation. On the project, Dan and Paul assume the characters of Nathaniel Merriweather and Chest Rockwell, respectively.

About the nature of the project, Nakamura says, "I think music in general is pretty humorless. People can sing about being in love, being in lust, happy, sad, angry -- so why isn't it OK to sing about being silly? The thing about Handsome Boy is that it's not just about being funny, but it's a commentary on hip-hop, on people taking on drug dealer names. Hey, we own a modeling school. To me, it's a cultural satire of sorts."

White People, their second studio album, came out on November 9, 2004 via Atlantic Records, after a five-year hiatus.

An article published by The Guardian reads "It was something of a logistical headache. Before they could even start work, label closures shunted them from Tommy Boy to Elektra to Atlantic. Then there were geographical challenges. Based on different coasts - Nakamura lives in San Francisco, Huston in suburban Long Island - they crisscrossed America to exploit windows in their collaborators' schedules."

White People included a sequel to the hit "Rock And Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This)" from 1999's So…How's Your Girl?, featuring Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington, Lord Finesse, Qbert, Jazzy Jay and Grand Wizard Theodore.

Prince Paul, in his character, Chest Rockwell, said, "The hard part is choosing who to use for which song. But making that choice is kind of like, 'Well, do we take the Rolls Royce or the Bentley today.' The only question we asked ourselves in the studio was, 'Would I want to get dressed to this song?' 'Would I want to make love to this song?' And if it's good, it's like making love with mirrors on the ceiling. You can't beat it."

About the track with Linkin Park, Nakamura said, "We've been fortunate enough to work with both the people who originated a lot of stuff in hip-hop and some of the guys who have perfected it. So we put them with the people who have done the best job of co-opting hip-hop to make the biggest impact in electronica and rock. Hip-hop is the biggest influence in pop culture. We put that all together in one song and it tells a big story."

Asked about the song on Twitch, Mike answered, "That's so random. That's a song by Handsome Boy Modeling School. I believe we wrote specifically for that song. Dan had a concept for like a song. Is that the one where he had the concept with like Four Seasons? A song in four like movements. It might have been." Mike's rap verse in the song incorporates parts of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" just like the majority of the rest of the track does. Chester's section, on which Mike plays guitar and does the "breathe, breathe" backing vocals, is the only part of the song that doesn't use anything from "Four Seasons".

Versions

Note: Only the date of the very first release of each version is listed.

Title	Album	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
Rock And Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) Part 2 / Knockers	White People	7:16	2004	November 9, 2004	Features vocals by Lord Finesse, Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington, beatbox by Rahzel, scratches by Qbert, speeches by Grand Wizard Theodore and Jazzy Jay, violin by Dan Nakamura, and guitar, piano and bass by Mike Shinoda. Samples Antonio Vivaldi's "Concerto No. 1 in E Major, Op. 8, RV 269, "La Primavera" (Spring)", Luigi Boccherini's "String Quintet in E Major, Op. 11, No. 5" and Fatboy Slim's "The Rockafeller Skank". "Knockers" is a skit and features speech by Tim Meadows.
Rock And Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) Part 2 / Knockers	White People (Clean)	7:16	2004	November 9, 2004	Censored.
Rock And Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) Part 2	The Fall Collection For The Discerning Listener White People Album Sampler	6:24		2004	Without "Knockers".
Rock And Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) Part 2	Atlantic Records Fall 2004	3:54		2004	Shortened.
Rock And Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) Part 2	White People (Instrumental)	6:26		September 1, 2004 (or November 9, 2004?)	Official instrumental version.

Personnel

• Rahzel - human beatbox
• Lord Finesse - vocals
• Mike Shinoda - vocals, guitar (distorted), piano (live), bass, writer
• QBert - scratches
• Grand Wizard Theodore - speech
• Jazzy Jay - speech
• Chester Bennington - vocals, writer
• Dan Nakamura - violin, writer

Production

• Robert Hall - writer
• Ed Scratch - engineer
• Prince Paul - engineer, producer, mixing
• Jamie Durr - engineer (assistant)
• Howie Weinberg - masterization
• Dan The Automator - engineer, producer, mixing

Lyrics

Album Version

DJ Jazzy Jeff: I am the original DJ Jazzy Jay from the Mighty Mighty Zulu Nation. Grand Wizard Theodore: And first I'll say my name is um, original scratch creater Grand Wizard Theodore. DJ Jazzy Jeff: For those who don't know, I started back out in '74. Africa Bambata, Disco King Mario, Cool Herc, Grandmaster Flash and you know, some of the pioneers who did it back then you know. Grand Wizard Theodore: Hip hop is universal now it all depends upon on what you do. DJ Jazzy Jeff: Hip hop is like what you would call the bastard child of a lot of different forms of music. Grand Wizard Theodore: I just feel good that like, like a lot of rock bands are like recognizing the culture. DJ Jazzy Jeff: We used to play these beats because they used to drive us on the dance floor. Grand Wizard Theodore: And people don't really know that it's a rock record until like the guitars come in and stuff like that. DJ Jazzy Jeff: We didn't have no hip hop beats back in the days we had to take it from everywhere we could get it from. Grand Wizard Theodore: Just trying to take it to another level. DJ Jazzy Jeff: That's what keeps the music new and keeps it fresh. Grand Wizard Theodore: As far as, you know, rock is concerned, I think rock is, you know, a big part of hip hop. DJ Jazzy Jeff: Rock helped influence hip hop, hip hop helped influence the world. La la la la la, La la la la la, La lala la la la [x2] Yeah, hey Shhh... Can you hear me? Okay. Listen Yo / it's like a triple-staged darkness / listen and drift Every muscle in your skin starts to shake and shift You can hate the gift / but my phrases daze your clique Spray your face when I spit / I mean it You're just too conceited / repeatin' and repeatin' You're a thugged-out gangsta pimp 'til you believe it It seems like there's too much Pac / we don't need it I'm cool on your heat / you can keep it It's not a big secret / this is a game you can't win You're singin' the same thing, but we're bringin' the answer Just / close your eyes and pretend again That your skin isn't as thin as the skin you're in (bitch) Gimme a second just to spell it out So / nobody can twist what I'm talkin' about I don't / have to fake anything I feel Because / we both know every word is real So / gimme a second just to spell it out So / nobody can twist what I'm talkin' about I don't / have to fake anything I feel Because / we both know every word is real Right about now / the funk soul brother Right about now / the funk soul brother (Handsome Boys) Right about now / the funk soul brother Right about now / the funk soul brother I got the skills of titanium / straight to the cranium Try to play me and we can go to war like Iranians A deep cat / I speak rap / as long as the beat phat My shit'll be off the meat rack Lord Finesse / don't harass the guards With the four-bars / they'll piss on, like, half your squad So they're savage / I ain't gettin' bashed I don't harass if you niggas playin' Russian Roulette with automatics See / on the street, I'm top of the rank Three words / when I get the dice, stop the bank Bet against me / you'll get your cash Leavin' my street team all for nothin' but ass-whoopin's Hard-hitters / (Handsome Boys) / the large niggas The type that sports chicks on the arm like John Ritter The bomb, nigga / been stabbin' the third Better play Jehovah Witness / just spread the word / (spread the word) The sky opens wide / to swallow me again Once I am inside / I'm lost and can't pretend These pictures in my mind / are not a part of me These memories hold me tight / 'til I can hardly breathe (Breathe, breathe, breathe, breathe) (Breathe) / I can hardly breathe (Breathe, breathe, breathe, breath) (Breathe) / I can hardly stop the memories Nothing I can say or do will take away what I've been through What you were is what I've come to be Nothing you can say to me will take away these memories What you were is what I've come to be Ahh... Ahh... La la la la la, La la la la la, La lala la la la [x2]

Gallery

• 

  Parental Advisory label

• 

  Non-PA

• 

  Instrumental (CD)

• 

  Instrumental (digital)

• 

  The Fall Collection For The Discerning Listener

• 

  Atlantic Records Fall 2004 Sampler

• 

  Scans by SergSlim