I’ll be honest – I didn’t know the Lil Wayne track “Let the Beat Build” before I saw Nyle’s version, but I’m certain I’m content having only heard the Nyle remix. My biggest beef with hip-hop music these days is that the beats are all recycled and overproduced and very little of it resembles true organic music anymore. Nyle’s live band version of “Let the Beat Build” – complete with vocalists, piano and of course banjo – has all of the raw energy of a stage performance and is totally mesmerizing. Even if you aren’t a fan of hip-hop or rap music, you have to appreciate the production, planning and creative vision that went into this video that was all recorded in one continuous video and audio take.
Here’s an excerpt from Nyle’s blog about how it all started:
“The story behind Let the Beat Build is long and crazy. When Tha Carter III dropped, my friend Jo Bellino hit me up with the idea to cover the song with a live band, and do a video. That never really happened, but since I already had written the rhymes and the song was now permanently stuck in my head, I decided to do it anyway. Over the months, the idea just snowballed. I asked my friends at 194 Recordings to join the project and together we applied for a grant help make it happen.”
Visit Nyle’s blog to read and watch more about the making of “Let the Beat Build.”
This video was filmed in one take, with audio being recorded simultaneously with the film. The video features Nyle (www.nyleraps.com) and is produced by Last Pictures (www.last-pictures.com) and 194 Recordings (www.myspace.com/194recordings)
