Dynasty & Camp Lo

This post is about hip-hop duo Camp Lo's use of the song Adventures in the Land of Music in their song Luchini AKA This Is It. This sample was recommended to me from my friend Matthew White, so shoutout to him for this post!

Dynasty was a band from Los Angeles, California that created funk, disco, and soul music. They were active from the late 70s to the late 80s. The group was created by SOLAR Records label head Dick Griffey, and Leon Sylvers III who sang and produced the music for the group. They released six albums in total, the last one Out of Control was released in 1988 and they disbanded soon after. 

This might be my favorite song that I've discovered through this blog so far. It is really reminiscent of that Earth Wind and Fire sound, especially the vocals. I absolutely love the chord progression though, most notably the bridge going into the chorus. It just has that sound that makes you go "ooooh!" That's the best way I can describe it, the first time I heard that chorus I literally made the "stank face." What ties it togetehr for me is that bass line! The movement in the chorus is just so smooth, and the way it turns right back around to the beginning of the chorus (or the verse) is so nice. I love the horns throughout this song too, there's always something new to listen to throughout the song. Also, I love the timbres in this song! The strings and the layering of horns add such nice colors, the keyboard and synth pad set a nice vibe, and I LOVE how the bass sounds so gritty (probably doubled with a synth). Overall, I absolutely love this song and I'm excited to dive into the rest of their discography.

Here's Adventures in the Land of Music:

Camp Lo is a hip-hop duo that was formed in The Bronx, New York. It was comprised of rappers Sonny Cheeba and Geechi Suede. The song for this post is Luchini AKA This Is It, which came out in 1997 and is by far their biggest hit. It peaked at #5 on the Billboard Rap chart. The group is actually still active today, with an album coming out as recently as 2021. Unfortunately they haven't reached the rap charts since their second album Let's Do It Again, which peaked at #64. 

I love this song as well, it is a great vibe! It really reminds me of summers back at the beach, driving with the windows down. I had never heard of this duo or this song prior to Matt recommending it, so I'm glad he did. I like both of their cadences and flows, and the beat is really great. I like when the beat truly comes in. At first they just allow the percussion from the sample to be the beat, but if you listen closely right before the first verse comes in you can hear how they add their own drums in. This totally changes the sound of the song and really elevates the beat. They picked a killer sample to use, and they used it very well. They take the sample from the beginning of Adventures in the Land of Music, and use it throughout the song.

Here is Luchini AKA This Is It: