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Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010

Even though this was the first full year without Static, he still a left his mark on the year musically. Let's rewind and see what Static brought us in the 09: Songs: Pretty Ricky - Tipsy Twista - Gotta Get Me One (feat. Static Major) Static Major - Your Valentine Smoke E. Digglera - On The Downside (feat. Static Major) Pleasure P - Illusion Pleasure P - Fire Lovin' Albums: Playa - The Unreleased Compilation (thank you Smokey!) StaticMajorIsMusic Presents: The Christmas Mixtape (Big props to Slam, Farid and of course, Neeze) Just to name a couple of things. However, this is just the beginning of things. 2010 will be even bigger with a new single coming out, a new album coming out, and of course this blog. To give you a sample of what's to come soon... Here is the next single. No more snippets for everyone! lol Let's start a buzz for this joint. We need Suppertime to come out!

Music: Jamie Foxx - Can I Take U Home

One of the last Static/Timbaland connections ever but it was a hot one. An interesting fact about this track is Static was going to keep this track for himself. Other than "So Anxious" by Ginuwine, this might be favourite slow jam from the Static/Timbaland duo. And here is the instrumental for everyone. You can hear a Jodeci type feeling all over this joint! The hunt for Static Major's version of this track begins now.

Music: JoJo - City Lights

This song is amazing. Anyone that can write a track for a 14 year old without making it sound like puppy love automatically gets my respect. That's the type of ability and talent Static had. He wasn't limited to one song writing ability, he could target to every audience. And that's what you'll hear on his next single "All Da Way 2 Heaven". But anyway, here is "City Lights" "Hey all, Im about to go to bed, but before I do I wanted to write to you about an immensely talented man who passed away yesterday. Stephen Garrett, aka Static Major, was a writer/producer/artist signed to Blackground Records who wrote many hits for a variety of artists and was a member of the underrated but incredible r&b group, Playa. I had the pleasure of working with him for the first time in 2003, and two songs he wrote for me were on my first album. He was also about to release his solo record and had just serviced his first single to radio. When my mom told me he

Playa - 30 years To Life (Movie Soundtrack)

I've seen some of you talkin about the song "She Ain't So Bad", one of my fav Playa song, even if we just could hear a snippet of the song. Actually i think Static is doin it solo. The song contains a sample, from Barry White - Our Theme, released in 1981. Static singin' is amazing, it fits perfectly with the movie theme, deep feelings about women/men relationships. The movie was originally done in 2001, & the dvd was released in 2003, but the soundtrack never came out, & some songs that was played in the movie stayed unreleased til this day. Here's what was playin in the movie: You can see another Playa song called "Baby Girl", song is actually "Lust" but an earlier version, beat is the same, but lyrics on the chorus & vocal arrangements are differents. As always, on the Staticismusic.blogspot.com, after reading the story, hear the music, but unfortunaly, only the portion of the tracks played in the movie are available (so for

Tim Barnett Interview (Part 2)

Here is the second portion of the interview. Most of them answered the questions that the readers wanted to know!

Live Chat With Tim Barnett on Skype

If anyone is interested, Tim is willing to go on Skype to answer some questions either about the background of the songs on the mixtape or anything about Static in general. For those not familiar with Skype, we can allow everyone to listen in to Tim talking, and he can respond live to questions anyone asks in the chat room. I will be willing to moderate the whole thing so Tim can focus on answering the questions while I gather them from the chat. Of course, Buddha will record the whole thing so whoever can't make it can listen afterward. Please comment here if you are interested in doing this type of things. Thanks.

Music: Static Major - Slow Jams (feat. Goodfella & Animal)

I know most of you are enjoying the Christmas mixtape and we hope you are because we put in a lot of work into it. However to many people, there is one glaring omission on the tracklist and that is the track "Slow Jams" produced by Willy Will. Basically we forgot to put the track on the mixtape, so I've decided to put it out for everyone who was expecting the track to be on it. We will also be interviewing the producer Willy Will soon to discuss the background information of not only this track but also the Twista version. I know some you have questions for him, so you can put them in the comments section.

StaticMajorIsMusicPresents: The Christmas Mixtape

Download Link: http://www.4shared.com/file/180751856/e7257783/Static_Major_-_The_Christm as_M.html http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3C4AIQKI Merry Christmas everyone! Credits: Executive producers: Buddha, DJ Slam, Neeze, Farid Mixed by: Farid Mixtape Cover by: Luke To DJ Slam: Hard work does pay off no matter what anyone says! I learned that from you. I appreciate it, bro! To Farid: The original Playa fan! Big props for putting this whole mixtape together. I owe you one for sure. To Neeze: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do this and never losing focus on the ultimate goal. I definitely consider you more than a facebook friend. You’re family to me. Same goes for Farid and Slam! To the fans: We hope you enjoy this mixtape and continue keeping Static’s legacy alive. To Stephen “Static Major” Garrett: Even though you aren’t with us anymore, your music will live on through us. - Buddha

Christmas Mixtape Update

For those that don't know, we're planning on putting together a mixtape... Stay tuned people :) Update #1: I can confirm to everyone these tracks will be on the mixtape: Slow Jams (CDQ) and the full version of Questions. Check back later as I will be updating this. Update #2: Jodeci and Timbaland lovers don't have to worry because there will be something for you guys as well. Update #3: Let's talk about sex baby, let's talk about you and me. Update #4: Dem Playa Boys will be on the mixtape of course. Update #5: Here is the album cover (shout out to Luke!) Update #6: Got a lot more material from Neeze than expected. We're redoing the tracklist.

Playa - Love (Interlude)

Songs like these really showcase Playa's true vocal talent. They were just...SINGING on this track, and don't get me started on those harmonies. And of course, when there is a Playa song, the influence of Jodeci is not far behind. This is the second edition of the Playa-Jodeci connection, and this one comes from Jodeci's "Jodecidal Hotline".

Music: Destiny's Child "Say My Name" (Timbaland Remix) featuring Static Major

Here is the Timbaland Remix of "Say My Name" which was only avaialable as an international bonus track on the group's "The Writing's On the Wall" album. This version is a smooth contrast to the more uptempo original version and Static's ad libs set it off.

Music: Truth Hurts - Addictive

This track took a while to catch onto me, but the song is a BANGER. It's a shame a lawsuit happened with the sampling of the original record (Thoda Resham Lagta Hai" by Lata Mangeshkar), because it really took a lot of the momentum away from not only the single but the album as well.

Music: Playa "Playboy Like Me" (Blue Streak Soundtrack)

Here is Playa's contribution to the Blue Streak soundtrack from 1999.

Suppertime Tracklist

This could be possibly change by the time the album drops, but this is what it looks like right now. Tracklist: All The Way To Heaven Bus Stop Breezy feat. Goodfella & Native Fire Flashback For A Long Time I Got My feat. Lil Wayne Lush Miracles My Lady Speed Of Light Wish I Knew You Then I'm not that happy with the tracklist, mainly because they left out a lot of fan-favourite tracks like "Infatuated", "Coffee In Da Morning" and "Private Number". I can also tell you exclusively on the blog that "Wish I Knew You Then" will feature a special guest. Stay tuned!

[UPDATE] Music: Static Major - Stallion (feat. Goodfella)

Even though Static was a widely known hit maker in the music industry, he never forgot about his people in Louisville. He could have easily worked with the Timbalannds for the rest of his musical career, but instead, he chose to work with local rappers and producers in hopes that Louisville's music scene would blow up as a whole. He definitely struck gold with this banger titled "Stallion", which is produced by Louisville's own Spark1One. It also features a sick rap by Goodfella. Unfortunately, a CD quality of the song doesn't exist on the internet yet. Like many unreleased Static songs, we may never know if we'll ever get to hear the song in CD quality. And for sample lovers out there... Pay attention to 1:12 to 1:25. Tell me what you hear. Big props to my girl violinchick08 for the sample find. UPDATE: After bugging him about the track for a good month (lol), Spark1one decided to share the song in CDQ with all of us. Enjoy! Big props to Spark for fulfilling

Music: Pretty Ricky - On The Hotline

Yes, it is easy to pick on Pleasure P because of his current situation, and it's also easy to pick on Pretty Ricky for selling wood with their latest album (debuted at #97 on the Billboard 200 albums chart). However, let's not forget what kind of material before the breakup and also before Static passed away. "On The Hotline" is one of those smashes that most of us were probably ashamed to like, because it was by Pretty Ricky. But there's no denying how infectious and catchy the hook is. And here's some background info about the song from the VIBE article: LIL D : “Hotline,” from my understanding, Pretty Ricky didn’t like. They were like, “Man, we don’t talk like that.” And that song was huge for them. Static had a way of getting people to do stuff you really didn’t want to do. And from our very own Tim Barnett, he told us Static actually wrote an entirely different song to the beat, but felt he could make an even bigger song; and that is what you hear today.

Music: Playa - We'll Meet Again

This is one of the rarest known Timbaland produced songs out there. It was sort of like a myth to a lot of people because we all knew it existed, but we just didn't know if it was ever going to come out. From the interview with Neeze , he told us Static wanted to keep this joint and put it on his Suppertime album. It definitely sounds like this was one of Static's favourite joints and it's one of my favourites too. Let's take this moment to not only remember Playa's great music, but also remember when Timbaland actually made Hip-Hop beats. If you haven't read it by now, Timbaland is retiring from making Hip-Hop music. And some Static news for everyone, "All The Way To Heaven" is slated for a Late-January release. Check back soon for the tracklist.

Suppertime Update

Had an opporunity to talk to D Washington (A&R for the Suppertime project) and I should let everyone know that the album is mastered and finalized. No date has been set yet, but a single has been picked and it is "All The Way To Heaven". I haven't heard the song, but according to producer Rudy, "He's got my all-time favorite song, "All the Way to Heaven," which has kind of a Prince feel." There you have it! Stay tuned for more updates on Suppertime.

Question Of The Week #3

We've talked about the female artists, let's now talk about the male artists. "What is your favourite Static-penned track by a Male Artist (Male Group)? To make it fair, you're not allowed post any Static songs (that's for another week, lol) or Playa songs. I'm going with "So Anxious" by Ginuwine, which is actually my favourite song of all time. Other considerations for me would include "Pony", "Same Ol'G' and "Final Warning" by Ginuwine, and "Can I Take U Home" by Jamie Foxx.

Rolling Stones: Songs/Albums of the Decade

Songs: 86. Aaliyah - Try Again Though I disagree with the number placement, I'm glad people still remember this song because it's a classic. Static and Aaliyah made timeless music together, and they will continue to live on through their music. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/31248926/100_best_songs_of_the_decade/27 Albums: 32. Lil Wayne: Tha Carter III Even though "Lollipop" didn't make the best 100 songs list ("A Milli" did), we can still celebrate this achievement. If it weren't for Static and "Lollipop", who knows if Lil Wayne would have the success that he's having now, popularity wise and sales wise. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/31248017/100_best_albums_of_the_decade/44 On a side note though, why is Aaliyah's self-titled album not on the list? Album is a classic!

Music: Playa "Your Dress" (Dr. Doolittle Soundtrack)

"Your Dress" is a song by Playa that was their contribution to the Dr. Doolittle soundtrack back in 1998. This is one of the handful of tracks where we actually had a chance to hear Static rapping. Tim mentioned to us in the interview that he had a chance to rap with 2Pac on a track, but the collaboration never materialized. Also on the soundtrack are Aaliyah's "Are You That Somebody" and Ginuwine's "Some 'Ol G"; two hits that were penned by Static. Playa "Your Dress"

Question of the Week #2

Even though Static was still grinding hard with the group Playa, he ventured out and soon became an accomplished songwriter. So the question today is, "What is your favourite Static-penned track by a female artist (female group)? This is another hard one for me because it's hard enough choosing from Aaliyah's catalogue. Then when you add in all the songs that he's done for artists like Brandy, Nicole Wray and Truth Hurts, it becomes a hard question to really answer. I'm going to have to go with "Are You That Somebody?" or "Try Again" by Aaliyah. It would be impossible for me to choose from these two because really, they're both on my "top 5 songs of all time"." I'm going to go with "Are You That Somebody" though, just because of how unique the song is, and also because of the fact that I got my Rock music listening friend listening to Aaliyah because of that song.

Music: Playa - Sumthin 4 Ya Trunk

Can't really say much about this joint besides the fact that it's hot. An interesting fact about this song is that they used certain elements from the K-Ci and JoJo song "HBI". Now we all know Jodeci was a huge influence on Playa, so was this just a coincidence? We'll consider this part 1 of the Playa/Jodeci connection (with many more to come!)

Music: Playa "Incense Burning" (Exit Wounds Soundtrack)

I know many might not agree with me, but this is my favorite Playa track right here; this song is so soothing. This song was Playa's contribution to the Exit Wounds soundtrack which released back in 2001. I asked Smokey, who handles the lead vocals on the song, about it and he said it's his favorite solo song he did while with the group.

Music: Ginuwine - Same Ol' G

Oh man I love this song! The Timbaland beat on this track is so smooth and it meshes perfectly with G's vocals. Not only was the song written by Static, but that's him singing the chorus! This was confirmed by Tim in the interview we did with him. In addition, all of Playa appear in the video. Another little known fact provided by Tim is that Static recorded his own demo version of this song, but it was left along with a bunch of other demos in a taxi somewhere by someone who will go un-named!

Music: Playa - Gravy Train

Guess what song Playa sampled this track on, and I might just post the song for everyone as a bonus with the interview that's going to be conducted tonight! EDIT: Yung Major got it correct! The track is "Gravy Train", which is undoubtedly the most popular unreleased Playa song. A lot of people heard a 2 minute snippet of the song from the Def Soul Sampler back in 2001 and assumed it was produced by Timbaland (which probably contributes to the popularity of the track, just because Timbaland has a huge following himself). However, the track was NOT produced by Timbaland, but actually by Keybeats (the people who did most of Aaliyah's last album). We spoke about this track during the interview we had a couple of days ago. I'm not sure if it's on any of the ones I've posted yet, but I can tell you right now that this was going to be Playa's first single off their second album. There were also considerations in putting a young Ludacris on the track. And like

Tim Barnett Interview (Part 1)

DJ Slam, Tim and I talked for a good 3 hours or so. While I was editing everything, I realized there was way too much stuff. So I've decided to split this into three sections because no one is going to sit here and listen to a 3 hour interview, lol. The other two sections will be posted in the coming weeks. We talked about a lot of stuff that I had no idea about, and I consider myself a HUGE Playa fan. DJ Slam and Tim did the interview, while I recorded it. We did the interview through Skype so if you hear them laughing at any point, it's because I was typing my comments while they were talking. http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=1DBB26EC98BBB42E

Music: TQ - Paradise (Produced by Static Major) + Interview On Working With Static on the Song

This song was produced by Static and according to TQ, Static had originally planned to use the beat for "Suppertime." TQ explains it all int he interview clip below. Here is an excerpt from an interview that I did for YouKnowIGotSoul with TQ. He was very open and candid about working with Static, and he basically tells you everything you need to know about the background of the song. TQ on Working With Static Major YKIGS: On your album “Paradise” the title track was produced by a personal favorite of mine Static Major. How did this collaboration come about and what was it like working with him? TQ: Well, my promoter, a guy who used to promote with me, was managing Static, and well….more than him my people had actually, people had been trying to hook me and Static up for the longest. And actually I didn’t know how heavy Static was until actually my DJ put me up on game, he actually said “you need to hook up with Static, you need to hook up with Static.” As he’s like that’s a g

Ask Tim: Interview with Tim Barnett (UPDATE #2)

UPDATE #2: THE INTERVIEW IS COMPLETE. IM EDITING EVERYTHING RIGHT NOW. IT WILL BE UP SOON! A LOT OF INTERESTING STUFF. UPDATE: The interview will take place Thursday night, so get all your final questions in! Tim Barnett, better known to some as Static's best friend, will take the time out of his busy schedule to discuss the ins and outs of moments that happened in Static's musical career. Along with that, he's also giving the readers of this site an opportunity to ask some questions. So leave the questions in the comment box and I'll try to incorporate as many as them into the interview as possible. Tim was with Playa from the start and was essentially like the 4th member of Playa (still being determined if he can sing or not, lol.)

Music: Playa - Wrong Side Of The Bed

Here is another blog exclusive for ya, and this one is produced by Timbaland. A lot of us are probably familiar with this track, but this is in CD quality. Yes, I said it, CD Quality. I remember discovering this track on Playa's myspace a couple of years ago. I had heard Outsiderz4Life's version prior to that and had no idea the original version was done by Playa. It is definitely one of my favourite Playa tracks (one of Tim Barnett's favourite also). Whose version of the song do you prefer? Outsiderz4Life's or Playa's? Outsiderz4Life - Wrong Side Of The Bed Playa - Wrong Side Of The Bed And a bonus for all the beat lovers out there, can you hear the tick tick sound in the beginning? Timbaland also used that sample on "Time" by Aaliyah, which I believe was written by Static. Though the song was unfinished, you can hear Static's trademark writing style on it.

Music: Playa - If You Scared, Then Say You Scared (Smoke Comments on Static as a Person)

Here is Static and Smokey performing "If You Scared, Then Say You Scared" live. This is a really moving performance right here, and this right here is the essence of r&b music. Here is Smokey singing his version of the song which appeared on his last album "The Truth in The Booth." Also, I recently had a chance to interview Smoke, and here are his thoughts on Static Major as a person: Smoke: He was cooler than a fan. He was a workaholic. He knew what he wanted, was put in a great situation to get it, and got it! Very blessed person. I'm very proud of his accomplishments. Easy to work with, too. Luv him & miss him, STILL! Click Here to read the full interview, where Smoke talks about everything from his time spent in Playa, to working with Static Major, to running his own record label and developing his own artists.

Music: Keith Sweat - Love Jones (feat. Too Short, Eric Sermon and Playa)

Here is a song that many of you may not know about, due to the fact that Playa, to my knowledge, was never officially credited for it. The song is off Keith Sweat's 1998 album "Still In The Game" and features Static on the hook. I believe Static penned the track while Smokey produced the beat. I'm not 100% sure about this information yet, but that is definitely Static doing the hook.

Music: Faze - Dance 4 Me (feat. Static Major)

Here is a new Static song for everyone titled "Dance 4 Me". The song is off Faze's latest album "Unfinished Business", which you can pick up on Amazon/iTunes. I'll be completely honest with ya'll when I say I have NO idea who the members of Faze are, but I came across their myspace page and found out that Robert Wright (one of the members of the group) was a good friend of Static's and also his writing partner. As for the song itself, it's just that feel good music. It kind of reminds me of the material Static did with Pretty Ricky, but of course, without the honking or whatever Pretty Ricky defined as "rapping". (Reader's note: I did enjoy a lot of Pretty Ricky's stuff, lol) Go check out Faze on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/fazecoldsweat

Music: Aaliyah - Are You That Somebody?

"Are You That Somebody?" was not only one of Aaliyah's biggest songs, but also one of Static Major's most successful writing credits. This is only the first of five major hits that Static would end up writing for the very talented r&b singer. Although we will never get the chance to hear another collaboration between the two, one thing for sure is that they are making great music together in heaven right now.

Question of the Week #1

It's been very slow on this blog, which means you guys have to spread the message about the blog! So to see who actually checks this blog out and to have some fun with this, the question for this week is: What is your favourite song by Playa? It can be released, unreleased or both. For me, it would have to be either "Together", "Cheers 2 U" or "Gravy Train". I don't think it's possible for me to choose one, but if I had to, it would probably be "Cheers 2 U".

Music: Static Major - Deeper

The harmonies as usual are amazing on this song. I hope I'm not the only one that tries to filter out the instrumental just to hear Static's background vocals. This is a song that a lot us are probably familiar with, seeing as it's been on Static's myspace for a while now. I'm sure everyone has ripped the myspace quality of the track, but... As an exclusive at StaticMajorIsMusic.blogspot.com though, here is the song in CDQ. And a fun fact for everyone, this is Smokey's favourite song by Static.

Music: Nicole Wray - Raise Your Frown

You may Nicole Wray from back in the day. She had the huge Timbaland produced hit "Make It Hot", and she was also signed to Missy Elliott's label. What you might not have known is that Static wrote three songs for her on her debut album "Make It Hot" (which by the way is still slept on, as is Nicole herself.) I will probably post the other two songs on here eventually, but I'm going to post my favourite one of the three that Static wrote, and that would be "Raise Your Frown" which was written and produced by Playa and also contains background vocals from them.

Music: Playa - Don't Be A Stranger (feat. J-Bird)

Here is one of the many tracks Playa recorded after the release of their "Cheers 2 U" album. The song is produced by Bink!, who did a lot of production for Jay-Z back in the day. The song also features Native, whom I will feature in the future with some other music he did with Static. So look out for that! As for this track, it's probably one of my favourite Playa songs of all time and it's easy to see why. What I really love about the song is the beat, which was completely different from the sound of Playa we heard on the "Cheers 2 U" album. It's definitely interesting to hear how Playa arranged songs that were out of their "natural" style. Make no mistake about it though, talented writers like Static don't rely only on one producer to make hot hits. They can make hot tracks with ANY producer.. And for the curious people out there, the song samples Will Hutch's song "Theme of Foxy Brown" You may also recognize the beat from Y

Music: Ginuwine - Pony

One of Static Major's most successful writing credits was for Ginuwine's debut single "Pony" back in 1996. Timbaland provided a crazy beat that included a melody formed by vocoded voice samples. If you listen closely, I definitely think that Static's voice is the one he used to make the beat. I would have LOVED to hear Static's version of this song. Ginuwine - Pony

Music: Aaliyah - I Refuse

One thing I admired most about Static's songwriting was the fact that he was able to connect with both male and female artists so well. One day he could be writing a song like "Pony", and then the next day he could completely switch up his style and write a deep track like this one. It's still amazing to me how he could write from a female's point of view so well.

VH1 Driven: Missy Elliott Episode

Here is part of the episode where people discuss the whole Bassment project, with appearances by Static, Ginuwine, Timbaland, Magoo, along with others. And while we're talking about Da Bassment, let's take a look at Static's first music appearance, on the remix of the Sista track "Brand New". Sista "Brand Nu" (Mr Dalvin Remix) Here is the song in CDQ for all the people that don't have it...

Pictures from Static Major's Birthday Toast

The dinner was hosted by Tim Barnett, along with Static's mother I believe. But before the toast, we have to visit Static first. Come visit the legend Happy Birthday Static Major! And the party begins... Family and Friends Static's Mom, Son (Static Major Jr) and Niece. Mr.Barnett getting his mack on (just playing, lol) Smile for the camera Lil Steve and Alexis Reppin Static for life!