blessed with free will - so we choose to be ill
Respiration (Flying High Remix)
Black Star featuring Black Thought
12″ Single, 1999
I remember the day my friend Dale asked me if I had heard the Pete Rock Remix of “Respiration” featuring Black Thought. My jaw dropped; “Respiration” was one of my favorite tracks, Black Thought was my favorite MC at the time and…well, Pete Rock is Pete Rock. I couldn’t think of anything more perfect. When I finally heard it, I was underwhelmed. The high drama of the original driving beat was gone. The stuttered snares (1:51) and bass kicks (2:42) were gone. You could have legitimately called me sad about the whole situation.
The remix grew on me though, and it soon became one of the most quoted songs…in my head. Do you have certain lyrics that you replay in your head at appropriate or funny moments? The title of this post is one of the top ten lines in my ongoing mental commentary on my life. Situations that might warrant an “oh damn” get a “blessed with free will - so we choose to be ill” or “I/we/you choose to be ill” for short. Getting off the train and at a unfamiliar grimy stop gets a “where i rotate ain’t nothin to grin at.” Any police/black teen interaction gets an “police department raid the park bench on nonsense/cause they fear to see the brothers conference.”
Some other great quotes:
“When the nighttime covers the city like a cloak, I approach and assemble my hopes into notes.” (When has going to the studio sounded so good?)
“Dedicating this song to Scott LaRock, Big and ‘Pac, Kwame Ture, Betty Carter and John Henrik Clarke, Ron Brown and freedom fighters going down - you set the pace, now we finish the race - it’s on now.”
>> songs are available for two weeks [7.9 MB]
