the gang has a killer flow …
What happens when you take an underground hip-hop/rock staple combine him a hot commodity rock producer and one of pop music’s biggest names? You get ‘Here Comes The Lightning,’ a track by Suburban Noize recording artist Big B which was co-written and produced by Marvelous 3 frontman/producer Butch Walker and P!nk. The gang at The Singles Party delved into this crossover track for this week’s column.
Nick Porcaro: Thanks, Macklemore! It’s because of the success of your excellent “Thrift Shop” that guys like Big B are coming out of the woodwork with offensively inoffensive crossover singles. “Here Comes The Lightning” is a piss-poor attempt at resurrecting the sing-rap heyday of Everlast, Kid Rock and Uncle Kracker. Its occasional profanity is almost as forced as the nursery rhyme reference, and this Big B fella sounds like a hungover knockoff of Brian Fallon. I fell asleep already. Verdict: One and Done.
Jason Kundrath: I have respect for co-writers P!nk and Butch Walker, so I walked into this one with relatively high hopes. Unfortunately, Big B ultimately sinks this ship, with a flow that brings neither thunder nor lightning. This is not to say it’s all a wash. I was impressed by the seamless melding of genres. “Here Comes the Lightning” takes some hip-hop attitude and drops it on top a pop structure, crossed with some of that acoustic/gang-vocally stuff that’s really lighting up the charts these days. To its further credit, the music and the melody in the chorus is legit. Yes, there are strong tones of Everlast here, as one of my fellow Breakers pointed out. But this track has me yearning for that level of quality. On “What It’s Like,” – a track that still holds up today IMHO — Everlast strung a pretty gripping yarn about three folks who made some bad choices and paid the price. On this track, Big B’s hoarse flow rambles on generically about facing our struggles, or something. Then, in verse two, he drops this ironically priceless gem: “These muthafuckas have no class / done everything but jerk ’em off and wipe they ass.” Seriously? I’m out. Verdict: One and Done, muthafuckas
Lauren Stern: When I saw that P!nk and Butch Walker co-wrote this, I expected a lot more from this track. Unfortunately, all of my expectations were not exceeded once I pushed play. Everything about the song is terrible. From the overdone melody to the cheesy lyrics, I was not amused. I mean, seriously did a fifth grader write this song or a bunch of somewhat respectable musicians? I know it sounds I’m being harsh on Big B, but he should probably write songs for Kids Bop instead of his own music. Verdict: 100 percent One and Done.
Kelly Gonsalves: Other than a rather pleasant, sunny beat and some charming whistling and gang vocals thrown in here and there, there’s not much very interesting going on with Big B’s new single, “Here Comes the Lightning.” I’m not overly fond of Big B’s raspy vocals — even just listening to them makes MY vocal chords hurt. Plus, while the P!nk influence in the message of this song is very evident and I’m all about it, it feels a little silly coming out of the big bull of a guy that Big B is. However, I generally dig low-key hip hop feel of the song, particularly the kiddish but endearing little spin on the nursery rhyme. While others might find it boring, I wouldn’t mind it coming up on shuffle on my “chill” playlist. Nothing too exciting, but nothing horribly unpleasant. Verdict: Acceptable for the Playlist, but not necessary.
Joe Zorzi: Oh, man. I don’t know. The dude’s got a cool voice though and I honestly don’t really mind the verses too much. But overall this is all just too paint-by-numbers to be worth giving it a listen. The chorus is so beat. The lyrics are embarrassing. There’s really nothing to this song. It’s not catchy enough to have no soul. Verdict: One and Done, YO
Jason Stives: Remember Everlast? Yeah, I try not to either. Apparently, Whitey Ford is trying to sing the blues once more under the guise of another rapper named Big B and it feels so out of place. On one end I could easily see this being a hit single back in the early 2000s but its chorus and his unnecessary need to curse just feels forced and the genre hopping nature of the track gives it no soul and identity. With all due respect to both P!nk and Butch Walker, but they probably should have re thought writing this one. Verdict: One and Done
Brent Johnson: I was once at a music festival where Uncle Kracker played a set. So I left. Now, we meet Big B, who apparently wants to look like Mr. Kracker, sound like Kid Rock, and use a nursery rhyme in a chorus — without any sense of joy in the inflection. Pass. Verdict: One and Done.
Bill Bodkin: See the photo of Big B posted in this column? I chose it for a reason. This is the LAST dude, maybe outside of Slayer’s Kerry King, who should be working with P!nk and Butch Walker. Yes, they are both at the top of their respective musical worlds but this is just such a blatant styles clash. And you know who I don’t blame? BIG B! When two mega-stars come to you and want to write a song for you and then produce that song for you … do you turn them down? Maybe you do … but it’s kind of a silly thing to do when you’re trying to be a successful musician. What kills me is that P!nk has stated she’s a fan of Big B — and this is the song she writes for him? Kind of an insult. Walker and P!nk should have come up with something that sounded better the result of a night heavy drinking and too many hits from the bong.
Do me favor readers of this column — forget about this song and listen to Big B’s other records. He’s got some really, really good stuff in his catalog, much better than this. Verdict: One and done.
Final Verdict: We’re going to tell you to pass.
