The band draws on influences from a number of musical traditions, from funk to Hip Hop, and is known for an unconventional style sometimes described as "avant-groove".
MMW has found moderate mainstream success—often working with noted guitarist John Scofield—and touring on the jam band circuit.
The band members were introduced to each other by jazz drummer Bob Moses, who had performed with Medeski and Wood , and was Martin's instructor.
Medeski Martin & Wood's first performances together were at the Village Gate, a popular New York jazz club. They were initially an acoustic jazz trio, but Medeski added a Hammond organ when the difficulties of touring with a piano became apparent. Their first album, Notes from the Underground, is a record of their entirely-acoustic era. All of their subsequent albums reveal Medeski's use of a wide variety of keyboards, including mellotron, melodica, and a clavinet. Wood entirely eschewed the electric bass for MMW's first three albums, and still relies heavily on the acoustic upright bass in recordings and during live performances. Their earlier albums reveal a Hip Hop influenced updating of classic soul jazz sounds, which is the primary theme of their well-known 1996 album, Shack-man.
The band received some of their first significant exposure outside of the New York City jazz scene by performing with Phish at their October 14, 1995 concert, which led to the association of the group as a jam band.[1] In addition, their performance on John Scofield's 1997 album A Go Go helped to further their exposure. The band collaborated further with Scofield again in 2006, releasing the album Out Louder under the name Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood. This was the first album released on MMW's own Indirecto Records.
From 1998–2005, MMW were signed to leading jazz label Blue Note Records, and showed them delving deeper into dense, electronic funk than their earlier albums, although the band continued to experiment with free jazz and free improvisation both on their albums and in concert.
Medeski Martin & Wood's live performances are renowned for their exploratory nature. Their concerts usually involve extended improvisations, which may be both arrhythmic and atonal, an aspect of their musicianship that is rarely documented in the studio. They occasionally tour using only acoustic instruments, reverting back to the instrumentation that they began their career with. Their album Tonic is an example of these more contemporary acoustic performances. They have also done short tours of entirely improvisatory performances. These shows usually consisted of two sets of improvisation, followed by an encore of a song from an album.
Their song "End of the World Party" was featured on the show Grey's Anatomy and can be found on the show's soundtrack.
Each of the trio's three members are involved in a large music community, and have participated in numerous side projects over the years.
In 2001 John Medeski collaborated with the North Mississippi Allstars and slide-guitarist Robert Randolph; together, these five musicians formed The Word, a bluesy gospel band. They released one self-titled album and toured extensively.
Beginning around 2005 Chris Wood formed The Wood Brothers with his brother, blues guitarist Oliver Wood. They have released several albums to date and continue to tour and record together.
In 2007 John Medeski and Billy Martin released an album as a duo, called Mago. They performed that material together at the 2007 Bonnaroo Music Festival
Smoke
Medeski Martin and Wood Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Get him out the buildin’ folks we can’t tame him
Put me in a room with a rappa you think famous
And I’ma see how ready he is to seek danger
I don't gotta lay in the snow to make angels
I get down this James Brown a different sanger
We don't gotta to fuk with you nigga so why you angry
Diamond
I scoped dat shit like sharp shooters
Yo version of hard ain’t really dat hard to us
Put me in that water I’m mimicin’ shark movement
Boss Wood I’m part human and part mutant
Any neighborhood I’m willin’ to mob thru it
And I kick it with the niggas that people done marked useless
I’m gone ride and dat’s proven
I’m not gone hide I’m back shootin’
Bang bang I take aim and brang pain
I’ma black out like lights bills that ain't paid
I’ma max out and buss down a plain jane for the culture
My moma told me the same thang
Give me 17.5 for da t-shirt
How the fans act now gotta keep merch
Gotta sponsor da kid it cost you a bit
All contracts gotta see me first
But guess what
I ain't never sign that bitch
If you da Master of yo Mind betta find that bitch
I’ma grand daddy big chair recline yo shit
If you got any more to say about the guys I’m with
I’m on go
Da gas and da smoke I want
Da cash and yo last bit of hope I want
Nigga steady tellin’ me to leave it alone
I did try
But now
Nope I wont
I want smoke for real
And dat’s for anybody that mention a nigga name
With a negative tone for real
You gone make me pull up and bring to life everythin
I put inside a song for real
I been pretty humble but to think that I’m the one play up under
Nigga wrong for real
My pull up game strong for real
I want smoke for real
And dat’s for anybody that mention a nigga name
With a negative tone for real
You gone make me pull up and bring to life everythin
I put inside a song for real
I been pretty humble but to think that I’m the one play up under
Nigga wrong for real
My pull up game strong for real
I want smoke with whoeva
I’m on go
Dat’s two letters
Keep a eye on yo dog I’m Cruella
Don't tell me you knew cuz you’d do betta
I’m feelin’ pretty gassed up finna blast off into space
Never masked up but I walked out with da safe
Dat was Craig at the end of da Next Friday
But instead yellin’ cut I really did it 5 ways
I been takin’ credit for a lick I really hit
But I see rappas like to do it cuz it sound good
I hope whateva message in yo music get you tested to the point
That you jus have a random bile movement
People out here livin’ every sentence
When they quote they favorite rappa
How I know nigga I do it
Dat’s why it’s so important to be mindful
If you don't smoke don't listen cuz I abuse it
I want smoke for real
And dat’s for anybdy that mention a nigga name
With a negative tone for real
You gone make me pull up and bring to life everythin
I put inside a song for real
I been pretty humble but to think dat I’m the one play up under
Nigga wrong for real
My pull up game strong for real
I want smoke for real
And dat’s for anybdy that mention a nigga name
With a negative tone for real
You gone make me pull up and bring to life everythin
I put inside a song for real
I been pretty humble but to think that I’m the one play up under
Nigga wrong for real
My pull up game strong for real
The lyrics for “Smoke” by Medeski Martin and Wood are rapped by an unnamed artist who speaks of his desire for confrontation with anyone who speaks negatively about him. He asserts that he is still active in the game and is not afraid to confront other rappers. He also mentions his confidence in his musical abilities and his willingness to take risks. Throughout the song, the artist emphasizes his desire to engage in a physical altercation with anyone who speaks disrespectfully about him, stating “I want smoke for real” multiple times.
Line by Line Meaning
Still in the game like da coach forgot to come change him
I'm still around like the coach forgot to substitute me and take me off the game.
Get him out the buildin’ folks we can’t tame him
He needs to be removed from this place because he cannot be controlled.
Put me in a room with a rappa you think famous
Let me be in a room with a rapper who thinks he's famous.
And I’ma see how ready he is to seek danger
I'll see how willing he is to take risks and face danger.
I don't gotta lay in the snow to make angels
I don't need to be in the snow to make snow angels.
I get down this James Brown a different sanger
I can dance like James Brown, but with my own style.
We don't gotta to fuk with you nigga so why you angry
We don't have to mess with you, so why are you so upset?
Diamond
Unknown meaning or may be a reference to a jewelry item.
Yo people lied you fugazy
Your people lied to you, fake.
I scoped dat shit like sharp shooters
I paid close attention like sharpshooters.
Yo version of hard ain’t really dat hard to us
Your idea of being tough is not difficult for us to handle.
Put me in that water I’m mimicin’ shark movement
If you put me in water, I can move like a shark.
Boss Wood I’m part human and part mutant
I'm part human and part mutant, and Boss Wood.
Any neighborhood I’m willin’ to mob thru it
I'm willing to go through any neighborhood and act like a mob.
And I kick it with the niggas that people done marked useless
I hang out with the people that others have labeled as useless.
I’m gone ride and dat’s proven
I'm going to keep going and that's proven.
I’m not gone hide I’m back shootin’
I'm not going to hide, I'm going to continue shooting.
Bang bang I take aim and brang pain
I shoot to hurt and bring pain.
I’ma black out like lights bills that ain't paid
I'm going to blackout like unpaid bills that cause the lights to go out.
I’ma max out and buss down a plain jane for the culture
I'm going to spend all my money and buy a plain piece of jewelry for the culture.
My moma told me the same thang
My mother told me the same thing.
Give me 17.5 for da t-shirt
Pay me 17.5 dollars for a t-shirt.
How the fans act now gotta keep merch
The fans' reaction is such that we need to keep the merchandise.
Gotta sponsor da kid it cost you a bit
You have to sponsor me, and it will cost you a bit.
All contracts gotta see me first
I have to approve all contracts first.
But guess what
Unknown meaning or may be a rhetorical question.
I ain't never sign that bitch
I never signed that contract.
If you da Master of yo Mind betta find that bitch
If you're the master of your own mind, you better find that contract.
I’ma grand daddy big chair recline yo shit
I'll sit on a big chair like a granddaddy and relax.
If you got any more to say about the guys I’m with
If you have more to say about the people I'm with.
I’m on go
I'm ready to go or start doing something.
Da gas and da smoke I want
I want the gas and the smoke.
Da cash and yo last bit of hope I want
I want your money and your last bit of hope.
Nigga steady tellin’ me to leave it alone
People keep telling me to leave it alone.
I did try
I tried.
But now
Unknown meaning or may be a transitional word.
Nope I wont
No, I won't.
I want smoke for real
I really want to fight someone.
And dat’s for anybody that mention a nigga name
And that's for anyone who mentions my name.
With a negative tone for real
With a negative attitude.
You gone make me pull up and bring to life everythin
You will make me come and make everything happen.
I put inside a song for real
I put everything inside a song for real.
I been pretty humble but to think that I’m the one play up under
I have been humble, but to think that I'm the one who is being played is wrong.
Nigga wrong for real
The person is really incorrect.
My pull up game strong for real
I'm good at bringing a fight to someone.
I want smoke with whoeva
I want to fight anyone.
That's two letters
Unknown meaning or may be a reference to the word 'go'.
Keep a eye on yo dog I’m Cruella
Keep an eye on your friend because I'm like Cruella (de Vil).
Don't tell me you knew cuz you’d do betta
Don't tell me you knew better because you would do better.
I’m feelin’ pretty gassed up finna blast off into space
I'm feeling really hyped and ready to launch into something big.
Never masked up but I walked out with da safe
I never wore a mask, but I still got away with the safe.
Dat was Craig at the end of da Next Friday
Unknown meaning or may be a reference to a movie character.
But instead yellin’ cut I really did it 5 ways
Instead of just saying 'cut', I actually went and did it five different ways.
I been takin’ credit for a lick I really hit
I've been taking credit for something I actually did.
But I see rappas like to do it cuz it sound good
But I see rappers just like to take credit for things because it sounds good.
I hope whateva message in yo music get you tested to the point
I hope whatever message you're trying to send with your music gets you put to the test.
That you jus have a random bile movement
That you just have a random vomiting episode from the stress.
People out here livin’ every sentence
People are out here living every sentence they say.
When they quote they favorite rappa
When they quote their favorite rapper.
How I know nigga I do it
How do I know? Because I do it too.
Dat’s why it’s so important to be mindful
That's why it's important to be careful and thoughtful.
If you don't smoke don't listen cuz I abuse it
If you don't smoke then don't listen because I'm making fun of it.
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: SAMUEL WOOD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind