Not only does Paul Oakenfold produce records, but he also mixes them. In 1987 he spent several months in Ibiza with a few friends and fell in love with dance club music. Oakenfold produced "Happy Mondays' Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches" before producing for U2, Massive Attack, Simply Red and New Order (to name a few).
In 1999 after building an American fanbase he released "Tranceport" which was widely accepted by American trance fans.
After "Tranceport" came "Perfecto Presents Another World" which was arguably his most successful album, as it introduced millions more to his style.
His popularity grew as many of his works were inclulded in movie soundtracks such as Swordfish, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Die Another Day (where he remixed the James Bond theme before later going to work on the videogame Goldeneye: Rogue Agent in 2004) and Collateral.
In 2002 he released Bunkka, which featured the hit single 'Starry-Eyed Surprise'. In the same year, Oakenfold was listed in Q's "50 Bands to see Before you Die" compilition.
2004 brought about the double album 'Creamfields', but it was in 2005 that he released the Perfecto Album entitled 'Perfecto Presents The Club'.
He also released the album Great Wall, recorded live at the Great Wall of China.
2006 saw the release of 'A Lively Mind' where he colloborated with, amongst others, Brittany Murphy (for the single Faster Kill Pussycat) and Pharrell Williams. 'A Lively Mind' is an edgier, more club-based album, as opposed to his calmer album Bunkka.
Paul Oakenfold's musical career started from admirably humble beginnings, playing soul and rare groove cuts in a Covent Garden wine bar in the late 'seventies with mate Trevor Fung. By the early 'eighties, having decided that NYC was the place, Paul decamped there armed only with the chutzpah to blag his way into a courier's job in West Harlem. At that time, more than any other, New York was bursting with musical invention: hip-hop was the freshest street sound around, and Larry Levan - arguably the first ever superstar DJ, inspiring a frenzy in the crowd that some guy playing records had never inspired before - was packing out the Paradise Garage every week with the revolutionary, hypnotic mixing style that would become the acid house DJ's stock in trade.
Returning to London, Paul became one of the UK's leading authorities on hip-hop. During his stint as an A&R man for Champion he signed the as-then unknowns Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, and Salt N'Pepa. Oh yeah, and he appeared on Blue Peter with a breakdancing crew who he was looking after at the time.
In 1985 young Paul spent the summer on a beautiful Balearic island called Ibiza. Ever heard of it? Oakey is as much responsible as anyone for making it the clubber's paradise it is today, as two years after that first trip he, alongside mates Trevor Fung, Nicky Holloway, Ian St Paul, Danny Rampling and Johnny Walker, went there for a week to celebrate his birthday. If the first visit had been good, this one changed their lives forever. Dancing in the warm night air beneath stars at the then open-air Amnesia to the oddest mix of music any of them had ever heard, courtesy of island legend Alfredo, Paul's urge to import this incredible experience - and the Balearic sound - back to England became too great to resist.
Prior to his Ibiza trip, Paul had been running a successful soul/jazz night at The Project in Streatham. On his return from the white island he persuaded the owner to let him run an after-hours 'Ibiza reunion' party. An attempt at a Balearic music policy had failed Paul one year earlier: the crowd just hadn't been ready to hear so many musical styles mixed together in one night, let alone in one DJ's set, but by 1987, and coupled with Paul's sheer enthusiasm and showman's talent for setting a musical mood, attitudes were changing. The night was a complete success, and led to what was to be - alongside Danny Rampling's Shoom - one of London's, and England's, first major acid house nights: Spectrum at Heaven in Charing Cross.
Spectrum grew out of Future, a night held in The Sanctuary, which annexed the much bigger Heaven club. Many never thought Spectrum (suitably subtitled 'Theatre Of Madness') would succeed: a 1500+ capacity club on a Monday night? Forget about it. And at first they looked to be right. For the first few weeks, attendance was low, leaving Paul and co-promoter Ian St Paul in dire financial straits. Then, suddenly, the vibe was out and the queues were literally going around the block. And a new phase in club culture had begun.
Spectrum continued for a couple of years, changing its name along the way to Land Of Oz. New initiates to the scene (as almost everybody was) marvelled at the full-on atmosphere of the place: hands reaching up into the sweat hazed air, laser lights pulsing and washing over the smiling crowd. Alex Paterson (later of The Orb) DJed in the VIP chillout area (the White Room), while Paul created his now trademark fervour in the cavernous main room.
Alongside running a seminal club night, Paul's production career had also begun by 1988 under the name Electra, working with long-time collaborator Steve Osborne. By 1990, with his work on The Happy Mondays' frugadelic Wrote For Luck and then Hallelujah (on the Madchester Rave On EP), Paul had created two of the cornerstone records of the indie-dance scene, a hybrid that demystified acid house for kids who'd been raised on a musical diet of guitar, bass, and drums. Paul was one of the guest DJs at The Stone Roses' legendary Spike Island gig, and his work with Osborne on The Happy Mondays' classic Pills, Thrills And Bellyaches LP (NME's 1990 Album Of The Year) won the pair the 1991 Brit Award for Best Producer.
Remix galore followed, for Mondays labelmates New Order; Massive Attack; The Shamen, and Arrested Development among others, as Paul and Steve began trading under the name Perfecto. If the name was little known at first that soon changed with the 1992 Perfecto mix of U2's Even Better Than The Real Thing. The track, with delicious irony, attained a higher chart position on release than the original song, thus signalling a watershed in the history and growth of dance music.
1993 saw Paul hired to provide the warm-up sonics on U2's Zoo TV world tour, and as a result the de facto arrival of the superstar DJ. The past decade has seen Paul rack up a dizzying blur of firsts and foremosts, including, not least, his being voted the number one DJ in the world by the readers of DJ magazine, and has heard the name "Oakey!" yelled hoarsely from clubs, fields (including an epoch-making set on the main stage at Glastonbury Festival, no less) and arenas in every corner of the globe.
On the production front Paul began to release his own tracks as well as continuing to turn in remixes, while Perfecto expanded into a fully-fledged label. Its offshoot, Perfecto Fluoro, became the label of choice in the mid-'nineties for the harder, trippier Goa trance sound. Today Perfecto boasts artists as diverse as Arthur Baker, Harry 'Choo Choo' Romero, and Timo Maas on its roster, and has gone from strength to strength by refusing to pander to only one style of dance music. Alongside the building of the Perfecto brand, Paul released a string of superlative mix CD's, amongst them his awesome New York set for Global Underground - still the series' biggest seller to date. And who else would have been commissioned to write the theme for what was certain to be the biggest TV show of all time? How did you guess? Paul wrote and produced the Big Brother theme, as Element 4, with Andy Gray.
On the club front, well, time for a deep breath...Ready? OK, here we go: Paul undertook a legendary two-year residence at Liverpool's Cream that took residencies in general to another level, from the personally designed DJ booth to die-hard fans (dubbed 'the Oakenfolk' in the press) who would travel the length and breadth of the country week in, week out to hear him whip up a magical musical storm, that would still be ringing in the ears and exciting the mind in the office or the lecture hall on Monday morning. Ever keen to push himself further and harder, Paul decamped in 1999 to become Director of Music at home, the multi-million pound superclub built defiantly - and, as it turned out, problematically - in Leicester Square, the heart of London's West End. That club's immediate downturn in popularity after Paul's departure goes to show the extent of his impact and following. There are but a handful of DJ's in the world who attract the fervour and create the excitement that he is capable of provoking in a crowd. You only have to be there when he plays to feel the electric charge in the atmosphere, more akin to the devotional than the merely appreciative.
Leaving home was a difficult decision for Paul, but he risked his UK and European profile, not to mention turning down the certainty of serious amounts of cash, to decamp to America, one of the few places in the world - ironically, given that it all started there - where dance music is yet to be championed and grasped in the way in which it is elsewhere around the globe. But this was a move typical of the man: where others would sit on their laurels and bathe in their hard-won glory, he has always taken the tougher option, sustained by his belief that greater effort means greater rewards. It's this attitude that saw him leave a huge fanbase in Britain to start all over again in the U.S.; that has seen him play to crowds in the low hundreds in isolated Alaska; and that led him to take a pair of Technics with him when he went on holiday to Cuba, and organise a free, unpromoted and not strictly legal party, purely to spread the word of great, life-affirming music and good, good times. This man lives, breathes and eats his art.
So what now for a man at the pinnacle of his profession, the world's premiere DJ? Why, upward, ever upward of course. 2001 has seen Paul score the Joel Silver-produced and John Travolta-starring Swordfish, remix the theme to Tim Burton's Planet Of The Apes, DJ on Moby's Arena:One U.S. tour, and make a triumphal return to his home shores with a free gig that left tens of thousands sweat-soaked and grinning like Cheshire Cats on London's Clapham Common. We can only expect that the best is yet to come, so stay tuned and prepare to be amazed.
Set It Off Featuring Grandmaster Flash
Paul Oakenfold Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I said, motherfucker are you ready
It's going down motherfucker yes ?
Fifty pounds of kush I get paid because I did enough
That's the wrong way motherfucker ya I did it all
Pussy ass niggers over there y'all niggers sour
? nigger get a border of command
Don't you know that is me and my cousin, big snoop ?
? motherfucker we buzin'
Got the streets on fire yeah we burnin' down the block
? champs in the ?
? just like the fourth of July,
Fireworks letting off and more niggers will die
? crime motherfucker it's too late for that
Get your ? have some feeling smoke some weed and ?
When it's all said and done I said I told you so
So ? motherfucker, let's go blow off a blunt
You know I stay on the grind, you know I bust with that knife
You know I stay with the weed, you know I got what you need
You know I stay on the grind, you know I bust with that knife
You know I stay with the weed, you know I got what you need
Better hold on tight, with all your might
Cause snoop dogg is on the mike and I'm rocking ? tight
I came through the do might do them all draped in blue
I stand tall I'm on the ball, who is that doggy dog ?
I got hoes everywhere, every time that I step
I got my ? I got my ? tub under my ?
I'm so smooth if I pull through the L-B-C
I'm so tragical, radical, classical, mechanical, dramatical, magical
Move with it, move with it, let ?
? should be ? give me the ?
I see you suckers popping at their mouth
I see some niggers running out, I see niggers dropping out
We gonna pop them we gonna bust them, we gonna hit them, hit them, touch them
We gonna end all discussion, we gonna rush the, we gonna rush them
We gonna pop them we gonna bust them, we gonna hit them, we gonna touch them
We gonna end all discussion, we gonna rush the, we gonna rush them
You know I stay on the grind, you know I bust with that knife
You know I stay with the weed, you know I got what you need
You know I stay on the grind, you know I bust with that knife
You know I stay with the weed, you know I got what you need
? one OG, heads to the e, double double o v
That nigger ? to the z
And we be nothing but ? be gees
We piss on niggers and we squeeze on hoes
When we step through the doors everybody exposed
? smooth like a ? nigger lay ?
I'm in this motherfucker ? we will shoot you, nothing to explain
And then I put that fucking bullet through your motherfucking brain
Extract the ? up, ? cane
? shout out to the real killers, dope dealers and ? and all of them real niggers
Ain't no words to explain it ? simple and done
Now there's over with it nigger, this side of west was on
You know I stay on the grind, you know I bust with that knife
You know I stay with the weed, you know I got what you need
You know I stay on the grind, you know I bust with that knife
You know I stay with the weed, you know I got what you need.
The lyrics of Paul Oakenfold's "Set It Off" featuring Grandmaster Flash aren't explicitly narratively driven. The track is more about the attitude and the vibe it creates. It's essentially a laid-back party jam with some aggressive, violent, and vulgar language. The song's lyrics suggest a sort of rebellious and dangerous lifestyle that's often associated with gang culture.
The chorus section is essentially a call-and-response between Paul Oakenfold (the "You know I" section) and Grandmaster Flash (the "Are motherfuckers ready" section). The verses, on the other hand, are filled with bravado-laced lines about how tough the rappers are, and how they're always ready for a fight. The song's various references to weed and violence give it a certain edge, but there isn't any particular message or theme beyond partying and posturing.
Line by Line Meaning
Are motherfuckers ready,
Are you prepared for what's about to happen?
I said, motherfucker are you ready
I am asking you if you are ready to go through with this.
It's going down motherfucker yes ?
Things are happening, and it's time for you to act.
Fifty pounds of kush I get paid because I did enough
I have earned my reward by doing what was necessary.
That's the wrong way motherfucker ya I did it all
You're doing things the wrong way. I, on the other hand, have already done everything.
Pussy ass niggers over there y'all niggers sour
Those cowardly individuals over there are envious and resentful.
? nigger get a border of command
You need to get organized and take control of the situation.
? niggers get ready stand for the ? fuck a time
Get ready and stand up for what's right no matter what time it is.
Don't you know that is me and my cousin, big snoop ?
Do you not recognize that it's me and my cousin, Big Snoop Dogg?
? motherfucker we buzin'
We are high and feeling good, motherfucker.
Got the streets on fire yeah we burnin' down the block
We are causing chaos and destruction in the streets.
? champs in the ?
We are the champions and the best in what we do.
? just like the fourth of July,
We are causing explosions and making a lot of noise, much like the 4th of July.
Fireworks letting off and more niggers will die
There will be more deaths and explosions to come.
? crime motherfucker it's too late for that
It is too late to worry about the crimes we have committed.
Get your ? have some feeling smoke some weed and ?
Take some drugs and enjoy the moment.
When it's all said and done I said I told you so
After all this is over, I will remind you that I warned you.
So ? motherfucker, let's go blow off a blunt
Let's smoke some weed and relax after all this chaos.
You know I stay on the grind, you know I bust with that knife
I am continuously working to improve and I am not afraid to defend myself.
You know I stay with the weed, you know I got what you need
I always have marijuana with me and I can provide it for you.
Better hold on tight, with all your might
You should hold on tightly and brace yourself for what's coming.
Cause snoop dogg is on the mike and I'm rocking ? tight
I am Snoop Dogg, and I am performing exceptionally well.
I came through the do might do them all draped in blue
I arrived in style, wearing all blue clothing.
I stand tall I'm on the ball, who is that doggy dog ?
I am confident and ready to take on anything, and you know me as Doggy Dogg.
I got hoes everywhere, every time that I step
Women are attracted to me and everywhere I go, they are there.
I got my ? I got my ? tub under my ?
I have my guns and my drugs stored safely in my tub.
I'm so smooth if I pull through the L-B-C
I am so cool that even when I am driving through the LBC (Long Beach, California), I am smooth and composed.
I'm so tragical, radical, classical, mechanical, dramatical, magical
I am complex and multifaceted, possessing many different qualities and characteristics.
Move with it, move with it, let ?
Keep up with me, and let's ride.
? should be ? give me the ?
You should listen and understand what I am saying, and then give me respect and recognition.
I see you suckers popping at their mouth
I see you talking nonsense and trying to provoke others.
I see some niggers running out, I see niggers dropping out
I see people fleeing and giving up in the face of danger.
We gonna pop them we gonna bust them, we gonna hit them, hit them, touch them
We are going to attack and defeat our enemies, with force and determination.
We gonna end all discussion, we gonna rush the, we gonna rush them
We are going to silence any further debate and quickly take control of the situation.
? one OG, heads to the e, double double o v
I am an original gangster, and I am headed to East Double O V (2000).
That nigger ? to the z
I am that nigger, and I am going to the Z (the end, the conclusion).
And we be nothing but ? be gees
We are nothing but true blue brothers.
We piss on niggers and we squeeze on hoes
We assert our dominance over others and exploit women.
When we step through the doors everybody exposed
When we enter a room, everyone is vulnerable and in danger.
? smooth like a ? nigger lay ?
I am smooth and suave, like a professional lover.
I'm in this motherfucker ? we will shoot you, nothing to explain
I am here, armed and dangerous, and I will not hesitate to use my weapons with no justification necessary.
And then I put that fucking bullet through your motherfucking brain
I will kill you without hesitation and in the most violent way possible.
Extract the ? up, ? cane
Take up your firearms and get ready for action.
? shout out to the real killers, dope dealers and ? and all of them real niggers
I want to give a shoutout to those who are truly successful at killing, selling drugs, and engaging in other criminal activities.
Ain't no words to explain it ? simple and done
It's impossible to accurately describe what's happening, but it's clear and straightforward.
Now there's over with it nigger, this side of west was on
It's all over now, and the west side was victorious.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, Songtrust Ave
Written by: TIMOTHY MOSLEY, CALVIN BROADUS, ROBIN Y. ALLEN, NATHANIEL HALE, O'SHEA JACKSON, LORENZO PATTERSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Juan Carlos Dunick
on Galactic Mantra (Liquid Soul Remix)
Many small errors in these lyrics. A few big ones.