Art of Noise

Released: June 28, 1999

Songwriter: Rakim Art of Noise

Producer: Shark Tank Ollie J Trevor Horn

[Verse 1: Rakim]
Hey yo, it’s something about the evening air in the summertime
Certain sounds that I fiend to hear, I wanna rhyme
My inner vision causes my metabolism to climb
And then I splatter my wisdom and the design
I leave time suspended and break gravity’s laws
Metaforce to the world ain’t spinning no more
And from there I put sounds to hear, in the autumn air
Sorta rare, something y’all will compare to Baudelaire

[Chorus: Rakim & Art of Noise]
The Art of Noise (Check it out y’all)
The Art of Noise (Aerodynamic in the evening air)
The Art of Noise (Make me aerodynamic in the evening air)

[Verse 2: Rakim]
Rakim then commits to intricate
Deep in a lady as a man can get into it
And keep you wet until the sweat began to drip
And then the instruments is intimate
Ideas I suggest will caress your ear
Bass kicks and hi hats molest the snare
Sounds as orgasmic with the melodies in there
Make me aerodynamic in the evening air

[Chorus: Rakim & Art of Noise]
Aerodynamic in the evening air
Make me aerodynamic in the evening air
Aerodynamic in the evening air
Got to be right here to inhale the evening air

[Bridge: Rakim and John Hurt]
Surrounded by flowers
The evening air in the summertime
Surrounded by flowers

[Verse 3: Rakim]
What, what, what, what
Hey yo, it’s something about the evening air in the summertime
Certain sounds that I fiend to hear, I wanna rhyme
Splatter my wisdom and the design
I leave time suspended and break gravity’s laws
Metaforce to the world ain’t spinning no more
Sorta rare, something y’all will compare to Baudelaire

The Art of Noise
Make me aerodynamic in the evening air

Aerodynamic in the evening air
The Art of Noise

(This is a thought, this is a metaphor)

[Outro: Rakim]
Yeah, Rakim Allah, Art of Noise
Our song seven
Check it out

Art Of Noise was a cutting-edge, avant-garde British new wave group known for their groundbreaking use of sampling. AON was a supergroup of sorts, formed by music mogul Trevor Horn (Buggles, Yes), producer JJ Jeczalik, engineer Gary Langan, composer Anne Dudley, and promoter Paul Morley – all part of Horn’s production team. AON scored several top 40 hits in eleven countries between 1984 and 1989. The group’s name was inspired by the 1916 book The Art Of Noises by futurist Luigi Russolo.

When Horn and Buggles keyboardist Geoff Downes joined Yes for their 1980 album Drama, Downes' drum tech Jeczalik was fascinated by his Fairlight CMI synth/sampler. He persuaded Horn to get him one, then he and Langan loaded an unused beat from Yes drummer Alan White into it and looped it into a rough song. Horn then requested Dudley make it “slightly more melodic and pleasant sounding”. The end product became “Beatbox”. The track was used by Horn’s then-brand-new record label ZTT to secure a deal with Island Records. It was included on AON’s first release, the Into Battle With The Art Of Noise EP.

“Beatbox” topped the US Dance Chart and was a minor UK hit. That same year, AON’s debut album Who’s Afraid Of The Art Of Noise was released, preceded by one of several remixes of “Beatbox” re-titled as “Close (To The Edit)” which became a US Dance Chart #4 and top 10 UK hit. The band originally wanted to remain faceless, but after both “Beatbox” and “Close (To The Edit)” crossed over to the US R&B chart and the group won Best Black Act of 1984, it was revealed that the band members were all actually Caucasian.

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