Here's the new video for "Number One" directed by M. Corey Witted. Mayer, Jake and the band will perform live on March 20th as a part of the Stones Throw Records showcase at SXSW in Austin TX.
Around the same time Marvin Gaye’s kids first hauled Pharrell Williams & Co. into court, claiming that "Blurred Lines" was a rip-off, Mayer Hawthorne and Jake One were on the other side of town bumping Snoop Dogg’s 1993 hit "Ain't No Fun (If the Homies Can't Have None)."
"We always wondered what the original sample was for 'Ain't No Fun,'" says Mayer. "Since we couldn't figure it out, we decided we would dream up what it sounded like and record it ourselves."
The result is Tuxedo's "Number One," an imaginary prequel of sorts to "Ain’t No Fun" – as the suits would call it, a "derivative work" or "interpolation."
Inspiration for music comes from everywhere. Between what is truly unique, a cover version or an uninspired copy, exists a huge landscape of music and creative expression – the vast majority of pop music.
Tuxedo’s inspiration came not just from "Ain’t No Fun," but from an entire culture of funk, boogie and hip-hop records that other producers have been sampling, covering, and riffing on for decades. In lieu of not being able to co-credit every musician who cut a disco 12-inch, Mayer Hawthorne (A. Cohen) and Jake One (J. Dutton) share songwriting credit on "Number One" with a few guys named Broadus, Brown, Hale, Griffin and Young. Tuxedo got the official blessing for the rendition after playing it for Snoop.
We advocate music-making by whatever means necessary. But whichever means those are, its probably wise to do it without crossing Snoop, Nate Dogg, Warren G, Kurupt and Dr. Dre.