This rapper’s remix of Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles” has her stamp of approval
Where were you when you first heard Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles”? Maybe you thought it was… just an ordinary day. (Sorry.) But though the song dropped back in 2002, it is still iconic.
Which is probably why rapper Cam’ron just sampled it for his track “10,000 Miles.” Carlton’s verdict: “I think it totally works.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwqt1bnHoHY?feature=oembed
A little background: you may already know Cam’ron from his own work, solo and as part of larger groups like Dipset. He is also a notable early embracer of millennial pink.
“10,000 Miles” is a song from his upcoming mixtape The Program, which drops sometime in May. The song and the video follow a common plot: cheating on your committed partner is no way to live. This can best be summed up with the slogan “Cheat on your diet, not your girl.” (I bring this up because he says that in the video, and because he’s selling a t-shirt with that slogan online.)
Back to Vanessa Carlton. In an interview with The Fader, she praised Cam’ron for his use of “A Thousand Miles.”
In short, the sample works both tonally and in its totality:
"A Thousand Miles" is hard to sample. People would usually only use the piano interlude part but he uses the verse and chorus piano sections too. That's one of the reasons it works so well. Also it's a dark tale. And that juxtaposition with the seemingly light and pretty piano thing totally works.
Word. We’re always here for clever pop culture lifting, and “10,000 Miles” fits that bill.
