Ab major · Camelot 4B · 119 BPM
Definition
by Black Star
- 119
- BPM
- Ab major
- Key
- 4B
- Camelot
- 67
- Danceability
- 3
- Acousticness
After its release, "Definition" turned up on several compilations, including Rawkus Records' greatest hits collection Best of Decade I: 1995–2005, as well as MTV Classic's 90's Nation and Yo! Hip Hop Mix. The track had first appeared as the lead single from Black Star's 1998 album, and it went on to reach number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100, a notable showing for a record that was primarily an underground hit.
Hi-Tek produced the song, building its beat around a sample of "The P Is Free" by Boogie Down Productions. The chorus interpolated another Boogie Down Productions track, "Stop the Violence", and both the hook and the lyrics in general addressed the need to end violence in hip hop.
The single's B-side carried "Twice Inna Lifetime" in Radiohead Version and Streethead Version, along with an instrumental take, while the A-side offered a radio version, a "What We Really Said" version, and an instrumental titled "Instrumental to Your Development". A reprise of "Definition", called "RE: DEFinition", was also included on the Black Star album. AllMusic writer Jason Kaufman considered the track to be a "flawless" one.
Definition runs at 119 BPM, the tempo of pop, funk and disco-leaning dance. In classical terms it sits in moderato territory. A bar of 4/4 lasts 2.02 seconds, and a quarter-note delay is 504 ms. It is in Ab major, Camelot 4B, which shares its notes with F minor and mixes cleanly with Db major and Eb major.
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