Special Oscars Edition: What's That Song in 'American Gangster'?

Posted on Feb 22nd 2008 6:30PM by James Sullivan
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'Do You Feel Me,' by Anthony Hamilton

Out on the perimeter of Oscar chatter, the 80th annual Academy Awards are marked by some galling snubs in the music categories. Start with Jonny Greenwood's anxiety-inducing score for 'There Will Be Blood,' which was ruled ineligible on a technicality, as portions of the material were pre-existing. In the category for Best Original Song, Eddie Vedder's work for his bud Sean Penn's 'Into the Wild' were also ignored, despite one of them, 'Guaranteed,' having won a Golden Globe. And when young soul singer Anthony Hamilton asked 'Do You Feel Me,' the Oscar nominating committee evidently had a one-word answer: Nope.

The front-and-center tune on the soundtrack to 'American Gangster,' which also features the Staple Singers, Bobby Womack's stone classic 'Across 110th Street' and new work by Public Enemy bomb-dropper Hank Shocklee, 'Do You Feel Me' is a smooth Muscle Shoals or Hi Records- style smoker that perfectly suits the movie's vintage 1970s vibe.

Somewhat incredibly, the song was written by Diane Warren, the hired gun who has built an empire on formulaic hits for Michael Bolton, Cher, Aerosmith and too many others to mention. With Shocklee's help, the song sounds like 1973 and 2008 at the same time, and more than a little 'Enchanted' -- which happens to be the name of the Disney fairy tale that hijacked three of the five Best Song nominations.

Like the man says, either you're somebody, or you ain't nobody.

Listen to the song!

Buy it on iTunes

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