mixtape maestro (2.0)

For those who’ve longed for more than just a simple hook-boy contribution from Lloyd on the Young Money smash “Bedrock”, you’ll probably take a liking to this “sequel” version, which sees all of YM scrapped (except for Weezy and Drake’s original verses, of course) to give the R&B singer more of a leading role.

What does Lloyd have to say now that he’s given the spotlight? Unfortunately, more goofy metaphors that make you wish the expert at this sort of XXX-rated R&B wordplay, R. Kelly, had had a hand in the writing process.

Still, we’ll gladly take “I can beat it up like an ultimate fighter/ I can eat it up like a Siberian tiger” and “I can make your body rock/ Me no Rubble” (as in Barney Rubble) over mucho horrific Gudda Gudda quotables like “I see me with her/ No Stevie Wonder” and “I got her nigga/ Grocery bag” anyday.

P.S.: Were we the only ones to only JUST NOW figure out that Drake’s quoting some “Are You That Somebody?” in his portion? Yeah?…Oh…nevermind.

DL: “Bedrock (Part II)” (alt)

Uncategorized drake, lil' wayne, lloyd, sex-rap, young money

London rapper/ producer Wiley, aka the “Godfather of Grime”, rescues one of the greatest “one-hit wonder” gems of the 1990’s from the spiderweb-draped corners of our memory on his excellent new single “Never Be Your Woman”, a hook-recycling of White Town’s memorable 1997 DIY-pop smash “Your Woman” that finds him unapologetically shrugging-off the idea of monogamy to a sinister tropical-house soundtrack and the somber chorus moans of up-and-coming UK songstress Emeli Sande.

His feverish flow acting like skipped stones across the minimalist beat’s addicting combination of brief synth flashes and a cavernous, carnival-esque rumble, Wiley giddily boasts of his cheating ways, the promise of meeting fresh fish (and the chance to be the blinged-out center of attention) sounding like a far more attractive excursion to him for the night than spending a quiet, romantic evening at home with his main boo. And if it just so happens he gets caught, he could truly care less how his lady reacts, matter-of-factly punctuating his last verse with the oh-so-cruelly-”whatever” line: “My house/ I pay the mortgage”.

You ain’t right, Mr. Wiley (though moreso for not holding this undeniable low-key banger back for a far more fitting summertime release).

Peep the original (and our personal favorite) version below, followed by the official “Never Be Your Woman” video (presented in Shy FX Remix form).

Single (featuring remixes from Herve, Solo, Agent X and N-Type) drops February 21st.

“Never Be Your Woman (Original Version)”:

“Never Be Your Woman (Shy FX Remix)”:

DL: “Never Be Your Woman (Shy FX Remix)” (alt)

Uncategorized '90's, bedroom pop, emeli sande, grime, UK rap, white town, wiley

If there was any one track on Hot Chip’s grower of a fourth set One Life Stand that perfectly expressed the UK four-piece’s current obsession with marrying dancefloor euphoria with romantic yearning and could justify all on it’s own why the band’s hot streak will remain afire throughout the rest of the year, hands down it would be “I Feel Better”.

So soaked in ’90’s dance-pop theatrics that you expect some anonymous house diva (or an old incarnation of Madonna) to start wailing over it’s insistent house pulse at any given moment, “I Feel Better” bursts with an anthemic appeal from the get-go, it’s main hook, an icy string loop that’s later mirrored with the saddest steel drum sounds you’ll ever hear, drawing this mesmerizing rave prison you’ll never want to break out of.

In betwixt it’s four-on-the-floor clubby throb, singer Alexis Taylor injects his best T-Pain/ Kanye West-as-sad-robot imitation, with Auto-Tuned whimpers documenting a couple at a crossroads (“She said ‘How did we get ourselves so lost’”) followed by longings of having “one night/ together in our arms”, pitched as if it’s the sole way things can get back at track.

“I Feel Better”:

Uncategorized '90's, electro-pop, hot chip, one life stand, UK

Fresh off Beyonce’s record-breaking six Grammy Award wins Sunday night (and a fiery, weave-tossing, Alanis-covering stage performance that only renewed our wishes for the diva to commit to recording an R&B-and-rock-themed album in the stylistic vein of En Vogue’s “Free Your Mind” or Janet Jackson’s “Black Cat”), Major Lazer and Elephant Man bring this cover of her Best Female Pop Vocal Performance-owning “Halo”, trading in the original lyric’s Hallmark beau praise for Elephant Man’s shower-singing growls about “haters”, “hypocrites” and “bad man”.

Yeah…we don’t get it either, though it does lead one to wondering if it means Beyonce and co-producer Ryan Tedder’s Coldplay-meets-boom-bap arrangement will become the new riddim du jour in 2010.

DL: “Halo (Beyonce Cover)” (alt)

In other Major Lazer-oriented news, someone else has taken upon themselves to give their endlessly re-tooled “Keep It Goin’ Louder” some brand new flavor. This time around, it’s those crazy Telephoned kids, chopping up and re-pasting together bits of the beloved single with re-sung elements from Whitney Houston’s “Million Dollar Bill”. Grab the results, from Telephoned’s new Off The Hook mixtape, below.

DL: Telephoned “Million Dollar Bill” (Major Lazer/ Whitney Houston Cover)” (alt)

Uncategorized '10 grammy's, beyonce, cover song, dancehall, dub, elephant man, major lazer, telephoned, whitney houston

While most of Sade’s unsurprisingly exquisite (and equally unsurprisingly pre-leaked) comeback platter Soldier of Love lands as the go-to soundtrack for one to drown all their post-break-up sorrows to (the bleak scenario of having to let go of a lover you’re nowhere near ready to be separated from is one of it’s main recurring themes), it doesn’t completely reside in the land of heartache and woe.

Four tracks in, the band offer a welcome flash of optimism with album highlight “Babyfather”, a touching mother-to-child ode in which Miss Adu is found reassuring her daughter that she’ll always be her father’s blue-ribbon prize.

Coasting upon a gentle, reggae-lite lilt (which like the single “Soldier of Love”, registers as an immediate surprise for how unlike a typical Sade joint it sounds), the song opens with Sade narrating a “love at first sight” scene between two strangers at the bus stop. Eventually we learn that she’s describing to her daughter how her parents first met, leading to heart-tugging lines “And so love grew a flower/ And that flower was you”, “Your daddy knows you’re a flame” and “Your daddy love come with a lifetime guarantee”.

Shades of darkness do surround “Babyfather” as it’s central theme brings about tabloid-y-like inquiries of whether or not we’re dealing with a woman doing her best to try to make up for a father’s absentee-ism, but it’s hard to let such seriousness get you down when your heart is too busy melting to “Babyfather”’s overall sweet-cored sunniness, especially once the out-of-nowhere children choir start piping in their own paternal adoration towards the song’s end.

Soldier of Love drops February 9th.

“Babyfather”:

Bonus DL: Sade “King of Sorrow (Fun Lovin’ Criminals Remix)” (alt)

Uncategorized grown folks R&B, reggae, sade, soldier of love

It’s hard to disagree with the classy and polished R&B diva route Mary J Blige has ventured into the past decade of her career: she’s more beautiful than ever, her voice is stronger, her personal growth is inspiring. At the same time though, there’s only so many re-writes of “Be Without You” one can take.

Are we saying we yearn for Blige to revert back to the always-wronged girlfriend/ wife role she seemed glued to in the opening phases of her career? No, not necessarily. But we do miss the sheer glee that arose once her church-grown vocal gymnastics were paired with the sounds of urban music’s past via old R&B and rap samples. Let us not forget, she is the Queen of Hip Hop-Soul.

Apparently, iconic rapper/ producer Marley Marl shares that same sentiment, as he’s taken it upon himself to give Blige’s latest single “I Am” some of that What’s The 411? flavor for this old school house party-approved remix.

Stapling the song’s “Ain’t nobody gonna love you better than I am” theme to the beat of T Ski Valley’s 1981 hip hop classic “Catch The Beat” (itself, one of the billion or so tunes to reference Taana Gardner’s “Heartbeat”), while adding a lil’ golden age braggadocio mic flair (“Who’s the king of the nineties? (I am)/ Who’s the king of the grind, B? (I am)/ Since you slept on a legend, step behind me…”), Marl swiftly resuscitates a track we would have probably forgotten all about in a couple months time, while simultaneously giving the kids a lil’ taste of why we fell in love with MJB in the first place oh so long ago.

Can this throwback sound please be the overall theme for Mary’s next album?

DL: “I Am (Marley Marl Remix)” (alt)

Bonus DL: T Ski Valley “Catch The Beat” (alt)

Uncategorized 80's, marley marl, mary j blige, old-school hip hop, remix, retro, t ski valley

Ellie Goulding’s lightweight wisp of a voice may adhere well to her “Starry Eyed” single’s tender, child-like perspective on first love euphoria, but it’s in NY singer-songwriter Samuel (previously hyped here for his acoustic remake of The-Dream’s “Shawty Is The Shit”) and production team The Knocks‘ cover of the track that a far better song is crafted.

While The Knocks bring a much-needed heft to the tune’s fine, but slightly underwhelming, twee-tronica shimmer in their application of atmospheric synth washes and a toe-tapping downtown strut, Samuel’s breathy tenor acts as the perfect compliment to Ellie’s bird-like chirp, the combined power of their married vocals nicely illustrating (and making far less corny) the giddy lyrical visual of a newbie couple feeling like they’re being struck with lightning from eachother’s caressing touch.

Catch the original’s video below, followed by an MP3 of the Samuel/ Knocks remix.

Goulding’s debut Lights arrives in the UK in March; Samuel’s recently completed LP Trains To Wanderland is set for a later 2010 release.

DL: “Starry Eyed (Knocks Remix/ Cover)” (alt)

Uncategorized duet, electro-pop, ellie goulding, remix, samuel, the knocks, uk pop

No doubt inspired by the hilarious, million-plus-viewed parody of “Tik Tok” put together by goofy British trio The Midnight Beast (who are quickly approaching two-(kinda-)hit wonder status thanks to their equally LOL-worthy take on Jay Sean’s “Down”), current UK pop-rap sensation Example shifted away from his chart-scaling Calvin Harris-lite fare on a recent trip to the BBC’s Live Lounge to take his own semi-spoof-ish stab at the Ke$ha hit.

Now, compared to the Beast’s re-interpretation and Example’s previous “re-fixes” of pop tart smashes (his must-have 2006 mixtape, We Didn’t Invent The Remix, featured memorable swipes at Lily Allen’s “Smile” and Britney Spears “Toxic”), the rapper’s “Tik Tok” falls a bit short on the yuk-yuks, but his version is still miles more entertaining than the Ke$ha original, if only because it doesn’t leave you feeling dirty for liking it when it’s over.

Kicking off with a teasing instrumental lick of Cameo’s “Word Up”, Ex spends the rest of the performance narrating his own day o’ debauchery, waking up in the A.M. feeling like “Queen Lizzie” and trading in Kee$h’s beloved Jack Daniels toothpaste for the dental hygiene aid of rum (especially love the Max Martin-ized pop-”rock” crunch brought forth on the chorus).

Catch the gig below, followed by a quietly compelling live go at single “Won’t Go Quietly”:

“Tik Tok (Live Lounge)”:

“Won’t Go Quietly (Live Lounge)”:

Uncategorized cover song, example, ke$ha, live performance, lol, UK rap

Remember Collie Buddz? The white Bermudian had trunks rattling all across the globe waaaay back in 2007 with the release of his breakout single “Come Around”, a tokers’ anthem steeped in an old-fashioned reggae slow churn, but seemed to drop off the face of the Earth after his self-titled debut was met with less fanfare.

Well, after a few years toiling away in the more obscure corners of the mixtape scene, the singjay seems prepped for a minor comeback of sorts in 2010 with the recent unleashing of new single “Phonecall”, a Beatnick & K. Salaam-produced late-night booty call ode draped in the sensual allure of ’90’s-era slow jam R&B/ reggae.

And just as with “Come Around”, it’s “Phonecall”’s throwback-ish touch that lands as it’s greatest asset: it’s busy, albeit smoove, backing groove pleasingly triggering memories of the genre’s “Flex”/ “Mr. Lover Man” heyday as Collie croons through every steamy detail of the late-night sex session (“Said she wanna start with massage…”, “She wanna ride from side-to-side and on top…”).

Whether you smoke or not, promises you’ll be craving the comfort of a cigarette once this seductive jam has left your speakers.

DL: “Phonecall” (alt)

Uncategorized '90's, beatnik, collie buddz, k-salaam, reggae, sex jam

“Telephone”, the better of the two Lady Gaga/ Beyonce collaborations to premiere late last year (as well as the official second single pick from LG’s The Fame Monster set), is the latest track for acclaimed remixer Doctor Rosen Rosen to plant his surgical gloves on, and as with everything else the good Doc touches, it’s given a satisfying upgrade.

Under Rosen’s helm, the bright and shiny crackle and pop that made “Telephone”’s original incarnation veer a little too Britney-esque and chaotic at times, is slightly downplayed for a darker electro-pop pulse, excitingly heightened by quirky, voice-affected breakdowns, fuzzed-out basslines, and a far-too-brief soul clap section around the three-minute mark (plus, it also doesn’t hurt that Beyonce’s portions are more successfully woven in here).

If only we had the power to sway label-heads (which, sigh, we don’t), we’d encourage them to use this version to accompany the forthcoming “Telephone” music video rather than the original.

Grab the MP3 below, followed by a bonus offering of Rosen Rosen’s deliciously moody remix to Weezer’s “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To”.

DL: “Telephone (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)” (alt)

Bonus DL: Weezer “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)” (alt)

Uncategorized beyonce, doctor rosen rosen, duet, electro-pop, lady gaga, remix