mixtape maestro (2.0)

Is that Mary J, the newfound Queen of Self-Love and All That Is Positive, co-signing a song about shooting your partner’s “other” lover dead? Yessiree, and her raw presence definitely adds another layer of WTF? to “Wake Up Call”, whose sex-and-murder theme was already high on kookiness.

Highly in-demand producer Mark Ronson slows the tempo down an inch on the “Wake Up Call (Remix)”, allowing breathing room for his dense, soul-sampled soundbed, but this revision isn’t really about him (his signature style was more exciting when it didn’t seem to be popping up everywhere), or Maroon 5 for that matter. The spotlight falls on Miss Mary J., proving after an equally stunning appearance on Ne-Yo’s “Do You (Remix)”, that she should do these random cameos more often.

Like with everything else she touches, Blige injects a shade of fiery passion and authenticity. Whereas Levine feels like an actor in a scene, Blige sounds like she’s living out this real-life nightmare, smoking gun still in hand. Her needly wails of “Don’t you care about me” and “I don’t feel so bad” are filled with an edge of insanity vibe that the original lacked. Homegirl might claim to be ‘just fine’ in her current drama-free state, but she’s still not one you want to cross.

DL: “Wake Up Call (Remix)” (YFH)