mixtape maestro (2.0)

Call us losers, but since “Meet Me Halfway” started getting endless spins through our earbuds, we’ve been scouring the World Wide Web daily hoping to come across some amazing remix that’ll only deepen our undying adoration towards the Black Eyed Peas single.

There haven’t been many to emerge (which is strange, seeing as though “Boom Boom Pow” and “I Gotta Feeling” inspired what felt like a million revamps between them both), but we did come across a couple that earned at least a couple repeat listens:

Rokuro’s Tidy Club Mix:

Helmed by Japan’s DJ Rokuro, this one follows a relatively simple remixing formula, accenting the original track with some catchy synths while giving that vocoder-assisted bridge (the track’s best non-Fergie moment) a well-appreciated repeat spin.

DL: “Meet Me Halfway (Rokuro’s Tidy Club Mix)” (alt)

Anna & Ruby’s Intergalactic Booty-Shaker Remix:

This second (and sadly, MP3 link-less) one was created by the same girls who delivered that cutesy acoustic cover of Drake’s “Best I Ever Had”. And like that treat, this one is equally impressive in a lo-fi, “let’s throw something together during a sleepover” kind of way, replacing Fergie’s laborious wails with a surprisingly effective Cassie-like featherweight vocal while it’s beat bypasses state-of-the-art Y3K-aiming production complexity for a simple electro throb.

Cassie has so many odds stacked against her (a barely there voice; disastrous live performance attempts; being the owner of one of those rare Weezy-featuring tunes that flops real hard; being more popular in 2009 for her “shocking” haircut, leaked nude pics, and the “is-she-or-isn’t-she with Diddy?” gossip rag banter than anything music-related) that it’s a wonder why she even persists on still having a singing career when she can simply just go on being low-B/ high-C-list famous for…well, being hot.

Not to say that her weightless brand of spacey R&B/ Pop isn’t appreciated (especially amongst the sects of anonymous hook singer-craving producers and “puny-voiced starlets over electro beats”-loving critics, to which her nonchalant presence holds a certain appeal), it’s just that after debuting with something as strong as her summer of ’06 seducer “Me & U”, no argument would have been made for her just as quickly disappearing back into model-land semi-obscurity and becoming this decade’s equivalent of 1990′s one-(and-a-half-)hit-wonder INOJ.

Nevertheless, she’s once again returned to re-launch her long-delayed sophomore set, Electro Love, with the Mario Winans/ Bryan Michael Cox-produced “Must Be Love”, a wispy midtempo ballad that sets Cassie and guest star Diddy on opposite ends of a life-altering new romance.

Fluttery Spanish guitar strums and distant ringings give it a light and pretty ambience and there’s a certain heated undertone ‘neath Cassie’s whisper-thin musings as she comes to terms with her feelings, but damn if the song doesn’t threaten to put you to sleep at every turn, Diddy’s monotone verses lacking the burst of energy “Must Be Love” begs for.

Thankfully the Bad Boy CEO helps rescue the underwhelming number by firing up one of those all-star remixes he used to pull off so well and crowding up the listless groove with strong guest turns from Busta Rhymes, R&B boy band Day26 and underground rap favorite/ new Bad Boy signee Red Café. Yeah, when placed betwixt the male personalities Cassie feels more like an afterthought on her own record, but the sequel definitely ends up carrying more of a worthwhile heft than the original.

Catch the main version’s video below, than snatch up the remix afterward.

Electro Love is expected to be released sometime later this year (though if this record doesn’t catch on, don’t get your hopes up too high conerning an actual release).

DL: “Must Be Love (Remix)” (alt)

For months, it’s been difficult to escape the hyping of alt-pop-meets-hip hop, Harvard grad duo Chester French. From the endless “ones to watch” music press/ blog shout-outs to the high-profile support of A-list hip hop figures like Kanye West and eventual label boss Pharrell Williams, we’ve been damn near brainwashed into becoming fans of these cats.

Thankfully, the bits of Chester French music we’ve actually heard (the ’60′s-washed first single, “She Loves Everybody”; that insanely catchy Common collabo, “What A World”; their surprisingly neat remix of Jay Z’s “Excuse Me Miss”) has helped in justifying all this early praise.

Hoping to build up an even stronger buzz for debut album Love The Future (while further highlighting their cool circle of friends), the team of Maxwell Drummey and D.A. Wallach recently dropped the pre-official release mixtape, Jacque Jams, Vol. 1 – Endurance, which tracks the on-the-rise trek of their previous six years through material both old and new, some amusing skits, and the “exclusive” inclusion of a self-produced Lady Gaga remix, not to mention a laundry list of cameo appearances that includes Diddy, Jadakiss, Bun B, Solange, Talib Kweli and Cassie amongst others.

Preview a couple of MM’s faves below:

It’s kind of sad that Janelle Monae still hasn’t quite set the world on fire with her brilliant sci-fi-soul sound (you NEED to pick up Metropolis The Chase Suite like right now), but nevertheless she makes for a great duet partner on the geeky puppy love ode “Nerd Girl”, a prance-y mix of Beatles vocal creaminess and ’80′s synth-pop tenderness.

“I wear tiny suits and bowties, some might call me strange,” she coos. Oh Miss Monae, that’s hardly a bad thing.

DL: “Nerd Girl” (alt)

Meanwhile, “Life In LA” details guest stars Pharrell Williams and Jermaine Dupri’s wild and crazy sexcapades with the City of Angels’ bottomless well of overly worked on, coke-sniffing Barbie Dolls atop old school rap drum clatter and space-age ambiance. Unfortunately, the good times are all over for the French boys, who’ve partied all their dough away and now must leave all the fun and sun behind.

DL: “Life In LA” (alt)

You can pick up the entire entertaining collection here; Love The Future, drops April 21st.

The understated “Spotlight” was an ultimately satisfying lead-off for Jennifer Hudson’s long-awaited debut solo project, but with this being 2008, an entire album of mid-tempo adult-soul pieces felt highly unlikely, even if it was the style her bombastic vocal seemed the fit the most comfortably.

For the Timbaland-produced/ Ludacris-featured “Pocketbook”, Hudson shows that she can work something with a little more edge without sounding overtly silly. Against a minimalist urban playground of beat-boxed mouth tricks occasionally sweetened by bits of vocal harmony, Hud plays the sassy soul mama, joyously teasing male oglers with her “stride like a model” and “curves like a bottle”, but when approached by one of the slobbers, dishes out a stern warning that she’s not to be easily played.

Un-swayed by his big baller boasts, she quickly puts him in his place (“Take a number baby/ You ain’t the only brother/ Trying to get up under my skirt now”), threatening that if he opts to persist in bothering her any further, a swift slap to the face with her pocketbook would surely follow. With that, she flips her pony tail and proceeds on her path, leaving him flabbergasted as the visual of her sashaying backside disappears down the pavement.

A spicy track that delivers a strong contemporary kick without reducing her to an ill-fitted, Auto-Tuned Ciara/ Cassie knock-off, and flirts with retro oomph without resorting to played-out Motown-mirroring, “Pocketbook” ends up a great listen, allowing room for Hudson’s natural charisma and over-sized pipes to breathe. Looks like her album won’t entirely be the simply serviceable (read: mildly boring) release it seemed destined to be.

As much as we like to rag on Cassie for being a puny-voiced, non-talented supermodel, there’s always that little nugget of curiosity to what her latest tune will sound like, as if the stars will align again and she’ll come up with something as equally as impressive as “Me & U” was. Despite a slew of mildly respectable tracks popping up all over the Internet in recent months from her, including new single “Official Girl” (featuring Lil’ Wayne), nothing has been particularly brow-raising…that is until the leaking of the quite striking “My House”.

A mid-tempo “trance & b” offering produced by Prince-obsessed eccentric Channel 7 that slithers to a knocking beat of light drum thuds and lurid synth notes, “My House” plants Cassie right where she needs to be, sing-whispering (like she can do anything else) blow-up doll double entendres about getting you to enter her “double doors”. The song floats with the ethereal air of a daydream sex fantasy; a fitting vibe since A: it nurtures Cassie’s featherweight vocal perfectly, and B: only in about 99.9% of the male population’s dreams would they probably ever get the beauty begging them to come to her…”castle”.

Good stuff. Look for Cassie’s sophomore album to drop sometime in late ’08/ early ’09.

(Link removed by request)

Jordin Spark’s mature pipes and pageant-y stage presence made her a perfect fit for stiff AC-pop ballads, hinting at a likely boring slant when her debut album finally came around. As if to remind us that she wasn’t forty, though, the cutesy, “girl-next-door” offers a couple surprises on her disc, most notably when she hooks up with “Toxic”-producers Bloodshy & Avant for a surprising detour into electro-R&B.

Downplaying her widescreen vocals into icy, digitally-processed mutterings, Sparks invades Cassie’s robo-chick niche on the album track “Shy Boy”, in which she dismisses the obvious hunks in the club for the mellowed out dude chillin’ in the back. Caught in the trance of the spacey blips and sharp handclaps happening around her, Jordin slowly inches her way to her mysterious target, bypassing the “homeboys” break-dancing on the dancefloor and the fly guys with the blinding bling other girls would be more attracted to. “I’m sick and tired of them bad boys,” the self-proclaimed “tom boy” sleepily sighs.

Jordin is barely recognizable here, but her droning delivery and the track’s swirly galactic beat makes “Shy Boy” one of those cool dance records that are far more appealing because of it’s anonymous, detached vibe. A totally unexpected move from a reality show champion known for her big notes and overall blandness, “Shy Boy” won’t be winning the girl any Grammy’s, but it’s incredibly spot-on clubby allure shows the girl isn’t completely hip-averse.

DL: “Shy Boy” (YFH)

Cassie’s nothing but a big tease and she knows it. Taking on the disaffected sexuality of a high-charging hooker, she coaxes you into her misty-eyed, electro-sheened vortex, convincing you into sharing some private space so she can show you just how “worthy” you are. On the spacey Vanity 6 update “Me & U”, she even had the nerve to celebrate her own grapevine hype (“I know them other guys/ They been talking bout the way I do with I do/ They heard I was good/ They wanna see if it’s true”), wrapping some John around her finger with the idea that all this could be his when they find some alone time.

On new cut “Turn The Lights Off”, she’s on the prowl again, revealing the requirements to let out her inner freak. All she needs is some loud music and a pitch black setting (“Turn the lights off/ Be my guest/ Cause when the lights off/ I’m at my best/ I’m not afraid of the dark”) and she’s instantly in the mood to guarantee a great time. Gyrating to the soul-possessing rhythm, she leads her latest client to the corner, whispering in his ear “if you’re nice/ You can do what you wanna do with your hands”.

Possible diagnosis: Cassie’s searching for a father figure to compensate for a paternal-lacking childhood. Whatever the case, another great display of sleek, icy pop from the model.

DL: “Turn The Lights Off” (YFH)

Taking a cue from Daft Punk, Kanye dares to go “harder, better, faster, stronger” on his futuro mind-meld of a new single, but for all it’s over-blown theatrics, “Stronger” proves that with each new album, Kanye seems more annoying than amazing.

It was felt with Late Registration too, a bold(er) second album that found West turning to rock producer Jon Brion for a bigger sound. Registration bulged with production genius and fantastic one-liners but compared to his flawless debut, the cracks of his amateur mic skills were a bit more obvious and the strength of his internal diatribe wasn’t as potent. This left his out-sized ego vulnerable and therefore him as a person much less irritating.

“Stronger” continues that concerning downward spiral, all the while pushing the man’s producer alter ego to new levels. Timbaland is miles better at Y3K digital funk, but Kanye does an okay job playing with samples that aren’t necessarily part of the oldies bin yet. Like “Diamonds of Sierra Leone”, “Stronger” won’t hit you initially as a bona fide hip hop jam, but as it goes on (and that repeated vocal loop has fully marinated into your brain cells), the clashing of ominous strings and Star Trek-sleekness can provoke a subtle head nod or two by the third chorus.

Where “Stronger” ultimately fails at falls on Kanye’s penmanship. The occasional rewind-worthy line pops up (“Heard they’d do anything for a Klondike/ Well I’d do anything for a blonde dyke”), but for the most part “the Christian in Christian Dior” seems like he’s meandering around aimlessly. The expensive-looking Hype Williams-directed clip (an anime-influenced question mark with Cassie striking poses and Kanye doing…something) gives off the same energy. All pizazz with no heart. If West’s previous albums couldn’t snag the Album of The Year Grammy when they deserved it, I doubt Graduation will finally get him that trophy if this is what we have to look forward to from it.

The best way to deal with Cassie is to think of her as an entertainer who fell on singing by the wayside. Like Lindsay Lohan and Hilary Duff are actresses, Jennifer Lopez and Madonna were dancers, Paris Hilton is a bored heiress, Janet Jackson was The Jackson 5′s lil’ sis and Grace Jones was one uber-intimidating freakshow, Cassie paid her bills in non-singing ways as a “not-quite-so-super”-model before a record contract fell in her lap. It’s the only way to understand how someone as obviously un-skilled in the vocal department as she is could possibly get her way to the top of the charts. Alarmingly she came up with one of the best singles of 2006: her insanely lovable “Me & U”, which excelled mainly because of her lack of range and an addictive slinky synth production. She sticks to the same formula on “Sometimes”, the first taste of an apparent sophomore album, and surprisingly could end up with another great summer track it seems.

If Cassie was to win any award (a highly unlikely scenario), the first person she should thank isn’t God, but songwriter/ producer Ryan Leslie for playing to her limitations with great backing tracks and cool lyrics. “Sometimes” gleams with a bright 80′s pop-soul sheen and haphazard keyboards that seem to fall over each other in a nice, galloping groove. Her near-transparent vocals are a perfect match to her sparkling surroundings, expressing confusion over her misleading beau in the spacey way any girl in her position would act. “My insecurity is taking over me”, she sings in that small voice she has, nearly fading behind the beat, and you believe that she really is this lost teen trying to figure out where her boyfriend’s head is at.

“Sometimes” magnificently works to her distinct coquettish stylings and has the potential to become another radio hit she could ruin in live performances. Whether pulled off intentionally or not, Ryan Leslie has come up with a smart little trick that has established a hitmaking niche for the sing…um, model.

Download: “Sometimes”

Okay so Slim Thug hooking up with Gwen might’ve been a little shocking to some but given both artists’ connection with the Neptunes, it really wasn’t a major stretch. Teaming with cheesy tween-pop wonder Hilary Duff, though, and this Texan rapper has some ‘splaining to do.

Coming out smelling like flowers with her surprisingly decent Kylie Minogue-styled makeover on Dignity, Duff has opted on pressing her luck further by invading the ever-potent urban market. Hey if Hulk Hogan’s daughter could do it and end up with a modest rhythmic chart hit, so can Lizzie McGuire, right?

Texan producer/ rap duo Play-N-Skillz (explaining the Slim cameo) completely erase the blip-bleep electro ice that made the original listenable and place Duff’s thin chirp against a booty-bass shuffle fresh out of the mid-90′s. As far as makeovers go, much more work would need to be done to make Duff sound anywhere close to being hood-approved or even worse Slim’s “boo”, but with non-singers like Cassie finding runaway success with similar little voice/ big beat tactics, the “With Love (Remix)” ends up fitting in with current trends to it’s best ability.