mixtape maestro (2.0)

Raising “Kiss Me Thru The Phone”‘s bubblegum level of a couple more notches, this uni-sex remix sees seventeen-year-old R&B singer Karina Pasian (fresh from last year’s surprising Best Contemporary R&B Album Grammy nomination) more than eager to send smooches back to Soulja Boy through her cell phone screen.

“It’s crazy how I cannot be without your loving/ And when we’re far apart the distance’s got me buggin’”, she replies (probably) Tweets back, her silky, young woman pipes a perfect fit with the track’s nursery rhyme bounce. Aww, puppy love. Back then, being separated from a boy- or girlfriend really did seem like the end of the world, didn’t it?

Is it bad, though, that we wish this could have been her own solo song from the get-go, so that we wouldn’t have to admit to admiring another Soulja Boy record?

DL: “Kiss Me Thru The Phone (Remix)” (alt)

After being inexplicably snubbed in most of the R&B categories, things weren’t looking too promising for Estelle at this year’s Grammy’s. But alas, it seems the world can sometimes be fair; not only did the singer (and sometimes rapper) leave the event a winner (for Best Rap/ Sung Collaboration), she also managed to snatch up some memorable stage time, giving “American Boy” a fitting cap-off to a year in which the R&B goodie continually kept us all warm inside.

“Star”, Estelle’s first new release under the tag “Grammy-winner”, might not be as perfectly delicious as “American Boy” but the track, released in conjunction with Crystal Light’s uPumpItUp campaign, is good enough to keep us satisfied until that next album drops.

An upbeat swirl of faux-strings and electro-dance bottom-bump, “Star” sees Estelle having a post-No More Drama Mary J Blige moment, boosting the mood of the depressed by relating her own “they told me I wouldn’t make it, but look at me now!” life journey. “I know you’re tired of working but stay up on your stuff/ Push on through all the hurtin’/ Even though it gets tough,” she inspires to the song’s workout-ready soundtrack.

Our only beef? No rapping. This song’s begging for a positive-minded rap interlude, and would of provided a nice reminder that Estelle knows how to spit a rhyme or two.

Download: “Star” (alt)

There’s not enough good things you can say about Sam Sparro‘s still-fire “Black & Gold”. The 2008 (Grammy-nominated!!) breakout single from the Australian newcomer totally delivered what anyone would want from an electro-toned, blue-eyed-soul record (erm…about searching for God). Hell, we bet even Prince had to tap a high-heeled toe once he became aware of the jam.

With that being said, it’s come as a bit of a surprise that rappers haven’t fallen over themselves trying to tap into it as a sample-base “Paper Planes”-style, especially considering they seem to “bless” damn near everything else with a major blog following. Enter Shawn Chrystopher, a Cali-born emcee/ producer currently blazing through the mixtape circuit, to finally give “Black and Gold” a lil’ hip hop touch.

Interestingly, though, it’s not Shawn’s rapping contribution that stands out here as much as his production work. Cooking up a slightly jazzy, slower tempo-ed frame that’s all echoing synthesizer and frantic drum taps, Chrystopher’s work behind the boards is sharp and so complimenting to Sparro’s vocal that we wish it could’ve supported the whole of Sam’s song instead of just keeping the singer’s “involvement” to looped sample hook duties.

DL: “Not Really Here” (alt)

It’s nice to see newcomer Jazmine Sullivan‘s name in the running for the Best New Artist Grammy prize, even if her chances of winning seem slim at best (her contenders include more widely-known figures Duffy, Adele and the Jonas Brothers). Still, if she at least gets a chance to bless the stage sometime during the ceremony, she’ll be smart to perform her debut album highlight “Lions, Tigers & Bears”, a magnificent gem of a record that’s sure to prove to the so-far uninitiated why she’s the talk of the modern R&B town.

Now “Bears” is one of those great urban finds that would do better without any hip hop interference at all, but to think it would go untouched in this era of everybody jumping on the hottest cut around would be foolish. So while it’s not exactly surprising to have Fabolous committing an introductory sixteen on this remix, it is a bit shocking to see how decent of a “collaboration” it is.

His casual flow delicately bobbing along to “LT&B”‘s operatic tip-toe, Fabolous admits to fully understanding Jazmine’s philophobic caution (“Niggas be lyin’ tigers and bears”), but he alleviates her “ice grills and jealous stares” with the comforting promise that she needn’t ever worry about the love they share (“No need to question love/ I can just tell it’s there/ ‘Cause when it’s meant to be/ You’ll know eventually”).

Far better than anything Ja Rule and Ashanti ever came up with in their “rap thug-meets-R&B PYT” heyday.

DL: “Lions, Tigers & Bears (Remix)” (alt)

As a bonus, snatch up the dancehall remix of Sullivan’s current hit “Bust Your Windows” produced by Tony Kelly and featuring Ce’Cile below:

DL: “Bust Your Windows (Tony Kelly Dancehall Remix)” (alt)

A scan over the ’09 Grammy nominations list brought upon the usual shock-and-awe reactions (MIA actually made it into Record of The Year!?!…Past Grammy fave Alicia Keys was NOT nodded in the Best R&B Album category!?!…), but none was as WTH!! as seeing old school rap heavyweight Heavy D sitting alongside Elephant Man, Sly & Robbie and Shaggy in the Best Reggae Album field.

Heavy D released a new album!?! And it was a REGGAE release? And it was good enough to earn some Grammy attention?

Turns out Heavy did (very quietly, it seems) drop his eighth studio effort recently, and that project, entitled Vibes, saw the “Now That We Found Love” rapper-turned-actor turning his full attention to the sultry sway of the island. What the bloodclot?!?

Below, catch the video to first single “Long Distance Girlfriend”, a surprisingly not-all-that-bad entry that finds him crooning (!!!) after his “faraway bay-bay” upon a quite addictive Jamaican jaunt (and it seems he’s not really all that “Heavy” anymore).

Hmmm…wonder how long it’s gonna be before Rihanna is called on for the remix.

Remember The Fugees’ cover of Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly”, and the mystifying hold it had over you with it’s odd blend of Lauryn Hill’s chocolate-y soul wail against that sparse “Bonita Applebaum” drum loop (itself a sampling of Little Feat’s “Fool Yourself”)? Well, the Mick Boogie team tap somewhere close to that spirit in their latest mash-up project, Adele: 1988, which fixes nine cuts from the Grammy golden girl’s acclaimed debut opus 19 to the familiar beat skeletons of hip hop’s late ’80′s heyday.

For the soaring heartache ballad “Melt My Heart To Stone”, one of those songs that many turned to in ’08 while whimpering into a half-swallowed vodka bottle late at night, Adele’s self-berating of being “the only one in love” floats o’er worming guitar and the light drum tickle of Al Green’s oft-referenced “I’m Glad You’re Mine” (borrowed on MC Lyte’s ’88 fave “Paper Thin” amongst so many other rap titles). Trading in some of the original’s depressing weight for a toe-tapping midtempo lilt (and including a brief mid-song verse from Little Brother’s Big Pooh), this Kickdrums Remix should have you falling in love with the “Chasing Pavements” songstress all over again.

DL: “Melt My Heart To Stone (Kickdrums Remix)” (alt)

Snatch up the nVMe remix of Maestro 19 favorite, “Right As Rain” (now backed by the classic instrumental to LL’s “Goin Back To Cali”!!!), below:

DL: “Right As Rain (nVMe Remix)” (alt)

Pick up the rest of Adele: 1988 via Press Play Fashion Forward.