mixtape maestro (2.0)

When this whole Bieber/ Raekwon/ Kanye collaboration was first hinted at via Twitter (following a string of posts of Kanye giddily expressing his love for the pop tyke’s My World 2.0 album cut “Runaway Love”), we, like probably the most of you, were left a little discombobulated, unable to wrap our minds on how the three could successfully merge on a single track, all the while heavily intrigued by what, yes, epic-ness could result from the musical mind-fuck.

Well this morning, HipHopConnection premiered the joint (a hood-edged remix to “Love”) and, not so surprisingly, it’s a keeper.

The harmless/ menacing juxtaposition of Bieb’s pre-pubescent yearn for the whereabouts of his one and only and those twinkling teen-pop keys against the minimalist cinematic spookery of the Wu’s “Wu Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing Ta Fuck Wit” instrumental achieves a neat ’90′s underground mixtape vibe (with Justin interestingly sounding more than a bit “Someday”-era Mariah Carey-ish here), but the track is honestly more of a showcase for ‘Ye and The Chef as they re-live old Wu-inspired memories, with West reminded of the days when he was a “young youth/ Rockin’ the gold tooth” to the sounds of “C.R.E.A.M.” and Raek referencing his old “Freek’n You (Remix)” verse with that “You got stacks like the International House of Pancakes” intro line.

Justin Bieber (feat. Kanye West & Raekwon) – Runaway Love (Kanye West Remix)

BONUS DL: Jodeci featuring Raekwon & Ghostface Killah “Freek’n You (Mr. Dalvin’s Freek Mix)” (alt)

Of course, Kanye‘s remix to “Power” wasn’t going to be some simple toss-in-a-new-verse-from-another-rapper affair. Of course, it was going to be some multi-level, mind-blowing epic-sized event with the…erm power to shut down the World Wide Web, just so he could one day straight-face tag it as being “the best remix OF. ALL. TIME!!!!!!” (and to some extent, be completely right). What couldn’t be predicted though, was how far the track’s 2.0 take would exceed anyone’s expectations of awesomeness.

Now we get even more ‘Ye notable quotables for lyric-heads to endlessly obsess over (Our favorite: “Now the question is, how we gon’ stop the next Vietnam?/ Keep Flex out of Korea, ’cause you know he drop bomb”); Jay-Z dropping another classic slab of his “elder statesman of hip hop” poetics (“We on that Norman Mailer shit/ In search of the true, even if it goes through Taylor Swift” HA!); and a gospel choir upgrading the original’s tribal chants to such three-dimensional-like levels, they sound like they’re going to bust through the speaker at any moment.

But neither one of those excellent enhancements can compare to what happens at the 3:16 mark, when Swizz Beatz emerges out of nowhere with his requisite “Showtime!!” exclamations, urging West to “take that jacket off and go crazy on ‘em” with a sudden beat switch to the forever-undeniable industrial clubfloor churn of Snap!’s 1990 smash “The Power”. And “go crazy” West does, going in on a breathless forty-bar verse in which he references crucifixion, compares himself to Michael Jordan, spins some Donny Hathaway to soundtrack memories of former loves, and, touchingly, states how much of a dream come true sharing a track with “big brother Jay” is.

Give this man a “‘Power’ clap” round of applause for this one. He deserves it.

Dark Twisted Fantasy (the album formerly known as Good Ass Job) drops November 16th.

Kanye West – Power (Remix) (feat. Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz)

DL: “Power (Remix)” (alt)

BONUS DL: Snap! “The Power (7″ Version)” (alt)

Even if Jazmine Sullivan‘s 2008 debut, the Gold-selling and Grammy-nominated Fearless, wasn’t littered with strong, neo-classic entries like The Best Lauryn Hill Song Not Recorded By Lauryn Hill first single “Need U Bad” or the melodramatic Broadway-soul ballads “Bust Your Windows” and “Lions, Tigers & Bears”, the newcomer was destined to be a standout anyway, her throaty and rasp-tinged alto offering a pleasant throwback to the similarly distinctive-toned R&B divas of yester-decade (Toni Braxton, Anita Baker, the aforementioned Hill) and an appreciated change of pace from the high-pitched, caterwauling sirens that surround her these days.

On new single “Holding You Down (Goin’ In Circles)”, the first taste of her upcoming sophomore collection Love Me Back, Sullivan further proves why she’s needed now, reminding one of the pleasures of ’90′s R&B as she strains her deep, husky pipes in the frustration of unrequited passion (“Its a shame that you don’t care enough to even give me half the love I give to you/ I live for you baby”) to an ever-evolving smorgasbord of that era’s best-of urban contemporary sounds (the latest nostalgia-fueled production from Missy Elliott).

Can (relatively) slow-burning hip hop-soul joints like these please start making a comeback into radio playlists? There’s only so much fist-pumping one can do in a day.

Hear the Fat Joe-aided remix of the track, as well as the Stonebridge Club edit of her Daft Punk-sampling “Dream Big” (hey, fist-pumpers can still be good…on occasion), below.

Love Me Back drops September 28th.

DL: Jazmine Sullivan featuring Fat Joe “Holding You Down (Goin’ In Circles) (Remix)” (alt)

BONUS DL: Jazmine Sullivan “Dream Big (Stonebridge Club Remix)” (alt)

It’s not the New Amerykah Part Two second single we were hoping for (that honor would fall onto the album’s Wings-looping seducer “Gone Baby, Don’t Be Long”), but that’s okay: you’d have to be severely deaf not to have some love for official “Window Seat” follow-up “Turn Me Away (Get MuNNY)”, Erykah Badu‘s playfully lightweight update of Sylvia Striplin’s 1981 old-school fave “You Can’t Turn Me Away” (better known to the kids as the sample source to the Junior M.A.F.I.A./ Biggie classic “Get Money”).

Weaving multi-layered Betty Boop-ish chirps in and out the Striplin jam’s familiar rubbery funk and quirky hiccups, Badu sounds like she’s having a ball as she tries on what can be taken as either a prowling gold-digger guise or a satire swipe at artists willing to sell their soul for that almighty dollar (“I look like a model/ I’ll do what I gotta/
To stay in the runnin’/ Cause I want you money”; see…works both ways).

Peep the video, spliced with the Rick Ross-featured remix of “Window Seat”, below:

BONUS DL: Sylvia Striplin “You Can’t Turn Me Away” (alt)

BONUS DL: Junior M.A.F.I.A. feat. Notorious B.I.G. “Get Money” (alt)

Even if Yael Naim was never to record another song again, it’s likely her presence wouldn’t be absent from the blogosphere for too long as DJ’s, producers and rappers seem obsessed with finding new ways to spin her 2008 fluke hit “New Soul”.

On this latest twist on the Naim tune, Sydney mash-up man Lezington crafts an admittedly cheesy, but definitely likable, marriage of “New Soul” with the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s kooky classic “Got Your Money” that has embedded inside our brains the hilarious image of a Muppet-ed Big Baby Jesus slapping down felt-made groupie ho’s on the seedier side of Sesame Street.

Grab it below, alongside another one of Lezington’s simplistic-but-irresistibly fun blends: Lil’ Wayne’s “A Milli” merged with a-ha’s “Take On Me”.

DL: “Got Your New Soul (Lezington Blend)” (alt)

DL: “Take On A Milli (Lezington Blend)” (alt)

Forget James Brown, George Clinton and disco.

These days, if you’re a new rapper looking to stand-out amongst an ever-growing crowd of up-and-comers, the trick to quickly make your way to the top of the heap is to pick a indie favorite to rhyme over. Past blogosphere successes of this practice have included Drake, Kid Cudi, Thelophilus London and Chiddy Bang, though in recent days, much attention has been placed upon Long Island newcomer Hoodie Allen and his flip on Marina & The Diamonds‘ self-encouragement anthem “I Am Not A Robot”.

Chopping, dicing and “chipmunk-ing” Marina’s voice to fit the re-imagining’s light upbeat shuffle, Hoodie’s “Robot” (from the upcoming, all-Marina-sampling mixtape, The Diamond Cuts) doesn’t really offer anything too profound lyrically, but it’s a likable enough “let me introduce myself”-type-of ditty that not only nails the “fun rap” niche acts like B.o.B and the aforementioned Chiddy are currently winning with, but ultimately accomplishes it’s duty in piquing interest into what else Allen will be dishing out down the road.

Catch the track below or here, then peep Hoodie’s excellent updating of the Pharcyde classic “Passin’ Me By” (from last year’s Making Waves release).

You Are Not A Robot (feat. Marina & The Diamonds) by HoodieAllen

BONUS DL: Hoodie Allen featuring Illustrate “Passin’ Me By In ’09 (Pharcyde Cover)” (alt)

BONUS DL: Marina & The Diamonds “I Am Not A Robot (Passion Pit Remix)” (alt)

Instantly trumping the surprisingly not-awkward Pink and Rihanna collaborations as the most shocking aspect of Eminem‘s freshly leaked new album Recovery? The fact that the album’s mid-set standout “No Love”, Em’s latest team-up with his “Forever”/ “Drop The World”-trackmate Lil’ Wayne, is laced with a Just Blaze beat that samples, of all things, Haddaway’s 1993 world smash (and future Roxbury Guys’ theme song) “What Is Love”…and, dare we say, actually bangs because of it.

“No Love” is more or less a rewrite of “World”, finding the two rappers once again venomously going in after anonymous haters/ bitches/ lesser rappers/ whatevers with Lil’ Wayne contributing another ramble-heavy verse slightly redeemed by a couple LOL lines (our favorite: “Put a dick in they mouth/ So I guess it’s “Fuck what they say”) and Eminem then shutting things down with one of those excellent sixteens that gradually escalates in both speed and ferocity over it’s span.

For any outstanding lyrical achievements that are on display here though, they barely yield the same shock-and-awe spark that’s brought forth in Blaze’s production, a tense and menacing soundtrack lightly seasoned with teasing blips of “What Is Love”‘s familiar electro synth burbles and titular hook wail. When that first “Love…don’t hurt me” is heard, you won’t be able to lift your jaw off the floor, by the time the song is over, you’ll think of it as one of the greatest WTF uses of a sample this side of Jay-Z’s “Hard Knock Life”.

Hear the track below, and quickly before it gets taken down in 5…4..3..2..

Recovery drops (OFFICIALLY) on June 22nd.

Seeing as though Nicki Minaj is not only behind some of the most memorable cameo raps of the past twelve months, but is pretty much the only female rapper anyone talks about these days, it’s unfortunate that her official solo career hasn’t gotten off to such a great start.

First we had “Massive Attack”, a tuneless earache of a record that greatly deserved it’s blink-and-you-missed-it chart tenure; but to quickly follow up that flop with the not-much-better “Your Love”, a limp R&B ballad slightly re-polished from it’s original mixtape-based incarnation? What’s really going on behind the scenes?

“Your Love” is definitely a stronger bid for crossover play thanks to its smooth sampling of Annie Lennox’ 1995 Grammy-winner “No More I Love You’s” (itself, a cover of a modest mid-’80′s UK hit by English new wave duo The Lover Speaks), but the decades-old nostalgia factor can’t really rescue what’s essentially a boring number, as Nicki is heard drifting through two drab verses that express her attraction to some thug hunk she just knows she shared the greatest love of all with in previous lives (“I think I met him in the sky/ When I was a geisha he was a samurai”. Yeah, okay).

Throw in a major lack of the crazy vocal inflections and goofy one-liners we’ve come to expect from Nicki, and an ill-advised, self-squeaked hook that grows more and more grating with each repeating, and we’re left scratching our heads wondering what the hell to make of it all. Does Nicki really think that releasing what sounds to be some old Blaque outtake from the late-’90′s is really what the people are demanding of her?

Single officially drops June 1st, but in the meanwhile check out a remix of the track featuring (of all people) Flo Rida, as well as the new video for the Wayne/ Minaj Rebirth collabo “Knockout”.

DL: “Your Love (Flo Rida Remix)” (alt)

For a guy that’s ruled the R&B scene in the eyes of plenty music crits the last couple of years, it was mighty disappointing that The-Dream chose to lead off his highly anticipated third album Love King with that very limp and been-there-heard-that title track/ first single. Thankfully, a handful of recently unleashed early leakages (including that hot, Luda-laced “Love King (Remix)”) have reassured us that King still has the potential of being another solid release from the singer-songwriter-producer.

Our favorite of the bunch for the moment? The T.I.-featured “Make-Up Bag”, which, following the lame “I got hoes in different area codes” theme of “King”, reminds one of how great(ly hilarious) Dream’s pen game can be when he’s really trying.

Bypass the main hook, a silly how-to lesson enlightening his fellow men on the best way to win an angry woman over (“If you ever make her mad/…Drop five stacks on that make-up bag”), and focus in on the drama excellently brought forth in the verses, which follow Dream stumbling home at two in the morning ready to get it on with his main lady after a night of “Patron-in”, only to instead get the hand and the boot because his clothes are marked with some other woman’s foundation and perfume.

Extra points for all the small details he peppers within the scenario, from the “Chanel No. 5″ shout-out and dig at Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable” (“She packin’ all of my shit/ Putting it all on the left”) to his hilarious need to inform the listener that the entire time the woman is flipping out, she’s clothed in nothing but panties.

Love King arrives June 22nd, but prior to that, look for Dream to drop the album-teasing mixtape Love Sessions, which features a curiously straight-forward cover of Aaliyah’s 1996 hit “One In A Million”.

DL: “Make Up Bag” (alt)

BONUS DL: “One In A Million (Aaliyah Cover)” (alt)

For most of 1996 and ’97, you almost couldn’t go anywhere on the planet without being bombarded on a daily basis with the sound of Mark Morrison‘s pinched, reggae-tinged chops hyping the “Return of The Mack”. The slickly produced number, in which he was found re-collecting his swagger following an ego-crushing break-up, enjoyed a seemingly endless stranglehold on several international pop charts, turning the Germany-born singer into a multi-platinum success damn near overnight. Then came an incident with a stun gun, followed by numerous other run-ins with the law, all of which helped bring a quick end to Morrison’s commercial fortunes.

Fourteen years after that mega-hit’s reign, Morrison is planning a comeback with the release of his fourth studio effort, I Am What I Am sometime later this year. First single “B’ Day” pairs him with another semi-forgotten ’90′s radio staple (G-funk icon Warren G) and, all Holy MTV-Jams-Hosted-By-Bill-Bellamy Flashback, Batman! jokes aside, actually doesn’t sound all that bad.

Atop the track’s better-than-decent, squelchy house party funk, Morrison and G spend their lines praising an champagne-assisted night of feel-good, with Mark’s still intact nasally tones (now, of course, seasoned with a lil’ Auto-Tune aid) urging everyone to “Be on your worst behavior”.

True, it’s likely that those mature folks raised off of G-Funk’s Greatest Hits and Morrison’s previous pop peak will enjoy this the most, but we could definitely hear “B’ Day” earning some spins amidst the Jason Derulo’s and Taio Cruz’ of the world this summer. Besides, if someone as random as Cypress Hill can re-emerge with a solid, hot weather banger in 2010 (still a shocker), why not these two as well?

DL: “B’ Day” (alt)