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)

It’s been so long since the “Mark Ronson sound” hasn’t predominantly been horn-emblazoned, retro-soul workouts that the announcement of the superstar DJ-producer‘s third album, Record Collection, deviating away from that signature motif initially had us all scratching our heads trying to remember what else Ronson was capable of behind the boards.

Then arrived the peculiar-but-addicting, ’80′s synth-chic of the Q-Tip-blessed first single “Bang Bang Bang”, and we were instantly reminded of the genre-hopping eclecticism of Ronson’s mostly forgotten debut, Here Comes The Fuzz, a vibe he more or less seems to be returning to on Collection.

Latest album tease “Lose It (In The End)” follows “Bang”‘s lead as another left-field delight, it’s wacky arrangement evoking some sort of weird, Spaghetti western-meets-’60′s pop cartoon fantasy-land as a reverb-soaked Ronson sings (!!!!) a woeful hook about how he foolishly let a love slip through his fingers again, and a shotgun-riding Ghostface cycles through his own relationship pains while shouting out Bell Biv Devoe and Slim Shady & Kim.

Hear it below, then snatch up one of her favorite Fuzz cuts, the summery Sean Paul and Tweet-featured bouncer “International Affair”.

Record Collection drops September 27th.

Mark Ronson & The Business Intl – Lose It (In The End) (Feat Ghostface Killah)

BONUS DL: Mark Ronson feat. Sean Paul & Tweet “International Affair” (alt)

To have Wu Tang MVP’s Ghostface, Method Man and Raekwon all together on one track, rocking their usually winning thug-in-love swagger atop a shimmering ’70′s soul loop, made “Our Dreams”, an early preview of the trio’s highly anticipated joint offering Wu-Massacre, an immediate win; and if we had to point out the track’s true star, hands down it would have to be “hook guest” Michael Jackson (the song samples his 1975 solo hit “We’re Almost There”), melting our hearts all over again with the awe-inspiring ways of his then-16-year-old pipes.

So why, after noting all the praise-worthy elements the original has, do we consider a remix version replacing MJ with Alicia Keys the better grab? Simple: A better production polish.

The one thing keeping us from completely loving the original was it’s mixtape-level beat-crafting: More specifically, the awkward chorus-to-verse transitioning. Whether this was done on purpose to retain a certain street edge or was an early rough draft misstep ultimately left alone doesn’t matter, because the jarring cuts completely erupt the song’s flow.

Thankfully, the “Ant Acid Mix” rights this distraction, mashing M/G/R’s verses with Alicia Keys’ cover of “Almost There” (a bonus offering from last year’s The Element of Freedom) with far smoother (and therefore aurally satisfying) results.

Hear the original here, grab the “Ant Acid Mix” and the full Alicia cover below.

Wu-Massacre drops March 30th.

DL: “Our Dreams (Ant Acid Mix)” (alt)

DL: Alicia Keys “Almost There (Michael Jackson Cover)” (alt)

Ghostface Killah’s eighth studio album, Ghostdini: The Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City, will be a R&B-inspired affair? Okay, we all nodded, completely confident that if anyone could pull this concept off with exciting results, it would be the man who padded his incredible catalogue with acclaimed “softer” joints like “All That I Got Is You” (with Mary J Blige), “Never Be The Same Again” (featuring Carl Thomas) and his 2006 commercial peak “Back Like That” (guesting Ne-Yo).

But with the arrival of early leaks “Baby” and “She’s A Killer”, two ill-fitting tracks that traded in the classic 70′s soul-washed soundscapes ‘Face has always sounded so good over for Auto-Tuned-enhanced stabs at radio-friendly thug-love rap and “Pop Champagne”-influenced club-hop, Ghostdini was beginning to sound like a bad idea that needed to be scrapped, pronto.

This week though, we were finally able to let out a sigh of relief thanks to the “web premiere” of “Let’s Stop Playin’”, a mid-tempo crush ballad that finds Ghost right where we’d rather have him when he’s getting his mack-flow on: bathed in soothing soul samples (in this case, Marvin Gaye provides the sophisticated beat source) and supported by a classy crooner like John Legend.

The song’s premise: Despite both being committed to other people, Ghost is really feeling a female neighbor in his building of residence, going so far as too memorize her daily schedule and make sure he’s around when she gets off from work at six to help her upstairs with the groceries because the elevator’s broken. Even when she’s had it out with her man and is giving him the cold shoulder, he still can’t help but find her attractive (“But still, you was lookin’ mad cute to me/ With your lips poked out being rude to me”).

The second verse is the one that completely seals “Playin’”‘s status as a solid favorite though, with Ghostface masterfully juggling another dazzling lyrical display of his revered humor and storytelling skills as he scripts out a fantasy sex scene set in a laundromat with him and his dream girl getting buckwild amidst spilled Clorox bleach and scattered Bounce sheets.

Now this is the “soft”-mode Iron Man we know and love.

Ghostdini drops September 29th.

DL: “Let’s Stop Playin’” (alt)