mixtape maestro (2.0)

“Whatever U Want”, the first single off of Queens rapper/ Q-Tip cousin/ G.O.O.D. Music signee Consequence’s upcoming sophomore album Cons TV, leaked waaay back in the Summer, but somehow we had never come across it until we were flipping through cable channels and happened to catch it’s on-the-cheap-looking Hype-directed video (featuring a striking duo of ponytail-whipping Sasha Fierce-wannabes)…and now, we’re more than a little bummed that we have arrived so late to the party to gush over such a fantastic track.

Honestly, we could listen to Con and Kanye trade the mic back and forth over “Whatever”’s bubbling electronic drum beat and those seducing synth sounds that mark the end of every four lines over and over without complaint. And the addition of John Legend’s romancing croon and the way the different elements to the production beautifully crash together from the mid-way point on only make the song that much more endlessly addicting.

Can this trio form a supergroup of some sort and release a mixtape, EP or album filled with more tracks like this, please?

Catch the video below, then grab a cool remix from Philly’s DJ Gregg Nyce that slaps the “Whatever U Want” vocals over the “Back To Life” beat.

Whatever U Want by Consequence f Kanye West & John Legend

Consequence | MySpace Video

DL: “Whatever U Want (Nyce Back To Life Remix)” (alt)

Uncategorized consequence, dj gregg nyce, east coast rap, john legend, kanye west, new york, philly

Jneiro Jarel, Philly hip hop producer and partner to Goodie Mob’s Khujo in the experimental side project gig Willie Isz (think of them as an even more spaced-out sibling to Gnarls Barkley), injects a lil’ left-field bump ‘neath Maxwell’s three-weeks-and-counting comeback R&B chart topper “Pretty Wings” on this killer remix, knocking the silky ballad slightly askew with some oft-kilter drum thump and down-right spooky ethereal synth additions.

Club-ready? Not exactly. But if you were having problems staying focused on the road because you were too busy zoning out to your “inner happy place” at the hands of the lullabye-ish original, think of this as the more automobile-friendly edition.

Willie Isz’ debut Georgiavania is available now.

DL: “Pretty Wings (Willie Isz/ Jneiro Jarel Remix)” (alt)

Uncategorized grown folks R&B, jneiro jarel, maxwell, philly, remix, willie isz

You can giggle all you want about Wham! (and with tunes like this and pics like this and this and…er, this, it’s extremely hard not to), but don’t act like the boys weren’t capable of delivering some of the finest blue-eyed-soul-esque pop the ’80’s ever produced. “Last Christmas”!?! “Careless Whisper”!?! Even the silly bop of “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” still holds up today as arguably the most perfect-est slab of jubilant soul-pop. But one gem from their heyday tenure that is sadly oft-overlooked once conversation turns to the duo of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley is 1984’s “Everything She Wants”.

Initially released as a double A-side with “Christmas” (perhaps one of the main reasons why it’s usually forgotten about), “Everything She Wants” offered yet another reason why George Michael’s eventual rise to the top of the late ’80’s superstar heap shouldn’t have all been surprising.

Listening to it now, it’s amazing to hear George’s masterful pop-crafting abilities at work in a pre-Faith context: Those synth-funk bubblings, that irresistable post-disco main groove, both a strong lead vocal performance and the engaging vox happenings nestled in the background. And what about the incredible lyrical script, detailing how an at-once ideal romance turns into one man’s worst nightmare as he slowly discovers the paycheck-sapping monster he’s wedded (“Some people work for a living/ Some people work for fun/ Girl, I just work for you/ They told me marriage was a give and take/ Well you’ve shown me you can take/ You’ve got some giving to do”). Then to make things even more depressing, he’s newly discovered that she’s with child, and he handles the news like one would if they’d just been delivered a life sentence to the bowels of Hell.

Thankfully, intriguing new Philly collective The ReBeL Yell is helping to remind the masses of “Everything She Wants” greatness by covering the tune, giving it a nicely subdued electro-soul sheen led off by frontman SupaStar’s cool falsetto notes and smooth rapped lament about being a “personal ATM machine”.

Catch the original Wham! clip below, than snatch up ReBeL’s excellent remake afterward.

ReBeL Yell’s debut album, Love & War, arrives in August via Rapster

DL: “Everything She Wants (Wham! Cover)” (alt)

Uncategorized 80's, blue-eyed soul, cover song, george michael, grown folks R&B, philly, the reBeL Yell, wham!

A sprinkling of Chic-y glitter all over the then-Santogold’s ridiculously lovable dub daydream “Shove It” would seem to be needless (God knows we’ve heard this non-single favorite made over enough different ways), but Canadian DJ/ producer Grandtheft’s disco treatment ultimately pushes this version near the top of the “Shove It” remix heap, it’s festive swirl providing a surprisingly effective companion to Santi and Spank’s vocal contributions and making the record an even bigger club anthem.

DL: “Shove It (Grandtheft’s Disco Remix)” (alt)

Continuing the Ms. White love, check out this mash-up of Major Lazer’s “Hold The Line” over Soulja Boy’s still-fire “Turn My Swag On” beat (courtesy of Philly’s Emynd) below:

DL: “Hold The Line Vs. Turn My Swag On (Emynd Remix)” (alt)

Uncategorized Canada, disco, emynd, grandtheft, major lazer, mash-up, philly, remix, santigold, santogold, soulja boy, spank rock

Freeway’s last studio effort, 2007’s under-performing Free At Last, may have felt like it dropped eons ago in hip hop’s time, but the Philly-born bearded wonder has still managed to keep his name, and unmistakable voice, out there, flooding the web with numerous mixtape/ freestyle projects. Last month, he kept the rap blog circuit afire with his Month of Madness song spree, which found him releasing a new track every day for the whole of December (download the entire thing here).

Here’s two of Maestro’s favorites:

Get ready to start longing for the days of Roc-A-Fella’s reign once the smooth soul sample of “I Can Deal With It” coats the ears. Lain atop a seducing rise-and-fall strings-and-horn backdrop and snippets of some anonymous soul vixen moaning “I think I can handle it” (supplied by beatmaker Blunt), a surprisingly calmer Freeway tries his best to simply lead a peaceful existence and keep his paper stack high but the constant threat of haters coming from every which way keeps such a life nearly impossible. “They dyin’ to try me,” he sighs against the buttery groove, before opting on hitting them with “every (lyrical?) bullet from this tech I peel”.

DL: “I Can Deal With It” (alt)

For “Doing Anything”, Free joins Lil’ Rob and…erm, Swiffer, in keeping that damn “Baby Come Back” song stuck in our heads.

“Anything” might sample the apparently deathless, 1977 smooth rock hit by Player, but beyond briefly relating his attempts to woo a second grade hottie back in the day, there’s not much Valentine’s Day mushiness to be found here. Instead, that elementary school-set almost-love story is used as one of many examples of Freeway doing “anything” to make sure every goal he sets for himself ends in success, whether that’s being the flyest-dressed cat on the block or staying one step ahead of his mic competition.

DL: “Doing Anything” (alt)

Uncategorized freeway, mixtape, philly, soul sample