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 Taio Cruz hasn’t completely convinced us we’ll care about him (or even remember him) by this time next year, you got to give the Auto-Tune-obsessed singer-songwriter-producer credit for knowing how to temporarily distract us from our everyday troubles with a slick guilty pleasure.

Neither one of his back-to-back international hits, “Break Your Heart” and “Dynamite”, sound like a human was involved in their respective creations, but in their behemoth by-the-numbers Top 40 club thumps and pasted-together cyborg vocal work, they both manage to edge into the realm of being okay pop jams, especially when drunk and stuffed on a crowded dance floor or trapped in a car in the middle of a traffic jam with little else to do but tap along on the steering wheel.

Current smash “Dynamite” has now been given the requisite, big name-boasting remix spin, but rather than simply toss in a Fabolous, Rick Ross or, hell, Ke$ha contribution and call it a day, Taio has opted to really go big, employing brief American Idol judge hopeful Jennifer Lopez to join along in his T.G.I.F. celebration. Sadly, the desperate attempt to re-ignite interest into the artist-once-known-as J. Lo’s abilities as a “singer” instantly falls flat with Lopez offering a bland (and damn near unrecognizable) vocal contribution that fails to really add anything new to the track.

Hell, homegirl (or should we say “Fly Girl”) would have been better off staying out the studio and just playing lead chick in a re-release of the track’s music video (would’ve probably made a bigger impact that way too).

We’ll be sticking with Original Recipe “Dynamite” thank you very much, but the curious can hear a radio rip of this “duet” below anyway.

(via)

Taio Cruz ft. Jennifer Lopez – Dynamite

For all it’s great pop value, Robyn‘s “Dancing On My Own” sure is depressing. After so many listens, you kinda want to reach in the speakers, work your way past the Moroder strobe synths-as-prison bars that are trapping the heartbroken and shattered pop tart on the same dancefloor where her ex is playing tonsil hockey with his new arm-candy, and give her a good shake: He’s moved on and so should you Robyn.

In the remixing hands of fellow Swede Copycat at least, some small flickering of hope can be felt on the horizon. Yeah, she’s still hurt knowing that she’s no longer the girl he’s taking home, but when set against Copycat’s 70′s-era lite-rock breeziness, her repeating of “I keep dancing on my own” bypasses the world-ending collapse into self-pity of the original, painting the more optimistic picture of Robyn traipsing her stilettos past all the broken glass to the club’s exit and entering this newfound single phase of her life more at peace with the situation. Yeah, she’ll keep “dancing on her own”…and it’s okay.

Robyn – Dancing on my own (Copycat’s Sundrenched FM Remix)

What does “The Gooch” (a nickname that needs to catch on) have to say about “boobies like ‘Wow, oh, wow!!’” in his newly added verse to Usher‘s inescapable summer jam “OMG”? Not anything that’ll make you say “Oh my gosh” really, but it’s fun to hear how awkward Gucci sounds trying to keep up with will.i.am’s fast-paced beat.

Mane is better appreciated on that slow flow tip, thank you very much.

Grab the song, as well as Usher’s original take on the “Somebody To Love” single he eventually handed over to his protégé Justin Bieber, below.

DL: “OMG (Remix)” (alt)

BONUS DL: Usher “Somebody To Love (Original)” (alt)

“Dear Dictator”, the dark ‘n glammy first single from the justifiably buzzed-about L.A. indie pop outfit Saint Motel‘s 2009 introductory EP ForPlay (also featuring the very excellent “Butch”) was totally fine as it was, but we can’t help but be a tad bit more in love with this Sam Sparro-helmed remix, which recasts the tune into a sultry new wave-meets-electro-funk affair.

Suddenly we’ve developed an undying desire to have Mr. “Black & Gold” drop another album like now.

DL: “Dear Dictator (Sam Sparro Remix)” (alt)

“Teqkilla” is one of those M.I.A. tracks that leave you feeling like you need to be under the influence of something to truly “get”. Yeah, that can describe most of Maya’s output, but usually we can find some element in her kooky, international music-informed art-pop patchworks to lovingly grasp onto while sober. In it’s twisted cacophony of synth blurts and bleets, dubstep-y tribal thump and chanted shout-outs to various alcoholic beverages, “Teqkilla”, /\/\ /\ Y /\‘s latest single, lacks that one magic ingredient to pull it all together and help transcend it from mad scientist studio experiment to off-kilter pop genius.

That is until this remix arrived, boasting a guest appearance from the one and only Nicki Minaj, one artist we’d strangely never thought of ever pairing M.I.A. with despite their similarities in mic…ahem, “animated-ness”. “It’s going d-d-d-d-d-down/ Everything slo-mo in the background”, launches Nicki at the beginning of a deliciously wacky verse inflected with that strange English-Jamaican accent she enjoys so much, instantly triggering wishes that she and Maya will hook up for an entire collaborative mixtape and vibe off each other’s respective eccentricity.

Hell, maybe with an added M.I.A. sixteen, “Massive Attack” would make some sort of sense.

/\/\ /\ Y /\ drops July 13th.

DL: “Teqkilla (Remix)” (alt)

It seems like every three months brings about some new teen rap group emerging out of whatever regional pocket of the nation to push some new fashion/ dance/ hip hop sub-genre movement for the young’un set to heavily obsess over then just as quickly forget about a season later. Right now that group is Cali Swag District, an Inglewood quartet riding the viral sensation wave with their minimalist, cowbell-laced single/ how-to “Teach Me How To Dougie”.

Naturally, with us being grown folk and all, we’re left feeling ambivalent towards CSD and their “hit”, distracted in trying to figure out how they tie in to the New Boyz or The Pack, if at all, but we will admit to appreciating how simple the “Dougie” dance is to master, especially when compared to the overly-complex physical workout that is “jerking”.

But back to why we’re even mentioning “Teach Me How To Dougie” here in the first place: it’s all-star remix, which features Jermaine Dupri (always eager to attach himself to the latest hot kiddie rap craze), Red Cafe, Bow Wow and B.o.B, who rides the beat best here with another welcome dose of his energetic flow and charismatic rhyme-play (“I hit her with that flex/ So she get impressed/ You heard what I said/ Hit her with a text/ Then she know what’s next…”).

Catch the video to the original so you can get your “Dougie” practice on, then grab the remix afterward.

Cali Swag District – Teach Me How To Dougie

Cali Swag District (follow @caliswagdstrct) | MySpace Music Videos

DL: “Teach Me How To Dougie (Remix)” (alt)

BONUS DL: Katy Perry feat. Snoop Dogg & Cali Swag District “California Gurls (Remix)” (alt)

When last referring to N.E.R.D.‘s latest single “Hot N Fun”, we called out the record’s “hypnotizing bassline” as it’s greatest asset, with the so-so vocal work from band members Pharrell & Shay and featured guest Nelly Furtado feeling like unnecessary distractions.

So credit must be thrown Asher Roth‘s way for helping bring some lyric-based worthwhile to the track on this remix, in which he provides an amusing sixteen about some randy under-the-table shenanigans with a frisky “blonde bombshell”.

Check it out, alongside a kooky “Hot N Fun” re-tooling by Yeasayer, below.

N.E.R.D.’s Nothing has been pushed back for a September release; pick up Asher’s Seared Foie Gras with Quince and Cranberry mixtape here.

DL: “Hot N Fun (Asher Roth Remix)” (alt)

BONUS DL: “Hot N Fun (Yeasayer Remix)” (alt)

On the original version of Jeezy‘s latest banger, the Drumma Boy-produced “Lose My Mind”, the Southern rapper and guest star Plies celebrate the end of a long and hard work week by getting as boozed and random vagina’d up as possible; and as nightmarish as their party-mode at times sounds (thanks to Drumma’s hauntingly slo-mo crunk crawl, Jeezy’s talk of being so drunk he feels “schizophrenic” and Plies sounding…well like Plies), the duo do well at making their weekend feel like a can’t miss event.

So it’s a shame that a verse by Drake on the remix (premiered at this year’s BET Awards) sort of dulls everything down. Not only does Drizzy sound nowhere near as delightfully deranged or super-intoxicated as Jeezy or Plies (the latter of whom he unfortunately replaces here), but his lyrical contribution is entirely forgettable, leaning far too heavily on his self-important signature (“Half a million in a week/ It’s only right I do”) when one or two doses of woozy wit would of sufficed.

We get Jeezy may have wanted to show Drake some love after being added to the Thank Me Later guest-list, but Mr. “Find Your Love” just proves an ill fit here.

DL: “Lose My Mind (Remix)” (alt)