The remix as defined by Wikipedia…. “A remix is an alternative version of a song, different from the original version. A remixer uses audio mixing to compose an alternate master recording of a song, adding or subtracting elements, or simply changing the equalization, dynamics, pitch, tempo, playing time, or almost any other aspect of the various musical components. Some remixes involve substantial changes to the arrangement of a recorded work, but many are subtle, such as creating a “vocal up” version of an album cut that emphasizes the lead singer’s voice. A song may be remixed to give a song that was not popular a second chance at radio and club play, to create a stereo version of a recording that was previously only available in mono sound, to improve the fidelity of an older recording in which the original mixdown tape has been lost or degraded, or to alter a song to suit a specific music genre or radio format.”

Truth be told, the remix was one of the main reasons I got into one of my deepest loves, DJing. I was amazed at the art of these auditory technicians deconstructing everything I thought I knew about some of my favorite tracks; just to build them up into something more amazing and layered then it started. You’d think the original was a piece of work. Then a sick tactician of the turntable or a hungry producer comes along and tells you, “Fuck you, I got something for that”. They say good music is all in the interpretation and nothing proves that more than the remix.

You’d think the remix would be highly coveted in a day and age where CD’s move like they got Anthrax packaged inside. Remixes have been known to put extra steam on even the most anticipated of albums [R.Kelly has been making a career off of hot remixes] and to turn okay singles into banger status [You think Biggie’s “One More Chance” was that nice originally? No comparison].

I know what you’re saying.

“Jamar, what you mean that the remix is dead?! They remixed “A Milli” like 50-leven times!”

Perhaps I need to be clear about how I define a remix. Yes, the remixes where new rappers are added or the main artist changes his verses are good. They’re needed and in some cases, turn chicken shit into chicken salad. I don’t even pay the original “Dey Know” mind when the hulked up version dropped featuring Wayne, Plies, and Jeezy; it was just a better version by far. I’m talking about the good ol’ days when the song would sound like an alternate reality of what you loved before. I remember cruising with my brother back home around that 9PM hour, back when Power would have the fresh DJ mixes, and they dropped the “Vivrant Thing” remix on my head. I was astounded.

“Vivrant Thing” is one of my favorite Q-Tip songs ever, and among my top ten favorite rap songs ever. Nothing touched it at that time for me. Then I heard the Violator remix of it featuring Missy and Busta and I was floored. The bass hit harder, the drum patterns changed just enough, the verses were wilder. Even the hook changed up with Tip alternating between “viv-a-rent” and “vivrant”. But it was still what I knew, what I loved. Justice done to the source material, but an enjoyable re-imagination of an already good thing.

In a way, a good song is something like a relationship. Lasting relationships have points where your partner displays surprises and changes that draw you back in; making them almost new again, sometimes completely fresh. Like cheating on your girlfriend WITH your girlfriend. Let that sink in for a second.

A strong remix is like when you lady (or guy, for our female readers out there) changes her hair to something sexier than what it started. Or when she takes a step in a new direction you would have never guessed, for the better. Or the best case; when she evolves into something greater than when she started. Same thing with our music.

I see the “remix” today as almost lazy. It’s a general lack of vision in a time where vision is already looked down upon and severely lacking in the Hip-Hop genre. If you take a look at one of our contemporaries, techno music (beep-bop-beep-boop-bop music to some, wake up music for me.), they have songs that stay classics for decades while we’re hard-pressed to remember hot tracks from a few years ago. Why is that? The thing to learn from techno is they have a passionate community and set of artists that aren’t afraid to reinterpret upon reinterpretation of their music. Remix upon remix that keeps a worthy original alive and well, stimulating a new set of listeners while educating them to a track they weren’t there to discover when it was fresh.

The technology is as good as it’s ever been. The mixtape game is booming and a standard of this stage of Hip-Hop. DJ’s and producers are no longer background, but main players and reasons to buy an album based on name value alone. So why am I getting the word rearranged on the same old beat I’ve heard a million times? Is it wrong to want better for my art by having them do something we did better than ANYONE just a few years back?

When I started taking notice that Hip-Hop was growing a little by-the-numbers; I knew the transition was complete when the full-bodied remix died too. Now, artists are too scared to take a chance on what proved itself a sure thing and won’t challenge themselves (or someone else) to attempt something magical. Admittedly, there are some terrible remixes out there just like there are terrible remakes of classic movies. But haven’t the hits been worth more than the misses? I’ve got a challenge for you. Pull up your favorite file-sharing or Bit-Torrent related program.

I’ll wait.

-hold music plays-

Good. I need you to download Paid in Full by Eric B. and Rakim. Really LISTEN to that song, a Hip-Hop classic if there ever was one by two greats in the game.

Now I need you to download “Paid in Full (Colduct Remix)”. Listen to THAT. Tell me that song doesn’t tap a nerve in your soul somewhere? A marriage of obscure sounds, scratch, quotes, and yet still grounded in the story of trying to get those dead presidents.

That’s what I’m talking about. It’s all I’ve been getting at by writing this. I want to be shocked and amazed at what I thought I knew about Hip-Hop. We’ve got talented producers like Terry Urban, Mick Boogie, Ape Blends, and many more that are mashing and remixing some class stuff these days in an effort to give us new ways to enjoy our sound; even making it accessible to people who normally wouldn’t care to hear it. For you Jay-Z fans out there, go out of your way to listen to Viva La Hova. A mashing of Coldplays classics with Jay-Z’s bravado and intricate storytelling, you may find a new favorite band and earn greater appreciation for one of rap’s elder statesmen.

As much as I’ve noticed how the rap community is all about what’s hot at the moment, lets take notice of keeping our heat preserved and remembered so they can EARN those ‘classic” titles being tossed around with little concern. The remix isn’t a solution to what I’m stating, but It’s an enjoyable aid on the path towards it.

Want more from what you enjoy and you just might get it.

I’ll just keep writing waiting for the day Hip-Hop lets her hair down and gives me a new reason to fall in love with her. She shows me from time to time. Can she show me more often?

-Listens to “Luv 2 Luv U (Remix)”, wondering-

At first I wasn’t gonna post this when we first got this in our e-mail on Friday. But as the weekend commenced I had this feeling in the back of my head that I really should have. Shit, I may believe that Jay-Z is the “Best Rapper Ever” right now. But for a long LONG time, I would steal on a motherfucker if they said Christoper George Latore Wallace wasn’t the best to ever do it. So, Biggie I’m sorry I didn’t do what I was supposed to and post the original version of Ready To Die on Friday. I’m sorry that I let my physical urges (and the chance to release them on a sexy caramel toned beauty) get in the way of real Hip-Hop. But B.I.G. even though I’ve wronged you and Hip-Hop, I know that deep inside you would have did the same thing too. So people, if you haven’t already got this, do so and sit back and listen to Ready To Die again for the first time. You hear some samples that wasn’t cleared, some production from Premier and Pete Rock that wasn’t on the original, and hear what Biggie and Bad Boy initially intended. I still don’t know how this shit is just getting out know. R.I.P. Big Poppa!

Tracklist:
01 Intro (Original Uncleared Sample Version)
02 Things Done Changed (Original Version)
03 Gimme The Loot (Uncensored Never Before Heard Version)
04 Machine Gun Funk (DJ Premier Version)
05 Warning (Original Version)
06 Ready To Die (Original Beat Version)
07 One More Chance (Original Uncleared Sample Version)
08 Fuck Me (Interlude)
09 The What (Original Unheard Lyrics Version)
10 Juicy (Pete Rock Version)
11 Everyday Struggle (Demo Version)
12 Me And My Bitch (Original Beat Version)
13 Respect (Original Extended Version)
14 Friend Of Mine (Original Demo Version)
15 Whatchu Want (Unreleased Original Version)
16 Suicidal Thoughts (Pete Rock Version)
17 Come On (Unreleased Original Version)
18 Who Shot Ya (Original Demo Version)
19 Mac’s N Dons (Unreleased)
20 Pepsi Freestyle (Unreleased)
21 Biggie Got That Hype Shit (Unreleased Demo)

Download: The Notorious B.I.G – Ready To Die (The O.G. Edition)

Just the other week, King Jerm and me were arguing about who was the better member of the 90’s Rap duo Illegal; Mally G (aka Jamal) or Lil’ Malik. While I still stand by my choice of Malik (Remember him on Monica’s “Like This And Like That”?), Jerm did point out that Jamal at least released a hit of his own; “Fades Em All”. What could I say? In 1995, that song was a banger! Coming off Jamal’s debut album, Last Chance, No Breaks, it was hard to deny the Redman and Rockwilder produced drums as well as the Biggie sample from “Ready To Die” (“I drop lyrics off and on like a light switch”). What even more crazy is that last week, Skillz dropped a mixtape called Design of A Decade (Where he raps over beats from the 90’s). One of the beats he chooses was, of course, “Fade ‘Em All” (or as Skillz has it listed on the mixtape’s cover, “F.E.A.”). So, I thought it be cool to have both versions as Song(s) of the Week. Old heads reminisce, young heads pull up a chair and learn some shit. Enjoy.

Download: Jamal – “Fades ‘Em All”

Album: Last Chance, No Breaks
Release Date: October 10, 1995

Download: Skillz – “F.E.A.”

Album: Design Of A Decade Volume 1
Release Date: 2008

It’s no coincidence that the first two Classic albums chosen this week are from Brooklyn natives. The Notorious B.I.G was one of the few rappers to have that IT factor that has us calling him top 5-10 in hip hop history with only 2 albums released before his death. Pun intended, Christopher George Latore Wallace was too big to hold back. He was signed by the then unknown Sean Combs for his Bad Boy label which already had a promising rapper by the name of Craig Mack. Mack ended up propelling B.I.G’s career by having him on the Flava in Ya ear remix which immediately made everyone notice Biggie. He stood out in every way from anyone doing it at the time. He was a big guy, 6′3, 300lbs and he didn’t care (”…black and ugly as ever, however…..”), he had the voice that made you take note, and his delivery and story telling was second to none in the game. Despite his own unflattering characterizations of who he was, he was a trend setter. He had the toughest thugs out buying $100 Versace shirts and glasses, Coogi sweaters, and drinking whatever he was drinking. That presence translates well on wax as well with a debut album that featured somewhere around 40 samples ranging from Mtume and the Isley Brothers to the Ohio Players and The Honey Drippers, which single handedly put NY back on the Hip Hop map and gave Puffy a jumpstart to the Bad Boy Empire. This album simply gets better with each listen as “validated ” by the Source who initially gave the album 4.5 mics but reviewed it again later and gave it the revered 5mic rating it deserved. One of my favorite flows from the album comes the title track “I drop lyrics off and on like a light switch / quick to grab the right bitch / and make her drive the Q….45–Glocks and tecks are expected when I wreck shit / respect is collected so check it / I got techniques drippin’ out my butt cheeks / sleep on my stomach so I don’t fuck up my sheets / huh / My shit is deep, deeper than my grave G / I’m ready to die and nobody can save me / fuck the world, fuck my moms and my girl / my life is played out like the jheri curl cause I’m ready to die.

We missin’ you man. Thank you for blessing the music I love with a classic

Example: Notorious B.I.G – “Suicidal Thoughts”

With the rise of digital downloads and MP3 players, the album cover doesn’t mean as much as once was. Back in the past, the album cover meant a lot. It could catch you eye in the store; sometimes it even made you wanna buy the album. It was art, and it was sometimes part of the message and the music. Now, album covers are an after thought; rappers really don’t try to do anything creative anymore. Today, we pay homage to the album covers we liked (In no particular order).

Straight Outta Compton

Artist: NWA
Year: 1988
B-Easy: This album cover marked the public arrival of NWA. It was basically saying, “Welcome to our world.” It also had a view of a person who just got robbed. Eazy-E with the gun set it off too.

The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory

Artist: 2Pac (as Makaveli)
Year: 1996
P-Body: When that shit first came out, it was very different, and rebellious for the rap world. Basically Pac wanted to let people know that the media crucified his career. I give much props to whoever drew the cover, I think it said inside the booklet. I’ll have to check, but dope pic. (R.I.P. Tupac)

Stakes Is High

Artist: De La Soul
Year: 1996
B-Easy: This cover is probably my favorite of all. De La Soul has always gone against the grain. In a world where rappers constantly take pictures with their cars for their album covers, this cover is refreshing. You can even say it’s more like a rock album cover than a rap cover.

Death Certificate

Artist: Ice Cube
Year: 1991
P-Body: This shit right here fits the concept of the CD. Yo Cube, I wanna kill Uncle Sam too! Definitely dope cover.
B-Easy: This is Ice Cube before his Are We There Yet days. What other way better can you say fuck the U.S. than this? Cube had a toe tag on Uncle Sam! What’s even better is that this fit the whole message of the album.

Ready To Die

Artist: The Notorious B.I.G.
Year: 1994
P-Body: Masterpiece. That nigga BIG said he is born ready to die. I guess we all should since that’s what’s going to happen to us anyways. I really dig this cover. (R.I.P. Biggie)
B-Easy: Some people said Biggie bit off of Nas’ Illmatic, but I say fuck that, this was awesome in it’s own right. It’s simple and was different for it’s time. This also was the beginning of the whole Bad Boy style (Mostly black & white).

The Grey Album

Artist: Danger Mouse (with Jay-Z & The Beatles)
Year: 2004
B-Easy: Okay, okay, I know this wasn’t an official album but fuck it, this is our list! Let’s be real; Jay-Z hasn’t really had an awesome album cover. To me, this is his best album cover. I like the art; it’s simple and to the point.

Soul Food

Artist: Goodie Mob
Year: 1995
P-Body: Very dope cover. Classic album and much underrated in my book. Anyway the cover speaks for itself about the whole LP; very dope shit.
B-Easy: I think most rappers would be scared to pray on their album cover (Not that shit Jeezy do to look like Pac either). This cover showed a real aspect of the southern rapper and how food and praying are a everyday thing.

We Can’t Be Stopped

Artist: Geto Boys
Year: 1991
P-Body: That cover was really trill and had a meaning at the same time.
B-Easy: First of all, the story behind this cover is crazy. The album cover is a graphic picture of Bushwick Bill in the hospital after he shot himself in the eye after his girlfriend refused to shoot him. These guys was at the hospital taking pictures for an album cover! That’s enough to get on this list.

Let’s Get Free

Artist: dead prez
Year: 2000
B-Easy: When this album came out, Loud Records put a sticker on the cover to hide this “offensive” picture. This cover fits dead prez all the way; it was controversial and powerful at the same time. I’d hang this up at the crib; it’s art.