In this rapper filled mashup, DeeJay BeeKay takes on some of the top MC’s of today and battles ’em against Gramatik’s reinterpretation of “Stairway to Heaven.” The MC’s flow in and out with well layered transitions, though some of the vocal cuts need work. Still, a surprisingly well flowing mashup considering such high expectations with anything Zeppelin.
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Drake’s sophomore album, Take Care, releases on November 15, but here’s a sneak peak from Flow 93.5. Unfortunately, this radio rip of “Crew Love” has those annoying ass watermarks all over it. Once I find a version without ’em, I’ll throw that up, but take a listen to this for now.
*Update: got a legit copy up now. Lovin The Weeknd viiibes. Actually like Drake in it too – usually I have to rely on remixes of Drake to appreciate his flow.
[audio:Crew-Love.mp3|titles=Crew Love (Take Care)]
Downtempo tracks always seem to have long, drawn-out intros. Unlike the rager-type music, the meat of the music (the vocals) isn’t expressed all that much but periodically throughout the track. I guess I’m more a fan of the “radio edits,” which cut out the fat and get to the good stuff.
In Re. You’s edit of “Video Games,” Lana appears only a couple of times for a short period. The beat, however, is well supported without her and when she does appear, it only makes it the more grand. I still may not appreciate these long edits that downtempo seems to rely on, but ya can’t hate too much on this laid-back tempo with beautiful harp-like gestures.
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I may be diggin the electronic scene a bit too much lately, but I still got so much love for the classics. In fact, if you aren’t throwin in a little brass or any of the other families into your electro-set, you’re seriously lacking.
Big Gigantic’s “Rise and Shine” is a perfect example of this blend of electronic, brass and percussions. With one sultry leading sax by Dominic Lalli and a rockout drum performance by Jeremy Salke, this shit barely needs the electronic touch – but for the sake of today’s youth infatuated electro-goers, the mix of it all sets any raver off right.
The “Rise and Shine” single is off their upcoming album, Nocturnal, which is set to release early, early 2012. Cannot wait for that saxy beast.
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Camo + Krooked created the official remix of the James Bond theme for Activision’s GoldenEye 007 : Reloaded. I don’t know how this game is gonna stack up to the N64 original, but Camo & Krooked’s dubstep rework of the original theme adds just enough electro-bass goodness to keep it up with the times, yet doesn’t go too far with it (thankfully).
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To promote his upcoming album, Camp, Gambino did a freestyle over at Sway in the Morning against DJ Wonder’s “5 Fingers of Death.” From dubstep to reggae, Gambino shows off his freestyle talents in just about every fashion. He may not have had the most immaculate freestylings, but his cunning style is ever present. Now this is some real shit.
[audio:Gambino-Sway.mp3|titles=Sway In The Morning Freestyle]
“Like Smoke” was produced back in ’08 for Winehouse’s Back to Black album, but never made the cut. Now it’s being released with a bunch of her other Hidden Treasures, which is set to release December 5.
The track, as the whole album, will be a bittersweet dedication just in time for the cozy-time season. Can’t say this shows off Winehouse’s moving vocals to the utmost, but still brings the soul, as always. On the other hand, Nas speaks it well, blending in with Winehouse like only two with such talents could.
RIP Wino.
[audio:Like-Smoke.mp3|titles=Like Smoke]
Skrillex’s remix of “Cinema” took Gary Go’s vocals and stepped ’em to an even higher level with those synths. But where Skrillex went with the stereotypical, over-chaotic dubstep drops, Stephan Jacobs went a different route.
Jacobs’ remix goes for a breakbeat // glitch vibe that feels like a clusterfuck at first – happens a lot in glitch – but after a few listens you warm up to the seemingly chaotic mess and start to vibe hard to it in your head. I still haven’t found a remix to “Cinema” that’s got the full package, but we’re definitely stepping it up on each remix.
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Damn it’s good to hear some De La Soul revived. And damn does Bobby C revive it with a classic feel, bringing out those funky instrumentals more than ever before. Which actually brings up my biggest qualm with hip-hop, like De La, from back in the day – the instrumentals never seemed to be fully expressed. Was it because that was the standard or just a lack of quality production Either way, Bobby C fully expresses it here.
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Just put up Xaphoon’s remix of “Marvin & Chardonnay” and now we get a mashup from The Hood Internet with instrumentals borrowed from Wolfgang Gartner’s “The Way It Was.” I can’t quite say which I like better yet, but damn does each have a sick beat to back up Sean & Kanye. Which one do you like better
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