[Photo jacked from Nah Right, a.k.a. hip hop savior #3.]
I don’t mean to front on the whole “event” feel of this record — I can respect the coming together of the 3 biggest money-earners in hip hop today. But, I was thinking about transitioning the overreaching hype around this record (I mean, is that supposed to be a movie poster? For a song?) into a top-10-remixes-of-all-time list, until I realized that I just can’t accept that type of authority. So, here’s 10 of my favorite remixes, of which the 50/Jay/Diddy‘s ghostwriter collabo is not included. If you don’t like Busta Rhymes, you might want to proceed with caution…
[And, for the record, I didn’t include any remixes where the same exact song is placed over a different beat (i.e. J Dilla’s remix of The Pharcyde’s “She Said”), nor did I include any remixes where the verses and beat are the same but a guest verse is just added in (i.e. Dead Prez’s “Hell Yeah” remix with Jay-Z). These have all been re-recorded to some extent.]
Download: A Tribe Called Quest – “Scenario (Remix)” featuring Kid Hood & Leaders Of The New School
Apparently the “original” version of “Scenario” was the remix, but Kid Hood’s death (which is alluded to by Busta’s opening tribute) led to the switcheroo. This was Hood’s only appearance on record. Damn shame…
Download: Busta Rhymes – “Woo Hah! Got You All In Check (Remix)” featuring Ol’ Dirty Bastard
… but, at least we could a good amount of material out of ODB before his passing.
Download: Craig Mack – “Flava In Ya Ear (Remix)” featuring Notorious B.I.G., Rampage, LL Cool J & Busta Rhymes
Hee-shee! If one appearance from LL Cool J totally ruining an otherwise-classic posse cut doesn’t cut it for you, keep reading…
Download: Dilated Peoples – “Ear Drums Pop (Remix)” featuring Planet Asia, Defari, Everlast & Phil The Agony
Classic West Coast underground shit, featuring a pre-Strong Arm Steady Phil The Ag. Probably the least remarkable, but most recognizable, part of this song is Everlast’s verse, which sparked his sorry-excuse-for-beef with Eminem (“I buck a 380 on ones that act shady”). Em’s response, where he mocked Everlast’s heart attack and near-death experience, was pretty disrespectful, yet tough not to enjoy.
Download: LL Cool J – “I Shot Ya (Remix)” featuring Keith Murray, Prodigy, Fat Joe & Foxy Brown
Plenty to note from this track — Foxy’s rap debut (where she brags about being “disease-infested” or some shit), Prodigy taking shots at Keith Murray immediately after his verse, LL again being the least memorable (on his own song, even), and a beat so hard that you might do a spit take to find out that the Trackmasters made it. I’ll give you a moment to wipe off your screen (nh).
Download: Nas – “Made You Look (Remix)” featuring Jadakiss & Ludacris
Best remix ever. Tell ’em I said that.
Download: Obie Trice – “The Set Up (Remix)” featuring Redman, Lloyd Banks, Jadakiss & Nate Dogg
Out of all of the Aftermath artists that Dre has 86’ed over the years — …now paging Raekwon… (sadly) — I’m glad that Obie got a chance to shine. Must be because he’s Em’s boy. Fuck it, I’m not mad at that.
Talk about a fall from grace… and, no, I’m not referring to Busta. Lady Luck went from EPMD’s “Symphony 2000”, and Sahdeeq went from making songs with Eminem, Smif-N-Wessun and other Rawkus artists, to straight obscurity. Not that either of ’em were expected to outshine their competition here or anything.
Download: Talib Kweli – “Get By (Remix)” featuring Mos Def, Jay-Z, Kanye West & Busta Rhymes
If you thought Jay killed it on the “I Get Money” remix, brace yourself. Also, Kanye mentions how record execs used to tell him that he should try to sound like Mase — maybe that would explain ‘Ye’s fan-boy obsession with Pastor Murda. Seriously, on one of ‘Ye’s recent guest host spots on Rap City, he listed his top 5 MCs as himself, Biggie, 2Pac, Jay and Mase. I wonder what’s a better representation of Kanye’s audacity — the fact that he’d list himself as a top 5 MC, or the fact that he’d list Mase as a top 5 MC.
Download: Tash – “G’s Iz G’s (Remix)” featuring Snoop Dogg, Kurupt & Xzibit
Kurupt presents a prime example of how you sound dope without making much sense, but just saying words that rhyme. “Monsoons, shot off like harpoons, soft shrooms, baboons, I’ma be there soon”? Is that so?
No worries, all love. My fave is “I Shot Ya”
busta kills everyone on that ‘get by remix’!