Better Than The Original: Remix-A-Palooza II: Mix Harder

re·mix (rē-mĭks') tr.v., -mixed, -mix·ing, -mix·es.To recombine (audio tracks or channels from a recording) to produce a new or modified audio recording: remixed a popular ballad and turned it into a dance hit.n. (rē'mĭks')

re·mix·a·pa·looza (rē-mĭks'-a-pa-loosa') tr.v., -mixed, -mix·ing, -mix·es.To take dope shit you heard in your youth (audio tracks or channels from a recording) and put them together into a compilation to share with other headz, leaches and blog raiding sons of bitchez: when Animal Mother goes through his mp3's and picks out unique shit he loves.n. (rē'mĭks'-a-pa-loosa')

Yup...I'm back. It's that time again. I went to the vault(hard drive) and picked out some more of my favorite remixes and compiled them in a little collection for you. More big names! More "Oh yeah...I remember them cats."! It's all here. I usually like a uniqueness to my remixes so if they kick new lyrics, it's always a plus. I'm also particular to certain producers (Pete Rock, Beatnuts, Showbiz, Diamond D, Salaam, etc.) so there is alot of their work here. Let's get to it shall we?:

You Must Learn (Live From The Caucus Mountains Remix)-Boogie Down Productions: Leave it to the Teacha to get you out of your seat while diggin in your brain. With the assistance of hypeman Willie D, KRS takes the serious tone of the album version and gives it an almost block party-like feel. He's still teaching you about Benjamin Bannicker but he's also making you clap ya hands on this lively remix complete with mic checks, call and response with the crowd throughout the song and false stops. "We're not done...we're not done...CHECK THIS OUT!"

Toss It Up (The After Party)-Zhigge: Remix? Remake? Whore. Chick who bones after dinner on the first date. It's all the same man. I found the first Toss It Up a little too busy for me. "The After Party" sounds just like that, after the party when everyone is blunted out. The refrain is even changed to a laid back : "Toss it up. Toss it up, yeaaaaahh." Salaam Remi took a fiddle-driven sample(how often do you hear THAT in Hip-Hop?), added some horns and a nice snare and made a mellow, jazzy 90's type groove. Zhigge was an OK group for their time wonder how they'd rhyme today?

Silence Of The Lambs (Remix)-Showbiz & A.G.: I loved the original down to the happy flute that played in the background. On the remix however , Show went back to the lab and came out with a banger. This version was definitely made for the radio as all the profanity from the original is gone. The beat however is alot more sinister and the horns are more prominent. The interlude at the beginning with Kid Capri is one of my favorite beats that I used to go back to back on regularly. BX classic!

Case Of The P.T.A. (Remix)-Leaders Of The New School: You had to wait for the Sobb Story 12" to get this version. With in house production by Cut Monitor Milo, L.O.N.S. revisit the hallways of their first single and rip it with all new verses. Still makes you wanna East Coast Stomp. (Remember that?)

Yes You May (Remix) (feat. Big L)-Lord Finesse: This is kind of a two pronged attack. You have The Funky Technician who with the assistance of producer T-Ray took a minimalist approach to this remix. Standard early 90's jazzy type break with punchlines like: I'm spinnin' the action like a whirlpool/get wilder than a rapist in a catholic all-girls school Nothin' special right? Oh, did I mention that it's the first professional appearance on wax by an MC the name of Lamont Coleman? Listen to one of Hip-Hop's most underrated rhymers and a fallen great on this D.I.T.C. gem.

Oh My God (UK Flavor Remix)-A Tribe Called Quest: What's an Animal Mother comp without Native Tongues Posse representation? Not much of one if you ask me. Producer Tosh supplied Quest with a straight up outer space type sounding beat. It's more uptempo than the album version and I noticed that Phife's "Anti-batty boi big up is who I be" line wasn't cut. I suspect this was around the time of the Boom Bye-Bye hysteria. Dope track nonetheless. If anyone has the No Naim Remix with the vocals, holla at a brother. I wanted to add that one.

The World is Yours (Q-Tip Remix)-Nas: Esco got back in the studio with Tip behind the boards and blessed this jazzy remix with a few new lyrics and the Abstract chanting the chorus. The Pete Rock original stands on its own but this is a job well done by Q-Tip.

Flow On (Pete Rock Remix) (feat. Dai One & Sah-B)-Lords Of The Underground: Did somebody say Chocolate Boy Wonder? Had to get him in here! I didn't care much for the album version. The beat was nothing special and the upbeat tempo and grating chorus annoyed me. Pete who's half man/half SP, slowed the tempo down and gave it a much better baseline and the somewhat off key singing in the chorus worked. Funky and Doitall have always been underrated lyricists and they both turned in solid verses. A definite upgrade from the original.

Return Of The Crazy One (Lean Butter Bean Remix)-Digital Underground: The original "Crazy" was hot! The beat was thumpin' reminiscent of "Humpty Dance" minus the killer bassline (has there ever been a more identifiable bassline than "A-doooo-re-doooo-re"?) and Shock/Hump's vocals were sick as ever. I like this version however because it sounds like they were having FUN! From the nonsensical lyrics, to the slicked out R&B pace and the butchering of Bobby Caldwell with Hump wailing a digitally altered "I guess you wondered where I been", I'm all for it. Great f'in song!

Ego Trippin Part (Part Three) (Egoristic Mix)-De La Soul: De La done did it again! This was a bonus track featured on the Ego Trippin' (Part Two) 12". It's an entirley different song with a new beat that evokes thoughts of a carnival atmosphere and all new lyrics. Pos' "Johnny Feva..." verse may be one of my favorite verses of all time. He absoultely rips it, intentionally flubbing the line and starting over twice until he kills it! I was all smiles when I finally hunted this down on MP3(Thanks, Trav!)

It's On (Beatnuts Remix)-Naughty By Nature: The bassline at the beginning surges as if something's about to happen, and it does. Les and Ju put out another track that eclipses the original. The funky organs, 90's horns and Biz Mark "On and on..." sample are all keepers!

Letterman (Pete Rock Remix)-K-Solo: P to tha R gives his own spin on the Atomic Dog sample as Kevin Madison kicks one of my favorite rhymes of his. Always tight production from one of the best in the game and a solid lyrical effort by the former Hit Squad member.

The Shit Is Real (DJ Premier Remix)-Fat Joe: Primo laced Don Cartagena with his siganture sounds and scratches to make this probably one of the best songs Joe has ever done. Lean Back? Nah, I don't think so!

Searchin' (Remix)-Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth: A perfect way to end this comp! This is a great remix of the original Searchin'(which was a hell of a song) off the much over looked The Main Ingredient LP. Once again, Pete and C.L. shun the acapella over a new beat approach and have the Mecca Don lace the track with new vocals. A catchy hook and a sample of the original turn it into a great new interpretation. Overall, another Pete Rock banga.

If y'all like this, let me know. Part III is being worked on as you read this.

Animal Mother's Remix-A-Palooza II: MIX HARDER-Various Artists

http://www.badongo.com/file/5577651

I'm Back BITCHEZ!!: Attack of The Killa Collabos

I know I haven't been around in a minute. I love the web and all the blogs but that damn "real life" keeps getting in the way. Divorce laws suck camel dick but I digress, this ain't the place. Let's talk Hip-Hop!

Nothing is as synonymous with Hip-Hop as the collaboration. From 1985's Slick Rick/Dougie Fresh masterpiece The Show/La-Di-Da-Di all the way up to any current remix featuring MC My Man, White Towel Guy From the Stage Shows...and Lil' Weezy, the collabo is the defining piece of a rap album. While it's been overused as of late, there are still some that make an album that much more rewarding. I've put together a collection of some of my favorite and some not so popular or familiar ones for y'all to bump. It'll go from "Oh thas my shit!" to "What album is that on?" LET'S GO!:

The Symphony (feat. The Juice Crew All-Stars)-Marley Marl:How can you do a collection of of collabs without possibly the G.O.A.T.? Marley took this collection of still young and hungry MC's and had them kick possibly their best lines over a hard, piano-driven loop. Kane's verse at the end is simply the knockout blow after Ace, G. Rap and Craig G. lump you up against the ropes.

Headbanger (feat. Redman & K-Solo)-EPMD: The infamous "Impeach" break appears in no less than three cuts on this collection, this is the first. E Double and Mic Doc traded verses over the familiar break but are overshadowed by Redman who was "wicked with the style like he had cerebral palsy."

Pimpin' Ain't Easy (feat. Nice & Smooth)-Big Daddy Kane: This was one of Greg Nice and Smooth B's first real high profile gigs. Not only is the chorus catchy but Kane's line of "I see trim and bag it/Take it home and rag it/the Big Daddy law is anti-faggot" shows how much times have changed. Warner Brothers would have NEVER gotten away with releasing it today and I'd be suprised if that isn't bleeped on re-issues.

Doin' Our Own Dang (Remix) (feat. Q-Tip, De La Soul & Monie Love)-Jungle Brothers: I love this remix! And I love the Native Tongue family feel of the song. They added a house/club beat(which was big at the time) and the familiar "Do it" sample makes it memorable. Not quite "Buddy" but another example of how great this crew was. Unfortunately with qoutes like this from an interview earlier this year:

AFRIKA: I want everyone to know the truth about the Native Tongues. They have been trying to erase the Jungle Brothers out of the books, when I was the one that started the whole thing. This has been going on for years. There’s a reason we haven’t been able to do a Native Tongues reunion: It’s because there are house niggas and real niggas. The Jungle Brothers are real niggas. Maseo has always been good people and a real dude. But Q-Tip and Pos, I don’t know.

I'm pretty sure any chance of a reunion is dead.

Fanatic Of The B Word (feat. Mike G. & Dres)-De La Soul: Another Native Tongues creation. Another dope track. I was surprised this wasn't a single on the De La Soul Is Dead album. I really enjoyed the bass line at the beginning and the way the beat pounds when it kicks in reminiscent of "Can I Kick It?" in many ways. Dres definitely spits a good verse on it. Check this one for sure.

Go Where I Send Thee (feat. Master Ice & Uneek)-Masta Ace: There goes that "impeach" break again. Ace & Co. got biz on this track. It's actually one of my favorites from him. I'm positive it's the way they looped a christian children's song (Children Go Where I Send Thee) that made it stick in my head for about 15 years. Hot. (Thanks Trav!)

The Basement (feat. Heavy D., Grap Lova, Dida & Rob-O)-Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth: Did I mention I'm a Pete Rock stan? The P to the R can do no wrong with me and this is no exception. The trademark horns are there as well as a great usage of Sister Nancy's "Bam Bam". Much better than Skinz, the other posse cut from Mecca & The Soul Brother.

Back To The Grill (feat Nasty Nas, Chubb Rock & Red Hot Lover Tone)-MC Serch: First let me say I used love Serch but The White Rapper Show is UNFORGIVEABLE! With that being said, for me this is kind of a sequel to Live At The BBQ. Serch rips it with the then popular Chubbster and Red Hot Lover Tone but it's young Nasty Nas that steals the show with his verse. They all hold their own but it's another glimpse at the future of Hip-Hop that makes this song a keeper.

Boriqua's On Da Set (feat. Doo Wop, Fat Joe & The Evil Twins)-Frankie Cutlass: My friends and I used to call this "The Puerto Rican Dwyck" which is basically what it is down to the similar break. Frankie Cutlass adds some tight production but it's really where Joe starts to evolve as an MC that makes the listen enjoayble. On this track he spits fire like he's got something to prove and easily outshines Doo-Wop and Co. Nice banga for the ride.

Rough...(feat. Treach, Heavy D. & KRS-One)-Queen Latifah: My favorite song on this collection. I think Black Reign slipped through the fingers of alot of heads back in the day. This is a far cry from the U.N.I.T.Y. Latifah from the same album. This track hits hard and all MC's involved rip some shit. Heav and the Teacha go above and beyond with exceptional bars. However, Treach in particular grabs you with his verse and practically strangles you with it. Definitely a stand out cut!

Rat Bastard (What The F---? Mix) (feat. Psycho Les)-Prime Minister Pete Nice & Daddy Rich: Let's be honest, this sounds like Poppa Large because basically it is. The two songs blend so effortlessly, it's criminal. Still a great song though and Pete's lyrics are tight throughout. Les who's never been a lyrical monster puts forth a solid effort. Even updating an old Rakim rhyme with "smooth but I don't get upset/I jig a hole in your stomach pull it out and I jet". Everyone loved Serch but Pete was slept on big time.

A Buncha Niggas (feat. Third Eye, Guru, Biggie Smalls, Rob-O & Busta Rhymes)-Heavy D: Damn, Heav was everywhere in the 90's! Everyone wanted Heav on their joint and he had no problem getting people for his. This cut from the Blue Funk album has an ecclectic collection of MC's. A young Biggie Smalls spit a good verse with some Akinyele-like inflections at the end of his phrases("Huuuuugh!" or some shit like that) that he thankfully abandoned. Guru, Third Eye & Rob-O have respectable bars and Bussa Bus inputs his own type of manic energy with a patented "powerful impact" verse at the end.

Crooklyn-Crooklyn Dodgers: The Crooklyn Dodgers were a collective specially assembled for the Spike Lee film of the same name. Buckshot, Special Ed and Masta Ace's flows all complemented each other and I wish they would have done more music together. The song is mellow and with all the love the MC's show in their verses, it makes you wish you were from BK.

Down The Line (feat. Preacher Earl, Melo T, Bass Blaster, Asu & Guru)-Nice & Smooth: Premier dusted off the break from the Manifest Remix, blended it with the ever present "impeach" break and had a hood classic on his hands. I'm from the Bronx and everyone was gassed when Preacher Earl shouted out Edenwald projects, it kinda legitimized the North East. Greg Nice and Smooth B. got mad love for this song...they lost it however when they collabo'd with NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK the same year. Damn...

Nuthin' But Flava (feat. Charlie Brown, Ol' Dirty Bastard & Biz Markie)-Funkmaster Flex: Poor Charlie Brown, this dope track was the last hot shit he did(please don't make me upload "Papermakers" with C&C Music Factory...what were you thinking C-Boogie?) Flex assembled a group of MC's, each one more flamboyant than the next. Biz and ODB on the same track? Can a straight jacket be far behind? Dope lyrics and good old fashioned jeep beat provided by Flex make this one worthwhile.

Animal Mother's: Attack Of The Killa Collabos

http://sharebee.com/9de20e1e

This collection was fun to put together and hopefully you'll find some new stuff that you like to go along with the familiar stuff here. Download and enjoy.

Be back with more new shit in the coming days. Glad I can do this again.

Better Than The Original: REMIX-A-PALOOZA

Animal Mother in the studio...Bitches!

re·mix (rē-mĭks') tr.v., -mixed, -mix·ing, -mix·es.
To recombine (audio tracks or channels from a recording) to produce a new or modified audio recording: remixed a popular ballad and turned it into a dance hit.n. (rē'mĭks')

I wanna talk about something I love...REMIXES! I love when an artist can look at another artists work (or their own for that matter) and see where they can improve. Some of my favorites are Pete Rock, The Beatnuts, The D.I.T.C. Crew etc. Sometimes a remix can take a song like Nappy Headz for instance, and breathe new life into it. Think about it: No remix, possibly NO SECOND ALBUM! Nowadays unless it's Pharell or 'Ye doing the mixing and he spits on a verse on it, you ain't hearing it. So let's check out some of my favorite ones which you may never had heard unless you are a DJ or a ridiculous "head" which most people in the blogosphere are...even the leaches...

Lets get to it track by track:

Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down (Remix) (feat. Diamond D)-Brand Nubian: I love when artists go with the original concept but add new stuff to it. Not only is the beat jazzed up with ill horns, Dat X and Jamar spit new verses and Diamond D drops in to bless it as well.

Jazz (We've Got) (Re-Recording)-A Tribe Called Quest: This was on the B-Side of the original Jazz 12". I like it because I feel they went back and improved on the old one. Phife even weighs in on the Dr. Dre/Dee Barnes incident with: "I'm a negro he's a negro wanna be a negro too/ but beatin' on a girl is something that a puss would do" *Shortly after this, Tip was stomped out by Wreckx-N-Effect.

Grand Verbalizer What Time Is It? (Blackwatch Mix)-X Clan: X Clan were notorious beat jackers. I love them but it's not hard to tell where they got what. Sometimes, they didn't even try to hide it. The Microphone Fiend beat of the original is cool but being a DJ who loves old school, I have to go with the Heartbeat sample.

Funky Lemonade (Beatnuts Remix)-Chi-Ali: Les and JuJu don't only murda the mic, they slay behind the boards. I'm a huge Beatnuts fan and this is one of the many songs they blessed in the early 90's. Come on, the song and video made Chi. Did you care about him before this song? I didn't.

Jussumen (Pete Rock Remix)-Das EFX: Yes...I'm a Pete Rock Stan! Yes he produced 3 songs on this compilation! Shit, I was gonna make an all PR Remix joint but I figured it would be redundant. One of the greatest produceres EVER adds his signature sound to an already dope song. 'Nuff said!

Sally Got A One Track Mind (Showbiz Remix)-Diamond D: A dope D.I.T.C. collabo with Show on the boards lacing Diamond's tale of neighborhood ho business with a harder beat and some real crazy ass horns.(Horns were big in the 90's huh?)

They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) (Vibes Mix)-Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth: I know it's supposed to be a reflective song but DAMN, this beat bangs! Not only did they up the tempo but the baseline got Polio(that's sick for the uninformed) and C.L. re-did the vocals so it's not a sped up acapella, he's rhyming to the new break.

Ruffneck (Beatnuts Remix)-MC Lyte: The 'Nuts do it again by getting rid of that wack Casio beat on the original one and restoring some dignity to Lyte as far as I'm concerned. Chimes, pre-requisite 90's horns and a dope break bring it back from the wack bin. Be warned: Don't sing along! When you catch yourself, you'll feel ashamed and confused...yuck.

Check Yo' Self (Message Remix)-Ice Cube: When you dust off a classic beat, you better come correct. Not much was changed but Cube's vocals went perfectly with the beat. Having re-recorded them, he's now talking to the listener as opposed to yelling at them like in the original. I used to have The Message on an old K-Tel compilation cassette. Who's up on K-Tel? Holla!

Nappy Heads (Remix)-Fugees: Salaam Remi salvaged a song from the mess that was Blunted On Reality(Everybody remembers "Boof-Baf!" right?...right?) and gave the Fugees their first big hit. The remix gave the song a breezy, tropical flavor with the horns at the beginning even becoming their signature for a while.

Swing It (Original Mix)-Da Bush Babees: I really liked these cats. Their energy and Mister Man's vocals reminded me of the Pharcyde which wasn't a bad thing. Producer J. Prins gave this a very Salaam-ish beat(I actually thought it was him at first.) that was hype and made you wanna stomp everywhere. Years later, I actually bought the album because of this and was disappointed that the (Jazziness Mix) was the album cut.

Shut 'Em Down (Pete Rock Remix)-Public Enemy: I was always into PE singles but never bought full albums. Sometimes the Bomb Squad's sample-heavy sound was a little too cluttered for me. P to The R made this song sound like the hottest most stickiest night in the BX. It's dank, the horns are sinister and the overall beat gives Chuck's words more urgency. I can even forgive Puba for writing a party rhyme for Pete to say in the middle of such a serious song.

Yeah (Track Masterz Remix)-A.T.E.E.M.: Tone & Poke had an organist mess with the keys on a break to give this song probably the most original sound on this compilation. I'm glad for that. The T.E.E.M. never really stood out in the rap game but this song stood out for me.

Woo Ha!!! Got You All In Check! (Remix) (feat. Ol' Dirty Bastard): It had to happen! The most animated cat in the industry and craziest thing on two legs had to get together! They did and that shit was DOPE! The weird synthesizer in the background makes perfect sense because the two people rapping just DON'T and I LOVE IT!

Animal Mother's REMIX-A-PALOOZA

http://www.zshare.net/download/2189295f318874/

I hope y'all enjoy this little mixtape. I will be making more in the future. If I could get some help with the following remixes it would be appreciated:

Eat 'Em Up L-The one with the Keep Rising To The Top beat.

I Go On-MC Lyte

Poppa Large (Westcoast Mix)-Ultramagnetic MC's(also Black Baseball. Not a remix but I like the song)

EPMD-Give The People & Rampage(Not The Pete Rock One...didn't like it.)

Know Your History: Givin' Pot Bellied Props

Quick: What do Kid Capri, Main Source, A Tribe Called Quest and a large portion of the Hip-Hop community have in common? Bad publishing deals? No, Lou Donaldson. More specifically, Donaldson's often sampled "Pot Belly".

In 1970, Lou recorded Pot Belly for his album Pretty Things on Blue Note Records, a veritable jazz mill. This song had every element you could ever want in a jazz piece. Funky bassline and lots of high hats? Check. Signature Donaldson alto sax? Check. Psychadelic organs? Big check. The only thing missing from this song is a pair of dark sunglasses and a hand rolled cigarette. It was that cool!

When A Tribe Called Quest released People's Instinctive Travels and Paths Of Rhythm in '89, they were sampling jazz heavily. It was only a matter of time before they got to the Donaldson classic. The B-side of their second single "Can I Kick It?" was "If The Papes Come" which was basically Pot Belly being rhymed over. There was little tweaking to the song which was simply a loop of the original with Q-Tip and Afrika Baby Bam flowing over the beat. It wasn't on the intitial vinyl release and subsequent re-releases of the song have been the "re-mix" with Bam's vocals removed. It showed up again in 1990 on Main Source's "A Friendly Game of Baseball" and Kid Capri's (Yes, he had an album where he rapped!) "The Joke's On You Jack"

Pete Rock actually took the song and dressed it up nicely when he sampled it in 1992 for Heavy D's Blue Funk. I prefer what the Chocoloate Boy Wonder did with it than what the other producers had done previously. Instead of just picking out a section of the song and just looping it, Rock added his signature percussion, scratches and a sample of women singing to make you say: "Hey wait a minute! That's that song..." Like the jazz musicians before him, he took something and improvised and embellished on it to make it a part of what he does. He went on to use portions of the composition in remixes for Da Youngsta's "Pass Da Mic", and "Iz U Wit Me?" As well as House of Pain's "Jump Around".

So let's give props to Lou Donaldson. The great alto saxophonist who's one song in particular has been done and re-done so many times, you could probably make a full length disc of pieces that utilized it. It's the Kim Kardashian of Hip-Hop breaks: You know mad cats used it but you still want to use it yourself. I included the original version as well as "Papes" & "Blue Funk". Please go out and find some of Donaldsons albums as well as these Hip-Hop classics. Enjoy!

Pot Belly-Lou Donaldson

http://www.zshare.net/audio/lou-donaldson-pot-belly-mp3-7mh.html

If The Papes Come (feat. Afrika)-A Tribe Called Quest

http://www.zshare.net/audio/a_tribe_called_quest-if_the_papes_come-mp3.html

Blue Funk (Produced by Pete Rock)-Heavy D & The Boyz
http://www.zshare.net/audio/blue-funk-mp3.html