I did my
final 2024 Remix Report Card in early December, and so many remixes have come out since then, this is easily one of my longest RRC posts in the 18 years that I've been doing it. Yes, 18.
"AGATS2 (Insecure)" by Juice WRLD featuring Nicki Minaj
"All Girls Are The Same" was Juice WRLD's second most popular song behind "Lucid Dreams," with nearly 2 billion streams. So it was surprising to learn that the song has a sequel featuring Nicki Minaj and co-written by Halsey that his estate waited to release it 5 years after his death. My suspicion is that the song was called "Insecure" and they renamed it long after it was recorded, and it's funny to think that Nicki and Halsey may not have known they were working on something that would have the "All Girls Are The Same" title on it.
Best Verse: Nicki Minaj
Overall Grade: C+
"Big Dawgs (Remix)" by Hanumankind featuring A$AP Rocky
Hanumankind's "Big Dawgs" was a rare Indian rap song that broke through all over the world, charting on the Hot 100 and going top 10 in a bunch of other countries. "Big Dawg" ends with a beat switch and pitched-down vocals that sound very A$AP Rocky-influenced, so he was a good choice for this remix, and he does verses both before and after the beat switch, I'm not generally a huge Rocky fan but he put in a good effort here. Rocky says "I feel like Afeni Shakur" multiple times and I have no idea what the fuck that's supposed to mean.
Best Verse: A$AP Rocky
Overall Grade: A-
"Blick Sum (Remix)" by Latto featuring Playboi Carti
Latto and Carti are probably the 2 biggest Atlanta rappers under 30 right now, and there aren't necessarily a lot of beats they'd both sound good on, but "Blick Sum" fits that description, they definitely chose the right song. But Carti does his verse in that one voice that sounds like a cross between Lil Yachty and a Minecraft villager, which is easily my least favorite voice that he does.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: C+
"Burning Down (Remix)" by Alex Warren featuring Joe Jonas
Alex Warren is following Joji down the "comedic YouTuber to earnest Top 40 balladeer" pipeline, and "Burning Down" is his first song to get pop radio airplay. I feel like he probably could've done better than the second most popular Jonas Brother for the remix, but I like Joe Jonas's voice more than Alex Warren's, so I'll consider this version an improvement.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: B
"cLOUDs (Remix)" by J. Cole featuring Wiz Khalifa
J. Cole's latest song has a hook about smoking weed and an outro that samples an ad lib from an old Wiz Khalifa mixtape song, so it feels like the remix with Wiz was inevitable. Wiz sounds washed on this, though, he tries to adapt his flow to the beat and it just doesn't feel natural. This isn't on the playlist because it hasn't hit streaming but it's on
YouTube.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: C
"Embrace It (Remix)" by Ndotz featuring Sexyy Red, Flo Milli, and RJ Pasin
"Embrace It" is British rapper Ndotz's breakthrough single, a top 10 hit in the UK, although outside his accent it sounds a lot more like American rap to me than most UK songs. Sexyy Red raps better than usual here, but Flo Milli still just decisively steals the track, going above and beyond the call of duty with a 24-bar verse. The song's producer, RJ Pasin, didn't have a feature credit on the original but does on the remix, I like the little guitar loop he played on the beat.
Best Verse: Flo Milli
Overall Grade: A-
"Giannis (Remix)" by Hurricane Wisdom featuring Polo G
Polo G's last album sucked and
flopped hard so once again I feel like the artist could've held out for a better guest for the remix of their big hit, but Polo does sound good on this beat.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: B
"Heart of a Woman - but you're crying in the rain" by Summer Walker
"Heart of a Woman - but you're drinking wine by the fire" by Summer Walker
Summer Walker's Heart of a Woman (Quiet Storm) EP has her current hit with two new mixes that both have faux-quiet storm radio DJ intros and then just play the standard version of the song with lots of reverb, with rain sound effects added on one version and fireplace sound effects on the other. I'm not really sure what purpose this serves, the whole concept is just kind of hilarious, but to the very small extent that anybody is streaming these mixes, the fireplace one is doing better than the rain one. I was disappointed that she didn't actually do new versions of the track and make a slow and sultry song even slower and more sultry.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: C-
"Here We Go (Uh Oh) [Remix]" by Coco Jones featuring Leon Thomas
Leon Thomas has had a pretty cool career arc, going from acting on Nickelodeon to producing music for co-star Ariana Grande and eventually working with other stars like Drake and SZA and now having a hit as a solo artist. I can't say I love his voice or think he makes a great addition to this track, though.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: C
"I'd Rather Overdose (Remix)" by Honestav featuring Mod Sun
I already named this remix
one of the 10 worst alternative radio hits of 2024, so it goes without saying I hate all this edgy 'toxic' White rapper bullshit. Mod Sun does more of a shouty voice than the mealy mouthed mumble Honestav and someone named Z did on the original song, and I can't say it's any kind of improvement.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: D
"ILBB2 (Remix)" by Jorjiana featuring GloRilla
Jorjiana is a TikTok creator and rapper from Indiana that people started called 'white GloRilla,' which I guess is why GloRilla did a song with her. This is one of the worst songs I've ever heard, though, and even Glo can't do much to save it, I hate that she did something like this when her career is thriving so much, and even helped the song go more viral by flirting with YouTuber Duke Dennis in her verse.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: C
"I'm On 4.0" by Trae Tha Truth featuring Busta Rhymes, Jeezy, Jay Rock, DMX, Ty Dolla Sign, Joyner Lucas, Method Man, D Smoke, Chance the Rapper, and G. Herbo
Trae Tha Truth released the original "I'm On" in 2011, a posse cut featuring Big Boi, Lupe Fiasco, and Wale, with a hook by Justin Bieber's songwriter Poo Bear. Sequels with different guests on variations on the original beat followed in 2012, 2017, and now 2025, with Ty Dolla Sign doing the hook this time. This might be the weakest of the four versions, but it's still pretty good, Meth and D Smoke did their thing. I'm not a reactionary Chance the Rapper hater, but he doesn't sound good on this beat and he kinda goes on too long. I don't like this whole thing with people getting ahold of I guess unreleased DMX verses and putting them on songs he probably never spit on, especially if you're going to just put him right in the middle of a song with 10 rappers, it feels tacky and not a fitting tribute in my opinion. I also find it very irritating when Trae says 'Billy Cyrus' instead of 'Billy Ray Cyrus.' "I'm On 4.0" isn't on Spotify so it's not on the playlist, but it's on
YouTube.
Best Verse: Method Man
Overall Grade: B
"Jodeci (Remix)" by Connie Diiamond featuring Cash Cobain and Vontee The Singer
"Jodeci" samples Jodeci's "Can I Talk To You" in the sexy drill style that's all the rage these days, and Cash Cobain is kind of the king of that scene, so he's a natural choice for the remix and he delivers an excellent verse.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: B+
"Lay Down (Remix)" by OMB Peezy featuring GloRilla
In my mind OMB Peezy works at the Office of Management and Budget. The "Lay Down" beat kind of cracks me up, the drum and synth sounds are so old-fashioned that it feels like something Whodini could have rapped on in the '80s. GloRilla brings some good energy to the song, though, I'd much rather she give features to someone like OMB Peezy than Jorjiana.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: B
"Let's Go (Remix)" by Key Glock featuring Young Dolph
This remix dropped almost a year ago when "Let's Go" was charting, but I missed it at the time and I'd rather cover stuff in this column late than not at all for the sake of having a more complete archive. Of course, Young Dolph had been gone for over 2 years already, so I'm guessing Key Glock just found an unreleased Dolph verse at the same BPM when "Let's Go" became a hit. Glock was Dolph's closest collaborator and is probably trying to keep his memory live as much as anything else, so I don't mind it as much as, say, that DMX verse on the Trae track. And Glock put a new verse on this as well, I'm always happy when the original artist writes a new verse for the remix.
Best Verse: Young Dolph
Overall Grade: B
"Lizzo (G-mix)" by Moone Walker featuring Kevin Gates and Big Boogie
"Lizzo (Shemix)" by Moone Walker featuring cupcakKe and Layton Greene
"Lizzo 2" by Moone Walker featuring Big Money Blitz and Kevin Gates
Here's something else kind of old that I'm covering now just for the sake of completism, sort of. The original "Lizzo" and the first couple remixes came out in 2022 and 2023, and then in late 2024 Moone Walker released another remix with a new Big Money Blitz verse and the Kevin Gates verse from one of the earlier remixes. I guess he's really gotta milk the only shitty hit he'll ever have. Everybody kicks really sexual lyrics on these lyrics, but Kevin Gates is both a better rapper than any of the others and a bigger pervert than any of the others (most memorable line: "make a fist with your pussy, yes ma'am make it squeeze").
Best Verse: Kevin Gates
Overall Grade: B-
"Make A Livin' (Remix)" by MC Lyte featuring Busta Rhymes and Lady London
Lady London is growing on me, I like her verse on this a lot more than the Ciara remix I covered here a couple years ago, it's big that she got a co-sign from Lyte, one of the greatest female rappers ever.
Best Verse: Lady London
Overall Grade: B
"Move 2.0" by Mello Buckzz featuring Monaleo
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: B
"Out (Busta Rhymes Extended Mix)" by Ann & Dom featuring Busta Rhymes and Wade Teo
Ann Winsborn is a Swedish pop singer who had a minor hit in her home country and Dominic Bugatti is a veteran UK songwriter who wrote hits for Sheena Easton and Air Supply in the '80s. Last August, Ann & Dom released their first song as a duo, "Out." In October, they released a dance mix by producer Wade Teo, and in January they released a remix with a Busta Rhymes verse and the Wade Teo beat. Unfortunately, this thing is just a total mess, it sounds like Busta recorded his verse to a completely tempo and they just threw it on here without synching anything up and almost making it sound like he's doing a poetry slam free verse flow. I'm embarrassed for everyone involved that this was released to the public, because "Out" is a decent little dance pop song and putting a rap verse on it isn't a bad idea if it was executed properly.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: F
"Please Please Please (Remix)" by Sabrina Carpenter featuring Dolly Parton
I think "Please Please Please" is a pretty good song that's not served well by some of the most annoyingly cutesy retro production of Jack Antonoff's career. Last summer when the song was still new, Sabrina Carpenter released a
remix EP with an acoustic version that put her vocals from the original over some nice acoustic guitar and fiddle, and that's been my preferred go-to version of the song. I was hoping the new version with Dolly Parton on the deluxe edition of Short n' Sweet would use that acoustic backing track, but it sort of takes the original track, irritating synths and all, and layers lots of country instrumentation over it and makes it mostly tolerable. I don't think the song necessarily works as a duet, but Carpenter really has some of the spirit of vintage Dolly in her music and it's fun to hear them together.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: B-
"Pookie's Requiem [hehe look y'all made it longer]" by Sailorr featuring Summer Walker
Everything about this song is aggressively quirky, I don't hate it but it feels almost like it's pandering to some target audience I'm not a part of. Summer Walker's addition to the song brings it a little closer to a conventional R&B track and I don't know if that improves it or waters it down on some level.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: B
"Popa (Remix)" by Ice Spice featuring Anuel AA
There were some songs on Ice Spice's album that I actually liked but "Popa" was definitely not one of them, and having this 'Latin trap' Trump supporter loser do a verse doesn't help or really suit the beat at all.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: D
"Pressure (Shawty You Pressure) (G-Mix)" by Big Money Blitz featuring Moone Walker
"Pressure 2 (Shawty You Pressure)" by Big Money Blitz featuring Big Boogie and BossMan Dlow
The better remix with Big Boogie and BossMan Dlow was briefly on Spotify and then taken off for some reason, but you can still hear it on
Big Money Blitz's YouTube Channel. Not a great song and not a beat that brings out the best in anybody rapping on it, BossMan Dlow in particular sounds a little outside his comfort zone.
Best Verse: Big Boogie
Overall Grade: B-
"PTP (Remix)" by Babyfxce E featuring Monaleo
Just as the "Move" remix gave Monaleo a chance to rap over a juke track, "PTP" gives her a chance to rap over some Michigan rap, and it feels like she really leans into that Michigan style of goofy punchlines. When the video dropped, a lot of people were posting clips of just her verse on Twitter, this might be one that really helps turn her into a star.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: A-
"Push 2 Start (Remix)" by Tyla featuring Sean Paul
The early 2000s global crossover of Jamaican dancehall definitely feels like the template, both in musical influence and in business strategies, for this decade's global crossover of African styles like Amapiano and Afrobeats. So it's a shrewd move for Tyla to make that parallel more explicit with a Sean Paul collaboration, and he sounds pretty good on this song.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: B+
"Rock Out (Remix)" by Trae Tha Truth featuring Busta Rhymes and A$AP Ferg
The original "Rock Out" is one of the worst songs I've ever heard, mostly because of the A$AP Ferg hook, but the beat is also kind of annoying. Busta Rhymes puts maximum effort into salvaging the song, though, doing one of those ridiculously fast flows like he did on Chris Brown's "Look At Me Now."
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: B-
"Rock Your Hips (Remix)" by 310babii featuring Saweetie
310babii reunited with OhGeesy and BlueBucksClan from "Soak City" for his second biggest hit, but Saweetie is the only guest on the remix. This is definitely one of her better features, she talks her shit. And I guess "I'm the biggest bitch out the west" is more or less true, if you don't count Doja Cat (and I kinda don't consider her a fulltime rapper, so I'm fine with that).
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: B
"Shake Dat Ass (Twerk Song) (Remix)" by BossMan Dlow featuring GloRilla
"Shake Dat Ass" appeared on a BossMan Dlow album in early 2023 and then became a sleeper hit after the success of "Get In With Me." I feel like this remix could've been a big deal if it came out earlier, but it just came out quietly as a bonus track on Dlow's latest album a few months after the song peaked, which is kind of shame because it's one of Glo's best verses in recent memory. The way she flubs the word "psychic" is funny, though.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: B+
"Shake It To The Max (FLY) - Remix" by Moliy featuring Skillibeng, Shenseea, and Silent Addy
Don't love this song, the beat feels kind of flimsy, but the Skillibeng and Shenseea verses definitely fill out the song and make me enjoy it more.
Best Verse: Shenseea
Overall Grade: B-
"Soft Spot (955 Remix)" by JMSN featuring Sada Baby
Texan Christian "JMSN" Berishaj has been around as a cult artist with industry connections for a while now -- he worked on 4 songs on good kid, m.A.A.d city -- but his 2023 single "Soft Spot" became his breakout hit when people starting making memes out of the video a year after its release. Given the Miami bass feel of the beat and the way JMSN put a Texas area code in the name of the remix, it's kind of odd that he got a verse from a Michigan rapper. Sada Baby sounds pretty good on this track, though, and JMSN's bit on the intro ("it's the remix to 'Soft Spot'/ fresh off the lot") made me chuckle.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: B
"Somethin' 'Bout A Woman (Remix)" by Thomas Rhett featuring Teddy Swims
I feel like it's a cliche at this point for country artists and non-country artists to record duets that they can perform together at award shows, and Thomas Rhett and Teddy Swims performed "Somethin' 'Bout A Woman" at the CMAs a few months ago. I think this sounds good and feels like a pretty organic collaboration, though -- they both regularly work with the same producer, Julian Bunetta, and Teddy Swims co-wrote Rhett's #1 country radio hit "Angels (Don't Always Have Wings)" before his career really took off.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: B
"Still Believe In Love (Remix)" by Mary J. Blige featuring Jadakiss, Fat Joe, Raekwon, and Vado
Another one from a year ago that I missed at the time and wanted to cover. It's kind of funny that the original "Still Believe In Love" featured just Vado, a former Cam'ron sidekick who's kind of like a replacement level NYC rap "star," but then the remix has three of the city's bona fide legends, and a new Vado verse that's better than his appearance on the original. Both versions of this song were oddly left off Gratitude, though. Jadakiss kills it as usual, he hasn't been in this column since 2022 and it's always nice to hear one of the GOATs of the remix circuit.
Best Verse: Jadakiss
Overall Grade: B
"10PM In Miami (RMX Again)" by Trillian featuring Busta Rhymes, Honey Bxby, and Connie Diiamond
Trillian is Busta Rhymes's son, and last year I covered a remix of "10PM In Miami" featuring Cash Cobain, but he's since released another remix featuring his old man. Busta does his best to attempt a sexy drill flow, but nonchalance is a big part of that whole style of rapping, and Busta sounds like he can't help shouting his way through his verse a little, it's awkward. Honestly Busta has been in this Remix Report Card a lot and he hasn't really caught a W the whole time, it's sad but he's still a top 5 remix guest. Honey Bxby bringing a little melody to the track really works out well, though.
Best Verse: Honey Bxby
Overall Grade: B-
"Tweaker (Remix)" by Gelo featuring Lil Wayne
When LiAngelo Ball released "Tweaker" back in January, people instantly latched onto how that catchy "woah-oh-oh" part of the hook reminded people of early 2000s club bangers, some people would bring up Nelly but even more would bring up old Cash Money hits. Very quickly there was talk of an all-star remix, and people like Moneybagg Yo and Boosie Badazz publicly hit up Gelo asking to do verses on the song, but eventually a remix came out with the biggest Cash Money rapper of all, Lil Wayne. Sounded like a great idea on paper, but the verse really sucks, one of Wayne's worst features I can remember, riffing for way too long on rhymes with his signature "remix, baby" ad lib. Def Jam seemed to really push radio to play this version of "Tweaker" instead of the original and it's actively stifled the song from growing into a bigger hit.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: D
"Way Out The Hood II" by Lil Tjay featuring Polo G
Polo G and Lil Tjay's first collaboration "Pop Out" was really the song that turned them both into mainstream stars six years ago, and they've frequently reunited, by my count this is their 9th song together. But their careers have both kinda stalled in the last couple years and it doesn't feel like this one generated any excitement. Polo G has rapped on so many sad piano loops over the years, including "Pop Out," that there's a whole meme about people calling him 'Piano G,' so I rolled my eyes pretty hard when I heard the sad pianos on "Way Out The Hood," but his verse on this is really good. This is another one that for some reason is not on Spotify but you can listen on
YouTube.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: B
"Whites (Remix)" by Masicka featuring French Montana
I feel bad for new artists whose breakthrough single gets remixed with a French Montana verse, clearly someone is just strategizing for the song to get Hot 97 airplay but they didn't really think about every other market outside NYC where French hasn't mattered in over a decade, if he ever has. It's a shame, because this is really one of those Jamaican records that I can imagine a lot of American rappers sounding good on.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: F
"Worst Behaviour (Remix)" by kwn featuring Kehlani
I feel like both this and the remix of Jordan Adetunji's "Kehlani" have way overshadowed anything from the two solo projects Kehlani has released in the past year, it's like she's a star but doesn't have the hitmaking acumen to make big songs on her own and is better at making other people's songs bigger. She does sound really good on this song, though.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: B