The 2011 Remix Report Card, Vol. 5
"Go N Get It (Remix)" by Ace Hood featuring Beanie Sigel, Busta Rhymes, Pusha T & Styles P.
As Noz noted, the lineup for this remix is kind of strangely absent of southerners and generally populated by guys whose careers peaked about a decade ago. Still, I'll take a lineup like this over another remix with Ross and Wayne any day, and I always thought this song was more tolerable than "Hustle Hard." I'm a sucker for doubletime flows and loved Busta's back in the day, but all the fast raps he's been doing since "Look At Me Now" are kind of lame and annoying to me for some reason I can't quite put my finger on. Pusha and Styles are kind of out of place, but Beans is vicious.
Best Verse: Beanie Sigel
Overall Grade: C+
"Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) (Remix)" by Katy Perry featuring Missy Elliott
Recently when Missy did her "Behind The Music" episode and talked about how her health problems kept her off the scene the last few years and how she was ready to hit the charts again, I had this really bittersweet feeling of wanting so much for her to come back and be a huge star again but not seeing any way she'd do that in 2011 that wouldn't be kind of ill-fitting or lame compared to her classic records. And a verse on a Katy Perry remix seems like the perfect example of that, and yet I'm not really mad at this. The way the beat gets chopped up on Missy's verses sounds cool and she ultimately is a good fit for the whole vibe of the song.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: B-
"Oh My (Remix)" by DJ Drama featuring Trey Songz, 2 Chainz and Big Sean
One of the interesting things to me about these hits "by" DJs is that they can do remixes with none of the vocalists from the original track -- although DJ Khaled has never actually done this, his remixes generally keep the hook singer from the original (and also usually supplant the de rigeur Rick Ross verse with a new Rick Ross verse). So in a weird way I feel compelled to applaud DJ Drama for actually starting from scratch with this remix and not featuring any of the three artists from the original. It's also a total improvement on the original just by virtue of replacing Roscoe Dash with Trey Songz for a much more tolerable version of the hook and a fairly impressive rap verse. There's also Tity Boi, who I've always been a fan of and have been happy to see his career suddenly on the rise, albeit with a kind of bland name change. And then Big Sean shows up and kind of blows the track's batting average to hell.
Best Verse: 2 Chainz
Overall Grade: B+
"Tony Montana (Remix)" by Future featuring Drake
Drake ruined one of my favorite southern rap hits of last year when he pinched a loaf on Jeezy's "Lose My Mind" remix, and while his appearance here is equally hapless and hilarious, the song is kind of shitty to begin with so I can't begrudge him there. Seriously, though, Drake getting all squeaky and excited and then trying to compensate for it with a strained southern accent is some sad sad shit.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: F
As Noz noted, the lineup for this remix is kind of strangely absent of southerners and generally populated by guys whose careers peaked about a decade ago. Still, I'll take a lineup like this over another remix with Ross and Wayne any day, and I always thought this song was more tolerable than "Hustle Hard." I'm a sucker for doubletime flows and loved Busta's back in the day, but all the fast raps he's been doing since "Look At Me Now" are kind of lame and annoying to me for some reason I can't quite put my finger on. Pusha and Styles are kind of out of place, but Beans is vicious.
Best Verse: Beanie Sigel
Overall Grade: C+
"Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) (Remix)" by Katy Perry featuring Missy Elliott
Recently when Missy did her "Behind The Music" episode and talked about how her health problems kept her off the scene the last few years and how she was ready to hit the charts again, I had this really bittersweet feeling of wanting so much for her to come back and be a huge star again but not seeing any way she'd do that in 2011 that wouldn't be kind of ill-fitting or lame compared to her classic records. And a verse on a Katy Perry remix seems like the perfect example of that, and yet I'm not really mad at this. The way the beat gets chopped up on Missy's verses sounds cool and she ultimately is a good fit for the whole vibe of the song.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: B-
"Oh My (Remix)" by DJ Drama featuring Trey Songz, 2 Chainz and Big Sean
One of the interesting things to me about these hits "by" DJs is that they can do remixes with none of the vocalists from the original track -- although DJ Khaled has never actually done this, his remixes generally keep the hook singer from the original (and also usually supplant the de rigeur Rick Ross verse with a new Rick Ross verse). So in a weird way I feel compelled to applaud DJ Drama for actually starting from scratch with this remix and not featuring any of the three artists from the original. It's also a total improvement on the original just by virtue of replacing Roscoe Dash with Trey Songz for a much more tolerable version of the hook and a fairly impressive rap verse. There's also Tity Boi, who I've always been a fan of and have been happy to see his career suddenly on the rise, albeit with a kind of bland name change. And then Big Sean shows up and kind of blows the track's batting average to hell.
Best Verse: 2 Chainz
Overall Grade: B+
"Tony Montana (Remix)" by Future featuring Drake
Drake ruined one of my favorite southern rap hits of last year when he pinched a loaf on Jeezy's "Lose My Mind" remix, and while his appearance here is equally hapless and hilarious, the song is kind of shitty to begin with so I can't begrudge him there. Seriously, though, Drake getting all squeaky and excited and then trying to compensate for it with a strained southern accent is some sad sad shit.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: F
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