RETURN OF THE REMIXES

 

 

 

Gang Starr: Gotta Get Over remix
From 12″ (Chrysalis, 1992)

Public Enemy: Louder Than a Bomb (JMJ Telephone Tap remix)
From promo-only 12″ (Def Jam, 1992) and Greatest Misses (Def Jam, 1992)

Queen Latifah: Wrath of My Madness remix
From white label 12″ (Tommy Boy, 1999) and Tommy Boy’s Greatest Hits Vol. 5 (Tommy Boy, 1998)

It’s been a long time/I shouldn’t have left you/without a dope remix to step to. Or, in this case, a hat trick’s worth.

The Large Professor remix of Gang Starr’s soundtrack cut “Gotta Get Over” (from the forgettable Ice Cube/Ice T vehicle Trespass) is one of my favorite Extra P productions just given how damn clean and simple it is. Three bass notes, that’s it, but the song doesn’t need anything more than that. I also appreciate how completely different the remix is from the original (which was quite good too, don’t get me wrong): it’s like LP didn’t even bother listening to the OG; he just grabbed the acapellas and went to work.

Greatest misses indeed: I never liked the original version of “Louder Than a Bomb” which sounded like unmastered demo cut. But give Jam Master Jay (rest in peace) a turn at the boards and he reinvents the entire song with this dark and sinister track. It’s such a great piece of production, it’s always made me wonder why JMJ wasn’t getting more work from elsewhere. Alas, he won’t get the chance any more.

Queen Latifah’s original version of “Wrath of My Madness” is probably my favorite song by her (“Ladies First” was cool and important but it’s no “Wrath”) and while no one really needed to remix the 45 King’s original, Meters-driven track, I’m not going to be mad at DJ Premier for shouldering the task. If only for the scratching, the remix would be hyphy but Primo laces Latifah with one of the best beats I’ve heard from his late ’90s production bin: dropping in small, but important bits of sound to give the track an intriguing dynamicism. This version originally had Defari rhyming on it but I edited dude out: no offense to Herut but I’m not trying to hear him update a classic when all the rhymes you need on this are Latifah’s: “this mic, this mic in my hand, I’m ruling!” All hail.