Jeru: Ya Playin’ Yaself (remix)
Black Moon: How Many MCs Must Get Dissed (remix)
From 12″ (white label, 199?)
This may sound strange but I’ve been looking for this 12″ for at least 4-5 years and it’s not that it’s even that awesome of a white label remix 12″ but I can get obsessed with certain songs/records and just need to find them, even if that means waiting a Olympic cycle or more.
I became acquainted with it through Vinnie Esparaza – we used to do a monthly party called Joyride in San Francisco (people who went to 26 Mix, holler!) back in the early ’00s and he’d often play this remix of Jeru’s “Ya Playin’ Yaself” that I never heard and I liked it enough – at the time – to want to go find it. BUT because it was a white label 12″ and because Vinnie didn’t even remember where he got it, it was a hard single to track down and I patiently had to wait until it showed up on eBay (which it did, finally, the other week) and just hope no one else out there had the same silly obsession.
Like I said, the remixes are ok but that Jeru definitely doesn’t sound as good now as it used to! (Oh, the irony). That said, I dig the bassline (which I think T-Love has also used) on it and the way in which it sort of plays off Prermier’s style of that era without being a straight bite. The Black Moon remix is similarly decent though it’s not touching the OG.
Any of my ’90s heads out there know who actually did these remixes? At one point, I think I heard it was some DJ Spinna thing but I don’t know if I believe that still.
chatter