Bike riding isn't my only passion. Making and mixing music is a close 2nd. This is a mash-up I did a few years ago of Jay-Z's Black Album with The Meters (aka the godfathers of funk). I'm a huge fan of The Meters and I always thought their music would be perfect for an MC. So, I gave them one. I pretty much just chopped, stretched, and matched up Jay's verses with the structure of the The Meters' songs. In some cases, I rearranged the verse and chorus of the instrumentals to match up better with Jay's lyrics. The last song of the album "My 1st Song" is mashed up with the Modest Mouse song "Dramamine." I really wanted to mix that song, but I couldn't find a Meters' track in 3/4 time, so I had to use something else.
I have uploaded a few of the tracks that you can listen to by clicking the players below. If you dig it, you can download the entire album by clicking here. Long live the funk!!
boomp3.com
boomp3.com
boomp3.com
boomp3.com
On a related note, there were a lot of quality remixes of The Black Album. The most famous (and probably the best) was Dangermouse's "Grey Album," which was The Black Album mixed with The Beatles' White Album. That thing is pure genius. I think it really helped show what hip hop sampling is all about. Sampling is not simply "stealing" music. Sampling at its best is the creative use and arrangement of prerecorded pieces of audio. Real sampling is art. Check that thing out, if you haven't already.
