Deadmau5-Strobe (Special Features Remix)

Electronic Dance Music (EDM) continues to grow at a frantic pace and we're in a situation where someone like Avicii, virtually unknown 18 months ago, is quickly becoming a household name and is preparing an international stadium tour. Something else which has leached onto this fascinating growth is the remixer-producers who take tracks and add their own distinctive touch, often creating jams that just barely share more than a passing resemblance with the original. One such producer is Special Features, a young British producer who has been making quite a name for himself over the course of the last year. Of all his remixes, this jamandahalf "cover" of Deadmau5's "Strobe" is probably my favorite. The equivalent of rock band attempting to put out a cover to "Stairway To Heaven" and succeeding, Special Features takes a Deadmau5 classic and injects an undeniable energy to the original to the point where the two jams wouldn't recognize each other if they were walking down the same street. Check out Special Features here.

Download Deadmau5 Strobe (Special Features Remix)

Icona Pop-Manners (Captain Cuts Remix)

You know a remix is good when you hear the orginal and immediately think it's missing something. Captain Cut's remix of Icona Pop's "Manners" is an absolute banger of a remix. Completely blowing my "remix criteria" out of the water (1-the song has to be a complete remake of the original, and 2-the cover has to make you think at least for a half second that it's better than the original), the crew behind this jamandahalf (including my buddy Ryan McMahon) has made a song which eclipses the original in every way. A mix of hard-hitting house with a slight sprinkling of dubstep, the trio don't just give "Manners" a facelift, they pull the biggest facial switcharoo since this. Captain Cut's jams have been heating up the blogosphere for a few months now and you can find their tracks here. Enjoy this monster track and be on the lookout for their first mixtape coming out soon.

Click here to download


Icona Pop Manners (Captain Cuts Remix)

Q-Tip feat. Busta Rhymes, Raekwon, & Lil' Wayne-Renaissance Rap (Remix)

Turn this song up and imagine yourself walking down the street, turning the corner, and stumbling on a rap cypher by four of the greatest rappers alive. With a syncopated flow that only gets better with age, Q-Tip starts off the festivities, rapping about coming up in New York, honing his skills, rapping on the A train, and battling other rappers for days. Probably the most technical of the four, Q-Tip ends his verse with a gem:

When in the heat of the cipher, I was not libel
For all the casualties of the dutty MCs'
I split the train car like Moses did the Red Sea
Get it in ya head, we gon' rock the dead
Night of the living MCs', the weak ones fled

Busta Rhymes is next. With his trademark energy and vigor, Busta throws in enough animal noises for a screening of Planet Earth. Like a silver-back gorilla puffing out his chest, Busta's verse is him trying to prove that he's the hardest around. Raekwon follows Busta, doing what he does best: storytelling with a mix of flash and grit. His gruff voice sounds just as at home rapping about looking fly at the Golden Globes as it does rapping about a thousand and one goons. Lil' Wayne, by far the baby of the group, finishes it up. With a goofy flow, Wayne's talent shines even though his verse is probably the least lyrical of the four. But its hard to deny that he seems to be having the most fun. 

With four different flows, four different approaches, and four different subjects, this song  showcases the diversity of rap. With no hooks and no choruses, just four rappers and a hype man, this song takes it back to the simpler times, when being the hardest rapper on the block was enough. 

Lyrics

 Q-Tip-Renaissance Rap remix feat. Busta Rhymes, Raekwon, Lil' Wayne (Jamandahalf.com) by jamand1/2 

Kid CuDi-Pursuit of Happiness (Steve Aoki Dance Remix)

Moodawg would be the first to tell you: we ain't no doctors around these parts. We do know a little bit about music, at least what sounds good to our ears, and one thing I've noticed lately is a shift in musical trends.


I would say that the two biggest trends in music right now are the bending of musical genres, and the heavy influence of electronic music in almost all forms of music right now. An artist that has recently made it big is Kid Cudi, an almost perfect example of my theory. Cudi comes out of Cleavland and moved to Brooklyn when he was 20. His rise to fame came way of his first mixtape "A Kid Named Cudi" which hit blogs in a major way. Cudi represents a twist on Chicago influenced rap that isn't about being the alpha male, being hard, being real, or most of the more stereotypical themes of modern rap music. Cudi talks about his fears, weaknesses, and hopes, and has had his music described as "emo rap." This aint emoscreamodreamo we're talking about, but it's definitely more introspective and aware than a lot of rap out there...


Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness" is a great introduction to Cudi and the fusion of electronic and hip hop. Over a beat by Ratatat, the New York based electronic duo, Cudi raps about his dreams and nightmares and what making it is all about. Today's jamandahalf, however, is the dance remix by Steve Aoki. Aoki takes the original and infuses it with synths and a throbbing bass, turning a laidback jam into a song that's guaranteed to keep CMC moving for a while. Cudi's debut album got some serious spins in 661L last semester (at least in my room), and with Cudi looking like his next album will bring together even more artists, indicative of a larger movement in music, blending, not mashing, seems to be the way of the future.


Got a takedown notice, sorry for no download link!