DanjLovesThe90s!

Welllll… it’s Hip-Hop Soul Week on DLT90s, as promised at the top of the month. I’ll be showin’ love to a classic hip-hop soul album from ’96, and makin’ the week complete with the DLT90s HipHopSoulMix, but first things first…

While New Jack Swing was on the way out, it gradually transformed into a new subgenre that relied heavily on remixes. Whereas the New Jack sound fused hip-hop and R&B during the late-’80s, the Hip-Hop Soul sound represented a more aggressive, breakbeat-driven style for the ’90s. Mary J. Blige and Puffy popularized it with What’s The 411? in ’92, which later carried over to become a big part of The Bad Boy Sound. By ’95, it was almost uncommon for there to be a single that didn’t either feature a rapper or have a remix featuring one. Most times, these remixes were also built on samples of past rap hits, which further made them palatable to the hip-hop audience. While some of them blew up and took on lives of their own, there were others that only got minor play or none at all. Either way, even though this trend eventually went on overload and played itself out by the end of the decade, it definitely spawned some memorable tracks. Annnd so, in jumping off Hip-Hop Soul Week, here are eight remixes that didn’t really make it over the hump, but to me were still hittin’:

8- Horace Brown feat. Foxy Brown “One For The Money (Clark Kent Remix)” (1996): Horace Brown had a minor hit with “One For The Money” in ’96, and Foxy Brown was the new up-and-coming female MC on the scene. As the practice went back then, whenever there was a hot record, so followed a remix with some new hot rapper on the track- thus this one right here. Clark Kent (who was doing a lot of remixes at the time and happens to be Fox’s cousin) puts the two Browns together for a banger, which didn’t catch much fire, but the shit still knocks.

7- Alexander O’Neal feat. Pete Rock & CL Smooth “In The Middle (Brown Mix)” (1993): By ’93, Pete Rock was hip-hop’s #1 producer, hooking up tracks for everyone from Public Enemy to Father MC. Before long, the “Pete Rock Remix” stamp was in high demand, even for artists whose careers were on the downslide. Enter Alexander O’Neal, one of the most underrated R&B niggas of all time. His classic ’80s work with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis was in the past by then, and he (like many ’80s artists) had some trouble catching up with the changing styles and sounds. Aside from comin’ off like that old guy in the hood who tries to dress and act like the teenagers, one good thing did come out of Alex’s ’93 shit: this much-ignored PR remix of his single “In the Middle”, featuring both Pete and CL.

6- Mona Lisa featuring The LOX “Just Wanna Please U (Bad Boy Remix)” (1996): The way the Bad Boy Records machine worked in its early days (when it was still a functioning rotation of various artists besides Puffy), the new MCs would usually start out by getting placed on tracks and remixes by other artists. While The LOX were starting to build up a mixtape buzz in late-’96, they got their first single-and-video look by appearing on this remix by Universal Records artist Mona Lisa. Universal shelled out the dough (as every label was back then) for the magic of the “Bad Boy Remix”, probably expecting a potential hit. Here, Jadakiss is already being positioned as the standout of the team, while Grand Puba‘s “Check It Out” remix gets flipped for Mona.

5- Aaron Hall feat. Redman “Curiosity (Marley Marl Remix)” (1995): Aaron Hall’s solo career never quite… *breathes* …never really did what he probably thought it was gonna do. He had a couple winners like “Don’t Be Afraid” and “I Miss You”, but it’s fair to say his thunder became R. Kelly‘s thunder after 12 Play dropped. Regardless, he had a couple on-the-low heaters, like this joint from the Dangerous Minds soundtrack. With Redman (who was crushin’ every record he jumped on in ’95) as the feature, and Marley Marl on production, the “Curiosity” remix wins.

4- Total feat. Keith Murray “Can’t You See (Remix)” (1995): “Can’t You See” was a monster in the spring and summer of ’95. It featured B.I.G., who was the peoples’ champion that year, and kicked things off for Bad Boy’s new R&B trio Total. In the middle of the hysteria over that single, there was another version that dropped, featuring Keith Murray. It had a video and it got some minor play, but was mostly overshadowed by the original version, which was still runnin’ hot while the remix was out. Keith kilt it on the cameo, and the track itself was true to that Bad Boy Sound, making it just as essential as the original one for me at the time. Buying Bad Boy singles always guaranteed a slick-ass remix or two, and this was one of ‘em. 

3- Ladae! feat. Chubb Rock “Party 2 Nite (Remix)” (1996): As one of about 37 acts that flopped on Motown while Andre Harrell and Al B. Sure! were running things (I kid, I kid… it was only 32), you’ve probably never heard of Ladae! Or if you have, it was prob’ly when Lil’ Kim said “fuck them Ladae cats, they wack, and one of ‘em resemble Craig Mack” on “Dreams”. I don’t know ‘em either, but they had one track I fukked with heavy- the Doug E. Fresh-sampling remix of their single “Party 2 Nite”, featuring Chubb Rock on the help-out. This joint caught a light buzz around summer ’96, but light’s about it.

2) 112 feat. Black Rob “Come See Me (Remix)” (1997): Between smashin’ it with “Only You” and “Cupid”, 112 dropped the Mr. Cheeks-featured “Come See Me” as the second single from their self-titled debut album. It’s one of the less well-received of theirs, but I always dug it. I dug it even more once I copped the 12″ and caught wind of the remix. Sampling Akinyele‘s “Put It In Your Mouth” (or Brick‘s “Fun” if you wanna be a dick about it… pause), it’s almost a totally different song in itself. Also notable for what I believe was Black Rob’s first appearance, this remix was another testament to why buying Bad Boy singles was always a treat in the ’90s. Well, unless that single was called “If You Think I’m Jiggy”.

1- D’Angelo feat. Kool G Rap “Brown Sugar (Beatminerz Remix)” (1995): Even I slept on this one. Keepin’ it all the way real, I didn’t hear this until about 11 years after the fact, thanks to this lil’ thing we call the internet. Apparently, in ’95, D’Angelo linked up with Da Beatminerz (known most for their work as members of the Boot Camp Clik) for a remix of his hit, “Brown Sugar”. Throw in a sick G Rap verse, and BOOM- one of my favorite remixes from that era. As someone who liked the music of all three parties in ’95, who knows how this one flew under my radar, but good thing it showed up.

-D!

This entry was posted on Monday, October 25th, 2010 at 9:00 AM and is filed under AllTime8, DanjLovesTheHipHop, DanjLovesTheR&B, Hip-Hop Soul. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.