Brooklyn Soul

In our contemporary era of internet-democratized digital media, the remix is as ubiquitous and token as a "copyrighted" notice is futile, but rarely does a remix actually fulfill its implicit ambition: to rework the given song into something different and, here's the tricky part, better. Bogged down by flaws of vision-less, muscled, and half-assed attempts, or gimmicky and impossible mash-up pairings (not to mention the analogous logic of the if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it principle), the average remix simply doesn't arrive--and in most cases fails to have enough flair to suffice more than a skimmed listen. Take 2007's American Gangster. Although its been remixed to near infinity, Jay-Z's second post-retirement effort hasn't been treated much differently. Google searches return pages and pages of 'American Gangster remixed' hits; and there's even a two-volume mixtape out there dedicated to showcasing the supposedly 'best of' remix for each track from the original. But of all the American Gangster remixes I've gotten through, nearly all only agonizingly fodder the above argument. That is, all of them except this one:


My only real, albeit very minor complaint against American Gangster was the uninspired and somewhat redundant production (discounting the interstellar, Neptunes-laced banger "I Know"), so it helps that this mixtape's shrewdly inventive beats are consistently bobble-head worthy. But the real triumph and indication of MickBoogie's knob-wizardry here, is how Brooklyn Soul is able to successfully (see: masterfully) match Hova's most cerebral and dynasty-preserving verses to date with intuitive Marvin Gaye-sampled production that cohesively retains, not undermines (a la The Grey Album), each original track's intended ethos. Boogie's remixed beats provide new backdrops to Jay's drug lord tales and scathing Imus-backlash commentary alike, mirroring the cool demeanor of the former's braggadocio, while maintaining the vigor and acuity of the latter.

Which is not to say that Brooklyn Soul merely slaps on a different set of instrumental wheels upon which Jay's ryhmes indifferently spin. No. MickBoogie's reworking includes changes in tempo and nuance, shifts in accent and focus that refract and articulate Jay's songs to different and--here we go--often improved ends. For instance, the swaggering nonchalance of the original "Party Life" becomes all marching-band gusto in MickBoogie's capable hands, the American Gangster version's smoke-lit, seventies-lounge bassline traded in for a bouncing pulse of string shots and crescendoing Marvin vocal-samples that highlight and punctuate the irregular cadence of Hova's complex lyric pattern. On "No Hook," the dull and ultimately deflating growl of the original beat is exchanged for a cheering crowd and mellow, slow-building, bassline that gives way at the chorus' turn to a slick, strutting, beat laden with lilting horn riffs, crisp snares, and cascading Kanye-esque background vocals--all of which more deftly embolden the most impressive verses of the record. Similarly, the blaxploitation beat of album version "Sweet" is transformed into a nostalgic and celebratory 1992-throwback fit to rival Biggie's "Juicy." However, the true gem of Brooklyn Soul is the brilliant pairing of Gaye's often-hackneyed "Sexual Healing" with Jay's "Hello Brooklyn 2.0," which, impossibly yet unequivocally, somehow turns out to be anything but trite.

Download Brooklyn Soul here, and check out "Hello Brooklyn 2.0" in the Gold Soundz player.