I don’t know about y’all, but I miss remixes.
There is a fine art to taking a song and completely changing its musical tone to create something related, but completely different. It’s awesome. A lot of times, the remix becomes a quick favorite over the original song. The Notorious B.I.G‘s “One More Chance (Remix)” featuring Faith Evans?! I mean c’mon — that song was it! Or when Jagged Edge pulled Run DMC out of their hats for the “Let’s Get Married” remix? I daresay that’s become a staple at weddings way above and beyond the original.
Nowadays however, artists throw another rapper or three on the same damn song and call it a remix. Oh. How. Exciting. Now there are five of them hollering on a track as opposed to two. Brilliant.
Don’t get me wrong, there have been some epic verses that have come out of these additions, but it’s just not the same. The last real remix I can remember hearing on the radio is the Usher and Beyoncé “Love In This Club” remix — and that was a good five years ago!
The word “remix” itself suggests that the music is mixed again. Redo the instrumentals. Add or subtract some bass. Do something! It just seems so lazy to lay down a vocal over the same damn track and call it a remix. That’s just an add on.
Here’s my plea to artists out there: Come harder. Put your production team to work. Lay down entirely new vocals and write new lyrics. Fulfill the actual promise that little five-letter word brings, so the next time I hear “reeeeemiiiiiiiix,” I know something good is coming.