Black culture is quite fond of remixing just about anything. It keeps things fresh, and allows us to enjoy something old in a new and different way. We will remix almost anything; from the Mohawk (see image #1) to “trendy” eyeglasses (see image #2), for instance.
Fittingly, our rap music is no different. If a song achieves any amount of commercial success on the radio, expect there to be a remix. Remixing serves a prudent business purpose as well: it’s a quick and easy method of giving the artist added exposure and fame, while eliminating the risk of introducing a brand new song to the public, where its reception is unpredictable.
In order to make a remix, there are 3 essential elements (listed in reverse order of importance):
1) a different beat than the original song (This is the least important factor. Plenty of remixes have been made that utilize the exact same beat as the original).
2) different lyrics
3) an appearance by T-Pain and/or Lil’ Wayne.
Note that #3 is by far the most important of the three elements. Plenty of remixes to a song can be made – any DJ can mix and match stuff to a beat – but a remix can hardly be considered official if Lil’ Wayne or T-Pain (see image #3) is not featured.
As a last point, it should be noted that “mashing” is NOT remixing. Mashing is a concept that white people made up to try and make rap more appealing to them, by adding music that they like to the words/beat of some popular rap song. I don’t care how many times you mix Jay-Z and Linkin Park, it’s not a proper remix. Please see the video below of a “mash-up.” After listening, I hope you will understand why this abomination will never be acceptable in the hip-hop community.
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