Everybody has opinions about who the best rappers, albums, songs, etc. in the history of hip-hop are. Rappers weigh in on the subject not infrequently and last night, Ice T made his contribution to the conversation on The Tonight Show.
During a segment called “Ice T Settles It,” Jimmy Fallon asked Ice a series of rapid-fire questions and eventually, he tasked Ice with making his pick for the greatest rap album of all time. He seemed intrigued by the question, giving an “ooh” after he asked. Ice didn’t take long to give his answer, though, replying after only a short delay, “I’ll say Paid In Full by Eric B. & Rakim.” Fallon asked Ice to elaborate and he continued, “‘Cause that was the most influential album to me when I was making my album.”
He also offered his No. 2 and 3 albums, and like Paid In Full, they’re also from the late ’80s and early ’90s, when his own music career was at its peak. He continued, “I’ll say Fear Of A Black Planet [by] Public Enemy would be a close second, and then Straight Out Of Compton, NWA, would be top-3. But each one of those albums had a lot to do with influencing me as an MC. But when I heard Rakim, I had never heard nobody rap like that. And it was so many hits on that album. Get Paid In Full and you’ll bang it all the way to the house.”
Of the 86 Grammy categories being awarded this year, one of the most intriguing is the Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical. Over the years, eclectic sonics have been a hallmark of the category, which was first awarded in 1998 as the Grammy Award for Remixer Of The Year, Non-Classical. Because these songs are remixes, the source material nominated isn’t limited to genre. In 2022, it’s safe to say Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical is the only Grammy category to include Papa Roach (nominated due to Spencer Bastin’s “Born For Greatness (Cybek Remix)”), Deftones (“Passenger (Mike Shinoda Remix)”), and Demi Lovato and Ariana Grande (“Met Him Last Night (Dave Audé Remix)”).
Naturally, over the years, the artists who triumphed in this category have been equally intriguing. Here’s the top 10 winners, ranked.
10. Song: Madonna — “I Rise (Tracy Young’s Pride Intro Radio Remix)”
Winner: Tracy Young Year: 2020
Madonna and dance music have gone hand in hand since the ’80s. In fact, Madonna herself has won a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording (“Ray of Light”) and Best Electronica/Dance Album (Confessions On A Dancefloor). However, in 2020, Tracy Young was the first woman to be nominated, much less win, the Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical category for an inspired take on Madonna’s pro-gun control anthem “I Rise.” Young’s interpretation amplifies the icon’s empathetic vocals and the song’s resiliency — as well as the voice of Emma González, a survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting — with low-key house beats and a chill (but verve-laden) tempo. Consider this remix of a piece with dance music’s long history of political activism.
9. Song: No Doubt — “Hella Good (Roger Sanchez Main Mix)”
Winner: Roger Sanchez Year: 2003
No Doubt‘s hard-left turns to ’80s synth-pop throwbacks on 2001’s Rock Steady were ideal for dance remixes — as evidenced by this no-frills, brisk re-do by global superstar DJ Roger Sanchez full of rollicking percussion and beat drops that emphasizes the lines “You got me feeling hella good, so let’s just keep on dancing.”
8. Song: Cher — “Believe (Club 69 Mixes)”
Winner: Club 69 Year: 2000
Cher‘s Y2K comeback came because of the already-unstoppable dancefloor anthem “Believe.” The Club 69 remixes are peak late-’90s house, with over-the-top beats, blocky stacks of keyboards, and an arrangement that places Cher in the role of vocal diva — something she comes by naturally.
7. Song: MGMT — “Electric Feel (Justice Remix)”
Winner: Justice Year: 2009
It’s a fitting bow on the blogrock era that French electrofunk act Justice won a Grammy for a sophisticated remix of MGMT’s “Electric Feel.” Rich horns, squelching beats and a choppy vibe transform the swank electro of the original into a swaggering mid-’80s synth-rock throwback.
6. Song: Nero — “Promises (Skrillex and Nero Remix)”
Winner: Joseph Ray, Skrillex & Daniel Stephens Year: 2013
This remix is peak dubstep era, with Skrillex (aka Sonny Moore) and two members of Nero teaming up for a re-do of Nero’s “Promises.” There’s a massive beat drop at about a minute in that leads directly to an explosion of grimy zippered beats that alternate with dramatic, piano-driven interludes with caution-heavy vocals from Nero’s Alana Watson. The net effect is a song that’s both unsettling and moving—a fine combination.
5. Song: Public Enemy — “Bring the Noise (S-faction Remix)”
Winner: Benny Benassi Year: 2008
Superstar DJ Benny Benassi deconstructed Public Enemy‘s 1988 hit with surgical precision. At first, he leaves in only select exhortations (“Bring the noise!” and “Bass!”) atop a pulsing, surging bed of techno-house beats, before introducing more of the song’s lyrics — building excitement and tension alike with a natural rhythm.
There’s a long history of classic songs receiving a boost thanks to a modern dance remix — witness how Junkie XL’s re-do of Elvis Presley’s “A Little Less Conversation” breathed new life into the tune. The same thing happened when Louie Vega took a crack at remixing Curtis Mayfield’s already-unimpeachable “Superfly.” Vega added salsa beats and a languid touch to the 1972 soul-funk hit, making it (improbably) even more smooth than it was to begin with.
3. Coldplay — “Talk (Thin White Duke Mix)”
Winner: Jacques Lu Cont Year: 2007
Stuart Price records under many aliases — to name a few, Les Rythmes Digitales, Zoot Woman and Jacques Lu Cont. Under the latter moniker, he’s known for recording retro-tinted synth-pop remixes; in fact, he won a Grammy in 2005 for his take on No Doubt’s “It’s My Life.” He won another Grammy two years later for his spin on Coldplay‘s “Talk,” a song that interpolates Kraftwerk. Lu Cont plays up that association by adding in robotic vocal flourishes and stripping the song down to insistent, Krautrockian rhythms and streamlined synths.
2. Song: SAINt JHN — “Roses (Imanbek Remix)”
Winner: Imanbek Zeikenov Year: 2021
Back in mid-2020, you couldn’t scroll through your TikTok #FYP without running into Imanbek’s remix of “Roses,” by the rapper SAINt JHN. This viral hit was a radical re-work of the original, speeding up the vocals and adding sharp-edged, electro-driven rhythmic contours that doubled as mega earworms. Remixes with Future and J Balvin followed, although Imanbek’s take remains tops for how it took fresh source material and made it sound even cooler.
1. Song: Lana Del Rey — “Summertime Sadness (Cedric Gervais Remix)”
Winner: Cedric Gervais Year: 2014
Lana Del Rey‘s originals are already known for being mesmerizing and hypnotic. However, the Cedric Gervais remix of “Summertime Sadness” elevated the song to a different level entirely, tapping into the melancholy hinted at in the title by plucking out Del Rey’s wistful refrain (“I got that summertime, summertime sadness”) and pairing it with turbulent house beats. “Summertime Sadness (Cedric Gervais Remix)” peaked in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart — but, more important, became an instant-classic anthem for every type of summer bummer imaginable.
Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
On this date in 1959, William Jonathan Drayton, better known to the world as Flavor Flav, was born in NYC. Flav is the former hypeman of the iconic, Rock N’ Roll Hall Of Fame Hip-Hop group Public Enemy.
Growing up on Freeport, Long Island is where A young Flavor developed his love for music, teaching himself to play the piano, drums, and guitar on his own. It was also in Long Island where a young adult Flav met Chuck Ridenhour, who later became known as Chuck D, the frontman of Public Enemy. The two linked at Adelphi University on the Island, where the two attended college and learned about each other’s love for Hip Hop.
As one of the founding members of PE, Flav was there in 1984 when the song “Public Enemy #1” was recorded; the first known track by the group. In 1986, the crew signed with Rick Rubin on Def Jam, however, Rubin did not initially want to sign Flav because he didn’t understand his role in the group.
Ever since PE’s debut album Yo! Bum Rush The Show, Flav was the hype jester to the ultra-serious, politically charged group which now included Chuck D, Terminator X, and a security force known as the S1Ws. Songs such as “Fight The Power”, “911 Is A Joke”, and “I Can’t Do Nothin’ For Ya Man” featured the comedic darts of Flav, which brought a balance to PE.
Drugs and domestic issues hindered Flav for a short while during his career, however, he bounced back into the public eye as a reality show pioneer, with shows like Surreal Life and The Flavor Of Love breaking ground in reality TV. Earlier this year, Chuck D announced that Flavor Flav was indefinitely fired from the group for his response to PE publicly endorsing Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2020 Presidential race.
Big ups to Flav on his born day and TheSource.com wishes the Flavor Man many more!
Chuck D is a key figure in the history of hip-hop. There’s no denying that. In Jeff Chang’s seminal 2005 book, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, — arguably the definitive document on the history of hip-hop culture — The Public Enemy MC is featured prominently as a source and Public Enemy are justifiably a major part of the book’s comprehensive tracking of hip-hop’s sociopolitical shift in the late-80’s and early 90’s. So it’s fitting that Chuck D is now bringing The Story Of Hip-Hop With Chuck D, a four-part docuseries for TV that will document the history of hip-hop and air on PBS.
Produced by BBC Studios, the series is set to trace the history of hip-hop over the course of the past 40 years and will feature appearances from hip-hop legends like Run DMC, Queen Latifah, and LL Cool J. Chuck D, who developed the series with his manager Lorrie Boula shared a statement on the project:
“The hip-hop community has, from the start, been doing what the rest of media is only now catching up to,” said Chuck D. “Long before any conglomerate realized it was time to wake up, hip-hop had been speaking out and telling truths. Working with PBS and BBC is an opportunity to deliver these messages through new ways and help explain hip-hop’s place in history and hopefully inspire us all to take it further.”
The Story Of Hip-Hop With Chuck D is entering production and no word on yet on when it will be released.
