In the 20 years since Biggie and LL hopped on “Flava In Ya Ear” and Puff clinked those bottles together, it’s become one of hip hop’s favorite traditions to take a hit record, and attempt to take it up a notch by throwing a few new verses by famous guests onto the beat. Virtually every major label rap single at a certain level gets an all-star remix now, sometimes even before the original becomes a serious hit in an attempt to help it get there. Still, in this wasteland of perfunctory verses e-mailed back and forth to turn every song into an overstuffed DJ Khaled-style posse cut, there are invariably moments of excitement—your favorite rapper that you never thought you’d hear on your favorite beat of the moment, stars dropping up-to-the-minute references to beefs and current events with the knowledge that they’ll be heard by a huge audience within a very short time.
In the last few years, I’ve taken it upon myself to try to keep track of every noteworthy posse cut remix of a rap (or R&B) hit, simply because nobody else was doing it. In the Remix Report Card, I decide who has the best verse (if there are multiple new verses) and give the remix a grade, based on both the overall quality of the track and whether it offers anything of value that the original song did not.
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Best Verse: Overall Grade: “Drunk In Love (Remix)” by Beyonce featuring Kanye West and Jay-Z you’re schmoopy Best Verse: Overall Grade: “Money Baby (Remix)” by KCamp featuring French Montana and Ty Dolla $ign Best Verse: Overall Grade: “My Nigga (Remix)” by YG featuring Lil Wayne, Meek Mill, Nicki MInaj and Rich Homie Quan Overall Grade: Best Verse: “OG Bobby Johnson (Remix)” by Que featuring Snoop Dogg, Pusha T and A$AP Ferg Best Verse: Overall Grade: “Paranoid (Remix)” by Ty Dolla $ign featuring Trey Songz, French Montana and DJ Mustard
Best Verse: Overall Grade: “Radioactive (Remix)” by Imagine Dragons featuring Kendrick Lamar Best Verse: Overall Grade: “Show Me (Remix)” by Kid Ink featuring Trey Songz, 2 Chainz, Juicy J, and Chris Brown Best Verse: Overall Grade: “They Don’t Know (Remix)” by Rico Love featuring Ludacris, Trey Songz, Tiara Thomas, and Emjay Best Verse: Overall Grade: “Trophies (Remix)” by Drake featuring Migos Best Verse: Overall Grade:
Al Shipley is a noted remix academic living in Baltimore. He’s on Twitter – @alshipley
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