Sometimes Remixes Are A Bad Idea
Via the homie Guy Fawkes over at HHHead comes the Smirnoff Signature Mix Series remix of the seminal hip-hop classic “Criminal Minded.” With Premier on the beat and the wheels, KRS provides an update on where things have been since he dropped his first joint that began his path to legendary status.
I’ve seen a few of these remix tracks and it seems that heads come down on one of two positions: you’re cool with them or you think that you should never touch a classic hip-hop track. I have to say I come down hard on the latter side – you should never, ever, ever remix a “hall of fame” type song – especially if its yours. Maybe that’s part of why I though this tribute sucked so badly.
I think it degrades the value of the track in question. There are some things you should just leave alone. And that rule increases exponentially as the popularity and value of the song to the hip-hop community increases. Not to get too philosophical, but why are we as a society so eager to try and update significant material?
Premier and KRS are dope, but they both should have passed when Smirnoff came calling. Sure, you can argue that its exposing a whole new generation and/or demographic to classic rap material, but sometimes its just not worth it.
Rappers old and new: you need to leave those classics alone. Thoughts?
Tags: Criminal Minded, DJ Premier, KRS-One
Primo has two types of instrumentals (in my opinion). The top-class bangers, and then the bargain buy’s…which this clearly was.
I feel like when a different artist re-does another artists classic it’s just wrong, but when the same artist re-does his own classic it’s even worse.
But, the problem isn’t really with re-making a classic which is inherently wrong in and of itself, but it’s that the artists who re-make their own classics are a shell of the MC they were when they made the classic. A 2008 KRS One isn’t even comparable to a 1990 KRS One.
I didn’t think this song was too bad though, but I def can see what you’re saying.
I agree – people shouldn’t remix their own classics, especially when they’re not willing to go hard to do it.
My problem with this is that the original is basically just sick drums and a legendary MC in his prime. In other words, the beauty of rap and hiphop back then was the simplicity.
Primo’s a hall of famer, but his style and instrumental muddy up the track. He’s made some great remixes before, but this definitely isn’t one of them. For some reason, it almost feels like a grimier version of that Snoop Dogg & R. Kelly track That’s That.