White Meets Black Music Mashups

November 14, 2009 10:58 PM

I really like mashups that juxtapose hip-hop/R&B/reggae with classic rock/radio pop. Some good examples are Girl Talk's music, this Biggie Smalls/Miley Cyrus mashup, and this Beatles/Black Eyed Peas/Ludacris/ etc mashup. What are the best executed and most fun ones you've heard?
posted by i_am_a_fiesta to Media & Arts (27 answers total)

Grey Album! (Jay-Z + The Beatles remixed by Danger Mouse)
posted by cowbellemoo at 11:14 PM on November 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

The Rub - It's the M-Fing remix
posted by kid_dynamite at 11:15 PM on November 14, 2009

Smells Like Teen Booty is unbelievable: Destiny's Child + Nirvana.
posted by twistofrhyme at 11:17 PM on November 14, 2009

Hey We Will Rock You Ya is pretty cool, too: Queen + Outkast.
And a DJ group called Loo and Placido did a bunch of good ones.
posted by twistofrhyme at 11:23 PM on November 14, 2009

If you're into mashups you must must listen to DJ Food's Raiding the 20th Century, which is a history of how mashup came to be, in mashup form.. an hour of fricken genius.

Wikipedia has an interesting list, and I'm fond of DJ Earworm and Party Ben. I got to dance to Party Ben live when I was in San Francisco and it was a great night.
posted by Billegible at 11:37 PM on November 14, 2009 [4 favorites]

Best answer: A Night at the Hip-Hopera
posted by Flunkie at 11:37 PM on November 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

Anything DJ Z-Trip has released. (Check out this for a taste.)
posted by phaedon at 12:21 AM on November 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

Röyksopp's Happy Up Here has been mashed up with hip-hop a couple of times - my personal fave is DJ Riko's Happy When I Get It In (it's Happy Up Here + 50 Cent's I Get It In).

If we're on 50 Cent mashups, the Q-Unit album (a whole album of 50 Cent vs. Queen) pretty much set the standard for those things. Not least because of the cover art: Mr. Cent with a Freddie Mercury mustache.
posted by The Shiny Thing at 2:12 AM on November 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

Love Will Freak Us (Missy Elliott + Joy Division) by Dsico.
posted by cobwebberies at 2:13 AM on November 15, 2009

Dangit, messed up that last link. It was supposed to point to this.
posted by The Shiny Thing at 2:14 AM on November 15, 2009

You should check out The Hood Internet.
posted by bluefly at 2:16 AM on November 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

Big Shot Pimpin', which I like because it switches the usual trend of hip-hop/R&B/reggae lyrics over pop/rock music.
posted by piratebowling at 5:11 AM on November 15, 2009

Best answer: This one is somewhat amusing. It mixes a poppy kids TV show song with a Lil' Jon rap. It's executed rather well, I think.
posted by losvedir at 5:21 AM on November 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

I believe you're looking for E-603. His most recent album, Torn Up, is available for free (or pay what you want).
posted by telegraph at 6:26 AM on November 15, 2009

whole lotta biggie
posted by extrabox at 8:18 AM on November 15, 2009

Best answer: Q-Unit: 50 Cent and Queen
posted by Midnight Rambler at 8:20 AM on November 15, 2009

I love most mashups for the first couple listens, and then the novelty wears off and they become much less appealing. The one exception: A Night at the Hip Hopera, as mentioned by Flunkie above. I've listened to it, sometimes obsessively, for years, and it's still one of my favorite albums. Crazily well-executed, and the variety of samples keeps it from being too one-trick-pony-ish.
posted by donnagirl at 8:25 AM on November 15, 2009

Best answer: Absolutely anything mashed by Norwegian Recycling.
posted by ThomThomThomThom at 8:52 AM on November 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks for the suggestions! I'm currently listening to A Night at the Hip-Hopera. I'll mark favorites as I listen to them.

If anyone else has any recommendations, please keep them coming!
posted by i_am_a_fiesta at 11:18 AM on November 15, 2009

The absolute best mash-up album I've ever heard is Blue Eyes Meets Bed Stuy which mixes Notorious B.I.G. with Sinatra. This album operates so well on so many levels, I've never found a person who doesn't like it.
posted by cyphill at 1:27 PM on November 15, 2009 [2 favorites]

I recommend "Goodboys (Ultrablonde Stooge Mix)" by Blondie vs Mr Trick. I can't find a link to it, but if you mefi-mail me, I'll send you the file.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 4:37 PM on November 15, 2009

Best answer: Beethoven's Fifth Gold Digger
posted by sciencemandan at 5:10 PM on November 15, 2009

Whoops...I saw "classical," not "classic rock." :)
posted by sciencemandan at 5:10 PM on November 15, 2009

Seconding Bed Stuy Meets Blue Eyes.

Also, have you heard of Soulwax/2 Many DJs? If not, definitely look them up.
posted by pecanpies at 8:47 PM on November 15, 2009

Can I un-recommend something? I've been consistently unimpressed by Norwegian Recycling; I feel like their mash-ups are pretty lazy, and I think they rarely settle on the right tempo for the mix. That's just my opinion, though.

I can't find it now, but I heard a mash-up of Arcade Fire's "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" and Black Eyed Peas "My Humps" that was surprisingly great.
posted by sarahsynonymous at 4:36 AM on November 17, 2009

Best answer: I really enjoyed the Single Ladies/"Andy Griffith Show" mashup I heard a year or so ago.
posted by getawaysticks at 6:04 AM on November 17, 2009 [1 favorite]

The two first mash-ups I ever found on the internet were quite a few years ago, and they were so solid that not only the novelty of mash-ups as a new genre of music (for me) but also just the catchiness of them both kept my friends and I head-nodding all through high school... 50 Cent's "In Da Club" + I Love Rock and Roll (Joan Jett), and "Sweet Home Alabama" + Nelly's "Country Grammar." I'm having trouble finding the former, only those two songs mixed with Queen as well, which is different from what I'm talking about. Not sure who did either of them but if you google around enough I'm sure you'll find.

Both will hold a special place in my heart forever.
posted by Muffpub at 11:03 PM on November 19, 2009