Remixing in urban music
Recent technology allows for easier remixing, leading to a rise in its use in the music industry. It can be done legally, but there have been numerous disputes over rights to samples used in remixed songs. Many famous artists have been involved in remix disputes. In 2015, Jay-Z went to trial over a dispute about his use of a sample from “Khosara Khosara”, a composition by Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdy in his song “Big Pimpin'”. Osama Fahmy, a nephew of Hamdy, argued that while Jay-Z had the “economic rights” to use the song, he did not have the “moral rights”.[3]
Remixes have become the norm in contemporary dance music, giving one song the ability to appeal across many different musical genres or dance venues. Such remixes often include “featured” artists, adding new vocalists or musicians to the original mix. The remix is also widely used in hip hop and rap music. An R&B remix usually has the same music as the original song but has added or altered verses that are rapped or sung by the featured artists. It usually contains some if not all of the original verses of the song however they may be arranged in a different order than they originally were.
In 1988, Sinéad O’Connor’s art-rock song “I Want Your (Hands On Me)” was remixed to emphasize the urban appeal of the composition (the original contains a tight, grinding bassline and a rhythm guitar not entirely unlike Chic’s work).
Carey is credited for introducing R&B and hip hop into mainstream pop culture, and for popularizing rap as a featuring act through her post-1995 songs with her remix of “Fantasy” featuring Ol’ Dirty Bastard.
In the early 1990s, Mariah Carey became one of the first mainstream artists who re-recorded vocals for a dancefloor version, and by 1993 most of her major dance and urban-targeted versions had been re-sung, e.g. “Dreamlover”. Some artists would contribute new or additional vocals for the different versions of their songs. These versions were not technically remixes, as entirely new productions of the material were undertaken (the songs were “re-cut”, usually from the ground up). Carey worked with producer Puff Daddy to create the official Bad Boy remix of “Fantasy”.[4]. The Bad Boy remix features background vocals by Puff Daddy and rapping by Ol’ Dirty Bastard, the latter being of concern to Columbia who feared the sudden change in style would affect sales negatively.[5]. Some of the song’s R&B elements were removed for the remix, while the bassline and “Genius of Love” sample were emphasized and the bridge from the original version was used as the chorus.[4] There is a version omitting Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s verses.[4] The “Bad Boy Fantasy Remix”, combines the chorus from the original version and the chorus of the Bad Boy Remix together, removing Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s vocals from his second verse.[4] Carey re-recorded vocals for club remixes of the song by David Morales, titled “Daydream Interlude (Fantasy Sweet Dub Mix)”.[6]
The Bad Boy remix garnered positive reviews from music critics. “Fantasy” exemplified how a music sample could be transformed “into a fully realized pop masterpiece”.[7] The song and its remix arguably remains as one of Carey’s most important singles to date. Due to the success and influence of the song, Carey is credited for introducing R&B and hip hop into mainstream pop culture, and for popularizing rap as a featuring act through her post-1995 songs.[8] Sasha Frere-Jones, editor of The New Yorker commented in referencing to the song’s remix: “It became standard for R&B/hip-hop stars like Missy Elliott and Beyoncé, to combine melodies with rapped verses. And young white pop stars—including Britney Spears, ‘N Sync, and Christina Aguilera—have spent much of the past ten years making pop music that is unmistakably R&B.”[8] Moreover, Jones concludes that “Her idea of pairing a female songbird with the leading male MCs of hip-hop changed R&B and, eventually, all of pop. Although now anyone is free to use this idea, the success of “Mimi” [ref. to The Emancipation of Mimi, her tenth studio album released almost a decade after “Fantasy”] suggests that it still belongs to Carey.”[8] John Norris of MTV News has stated that the remix was “responsible for, I would argue, an entire wave of music that we’ve seen since and that is the R&B-hip-hop collaboration. You could argue that the ‘Fantasy’ remix was the single most important recording that she’s ever made.” Norris echoed the sentiments of TLC’s Lisa Lopes, who told MTV that it’s because of Mariah that we have “hip-pop.”[9] Judnick Mayard, writer of TheFader, wrote that in regarding of R&B and hip hop collaboration, “The champion of this movement is Mariah Carey.”[10] Mayard also expressed that “To this day ODB and Mariah may still be the best and most random hip hop collaboration of all time”, citing that due to the record “Fantasy”, “R&B and Hip Hop were the best of step siblings.”[10] In the 1998 film Rush Hour, Soo Yong is singing the song while it plays on the car radio, shortly before her kidnapping. In 2011, the experimental metal band Iwrestledabearonce used the song at the beginning and end of the video “You Know That Ain’t Them Dogs’ Real Voices”. Indie artist Grimes has called “Fantasy” one of her favorite songs of all-time and has said Mariah is the reason there is a Grimes.[11]
Jessica Simpson’s “Irresistible” (So So Def Remix) featuring Lil’ Bow Wow and Jermaine Dupri had an incredible impact in 2001.
M.C. Lyte was asked to provide a “guest rap”, and a new tradition was born in pop music. George Michael would feature three artistically differentiated arrangements of “I Want Your Sex” in 1987, highlighting the potential of “serial productions” of a piece to find markets and expand the tastes of listeners. In 1995, after doing “California Love”, which proved to be his best selling single ever, Tupac Shakur would do its remix with Dr. Dre again featured, who originally wanted it for his next album, but relented to let it be on the album All Eyez on Me instead. This also included the reappearance of Roger Troutman, also from the original, but he ended the remix with an ad-lib on the outro. Mariah Carey’s song “Heartbreaker” was remixed, containing lyrical interpolations and an instrumental sample from “Ain’t No Fun (If the Homies Can’t Have None)” by Snoop Dogg.[12] A separate music video was filmed for the musik remix indo terbaru, shot in black and white and featuring a cameo appearance by Snoop. In 2001, Jessica Simpson released an urban remix of her song “Irresistible”,[13] featuring rappers Lil’ Bow Wow and Jermaine Dupri, who also produced the track.[14] It samples the Kool & the Gang’s song “Jungle Boogie” (1973) and “Why You Treat Me So Bad” by Club Nouveau (1987).[15] Another well-known example is R. Kelly, who recorded two different versions of “Ignition” for his 2003 album Chocolate Factory. The song is unique in that it segues from the end of the original to the beginning of the remixed version (accompanied by the line “Now usually I don’t do this, but uh, go ahead on, break em’ off with a little preview of the remix.”). In addition, the original version’s beginning line “You remind me of something/I just can’t think of what it is” is actually sampled from an older Kelly song, “You Remind Me of Something”. Madonna’s I’m Breathless featured a remix of “Now I’m Following You” that was used to segue from the original to “Vogue” so that the latter could be added to the set without jarring the listener.
In 2015, EDM artist Deadmau5, who worked with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, tried to sue his former manager for remixing his songs without permission, claiming that he gave his manager the go-ahead to use his work for some remixes, but not others. Deadmau5 wanted reimbursement for the remixes his manager made after they had severed ties, because he claimed it was his “moral right” to turn these future remixing opportunities away if he had wanted to. The two parties reached an agreement in 2016 that kept Play Records from making any new remixes.[16] [17]
50 Cent tried to sue rapper Rick Ross in October of 2018 for remixing his “In da Club” beat, due to their publicized feud. However, a judge threw out the lawsuit claiming that 50 Cent did not have copyright on the beat, but rather it belonged to Shady/Aftermath Records.[18]
Many hip-hop remixes arose either from the need for a pop/R&B singer to add more of an urban, rap edge to one of their slower songs, or from a rapper’s desire to gain more pop appeal by collaborating with an R&B singer. Remixes can boost popularity of the original versions of songs.
Thanks to a combination of guest raps, re-sung or altered lyrics and alternative backing tracks, some hip-hop remixes can end up being almost entirely different songs from the originals. An example is the remix of “Ain’t It Funny” by Jennifer Lopez, which has little in common with the original recording apart from the title.
Slow ballads and R&B songs can be remixed by techno producers and DJs in order to give the song appeal to the club scene and to urban radio. Conversely, a more uptempo number can be mellowed to give it “quiet storm” appeal. Frankie Knuckles saddled both markets with his Def Classic Mixes, often slowing the tempo slightly as he removed ornamental elements to soften the “attack” of a dancefloor filler. These remixes proved hugely influential, notably Lisa Stansfield’s classic single “Change” would be aired by urban radio in the Knuckles version, which had been provided as an alternative to the original mix by Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, the record’s producers.