Engineers Remix Jay-Z For Reasonable Gangster Mixtape

The good folks at Hip-Hop Is Read put us on to a mixtape on Dat Piff (follow the bouncing ball, kids!) that we had to put ya’ll on to big time, Reasonable Gangster.

According to HHIR “it combines elements from Jay-Z first and latest albums, Reasonable Doubt and American Gangster. Vocals come courtesy from AG of course, but the cool thing about the production on this mixtape is that the original beats from RD are scrapped. Instead, The Engineers re-flipped and re-tooled the o.g. samples from RD and crafted them into their own creations…”

click HERE for the download link.

Bloggin 4 Beats: Jay-Z’s “I Know” remix…

Addiction is a bitch…sometimes literally. You spend so much time trying to recreate that first high. Sometimes you come close (again.. literally) and other times you lay there in the throws of futility waiting to come down enough to resume the chase. I am addicted to this beat shit, which makes it that much harder when I lose something. Yes, I fugged up big time.

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Bloggin 4 Beats: “Moment Of Clarity” Remix

I think in years to come people will be sampling ?uestlove. I know, you’re thinking “sampling another producer in hip-hop is blasphemy” but ?uest is not simply a producer. He’s one of the best drummers of our generation. And besides, even DJ Scratch has admitted to jacking those Little Feat drums from A Tribe Called Quest’s “Bonita Applebum” and sped them up to make the beat for “Funky Piano.” Anyway, I like to jack drums from 90s neo soul from time to time and it turns out that more often than not ?uestlove has done the drumming. So I’m just giving him a heads up/warning: If you leave open drums at the beginning of your songs, they’re getting snatched….

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Jay-Z Talks About Producers for Blueprint 3

Angela Yee is getting all the juicy producer bits these days (pause). Jay-Z called into the Shade 45 Morning Show to talk about many things including juggling producers and their egos (ouch!) for his upcoming The Blueprint 3. [Read more]

Bloggin For Beats: Justifying My Thug

I’ve been a violent mood. Maybe it’s the proximity of Grand Theft Auto 4 coming out a week after NYPD cops were acquitted for murdering a man outside of a strip club. Maybe it’s my cable box fuggin up my DVR of Family Guy. Either way, I’m pissed [Read more]

Jay-Z Get’s Mobbed: Hasan Insane’s “Black Caesar” Mixtape

After crafting audible treats like an “Allure” remix with a sick saxophone and 16 bars from Nas for the An American Gangster Mixtape producer/DJ Hasan Insane is back with another Jay-Z inspired project entitled Black Caesar. At first glance it’s easy to think “damn, more American Gangster rehash?” But that was pieced together with older acapellas while this uses the “official” verses. Jay’s voice and flow is just perfect for remixing and it’s about time folks talked about Jigga without the words “and beyonce” following right behind.

What makes Hasan’s remixes so good is his ability to find samples that match the mood of the original without sound anything like it. While his version of “American Dreamin” doesn’t knock the Marvin Gaye flavored original, it holds its own with a jazzy guitar loop, some drums that hit a little softer and well placed vocal scratches.

In addition to his beats, Insane has a knack for adding guest vocals that is down right scary. For example, adding Big Boi and Pimp C to “Party Life” is an inspired touch that should give American Gangster some fresh legs going into the summer.

So if the F.E.D.S. don’t have your computer tapped check out a copy of Black Caeasar. The tracklisting is below. Peep clips at Hasan’s Myspace page:

01. INTRO
02. PRAY FEAT. RAEKWON (HASAN INSANE REMIX)
03. AMERICAN DREAMIN FEAT. NAS (HASAN INSANE REMIX
04. HELLO BROOKLYN 3.0 FEAT. LIL’ WAYNE, THE NOTORIOUS BIG & OL’ DIRTY BASTARD (HASAN INSANE REMIX)
05. NO HOOK FEAT. YOUNG JEEZY (HASAN INSANE REMIX)
06. ROC BOYS FEAT. KANYE WEST (HASAN INSANE REMIX)
07. SWEET FEAT. JADAKISS (HASAN INSANE REMIX
08. I KNOW FEAT. T.I. & PHARRELL (HASAN INSANE REMIX)
09. PARTY LIFE FEAT. BIG BOI, PIMP C & CARLITTA DURAND (HASAN INSANE REMIX)
10. IGNORANT SH*T FEAT. LUPE FIASCO (HASAN INSANE REMIX)
11. SAY HELLO FEAT. SCARFACE (HASAN INSANE REMIX)
12. SUCCESS FEAT. GHOSTFACE (HASAN INSANE REMIX)
13. FALLEN FEAT. BEANIE SIGEL & JESSE BOYKINS III (HASAN INSANE REMIX)
**BONUS**
AMERICAN GANGSTER (HASAN INSANE REMIX)