Bring Me the Remix of Zilla Rocca Week 5 - Y?Arcka aka Young Architect (Philly/NJ Hip Hop):
For the fifth installment of Bring Me the Remix of Zilla Rocca, in which Clean Guns emcee Zilla Rocca has been reaching out to his favorite producers to remix tracks from his solo mixtape Bring Me the Head of Zilla Rocca, we've got a track from a producer out of New Jersey, Y?Arcka a.k.a. Young Architect. Like many artists originally from South Jersey, Arcka's moved his base of operations across the border to Philly, a fact that I tried not to hold against him while listening to his offering. More troubling to me than his decision to move out of Jersey, however, was his choice of song to remix, Sunbathing Bitches featuring Mally from the 612, a song that holds something of a special place in the history of this site.
The original S.B. track, which Zilla put out over a year ago before including it as part of his more recent mixtape release, came about after Zilla had heard some of Mally's songs on here. Despite my best efforts to get more unsigned artists to work together, it remains the one and only collaboration to feature two emcees that have been spotlighted on this site. On top of that, it had a great beat put together by Mr. Rocca himself to go along with a typically dope verse from Mally, making it one of my favorite songs of 2007.
It would have been hard to top the original effort, then, but Y?Arcka sidesteps that problem by taking the song in an entirely different direction, lacing the remix with a laid-back ragga-inspired instrumental that stands in stark contrast to its predecessor. Whereas the first version was on an 80's era South Beach vibe, Y?Arcka serves up a version that sounds like it came straight from the shores of Jamaica. I admittedly was hesitant to listen to this one when Zilla first sent it to me, but once I actually did load it onto the iPod, I found it hard to deny that Y?Arcka was a great addition to the series. I've always had a soft spot for songs that mix reggae and hip hop, a combination that, when done right (as Arcka has done here), has just the right blend of melody and boom bap. Guaranteed, after listening to Arck's remix for more than a few seconds you'll be unable to keep your head from nodding along, and you might even find yourself yearning for a spliff. Peep:
"I met Y? Arcka in early '07 and just hated him from the gate! This cat would flip samples that I had been sitting on for years WAAAY better than I could even imagine. He's like the Philly version of Madlib to me -- he'll take a sample and make 7 different beats out of the same joint! Double time, 3/4th time, boom-bap, club...all from the same sample. He's a virtuoso, yo. It's really a matter of time before this dude becomes a household name.
He dropped his instrumental album "The Un-Herd Vol 1" on Ropeadope Digital earlier this year and I really wanted to get some new shit from the kid for this project as he's got a track on my album "Fall Back Friday." Arcka will tell you (as he told me several times) he's not big on remixes, but he did an outstanding job on this track. Mally sounds right at home on this new beat and Arcka took the island/reggae vibe and added more headnoddage then I ever could."
As always, for comparison's sake here's the original version of Sunbathing Bitches:
You can hear a few more cuts from Y?Arcka over on his Myspace page. To be honest, though, you should really check out his album The Un-Herd Vol 1 if you want to hear what he's capable of putting together as a producer. All of the tracks from that album can be previewed over here (or, alternatively, you can load them through imeem). I started listening to it yesterday, and have been thoroughly impressed with it thus far.
What's that? You say you still haven't picked up a copy of Zilla's mixtape Bring Me the Head of Zilla Rocca? What have you been waiting for? Here's a sendspace link to d/l it for free.
I loved the original version and I'm warming up to this remix. I've now listened to it three times in the past few minutes and i've liked it progressively more each time. Ive heard the first version so many times its hard to hear it with a new beat but yeah, i think i like this new one too.
Damn the reggae remix is real smooth. Props to all y'all that had a hand in it.
12/18/2008 7:55:19 PM posted by K.I.M.
my fav remix so far. the original is dope too, but im feelin the shit outta this remix (for once).
12/18/2008 8:12:04 PM posted by $bags
"(for once)"
I'm actually surprised that more people up to this point haven't commented similarly. Not because the remixes haven't been good (obviously I think they've all been amazing, or I wouldn't spend so much time writing about them) but because the previous four remixes have been so far on the fringe of what most people expect from hip hop, I've been a little surprised by the lack of negative feedback on these. Then again, 99.9% of the people that come here just download the mp3 and don't leave a comment, so it's sometimes hard to get a true feel for the crowd's reaction unless someone really screws up a song.
12/19/2008 8:31:32 AM posted by fresh
I could see how someone might not want to criticize a song because most of the artists you put up on here actually read the site, so it's more direct and personal than going over to nahright and talking shit about the latest throwaway freestyle from Charles Hamilton or whoever. Don't get me wrong I have no problem saying something sucks if it does, but I usually think about it a minute before putting someone on blast here.
12/19/2008 9:33:02 AM posted by Will I Am
And for the record I liked this remix.
12/19/2008 9:36:53 AM posted by Will I Am
@ Everybody
Well this comment isn't negative at all, but I enjoyed the original a bit better.
However, the remix is cool the way the beat changes up when certain parts of the beat come around but I am still in love with the original so its hard for me to adapt to another beat.
Sorta like when cats did remix albums for American Gangster..hard to adapt to if the original was a dope song.
If what your implying is true...man, I need to take a shower or sumptin! I feel used haha! At least say what's up before DLing the songs and bounce, y'all! Jk
Will:
You bring up a great point. I said this line on my album, "I learned silence is more painful than violence" and that pertains to online reactions to music. I've read some criticisms of my music at least and was fine with it--you can't please everybody for sure. But if someone raises a valid and thoughtful criticism, I would definitely take it into serious consideration rather than a jerkoff just typing "FUCK DIS DUDE--HE WACK!"
Ha, well just so we're clear I'm not hoping for an increase in negative comments!
And Will, I have considered that possibility in the past but I think the virtual anonymity of the internet makes it (or should make it) easier to be critical even if the person you're criticizing is actually reading it. Though I will say I've considered it a lot actually in regards to myself, whether there would be a benefit of distancing myself a little bit and being more objective. But I'm not a journalist or a music critic so I think in the end the site benefits more by being closer to the artists. I get what you're saying, though.
12/19/2008 10:17:45 AM posted by fresh
@Zilla: As I think I've said before in the past, the only way to guarantee a decent download-to-comment ratio on here would be to change your name to Jim Jones, or to at least start repping Dipset.
12/19/2008 10:20:05 AM posted by fresh
I'm with Mally on this: "I am still in love with the original so its hard for me to adapt to another beat". Not necessarily on this track tho. All of the other remixes were good. I just happened to like the original better and did NOT want to hear a modified version of something i thought was perfect as is. I'm surprised I didn't feel that way on this one though. Who knows. Looking forward to more remixes.
12/19/2008 11:40:30 AM posted by $bags
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