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If you've ever heard him before, you know Bronx MC Mickey Factz is one of the best of the current crop of "mixtape rappers," a fact that he reinforces while dropping rhymes over old school beats on his latest project Back to the Future. What's surprising about Back To The Future is the decision to recreate most of the old beats that Factz raps over instead of just using the original instrumentals. Harlem producer Precize reproduced nearly all of the beats, from Tribe's Bonita Appelbaum to Black Sheep's The Choice Is Yours. You'll be able to identify all of the songs immediately, though Precize adds his own twist to each of them. For his take on Slick Rick's Mona Lisa, the song is stripped down to a few handclaps and the signature whistling from the original.
Following Precize's lead, Mickey builds his verses off of the lyrics from the original songs, but puts his own spin on things. On his updated version of Jay-Z's Friend or Foe, for example, Mickey describes a confrontation of a different sort. Unlike Jay's version involving two drug dealers, Factz flips the whole story into a tale of the music industry (though like Nas said, somehow the rap game reminds me of the crack game). The end result is that you'll be listening to these songs and constantly comparing them with the originals. For a weaker MC it would end up sounding like a series of watered-down cover songs, but Mickey manages to update some classic hip hop tracks while still staying true to his own style.
Two tracks off of Back to the Future:
Mickey Factz - Mona Lisa
Mickey Factz - Friend or Foe
Click here to download Mickey Factz Back To The Future: Flashback Vol. 1.
For more music, head on over to Mickey Factz' MySpace page. And while you're listening to the mixtape, go read Paidandpopular's interview with Mickey Factz.
7/29/2007 5:28:29 PM posted by Fresh