Jay-Z & Coldplay - "What If We Cry?" X "Lucifer and Friends"

We used to use umbrellas to face the bad weather,

Now we travel first class to change the forecast.

There's no getting around it.  DJ Mick Boogie and sidekick Terry Urban are men of genius.  While their late 2008 remixtape of Adele's 19 was superb it is Viva La Hova that will forever remain the duo's magnum opus.  The 2008 mix up, which mashed-up songs from Jay-Z and Coldplay's respective discographies, still holds as my second favorite remixtape of all time, behind only Danger Mouse's legendary Grey Album.  These two tracks in particular provide us with further evidence of why the mash-up, at it's best, is a truly beautiful art form with the new instrumentals providing new meanings to the songs as a whole.

On "What If We Cry?", producer Remot had the tough task of bringing more emotion out of one of Jay-Z's more deep, introspective songs ("Song Cry" off of The Blueprint).  But the piano loop from Coldplay's "What If" and the chopping, which obscures Chris Martin's singing, places further emphasis on the range of emotions elicited by the song than Just Blaze's original.

Although it wasn't included on the original version of Viva La Hova, "Lucifer and Friends," was the only welcome addition to the recently released remastered version of the project (the other, "One Ruler," was a pretty big flop).  This CJ Luzi-produced track transforms one of Hova's hardest hitting tracks off of The Black Album into a melodic, street lullaby, simply by sampling and looping an early part of Coldplay's "Death and All His Friends."  The result is pure brilliance and one you should hear for yourself.

Peace, Love, & Hip Hop,

WordIsBorn

"What If We Cry"
"Lucifer & Friends"

Mick Boogie & Terry Urban - Viva La Hova: Remastered

P.S. As far as Viva La Hova: Remastered, I've attached a link above, but would recommend against downloading it as the original is a much better listen from front-to-back.  The new, non-sequenced tracks, just don't seem to have that same flow (though, I admit that I may just be biased by the sub-par "One Ruler," which leads off the new version).  The only real reason I can see for downloading the new project over the old one is for "Lucifer and Friends" (included above) or if you're creating playlists with individual songs from the project, are annoyed by the tagged intros, or seeking those non-sequenced tracks.  Still, I urge those of you who have yet to hear the project to listen to the original first.