Well, we called it.
Back in February, we wrote about “New York Is Killing Me,” the new single from Gil Scott-Heron, famed spoken word artist, poet, writer, singer, drug addict and criminal who many call the Godfather of Rap. In our assessment, BirthplaceMag.com creator and editor-in-chief and producer/remixer Manny Faces laid down $10 someone would flip the track, and rock over it.
Though he surmised it was a perfect fit for Mos Def, we should have also figured that the son of Olu Dara would also be a prime candidate to rock over the snappy, minimalistically dope track.
So, thanks to DJ Enuff and RapRadar, we have this:
Nas / Gil Scott-Heron – New York Is Killing Me
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P.S. To make Manny happy, here’s a throwback Manny Faces Remix y’all should check out:
Nas – Bridging The Gap (Manny Faces Remix)
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
It should be acredited as ‘Gil Scott-Heron ft Nas’…not ‘Nas ft. Gil Scott-Heron’…
You certainly have a point, though we could argue that if it was an official Gil Scott-Heron release, featuring Nas, then we’d be more inclined to agree. We don’t believe it was, so it could be argued that Nas ft. Gil Scott-Heron, Gil Scott Heron ft. Nas, or New York Is Killing Me (remix ft. Nas), are all incorrect, since it’s unofficial. In that case, we don’t really know if there is any ‘correct’ accreditation.
Manny:
If it’s dope in the first place, why remix it?
OMG -
Well that’s just silly. Why take “anything” and remake it, remix it, sample it, etc. Why take a classic R&B song and sample it to rhyme over? Why add Big Daddy Kane to The Symphony when clearly Kool G. Rap’s verse was dope enough? I mean I’ve always looked at the remix game, of which I played a big part the last couple of years, at least in my own little world with my own little fanbase, as a producer (or MC) adding his/her perspective to a piece of existing music. I’ve remixed dozens of songs, some of which were dope to begin with. Sometimes, someone would say I did an injustice, sometimes, they would say I produced a track that was even better than the original, and interpreted the vibe of the song in a different, enjoyable way. It’s all subjective.
Hopefully that answers your question. Then again, hopefully it wasn’t a rhetorical one… That would be awkward.
-Manny