Remix the World Around You

One of the funnest things to do is take a song and transform it to sound uniquely different.  Whether that is to add a new verse, switch up the hook, throw on a new beat, or even sample the original track, a remix brings new life to a song.

Starting out with beatmaking, my good friend Daniel would implant this idea of using acapellas to some of our favorite songs to construct new beats to.  This was nothing new in the beatmaking world however for two new starting out 13 year old beatmakers, remixing gave us a template to hone our skills.  It was customary to hit up old file sharing sites such as ZShare or Sendspace to see what official acapellas were out there to possibly throw onto new beats we were making.  We would get acapellas of the hottest rappers at the time such as Eminem, D4L, Lil Jon, Ice Cube, etc.  I would also try to get lesser known acapellas like Tech N9ne and Pharoah Monche.  We would just take those vocals and throw them on a track to see how well the beats would mash up.  Daniel actually would release the remixes too to showcase his beats and even had a pretty dope “Blow the Whistle” Remix using Too $hort’s Acapella.

For me, I was just dabbling and throwing on vocals to see if I could match the tempo and the same energy at times.  Those were the days of learning.  Often time, I would use that opportunity to at least remake the beat and try to recreate the song as best as I could to dissect exactly how a beat/song was made.  It wasn’t until a little closer to 2013 that I actually started taking the remix route seriously and putting them out.

Want to say it was 2013 when BeatStars hosted a competition with Hopsin to remix his track “I Need Help” with the prize being a Native Instruments Maschine.  I was so stoked at the time that I tried to think of what my go to sound would be and decided that for me simplicity.  I attempted to do something completely different from what others would be doing around that time and even downloaded some sounds and clips to add as ear candy.   While the beat did not net me a number one spot in the competition, it did break the top 200 submissions and gave me a new life to beatmaking and remixing.

The next remix I took a shot at was the “Tabletops” competition hosted by my favorite hip hop group ¡Mayday!.  Same thing, took that acapella and made a track completely different than the original. Unfortunately, due to some timing issues, I never released that remix for the competition and ended up losing it on an old laptop.

I started really utilizing a remix mindset to actually create new beats and experiment even more.  Especially as I started to dive into 808s.  That’s where remixes are extremely fun. Using those as an opportunity to try and master a new sound while taking a song you already like and giving it new life.

Most recently, I have been remixing freestyles from my favorite rapper Wrekonize.  The original freestyles were performed on beats that were already owned, so Wrekonize wasn’t ever able to officially release the freestyles as tracks of his own.  However, being part of his community the Wreking Crew, Wrek released the acapellas to his fans, and I took the opportunity to remix them to be more officially released.  The most thrilling aspect of the experience is as I dive into his vocals, I pick up new cues and flow patterns I didn’t notice initially.  It also challenges me to create a new experience for the freestyle.  I have two more remixes of the freestyles that I plan on releasing in the coming months.

Long story short, remix songs you like to bring new life to the song for yourself and maybe even fans of the artist.  The remixes will also challenge you to do things slightly different to match the energy of the original performance.  As a beatmaker, you should always challenge yourself, and remixing is one of the best ways to do it.