“S. Carter, ghostwriter, and for the right price I can even make yo’ sh*t tighter” – Ride or Die, Jay-Z
Now I may not be old enough to tell you what the first recorded hip-hop remix was but, I can tell you that, in my opinion, hip-hop itself started off as a kind of remix genre itself. When DJ Kool Herc decided to use those two turn tables to create a new mix of what was originally funk and rhythm and blues music, a light went off and the magic started.
Lately, I’ve been wondering to myself… where are all the remixes? Did the remix fizzle out in the 2000s through 2010s and become a cliché? Think about it. When was the last time you heard someone say they heard a remix? It’s been a minute, huh? So, what happened? Like any art form, hip-hop has changed and evolved but when did the remix become passé?
I still remember when I was in junior high and EVERY song that came out had a remix. (Full disclosure: my favorite hip hop remix to date is the Get By remix by Talib Kweli). It wasn’t just hip-hop music either. Many R&B artists would link up with rappers and make mashup versions of their hit songs which ended up being even more popular than the originals. I can still remember listening to Best of Me by Mya. The original featured Jadakiss and the remix had Jay-Z on it. Those were the good old days.
Fast forward to the present day and there are no remixes to be found in contemporary rap music. I’ve realized that instead of artists remaking their songs, they will have a lineup of several other rappers on their singles. This has even been the case with heavy feature albums like DJ Khaled’s God Did where 17 of the 18 tracks had at least one feature on them.
The question still remains though, why did the remix get fazed out? Did technology and the rise of streaming contribute and if so, how? Did remixes go out of style or was their decline just the natural evolution of the genre? In my opinion, remixes were not intentionally left behind but have become outdated because many artists are not afraid to have multiple features on their singles now. It seems to me that the remix has become a thing of the past and I’m not sure if it will stay that way.
Although remixes are nostalgic for me, it is refreshing to see that hip-hop is embracing change and as always, pioneering new trends in music. Remixes were always a way to generate new interest in a song by adding new production, new lyrics, and of course an additional artist. Although remixes are slowly fizzling out, artists can still learn a thing or two from them. Remixes were often considered the party version of a track and now it is more common to hear several artists bringing entirely different flows and styles to the same, original song.
I can’t say for sure whether the remix is dead (let’s not forget how some years back, people said hip-hop was dead) but it surely has declined in popularity. I wonder what it would take for it to make a comeback. Maybe a co-sign from a hip-hop mogul or superstar would do the trick but it is quite possible that the era of the remix has met the same fate as some of the other original elements of hip-hop. Like beatboxing and break dancing, the remix had its turn and did its job. Now we have to see where the road leads. I’m hoping that going forward, the hip-hop community will still honor the remix and the role it played in the growth of our music.
