Remix album ‘Southerngold’ more of a hit than you’d think

By Alexa Schlosser

Created:
06/10/09 9:55pm

Last updated:
06/10/09 9:55pm

4 comments

I know mashups are not new. And I’m very aware that most of them are pure crap. Anyone with remedial DJ equipment (aka a computer) can create beats for accapella versions of songs or mess with tempos to blend two different tracks. As for the bigger names, there’s Girl Talk, DJ Danger Mouse’s “The Grey Album,” a lot of Diplo’s stuff, Team Teamwork (which I may delve into in another blog entry) and all those others I may or may not have heard of. It’s hard not to like this postmodern cultural overload, especially when it’s super catchy and easy to booty dance to, but I’m not claiming that mashups hold a very high-brow status in the world of music.

Now the freshness (as far as ripeness and newness, not greatness or flyness) of this latest mashup to which I will eventually refer is pretty high. The Internet started talking a lot about it last weekend, and I’m slower than the Internet so I’m going to talk about it now. It’s called “Southerngold,” and it’s just Santigold’s self-titled album remixed with a bunch of well-known southern rap by some DJ Terry Urban guy (who, of course, got cease-and-desist letters from Santigold’s Downtown Records label “Grey Album”-style.)

It sounds pretty standard, I know. And it is! But there are some genuinely cool moments on the album, and I think it merits a free download (which you can find on the Internet, but I can’t tell you where because, you know). Here’s why: The Santigold beats are dope and always have been. The rap lyrics of the South are raunchy and full of braggadocio and lend themselves easily to clever reworkings that make them sound less gutter and more stylish. Given the choice, I would rather listen to UGK’s “International Players Anthem” in its original greatness instead of over the “You’ll Find a Way” beat, but that’s just one of the few slipups overall. Remember how laid-back and brassy that “Shove It” beat is? It’s only logical that Slim Thug and Mike Jones spit on top of that while giving Santi a chance to “oooooh” all over the chorus.

I could do without T-Pain (per usual), but he’s more listenable when I’m being moved by superior production on “Can’t Say It.” And I guess I’d be into the Rick Ross track more if his lyrics weren’t edited. (We all know Ross would never say “Who you suckers think you trippin’ with, yes I’m the boss.”) A few of the tracks don’t really work as mashups. They include the usual stumblings that are to be expected from the genre, except the mistakes on “Southerngold” aren’t even coming from high risk, just from poor editing decisions. But there are real standouts, and they include: “Anne’s Plan (Ft. Chip Tha Ripper),” “Still Tippin’ It (Ft. Slim Thug & Mike Jones),” “Unfreakable Girl (Ft. Gucci Mane)” and “Shawty Is Starstuck (Ft. The Dream),” if only because that “Starstruck” beat is one of my favorites ever.

Most of the blogs I read are not very into the album, but I don’t read my blog, so I’m pretty into it. If you aren’t as familiar with Santigold, that’s much better than this, and if you have never heard the original “Nann N——” by Trick Daddy and Trina, it is the grossest and probably best thing that came out of 1998 and I don’t think it’s even on the Internet right now because it’s that obscene.

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Macklin

(06/10/09 11:56pm)
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The first sentence of that last paragraph caused my head to explode. My headless body is typing this through the last dying twitch of my nerve endings.

Matt Flint

(06/11/09 5:01am)
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I like how many shoutouts The Internet got in this blog post. ‘Bout time.

Rachael Hodder

(06/11/09 8:44am)
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Loving this mashup and was very happy to find it after reading about the c&d from Santigold’s label.
Terry Urban has been doing some excellent things lately (Viva La Hova makes both Coldplay and Jay-Z palatable for me). I’d also recommend Urban’s Grammy 2008 mashup album.
Nice write-up overall, though I would argue that as a postmodern art form mashups transgress labels such as low- or highbrow….

Liz Kersjes

(06/11/09 10:43am)
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I would’ve mentioned the Diplo dub of that Santigold album as well. It’s very clean, a good listen. I’ll have to give this new mashup a listen.

About Fresh Detective

Copy chief Alexa Schlosser writes about what’s new and interesting in the world of music, movies, fashion and pop culture in her blog Fresh Detective.

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