Actually, it's a little more complicated. Let me break it down: Mick Boogie and Terry Urban are hip-hop DJs. Together, they came up with the idea for a mixtape that would combine a capella vocals from Jay-Z songs with beats sampled from Coldplay songs. (Think Danger Mouse's 2004 masterwork The Grey Album with a different English band.) Mick and Terry produced a few of these mash-ups themselves, then recruited a bunch of other producers to help out with others. That is Viva La Hova, and it hit the Web earlier this week.On one level, it's almost a surprise that more people haven't thought of this before Mick and Terry. After all, Jay-Z and Chris Martin have publicly shouted out each other's work many times, even collaborating here and there. But album-length mash-up projects rarely turn out as well as they look on paper. Usually, you get a couple of legitimately clever tracks, then a whole bunch of awkward filler, like all the well-meaning people of moderate talent who tried to jump on the bandwagon after the aforementioned Grey Album.
So give Mick and Terry their due: Viva La Hova is actually really dope, front to back. They got a nice range of producers to contribute, from established underground talents (9th Wonder, 6th Sense) to lesser-knowns who I'll be checking for in the future (nVMe), and nearly all of them came up with something worth bumping. The whole thing has given me a new appreciation for all sorts of Jay-Z and Coldplay tunes I hadn't listened to in a while. I'm particularly fond of "Never Changing" (below), which oh-so-cleverly blends Jay-Z's "Never Change" and Coldplay's "We Never Change." And don't miss the spot-on cover art!
Viva La Hova is available for free download online. Anyone else digging it? hopefully im not the only one who enjoys creative music.... by the way coldplay will be at the wachovia center 11-01-08
