Hey, it’s music.
Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five
The Megamelle Mix
Pump Me Up (Instrumental)
Do people still do megamixes? I’ve always thought of them as Cliffnotes versions of albums, minus their use as a study aid (although I love to imagine someone listening to this megamix as a means to cram for a final exam on Golden Age hip-hop).
The Megamelle Mix includes snippets from “Step Off,” “The Message,” “Beat Street,” “New York, New York,” “World War III,” and “It’s Nasty (Genius Of Love).” I got it off of a 12″ single for “Pump Me Up,” hence the included instrumental of that track.
Det Reirruc/Club’s Rappers
Axel F (The Beverly Hills Version) (Club Mix)
Axel F (The Beverly Hills Version) (Radio Edit)
Like Eddie Did (Club Mix)
Like Eddie Did (Radio Edit)
All four of these tracks are from an incredibly odd bootleg 12″ single I picked up a few months ago.
The “Axel F” mixes are credited to one “Det Reirruc.” A quick search on Google, and I found out that this is actually Ted Currier (backwards pseudonym!), a producer and songwriter from the 80s whose work includes George Clinton’s immortal “Atomic Dog.” Because of this, Ted Currier should be treated as an American Hero. This track also features the legendary 80s remix crew The Latin Rascals, who are given an “edited by” credit on the label. If you like early 80s hip-hop and electro, this is one hell of a team-up, and worth a listen. The combined forces of Currier and The Latin Rascals transform what was already a pretty legendary piece of instrumental electronic music and make it a beat-heavy, breakdance-friendly banger. It’s pretty amazing stuff. The drum break at the end of the “Radio Edit” alone is awe-inspiring.
Also awe-inspiring, but for entirely different reasons, are the two versions of “Like Eddie Did” by the Club’s Rappers (whoever they are, anyone know?). This…rather interesting little number is a rap tune about the career of Eddie Murphy. That’s right, it’s a biographical rap song about the rise of Eddie Murphy, and how his story should be seen as inspirational to all the young people out there.
It’s a good thing they got this song out before the whole early-90s decline/family film rebirth/prostitute picking up/current day hackery arc of Murphy’s career.