CNET Networks Entertainment GameSpot | GameFAQs | SportsGamer | MP3.com | TV.com | Metacritic
Smirnoff touts hip-hop remix series
By Jim Welte - MP3.com
February 21, 2008 at 04:52:00 PM | more stories by this author

Vodka brand gives producers Just Blaze, Cool & Dre, and DJ Premier the keys to remix classic songs from Common, Q-Tip, and KRS-One, respectively.

Smirnoff is set to take the fruity-vodka trend even further, and is getting help from some hip-hop classics.

KRS-One and DJ Premier KRS-One and DJ Premier

To promote a new line of fruit-flavored vodkas, the vodka maker is launching the Smirnoff Signature Mix Series, commissioning renowned producers to remix classic hip-hop tracks, with each track matching a different drink.

The series rises above mere promotion with its pick of top-notch artists and classic tracks.

Acclaimed producer Just Blaze is teaming with Common to record a new version of the Chicago's rapper's "The Light." The track will pair up with "The Southside," made with Smirnoff Green Apple flavored vodka and cranberry juice.

Q-Tip and Cool & Dre will pair up for an updated version of A Tribe Called Quest's "Midnight" from its 1994 album, Midnight Marauders. The song will be linked with "The Blueberry Abstract," made with Smirnoff Blueberry flavored vodka and lemonade.

The final remix sees hip-hop legends KRS-One and DJ Premier joining forces for a new version of Boogie Down Productions' seminal "Criminal Minded." The song is connected to "The Cypha," a blend of Smirnoff Raspberry flavored vodka and pineapple juice.

"I'm honored to have the opportunity to revisit one of my signature songs and give it a breath of fresh air," KRS-One said in a statement. "I'm grateful to Smirnoff for providing the opportunity to work with such great talent on such a ground-breaking idea and recreate hip-hop songs."

Each song will be available for free download at the Smirnoff Signature Mix Series Web site, although "Criminal Minded" is the only one available to date. "The Light" will be available on Feb. 26, and "Midnight" will be on the site on March 4.

Back to Today's News »

1 Comment

Oldest First | Newest First
If KRS-One is on it, it should be good.
Posted 02/23/2008 10:37pm
Sign up now to post a comment!
advertisement

Latest News

Mick Jagger defies years as he hits pension age
Mick Jagger defies years as he hits pension age
Mick Jagger will be entitled to a basic state pension of just under $180 a week. But he will have to wait another five years for free roof insulation.

Picture Galleries

Related Artists

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest

Without question the most intelligent, artistic rap group during the 1990s, A Tribe Called Quest jump-started and perfected the hip-hop alternative to hardcore and gangsta rap. In essence, they abandoned the macho posturing rap music had been constructed upon, and focused instead on abstract philosophy and message tracks. The "sucka MC" theme...

Q-Tip Q-Tip

The longtime MC with pioneering alternative hip-hop trio A Tribe Called Quest, rapper Q-Tip was born Jonathan Davis in New York City on November 20, 1970. While a student at the Murray Bergtraum High School for Business Careers, he co-founded A Tribe Called Quest with fellow students Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Phife (Malik Taylor) in 1988; the...

Boogie Down Productions Boogie Down Productions

Boogie Down Productions was one of the most important and influential hip-hop groups of the latter half of the '80s. Led by the often brilliant and incendiary MC KRS-One, BDP were pioneers of both hardcore and political (or "conscious") rap -- and if that seems contradictory, it also illustrates the scope of KRS-One's talent for chronicling and...

Just Blaze

Just Blaze worked closely with Roc-a-Fella Records in the early 2000s, producing hits like Cam'ron's "Oh Boy," Jay-Z's "Girls, Girls, Girls," and Beanie Sigel and Freeway's "Rock the Mic." He worked closely with Roc-a-Fella's other in-house producer, Kayne West, on the label's many albums released during this same period. And like West, he...

Cool & Dre

Cool & Dre bubbled under the surface of the rap industry for a while, producing stray tracks here and there before breaking big in 2005 with a run of hit records including the Game's "Love It or Hate It," Ja Rule's "New York, New York," and Fat Joe's "So Much More." The Miami-based duo earned recognition for its steady affiliation with Fat Joe...

DJ Premier DJ Premier

No more than three producers (Dr. Dre, RZA, and Prince Paul) can test DJ Premier's status as the most important trackmaster of the '90s, and no style is more distinctive. Aggressive and raw, a Premier track was an instantly recognizable soundclash of battling loops and heavy scratching -- all of them perfectly timed -- that evoked the sound of...

Related Albums

A Tribe Called Quest "The Love Movement"
A Tribe Called Quest
Continuing with the subdued, mature stylistic flow of Beats, Rhymes and Life, The Love Movement, the fifth album from A Tribe Called Quest, is the group's subtlest album yet -- which may just be a polite way for saying it's a little monotonous. Throughout the record, Tribe mines the same jazz-flavored, R&B-fueled beats that were the hallmark of...
"Work It Out"
Q-Tip
"Blast Master Tapes: Best of the B-Boy Sessions"
Boogie Down Productions
"Unreleased Instrumentals"
DJ Premier

Tags

add
Data Warehouse Clear Gif