high five: hip hop for people who probably don't like hip hop

I originally wanted to do this post for black history month, as it is a perfect metaphor for black and white cultures working in perfect harmony (get it? music pun). But then I Brett Favre'd back and forth on whether I really wanted to do it. Eventually, I decided to bring this idea out of retirement and introduce you to five mashups that manage to blend two completely different genres of music and probably have no business sounding so good. So whether you like hip hop, country, alternative, or 90's soft rock, get ready to get your mind blown probably like the original songs more.

#5 Brenton Duvall - Mean Planes and Taylor Gangs
Taylor Swift, champion of country-pop. Wiz Khalifa, king of weed-induced mixtapes. Match made in heaven, right? Luckily, they didn't need to get into the studio together and collaborate; Brenton Duvall did that for them.

If you're a big fan of the Taylor Swift song "Mean", you will probably end up annoyed by this song because it only samples the first 2 verses of that song and uses them as the chorus. The rest of the song is basically "This Plane", by Khalifa. But it's dangerously catchy, and had me humming the T-Swift part for the last week. And everything Khalifa raps that would be censored on the radio gets played over Swift's innocent voice. It's so wrong. So wrong and yet so right...

#4 Li'l Jon vs Minus the Bear - MyGetLowTime
"Get Low" has been around for a while and still has people singing along with it. "My Time", on the other hand, came out over the summer and unless you are into indie-electronic pop-rock, you probably missed it. But it is still one of the catchiest choruses ever. I currently have it as my ringtone, and have missed many a call while singing along.

I feel like this would be a great song to play at a college party. I'm not really into dancing, but if I was, I'd imagine this would be a good song for it. What with the "getting low" and "touching in the dark", these songs are made for drunk college dance parties.

#3 Fortune Family - Take Me Away
You probably know the song "Take Me Away" by Annie Little from the Kindle commercial. It's sampled here with some kind of weird auto-tuning that makes it sound like tiny robot is singing. But just give it 20 seconds, and then the song transforms. Also, there are some great lyrical gems in here, mostly about Michael Vick and Danny McBride's character Kenny Powers (see Sac's bio under the introductions page). Now excuse me while I go order a Kindle on Amazon. I don't know why, but I suddenly got the urge...

#2 - Kid Cudi vs the Cranberries - Linger Day 'n Nite
The venn diagram of people that listen to Kid Cudi and people that listen to the Cranberries is probably two completely separate circles, with a handful of people in the middle trying to reach for both. Thankfully, one of those guys in the middle knows how to mix music and mashed some classic 90's alternative rock with Cudi's alternative hip hop. When the tempo of "Linger" is bumped up, the result is somewhere between moody and uplifting, especially with the string arrangement in the background.

#1 Wiz Khalifa vs Empire of the Sun - The Thrill
If you were to listen to this sing, you probably wouldn't even realize that it's sampling a completely different song; Wiz Khalifa's raps flow along with the original version of "The Thrill" seamlessly. All the lines about drinking and smoking fit right in with Empire of the Sun's psychedelic melody. If you have ever seen a picture of those guys, it would be fair to assume they have enjoyed their share of recreational drugs. They are basically a trippier, Australian version of MGMT. Picture David Bowie riding a kangaroo, and you're on the right track.

So there are a few beats to brighten your obviously-terrible Monday. I know this wasn't the usual style of high five, but if you want more of that, stay tuned this week. I've got a few low fives in the works. Until then, read some old ones and share with friends.