Jantsen: Gutter Music (2007)

::: So lately I have been getting into a lot of mash-up projects, most of which combine rap/hip-hop and intense electronic music. While browsing through the iTunes radio stations I came across one called "Psyphy Machine" that really caught my ear. The station revolves around this psyphy (psychedelic/hyphy) style of mash-ups and original productions, where hard-hitting electronic synths are combined with hip hop elements. One artist that particularly impressed me was Jantsen, out of Colorado. His work resembles the style of eDIT and Tipper, but he puts his own unique twists on each track. The mix opens up with a dope mash-up of "Still Bigger Than Hip Hop" by Dead Prez and "Ruck" off of Tipper's Tip Hop album. The entire set is an eclectic blend of styles, but overall it has a riotous and glitched-out feel to it. Jantsen also has another mixtape called Whomptronica, where he mixes other glitch-hop, psyphy-style artists. Definitely check both albums out if you are into this genre. Both are available for free download on his Myspace Music page.

MySpace Music

Girl Talk: Night Ripper (2006)

::: Take every pop, rap, rock, and dance song you've heard in the last 20-30 years, mash them together, and what do you get? Obviously, Night Ripper by Pittsburgh, PA native Girl Talk. This is one of the best party CDs that I have heard in a long time. The album is a chaotic and glitchy hodgepodge of popular music from decades past, along with club rap tunes of more recent years. It is unbelievable to me how flawlessly Girl Talk combines all of the genres into something that actually works. For example, he successfully adapts a verse from "Juicy" by Notorious B.I.G. to the renowned piano of Elton John's "Tiny Dancer." The album is so full of these clever and perfect mishmashes that it would take forever for me to try to recount all of them. But I can almost guarantee that anyone who hears Night Ripper will undoubtedly be impressed by his skill and choice in songs. It is pop/dance/rock/rap/crunk at its finest.