Dizzy Wright feat. SwizZz & Hopsin "Independent Living" Beat Stars Controversial Winning Remix

For those of us who missed it, Beat Stars hosted a remix contest last year for the song "Independent Living" by Dizzy Wright feat. SwizZz & Hopsin. Producers were only given the acapella vocals to the track and asked to create an original musical composition.  Though many producers enter for the sheer networking opportunities, the real trophy would be the cash and prizes awarded to the winner and all the bragging rights that come with it.

Last year Beat Stars' winning entry shocked many hip hop producers and became a sort of controversy over the state of music in hip hop. With some arguing that powerful over-the-top (banger) instrumentals have become a crutch for rappers to make a hit. Basically the argument is, if the music is banging (sounds hard enough), not so much depends on the rapper's lyrics, feeling, or vocal abilities, the beat is gonna make it a hit. Ok I admit, this is on the extreme side of the spectrum, but you get the picture. Creating music with frequencies that obscure the feeling and inflections in an emcee’s voice and expression, are becoming the centerpiece of the song rather than the rap artist.

This has resulted in a somewhat expected sound among beat makers and probably why the winning remix was a shock to many. French producer, Remi Desroques aka JointSmith, is a trained classical musician and owner of Wave Reader Productions. According to his website, he founded "Wave Reader Productions to produce all sorts of style of music from Classical to Hip-hop and anything in between." He creates music using live instrumentation, this means he does not use beat machines, 808 or simulation software. If you hear a guitar, it’s probably the in-house guitarist and if you hear piano or drums, it’s most likely Desroques himself. 

The art of rap is more than just rhyme skills, it’s about the total artistry. Think about rappers such as Medusa, Pugs Atomz, and KRS-One who's names bring to mind more than just lyrical skill.  Desroques's classical approach created a song that gives the natural voice and vocal range of these emcees room to shine. His beat doesn't try to compete in cleverness or emotion with Dizzy, SwizZz, or Hopsin. Rather he builds an atmosphere that brings their song to life in a way that highlights the urgency in their voice to make it independently, the “uppercut to the record labels” attitude, and their passion for hip hop.   

It's evident by Beat Stars CEO, Abe Batshon's, video-announcement posted on YouTube, the company knew they were taking a risk in this skewing era of hip hop production to select the Desroques remix as the winner. Batshon explains that in reviewing the entries what they were looking for was, "something unique...we didn't want the same old song on the radio... we wanted something new and different that could really expand on mood and feeling, on tempo." The results? According to Batshon,  

"He flipped it!...He really, really did something that I didn't expect. We didn't want to hear that same old trap beat, we didn't want to hear that same old sound everyone has been molded to love...we feel like Remi really did something different with the track. He made it his own ... very, very dope track"

At the very least, the Desroques remix gives fans of Dizzy, SwizZz, and Hopsin an opportunity to enjoy once again, in a fresh way, their powerhouse track, "Independent Living". Check out the remix and compare it to the original for yourself.