12:12 Tune of the Day: Ghetto Red Hot — Supercat
Posted By Ben W. on October 26, 2009
“I’m Super like my man Cat, cuz I keep my styles jam-packed.” — Redman, “Green Island,” 1994.
It’s amazing how important a remix can be in the world of hip hop. This song was a decent track in its original form on Supercat’s 1992 breakout album Don Dada. But it didn’t really stand out. Mostly it was just kind of corny sounding.
Ah, but then Salaam Remi got a hold of it.
He added a massive breakbeat and a handful of simple, melodic samples to create something not unlike the music Prince Paul had been making with De La Soul or the music the RZA was about to make with the Wu-Tang Clan.
But the masterstroke was the siren. The siren gave it that Public Enemy/Bomb Squad feel, where the music sounds like controlled chaos.
Combine the perfectly blended sounds of 1992 rap with Supercat’s kind-of-terrifying cautionary tales of street violence and you’ve got one of the best dancehall/hip hop songs of all time.
Postscript: Supercat got a lot less credibly hardcore when he cashed in on this moneymaker in 1997.
All week we’re highlighting long-lost dancehall classics from when reggae went rap — 1991-1995 — in the 12:12 Tune of the Day feature.
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