It’s been a relatively slow year for rap. There’ve been a few great releases (T.I.’s King, DJ Drama/Lil’ Wayne’s Dedication 2), but most every major release this year has been either superficial or disappointing. But beyond that, there has also been a void in great remixes, maybe my favorite part of hip-hop. It hasn’t been for lack of trying. Hip-hop heavyweights have all taken on monster singles like “It’s Goin’ Down,” “Chevy Ridin’ High,” and “Hustlin.” The verses from the guests on each remix are pretty decent when examined alone, but in each song mentioned above, there is something that those verses can’t capture. On the “It’s Goin’ Down” remix Slim Thug and Rick Ross try too hard to be hard, while the original finds its niche as great mall-hop. On the “Hustlin’” remix, both Young Jeezy and Jay-Z mimic Ross’ rhyme scheme, but aren’t physically capable of sounding nearly as intimidating over that punishing organ.

So I guess the next logical transition would be to examine what actually makes a memorable remix. The best remixes usually have rappers who either a) don’t mind spitting really great verses for other rappers songs, or b) have so many great verses that they can afford to spit one on other rappers songs. Maybe the one person in recent popular hip-hop that best fits both those criteria is Ludacris. And it’s his verse that is the centerpiece of one of the better remixes of this decade.

Nas’ “Made You Look” is a great single in its own right. It was a song that Nasir needed at that point in his career- looking to continue the momentum picked up by Stillmatic—and ultimately propelled quite possibly the most commercially viable and widely accepted stretch in his career. But it almost pales in comparison to the remix. Jadakiss leads of the track with a typical, yet still great, Jada verse. It’s all there: the intimidation (“Why put you in a verse when I can put you in a coroner’s van?”), the bravado (“I copped your shit, now I break weed up on it”), and the self-introspection (“I help the game, it ain’t help me”). It’s pretty great, but just a precursor to the bombs Luda drops—his verse is a take your pick of grade-A quotables. Lova Lova is in his prime here, and the force with which he rhymes is usually unfound on high-profile remixes. He’s both hilarious (“You never stood half a chance like Siamese twins”) and cleverly slick (“I’m just a victim of society, it’s Chris the menace / With more shit out on the street than evicted tenants”). Nas’ verse is exceptional too, one that is essentially a victory lap.

On the remix of the Game’s “Hate It or Love It,”50 most likely threatened severe repercussions throughout the G-Unit camp if each original member wasn’t at the top of his game, so the results are outstanding. Game’s verse is an exercise in contradictions, taking shots at Murder INC while saying he steal clears of beef. His verse loses the sentimentality of the original and 50’s verse is a retread, so it’s up to the rest of G-Unit’s heavy hitters to pick up the slack. Thankfully, they do. Banks sounds genuinely somber as he sings the hook then desperate and resigned on his verse. A fresh-out-of-jail Tony Yayo shows that he actually is a human being as he sheds some light on his upbringing. The star here, though, is Young Buck. Toning down his posturing and energy, Buck delivers the song’s best couplet: “You know I’m still nice with my cook game / Look maing it’s hood thang, that’s why I’m loved in Brooklayn.” All three guests here are able to capture the feeling and mood of the song in both their deliveries and lyrics, something that can’t always be said for that camp.

Maybe a potentially monster fourth quarter will provide opportunities for a few exceptional remixes, but as far as I’m concerned, here’s to 2007.

[buy stuff here / here]