With so many communities converging into one, there are times when material needs to be reconfigured through a different lens. It's one of the reasons why remix culture can be so vital to bridging gaps between two seemingly different cultures. There's no better way to recognize that than via Zed Bias' 160 BPM rework of Mobb Deep's classic "Shook Ones, Pt. II."
For those who aren't up on Zed, he's a mastermind in the UK garage scene. He's been around since the mid-1990s, and has consistently found ways to creatively test himself. He's scored remixes for everyone from Tiga (with Pusha T) and Skream to MJ Cole and many others, but his Mobb Deep remix is a bit different. This was done in collaboration with Nasrawi and essarai of Dubai's 264 Cru. From what he says, it was born out of Zed coming to Dubai and wanting to jam with the crew. In prep for a special back-to-back set, the squad locked in and knocked out three tracks in the studio. One of those was the track "Something Wrong" for Zed's album, but the other was this Mobb Deep bootleg.
For those unfamiliar with the sound, this is more of the juke/footwork sound popularized by DJ Rashad (RIP), DJ Spinn, and a number of Chicago-based producers, but has spread everywhere from the UK to Japan. The vibe on this one is crazy, and allows for some hypnotic moments (check for the looped "keep 'em shook" bit in there). This edit lowkey feels like something that dance crews could battle to, you know? This dark, menacing banger is available for all of your streaming and downloading below.
