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sinjin-hawke1

Remember rap in 2003? Sinjin Hawke certainly does. Specifically, Just Blaze production circa 2003. Sinjin has been strutting his production acumen across a dizzying array of styles this year, whether they be bombastic takes on ghetto house classics, wildly textured club machinations or space-age grime/Memphis amalgamations. For his latest feat, the Barcelona-based producer has been enlisted by Mixpak Records to remix label boss Dre Skull’s “First Time”, the advantageous dancehall slumper released earlier this calendar year. In the finest form of his career, Sinjin took original and put it through the grinder, transforming the sunny original into the best Just Blaze approximation we’ve heard in years. Considering his prodigious use of brass, it should come as no surprise that Sinjin can pull this off, but it still managed to catch this listener off guard. The remix is up for free download (along with a Curses remix) so stream below and grab the package here.

dre skull

Last Summer, Mixpak boss and Calvin Broadus collaborator Dre Skull released the infectious dancehall-crossover tune “Loudspeaker Riddim”, but the track didn’t ever really catch on. Just under a year later, Mixpak’s profile has risen exponentially and the man born Andrew Hirshey has been penned in for a number of hiiipower collaborations, including bringing in Megan James (of Purity Ring) and Jamaican vocalist Popcaan for an redo of “Loudspeaker Riddim” that is sure to reach the furthest extremities of the blog body. James’ vocals have always lacked a certain emotive quality for us, but she excels on the surface of Dre Skull’s production, rising above the shimmering synths and booming kicks. “First Time” is out now on Mixpak.