Ever go Diggin’ In The Crates for some Wu-Tang? On this ambitious mashup of two legendary New York crews who both emerged at the onset of the 1990s, Memory Man shows us what would happen if you took members of the Wu-Tang Clan and D.I.T.C. and threw their styles in a blender. Several years back, the Austin, Texas DJ attempted to “illustrate how evenly matched” the two cliques are by re-imagining their classic material, mixing-and-matching their rhymes and beats.
Pairing Ghostface vocals with Diamond D production on “Mighty One” and Big L with classic RZA on “Put It On Incarcerated Scarfaces,” Memory Man serves up some solid blends that do their job in helping listeners experience their favorite tracks in new light. The songs that really shine, however, are the multilayered mashups like “Can I Take It Back To Daytona 500, Yes, You May,” which blends the lyrics of Lord Finesse’s “Yes You May” (featuring “The Rhyme Inspector” Percee P and D.I.T.C. member A.G.) with the RZA-produced Ghostface classic “Daytona 500,” then switches the beat to “Take It Back” off Wu-Tang’s 8 Diagrams, a collaboration by RZA and Easy Mo Bee, for Finesse’s last verse. Another more complex blend is “C’mon, Fall Back Or Protect Ya Next Level,” which combines Big L, Fat Joe and Diamond D verses from different songs over the “Protect Ya Neck” instrumental.
Of course, members of both camps have actually collaborated in the studio before—especially Fat Joe and Raekwon, who have given us a number of dope tracks like “John Blaze” and “Clientele Kidd.” A lesser known, yet still celebrated cut is Big L’s mixtape classic “Furious Anger” featuring Wu-Tang affiliate Shyheim.
If you dig Wu-Tang Clan Vs. D.I.T.C., make sure you check out some of Memory Man’s other projects—including the Raekwon-endorsed Cuban Revolution, which features some of the Chef’s post-Only Built 4 Cuban Linx material remixed by the Man himself.
[via Ambrosia For Heads]
