DJ Benzi & the Evil Empire

With almost no commercial releases to their name since 2002’s hustle-rap masterpiece Lord Willin’, any new material from Virginia’s The Clipse is bound to generate a buzz. So it was no surprise that when news of a Clipse remix mixtape surfaced months ago, hip-hop blogs and hipster podcasts were atwitter, especially when it was announced that some of the biggest names among eclectic-beat deejays were contributing to the project. And We Got the Remix really does live up to the hype. Hosted by the Clipse, it contains exclusive tracks and official remixes from B-sides (the DJ Quik remix of “Quarterbackin” with E-40 is a special treat), but the real gems are the new remixes. The Benzi remix of “See the Light” keeps the dark sensibility of the original but has a clean feel, making it sound like a new song. And the reworking of “Queen Bitch” by Diplo (best known as half of Hollertronix) has the Virginia boys meeting for a coke deal with Ladysmith Black Mambazo. With many of today’s mixtapes done as quick throwaways, it’s good to hear one that brings something new to the table with sweat, hustle and grit in it, much like the source music itself.Available at www.djbenzi.com.