OCR01125 - Asterix 'Niggaz 4 Life'

[djpretzel]

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

[Protricity]

Excellent quality. Excellent skill. Great job.
This is what OCR is all about.
Heard this one way back and was impressed. Still am.
Hope to hear more from weed and ubik.

[PlatformerMastah]

This is what OCR is all about.

I hope you aren't serious. In all honesty, I am not pleased with this remix. Sure, the music itself has a nice beat to it and all, but I truly feel video game music just should not be this way. I am a bit biased since I do not like rap, but still, I didn't like the way this remix was much. Video game remixes don't need to be littered with profanities.

That's just my opinion. Flame me if you will, but this is my opinion, and if it is different from yours, it doesn't matter. This is just what I believe. I know there will be many people who love this remix, but I don't really care for it much.

[Dinobot 2]

I heard this on VGMix way back. I thought it was very creative. Rap is music, and I don't find this offending. However I woudn't drive through Philadelphia City playing this. I woudn't say this is what OCR is ALLabout...

[endblink]

It's this simple:

If you like hip-hop: You'll love this.
If you don't: Ya probably won't.

Bottom line, I'm not a fan of zyko on guitar, but I'm fuckin' sold on any future hip-hop he does.

This is not to be missed.

[sae]

I thought it sounded kinda bare under the voices, and they were still kinda hard to make out at points I thought. I enjoyed it though, I'll listen to it a few more times I imagine.

[Scuba]

I didn't like it much, considering the word "niggaz" was repeated every 5 seconds, and ironically, it was sang by white amatuer rappers (not to make this song an even longer racist stretch). I'm not for or against rap, but I still didn't like this mix. sorry...

[Stealwool]

I fucking loved it, seriously. 10 out of 10. Celts/Picts > Romans

I believe my quest to find the most hard-core OCR mix is over.

[Kawaiininjakat Haruspex]

I didn't like it much, considering the word "niggaz" was repeated every 5 seconds, and ironically, it was sang by white amatuer rappers (not to make this song an even longer racist stretch). I'm not for or against rap, but I still didn't like this mix. sorry...

Whoever told you zyko was white was a terrible liar. Ubik is white, however, but that's not taking away from the fact he's one awesome fucking musician. That said, I know you guys and your talent, and once again you never cease to amaze me. Keep it up. Wait, why did I say that? I know you will.

~Rhi

[GeckoYamori]

Ahh, it's one of the VGMix 'Launch titles' :D

The production quality and creativity is obviously very high, I love it. It's very satirical, so it's not supposed to be taken seriously. If you do, you just don't 'get it'.

[nostalgic gen]

lol, this brought a smile to my face. The production was good and, although the vocals sounded a bit ameturish in the way they were recorded, that kinda helped its personal feel that I think hip hop benefits from. I thought it was a lot of fun. The cheeky chorus particularly amused me. It reminded me a little of Outkast actually. :)

Addressing the song's contravsersial aspect for a moment:

To be honest I get tired of bad language in general more and more now. It's the sort of thing I grew out of when puberty stopped and I think it's a bit sad that most artists, but hip hop rappers in particular, still think its *cool* to swear. That said, I didn't take exception to the word "nigger" specifically. Like Pretzel says in his intro, it's not the word but the person who uses it. There are plenty of words around that describe black people, just as there are plenty of words to describe everyone else. I hear that the yanks refer to us brits as "limeys." Rather amusingly, and somewhat ironically, Nelson Mandella caused a bit of a problem with his continuous use of the word "coloureds" to describe black people. Media types were scratching their heads over the best way to quote him because "coloureds" along with "niggers" is on the list or racist words not to be used by the media.

Personally I look forward to the day when we emerge from this pc garbage and remember what racism actually is. Then we can throw these words around without all the racist angst that accompanies them.

[windexwindex]

there should be more hip-hop remixes

but really. I mean really c'mon.. what's with the lyrics? not that it's bad cuz they say nigga i mean. nigga. i said it. again: nigga. wee. it's just that the song doesn't really justify the use of the word. it sounds like they went "hey let's make hip-hop outta this. yeah let's add a 'nigga' joke in there for kicks" makes it seem racist, just sounds silly

needs equalizing too. the voices need compression. urgently. even snoop dogg, who raps like he was whisperin' sounds louder than this. the beat also swallows out the lyrics, yet doesn't sound loud enough at the same time. the bass doesn't have that rigged-up-impala-with-27-inch-rimz feel to it either. I wouldn't really have approved this, considering the potential it has with some slightly different equalization.

just my 50 cents. nigga

[DarkeSword]

It's a tight track no doubt, and I think the word in question is used appropriately. It's not 'nigger,' it's 'nigga,' a word you'll hear all too often around black people. They use it the same way surfer-boys use 'dude.'

This is hot stuff, and definitely, as DJP said, an instant classic.

[Longinus]

I'm not a huge fan of this one. All I kept thinking was, "Christ, is this song in minor or major key?" I mean, COME ON. If it's minor, which it certainly sounds like 90% of the time, then stop throwing in the goddamn major third. Jesus! Just stop lol!

Other than that this is ok, but I honestly can't get past those major thirds. Better they had just taken the entire melody and put it in minor. I'm also not a big fan of the modulation into a new key that happens around halfway in.

edit: I'm listening to this again, and damnit, if you just changed that one note! Right now it's like this:


You my nig - ga
Csharp D E A

It could easily have been this:


You my nig - ga
Cnatural D E A

Just my opinion though.

[Protricity]

I'm not a huge fan of this one. All I kept thinking was, "Christ, is this song in minor or major key?" I mean, COME ON. If it's minor, which it certainly sounds like 90% of the time, then stop throwing in the goddamn major third. Jesus! Just stop lol!

Bleh, I would have hated it with Cnatural.

[nostalgic gen]

It's not 'nigger,' it's 'nigga,' a word you'll hear all too often around black people. They use it the same way surfer-boys use 'dude.'
So what happens if the KKK adopt it, will the black people stick an 'h' on the end? Will "niggah" be the new non-racist connotation? Please, do me a favour. nigga = nigger. You either think it's a racist word or not. If you want to use it then fine, if you don't, that's fine too. But lets not go around kidding ourselves here.

[Dinobot 2]

there should be more hip-hop remixes


Yes there should!!!

[Kodeir`]

If the hiphop remixes would stop sucking and start complimenting the original songs themselves then yea, I agree - there should be more.

[Fritz the Cat]

It's not 'nigger,' it's 'nigga,' a word you'll hear all too often around black people. They use it the same way surfer-boys use 'dude.'
So what happens if the KKK adopt it, will the black people stick an 'h' on the end? Will "niggah" be the new non-racist connotation? Please, do me a favour. nigga = nigger. You either think it's a racist word or not. If you want to use it then fine, if you don't, that's fine too. But lets not go around kidding ourselves here.


Don't be such a nigga, nigga. :mrgreen:

[Riddler Sensei]

Bwhaaaaa! This is the coolest thing to come out of OCR recently. It's just hard to look at the nice smiling Asterix while listening to this. :lol: Not huge into rap, myself, but I do know what I like. As it stands, this is probably one of those songs on OCR that are most presentable to those who are deep into main stream music and are unwilling to experiment with anything else. Gateway drug....errr...song? :P

And in response to the key changes.......I love 'em. They add a wonderful flare to it. Very funkilicious.

[yoshi1001]

In my view there have always been two types of controversy: Controversy with a purpose and without. The former can be thought-provoking, infomative, etc. while the latter is just pointless.

This is the latter.

Now, I'll admit, I don't like rap that much (it's more fun to do than listen to), but really, there's no reason for the N-word to be used in this song-it doesn't accomplish anything, it doesn't add anything, it's just there.

That being said, the remix itself is kinda so-so, although it's one of the better rap "songs" I've heard. And it was nice to hear some vocals in a Remix for once. However, I think the effort could be better applied.

By the way, I like to interpet swear words in terms of what they really mean. So, um, what do African-American slaves have to do with this song? :wink:

[Riddler Sensei]

Nigger doesn't mean "African America Slave". It denotes someone with origins in Nigeria.

Also, the song would not have worked half as well without it. Nigga implies being, a pimp, playa, thug, etc. all in one. That's the message being given here, and it works well with the song.

[GeckoYamori]

Geez, you're all acting like a bunch of angry soccer moms about this. Just appreciate it for what it is: Music.

[Riddler Sensei]

Seriously. It's an awesome remix. That's all it is.

[yoshi1001]

Nigger doesn't mean "African America Slave". It denotes someone with origins in Nigeria.

Maybe, but you don't go to Nigeria and start calling people that. And actually the name only arose because that's where many slaves came from.

Geez, you're all acting like a bunch of angry soccer moms about this. Just appreciate it for what it is: Music.

It's not music (well, the choruses are, but the main part isn't). Music involves actually changing notes. Rap is rhythmic poetry.


Seriously. It's an awesome remix. That's all it is.

I've heard better-much better-in terms of rap and remixes.

[GeckoYamori]

It's not music (well, the choruses are, but the main part isn't). Music involves actually changing notes. Rap is rhythmic poetry

Now that's really shallow-minded and ignorant.

[zyko]

i guess this isn't a bad time to chime in.
by the way:

lyrics. (http://www.angelfire.com/music5/zyko/asterix.txt)

let me get a few things out of the way - i'm definetly not white, kids. in fact, i grew up in the ghetto in south sac with a predominantly black group of friends and essentially being egyptian and constantly picked on by misinformed suburban kids who wouldn't know there was more to a country named egypt than camels and sand if it bit them in the ass, my only recourse was to be taken in with those who considered me and accepted me as one of their own. those are my brothaz. they're my niggaz.

the word nigga itself, in the context i've grown up using it and hearing it used in, is a vernacular term directed at persons in a friendly manner (take note of the fella who walks in at the beginning of the track while i'm smokin a bowl.. thats my nigga perry ellis.. he actually had climbed in through my living room window when i was first recording the track and it was such a natural event that i had to leave it in.... he hollers at me "weed, nigga... whats up nigga?"
he isn't calling me an african american slave. he isn't maliciously attacking me with a "ghat" - in fact he had walked into my room with a couple 40's, a ridiculously bright hawaiin shirt on and two extremely hot white chicks behind him.
you're an idiot if you don't understand the meaning of nigga.

... like it was mentioned before, its alot like how white boys go around sayin "duuude... broooo" and sound ridiculously retarded.

i think the message of this track is getting lost in the whole argument.

there has been this longstanding misconception amongst some of the members of this community that there is some sort of rift between ocremix and vgmix. we're a fairly obscure community... and we got to stick together. what pretz is doing with ocremix is an awesome thing that everybody needs to recognize. the same goes with the staff at vgmix. this track was recorded last summer when vgmix 2.0 had not yet gone live and there was a growing tension amongst some of the kids in the community about whether or not vgmix was a valid site or if you could depend on it for good videogame arrangements. i started to see people getting polarized by the whole argument and it was starting to get very irritating...

so what better way of addressing the issue than with an arrangement about a game that is the very epitomized message of friendship. for those of you who are not familiar with asterix, its a game based on the popular french comic about two gaulois (to whom the french are descended) fighting back against their evil roman oppressors. they are a ridiculously dorky duo (very odd couplish) and in the process of their many adventures, asterix (the short, slightly smarter one) gets in trouble with the romans and is taken away... obelisk (the big dufus one) goes after him to save his best friend... his homie... his nigga.

in alot of ways, the arrangement is an opportunity for us to show that we can combine flawless instrumentation (ubik is the man... don't even question it) and orchestration of lyrics to a purpose... the lyrics are in fact about the game (if you've ever played it, you'll recognize a few cute nuggets of goodness snuck in) and not just a series of rhymed words for the sake of rhyming them. this isn't really about bustin caps and rollin on dubs, 4:20 nigga!. this is about friendship and about sticking together no matter what. till the end of time. that you can, through the convenience of a videogame, travel across distant lands, dark dungeons and tricky booby traps... to your death itself... for a friend. for your nigga.

one luv, y'all.

peace.
~weed

[Vig]

Excellent quality. Excellent skill. Great job.
This is what OCR is all about.
Heard this one way back and was impressed. Still am.
Hope to hear more from weed and ubik.

i wouldnt go that far. This track is well-produced, recorded, and it is creative and entertaining. i like it. but i wouldnt say it's what the site is all about. it's definately not in my top 10 mixes, or even top 20. however it's surely in the top 10%, and it's a solid track.

so, i guess my point is, sweet track, just dont let protricity go to your heads.

[GeckoYamori]

Are you saying OCR isn't about high production quality and creativity? I think you misunderstood what Prot said.

[Ubik]

Thanks to zyko for that post - he said everything that needed to be said.

This track was all about fun and camaraderie, not trying to offend or cause controversy. Those who mistake the term "nigga" for a racist slur are missing both the context (I'm an English major who's studied linguistics, I can say for a fact that in this context the term "nigga" isn't racist!) and the whole point of the song.

Thanks to everybody for feedback, positive and negative, and biggest thanks of all to zyko - I couldn't have done this without him.

Kick back and enjoy, everybody. :)

[Baldrash]

Wow... Consider me blown away. I'd tend to agree with Protricity; purely on a technical basis, this is one of the best songs on the site by a long shot. The lyrics, although they didn't have to have as much profanity, are very well done, and unless you're INCREDIBLY uptight, shouldn't offend at all. There's nothing in there that you can't potentially hear in a PG-13 movie.

Overall, this one's going in the regular rotation. It's nice to see more ReMixes with vocals, and this one delivers in spades. *Sets this on loop.*

[Scuba]

Sorry I jumped the gun like that, it just sounded like it...

[AarowSwift]

Are you saying OCR isn't about high production quality and creativity? I think you misunderstood what Prot said.

There are a lot of songs on this site of high production quality and creativity that were never honored with the phrase: "This is what ocr is about". The fact that this particular piece was pointed out for such rubs a lot of people the wrong way, and a lot of people obviously disagree with the sentiment. As for me, I haven't actually listened to the song and don't plan to. Why? I worked in a record store south of Chicago for roughly a year and rap was almost all they ever played. I never liked rap, but now, as a result, I have a frothing hate for it and all of its associated catch phrases.

[Ubik]

There are a lot of songs on this site of high production quality and creativity that were never honored with the phrase: "This is what ocr is about". The fact that this particular piece was pointed out for such rubs a lot of people the wrong way, and a lot of people obviously disagree with the sentiment.

Wait, so your personal genre preference overrides the right of the reviewers to express an opinion with any hyperbole whatsoever?

I wouldn't say that the song as a whole is what OCR is all about either, obviously, but quit getting all over people's junk about it.

[AarowSwift]

Wait, so your personal genre preference overrides the right of the reviewers to express an opinion with any hyperbole whatsoever?

I wouldn't say that the song as a whole is what OCR is all about either, obviously, but quit getting all over people's junk about it.

I was doing no such thing. I was merely giving a reason for some of the more negative reactions. I personally am completely neutral and have no opinion of the song whatsoever, since, as I said, I haven't listened to it.

My "personal preference" isn't relevant and I don't know why you brought it up.

[Ytmh]

I don't like the remix, but at least it has heart, and something to do with asterix, apparently. That's not so bad, but I really don't like this type of music, so~

[maplejet]

That....was amazing. Just as it was said before. This is what OCRemix is about. It is just not whether the remix is a masterpiece...sometimes it doesn't need to be. It just had got to be unique and have something that stands out. In this case, its the rap.

I can see why the judges agreed easily that this remix should be posted here. It's 'da bomb (yet I never played the game, prolly most of the users here have never have played or even heard of it). Will I burn this song with some 50 Cents or OutKast...prolly not!!

[bloodydust]

nigga plz

no no no.

you want to make it leet?

ng PLZ.

[bloodydust]

as a metalhead with eclectic tastes, i can simply say...

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA this RULES

i listen to rap from time to time (although the my regular playlist runs the gamut from megadeth to opeth to iced earth with stopovers in nevermore and iron maiden) and i prefer rap that i can walk away from feeling i've learned something. (sadly, most of mainstream rap isn't like this.)

what'd i learn from this? just one thing. some folks are way too uptight.

the lyrics are clever and nicely delivered, and the black friends i have who think 50 cent makes the earth go round and never heard of any video game made before grand theft auto 3 would appreciate this.

i'm vastly entertained by this mix, and i'll probably be playing it nonstop on loop for the rest of the night.

this mix makes da urf do shit.

[order]

that was the stupidest thing ive ever heard in my life, i think i lost 20 IQ points while allowing myself to listen to the 20 seconds until i turned it off. Also all these guys sound white?!?!

[Ubik]

(although the my regular playlist runs the gamut from megadeth to opeth to iced earth with stopovers in nevermore and iron maiden)

Awesome. :D

How about Nile or In Flames?

[Navi]

Yay, this mix finally gets its due. I have had it on my computer for the longest time, and i was hoping that it would get on OC, but the language on it made me wonder if it would pass under the eye of the Pretz.
This song can be defined in one word: slick.

Every rhyme that Zyko spits is like a jem; every second of the track that Ubik created is a jewel. This song is everything and the kitchen sink.
From the kick ass raps to the pitch changing vocals, to the hilariously ironic chorus to the shout out at the end, this mix kicks ass.

There is no way i can deny the excellence of this song. I have figured out about half the lyrics just from listening to it constantly (it has not left my playlist since october) and they just make me laugh like a maniac. As a rap fan, i can attest that the rapping is smooth and flowing, like fine water.

Weed, you are a lyrical poet. Ubik, i look forward to more of your mad genius. To take a track like that and make it into this!

I can say no more. Excellent work.

[neminem]

Yeah, I can't stand like 99% of all rap. But this is still awesome.

[bloodydust]

(although the my regular playlist runs the gamut from megadeth to opeth to iced earth with stopovers in nevermore and iron maiden)

Awesome. :D

How about Nile or In Flames?

IF is great, although i think everything starting from reroute to remain and later is kind of lesser. i like their chiptune of moonshield though. they also did one of the few covers of iron maiden that i like better than the original. of course, that's probably because i fucking hate paul dianno, and murders in the rue morgue is dianno-era.

haven't heard nile. what's their sound?

[Elazual]

Wow...
With or without the word "nigga" in it this is an awesome mix.
The lyrics were smooth and the beat flowed very well.
9.9/10

[smallestfry]

I have to say I vehemently hate rap... but I really don't mind this track. it's definately not my favorite remix though.

But, as with all ocremixes, it's in my playlist and they all have an equal chance of being heard. I love all the remixes equally... :)
All the remixes on this site are very good and expand my musical horizons and that's a really great thing...

I have to laugh when my neice says, "Don't you have any music that's not from a video game?"

[Ubik]

haven't heard nile. what's their sound?

Really really really harsh and heavy death metal. They actually managed to make something really badass out of Holst's "Mars, Bringer of War" too. :D

[HolyHiker]

Yay for the French Asterix and Obelix!

[Anonymous]

I basically hate rap in all forms, but this isn't so bad. The "I'm yo nigga" chorus is amusing and catchy, and reading the lyrics while listening to the song made me laugh more than once. I like how the song isn't about bling-bling or smacking bitches or killing people (well sort of, but it's funny) or anything. I love the first stanza (mongoli-ON!) and various different lines ("bleed out of various places" made me chuckle). The only technical problem is that near the end, the singers get distractingly out of sync. Otherwise, I like this song. I'm probably not putting it on my playlist since the language is a bit strong for my family but overall a great remix.

Now I just have to play this game.

[MKnight]

I don't really like it, because I'm not a huge hip-hop freak. I like the chorus however. The excessive swearing is... not really necessary. I'm not gonna play this in a car or on a boombox, I might get beaten. (kidding)

It's decent, not good, not bad, but decent.

[Argitoth]

The excessive swearing is... not really necessary.


I read this as I was listening to the few few seconds of the song and had to turn it off immediatly. Swearing only degrades.

[GeckoYamori]

You only hear what you want to hear. I don't recall a lot of swearing, maybe because I'm not really listening to the rapping.

[EternalLostLurker]

Geez, you're all acting like a bunch of angry soccer moms about this. Just appreciate it for what it is: Music.

Word, nigga. This shit is HYPE, yo.

[bLiNd]

Word, nigga. This shit is HYPE, yo.

for rizzl

ubik great production, and zyko is pimpin it once again....deez hooks iz off da chain

[kamoh]

I dunno...I liked it...

Make sure you take a listen to the original soundtrack...I'm definitely gonna find myself a rom or cart of Asterix after this.

Cool mix

[smh]

I'm not a huge fan of this one. All I kept thinking was, "Christ, is this song in minor or major key?" I mean, COME ON. If it's minor, which it certainly sounds like 90% of the time, then stop throwing in the goddamn major third. Jesus! Just stop lol!

actually the original song switches off like that :(

[DarkeSword]

I'm not a huge fan of this one. All I kept thinking was, "Christ, is this song in minor or major key?" I mean, COME ON. If it's minor, which it certainly sounds like 90% of the time, then stop throwing in the goddamn major third. Jesus! Just stop lol!

Wow, have you ever even heard of blue notes?

[OverClockedCritic]

hey, maybe post a karaoke version?
hehe.

[zyko]

awww... the profanity's a bit much for some?
that's cute

too bad my ability to manipulate the english language eloquently is not hindered by it...

[Ubik]

awww... the profanity's a bit much for some?
that's cute

too bad my ability to manipulate the english language eloquently is not hindered by it...

Word.

Even obscenity can be an effective tool of rhetoric at times.

[Ryuko]

If you focus on the profanity, then yeah, you're gonna hear too much of it in the song. It's there, but there's not as much as you may think there may be. Any time you focus in on something, it becomes more obvious; it's how things like that go.

So, focus on the profanity if you must, but have you even looked at the rest of the lyrics? Holy shit, the swearing can't degrade rhyme and flow of that caliber, beeytch. Example:

yea, you a hypochondriac, you wish you are what i is
a severe genetic birthonset defect called ILLNESS
its fitting that i leave my essence in a bloody effervescence
while i infest nests of self-replicating worms in your chest
asterix, BANG, packin heat for hours
world powers crumble when i double mumble, leaders cower
fresh out of the gate, i'm irate rattin out yo whole team
sleep-deprived. your dreams bust out through yo seams

Hard.core. I'm a slam poet myself, and while I tend to stay away from the profanity... wow, wait, it doesn't seem there is any in this verse! Anyway, what I was going to say is I have a huge amount of respect for anyone who can flow like this. Kudos, Zyko, much kudos indeed.

As for the song, it's definitely one of my favorite things to come from OCR, and I don't even like hip-hop. The rhyme is infectious, the beat is kickarse, and Zyko's mastery of the english language is amazing. Easily a 10/10 in my book.

[TheROsingleB]

all I have to say about this remix is:
ROFL-TASTIC
the anme alone made me laugh for a while, esspecially reading it while looking at the pic next to it on the OCR homepage :D

[olanmills]

I'm glad to see that there are a few people who felt like me about this song. The composition is good, and the lyrics are okay, but the delivery sounded rediculous to me, and I thought the use of "nigga" was rediculous. It's not that I'm offended by it or anything; I listen to a lot of rap. It just seemed really stupid in the way that they used it here. It's as if they thought it would be really funny or something.

I can't beleive so many people liked this so much. The more I hear it, the dumber the vocals sound, and the lyrics are starting to sound more rediculous too. This is a mockery or parody more than anything, and if that was really its intention, then it's a very dumb parody. If that wasn't its intention, then it's just dumb.

[zyko]

I'm glad to see that there are a few people who felt like me about this song. The composition is good, and the lyrics are okay, but the delivery sounded rediculous to me, and I thought the use of "nigga" was rediculous. It's not that I'm offended by it or anything; I listen to a lot of rap. It just seemed really stupid in the way that they used it here. It's as if they thought it would be really funny or something.

I can't beleive so many people liked this so much. The more I hear it, the dumber the vocals sound, and the lyrics are starting to sound more rediculous too. This is a mockery or parody more than anything, and if that was really its intention, then it's a very dumb parody. If that wasn't its intention, then it's just dumb.

try spelling ridiculous again.

~weed

[Mocha]

I have no idea why some people are liking this so much. Offensive or not, rap fan or not, it just sounds bland.

[olanmills]

I'm glad to see that there are a few people who felt like me about this song. The composition is good, and the lyrics are okay, but the delivery sounded rediculous to me, and I thought the use of "nigga" was rediculous. It's not that I'm offended by it or anything; I listen to a lot of rap. It just seemed really stupid in the way that they used it here. It's as if they thought it would be really funny or something.

I can't beleive so many people liked this so much. The more I hear it, the dumber the vocals sound, and the lyrics are starting to sound more rediculous too. This is a mockery or parody more than anything, and if that was really its intention, then it's a very dumb parody. If that wasn't its intention, then it's just dumb.

try spelling ridiculous again.

~weed

Good thing that we're getting down to the crux of the issue.

[Kram]

It's a great mix but just not my cup of tea. As far as profanity, I'm sorry man but you hear it so often now in music that's it's almost refreshing to have a clean track. Not exactly something to be proud of having or raving about. Whoopie-do, it has profanity. Now here's the problem. Like mentioned before some of us have family or kids and don't want them listening to such lyrics and it's harder to enjoy due to little windows of opportunity. Some people are uptight and/or get annoyed with vulgar language.

It just so happens that some words annoy the living hell out of me and "nigga/nigger" just happens to be one of them. I hate both uses of the word. You know when you see sterotype teens and whatnot you'll notice every thing they'll say or do and either have some reaction. I laugh when I hear a heavy southern accent but it also annoys the bejesus out of me. Like it or not you learn to live with it. Now as you mentioned before: its alot like how white boys go around sayin "duuude... broooo" and sound ridiculously retarded.
I feel the same way when I hear the word "nigga" because it's used so damn much. I hear kids walking home from elementry school in a wealthy white community say it. The word has no shock value other than trying to explain it. Not to mention that most white people are afriad to use it -- it's pretty funny to watch.

Now picture a song with the words "dude" and "bro" being repeated in fashion you don't like it. Then read notable reviews proclaiming how great it is. Bittersweet don't you think so?

Ah, now to the main reason I even wanted to register and to put on my big boy pants.

try spelling ridiculous again.

~weed

I honestly don't even know where to begin with this. You were doing so well up until this point. A forum no matter how renown is not the place for a grammer nazi more or less one who doesn't know how to use the shift key. That's no way to respond to someone's opinion, valid or not, unless you're a teen who just started learning how to flame (or an attention whore for that matter). It's not even acceptable in terms of correcting someone. His post wasn't screaming typos nor was it incohesive. That was a stupid move. Who knows, maybe more people like Ubik will kiss your ass out of this hole you dug. Just maybe.

[zyko]

wow.

first of all, let me clarify that i'm not defending the track or its message. i didn't really expect anybody to like the track, i had fun doing it and i feel it was an honest and genuine endeavour.

there is plenty of reason for somebody with family and children to be concerned about a track with profanity used in it... hence why David wrote the disclaimer on the front page of the track. anybody who did not want to hear the track after knowing that "nigga" was used (its in the title, einstein) should not have pressed download right then and there. there are plenty of people who do not like the word "nigga" - you can feel free to dislike it. i am not here to convince you that you should like the usage of the word. that is perfectly fine and "every man to himself" applies here

as far as the "ridiculous" comment... kram, you are getting a little too worked up about it. you need to chill out.
i did not mock olanmills out of malice. i thought it was a little odd that somebody who was questioning the intelligence of my word choice would in fact consistently mispell a word throughout his post. i still feel that my statement, though clearly mocking, was not done distastefully nor disrespectfully and i did so without resorting to curse.
also if olanmills is offended by my statement, i'm sure he can defend himself (note how he responded and how you did)... it was a little joking jab that i am sure he and i can resolve (i strayed a bit from the crux of the issue as he pointed out - so, olanmills... my bad)
but kram, thank you for being the forum samaritan that you are - i am sure he appreciates it.

there are no holes here dug aside from the one you are quickly digging for yourself. the fact is, there are more intelligent, tolerant people in the world than there are bitter, narrowminded ones... its borderline entertaining how you refer to me as a "grammar nazi" when you and a small handful of others are questioning my ability to use the english language which, so far, has been superior. the shift key is not the defining element of an individual's eloquence and if you think so then you are grossly misguided and need to give your pinky a rest.
again, i am not debating the use of "nigga" any further. you need to get in touch with modern times and the reality that censorship and art don't go hand in hand ... and also that nigga no longer means nigger and no longer refers to a subserviant african american

if you still have a problem with me and feel that you'd like to be thoroughly humiliated then feel free to privately email me or start a general discussion thread to continue this conversation but don't litter the review section of this track with your narrowminded flame. there are people who enjoy this song and are not offended by the use of a single word.

thank you for your feedback and expression of your opinion.
~weed

[Ubik]

I would think that the disclaimer made at the very beginning of this track's review would be enough to deter those who might be offended or have small children. It's not the site's responsibility to filter out material that might offend people - that's up to those who download the music. Considering that the video game industry itself has nearly been the victim of crippling censorship, I would dislike it if a site such as OCR set itself up as censors.

However, our intent was neither to offend nor cause controversy. We had fun in our own way, and the fact that zyko conveyed his message of camaraderie through such awesome rhymes should be more important than a few blue words. Obscenities don't automatically discount the artistic merit of any particular work; I should think that authors like James Joyce display that clearly enough (Not that either of us are James Joyces or anything). It's your prerogative to dislike something because of its lyrical content, but one cannot say it has no artistic merit because of an obscenity or two. Besides, zyko was writing lyrics both from and in tribute to his particular experiences, and just because one's opinions and experiences differ from his doesn't invalidate them.

In short: we appreciate all the feedback, positive and negative, but this is not somewhere that I'd consider soccer-mom censorship appropriate. Thanks again to everybody.

[CottonStar]

Well...I seem to be a bit late in the take..so...eh-hem. I'll give my two cents.

First of all, the content does not offend me. I could understand someone being offended by it, but I personally am not offended by it. At the very least, it's no more offensive than most other rap I've heard.

As per the song itself....the rhymes are pretty good. Not quite up to par with say Nas, Talib Kweli or OutKast, but that's hardly a fair comparison. :wink: Of course, I'm not a rapper so I neither claim to have superior abilities nor be able to help improve them.

And whatever inconsistencies the rhymes may have are made up by the beat itself. It's all funky like. Good drums, and a nice bassline. I'm not sure what all the other stuff they used is, but it's good regardless. Overall, a very solid remix.

[Slackbot]

Hmmm...

I have to say, I like the music much more than the vocals. I don't hate rap, but it doesn't appeal to me either, and the language strikes a sour note for this Deep South Bible Belt inmate. I'm not going to get all indignant about it; it's just not going on my playlist.

Props for using a track from the Asterix game. I had the cart back when, and after listening to this I'd get it out and play it again... if my system was still working decently, that is.

[herograw]

<3

great job, guys.

-rob

[Digital Coma]

Alright guys, let's keep in mind that this is a review thread, not a discussion topic. If there are any more personally relevant issues, continue through private messages or take it to the appropriate forum.

My mom gave me a lot of foreign comics to read as a kid, European especially, which you'd find at almost any quickstand in Delhi. Some I liked, some I didn't, but the two I came to love were Tintin and Asterix & Obelix. The former a more modern setting, Asterix was a wonderfully ridiculous series featuring a stunted but wily Gaulic warrior and a fat man with striped pants who fell into a cauldron of magic potion as a baby. The episodes were full of history, violence, poetry, slapstick, rebellion, witticisms, hedonism, and most notably, camaraderie. Ubik and zyko's mix brought all that back in a form I'd never have imagined, ultimately tying together the comic, the game's music, and the story's theme - friendship - perfectly.

One of a kind.

[andr3w]

Hmm, no one has asked this yet, but I guess this is as good a place as any to ask...
Do you plan on offering an edited version of the song? Or would that leave like no lyrics? Yeah I'm one of those who "can't get over a few expletives".

[zyko]

in response to the inquiry over a clean version of the song, i don't think it is beyond question and i'd love to record one for those interested in a cleaner version of the track.
however, just for the record, i really think the distaste over the present profanity is a bit much... endblink recently sent me a message concerning that very subject and made a very good point to me that i suppose this would be an excellent time to share with you:


Ubik & Zyko - Niggaz 4 Life

Use of word "nigga": 34 (including title)
Use of any other profanity: 7

JaY Z f/ BiG Jaz & Amil - Nigga What, Nigga Who

Use of word "nigga": 30 (including title)
Use of any other profanity: 36

Busta Rhymes - Break Ya Neck

Use of word "nigga": 35
Use of any other profanity: 15

Dr. Dre - Nigga witta Gun

Use of word "nigga": 21 (including title)
Use of any other profanity: 26

Snoop Dogg - Nigga 4 Life

Use of word "nigga": 52 (including title)
Use of any other profanity: 24

50 Cent (f/ Eminem & Biggy) - Too All My Niggas

Use of word "nigga": 45 (including title)
Ise of any other profanity: 20


------------------------------------

really, i don't think i swore nearly as much as some of you think i have and i still was able to put out 4 solid verses that did not need the "crutch" of profanity.
and "nigga" was the point of the title and song so its understandable that it was mentioned a lot.

i dunno, just thought you'd be interested in seeing those numbers.
thanks to endblink for the information.

and i will consider a clean version of the track.
thank you for your suggestion

~weed

[Straziante]

Sounds like you had fun making this, and that's all that matters.

[harpo]

heh. this was a good one. i normally don't even like rap, but this was fun to listen to, and very well done too.

[Slackbot]

I hope that you do make a clean version of this song. I like the music itself, and a clean version would definitely have a spot on my playlist.

[EvilHorde]

Excellent stuff!
The chorus is just great. It really sticks on your head. A great song, and its nice to hear rap remixes here, which are quite rare. Everythings quite in order here, and its made well. Sounds like "real" RAP.

If you´d be rappin "I´m a caucasian", everyone would think its great and funny. But now, when the word is "nigga" all of a sudden people get offended. Don´t get me wrong, of course I understand that but hey, isn´t getting offended by it getting a bit old? Okay, now I´m off topic, so its back to the review, or whats left of it:

GOOD WORK! :D

[Dhsu]

So when're you gonna submit the companion song, Brothaz 4 Life? :D

[zyko]

hahah Dhsu is very clever :)

i can't because it doesn't qualify as an arrangement (the reason it was moved from vgmix 1 to virt's personal space way back when)

i'll be putting zyko.com up very soon and you can count on Brothaz 4 life being one of the first things up there. also, if you tune into vgfrequency this saturday... you may or may not hear it... who knows

woohoo
~weed

[Al Capwn]

this is horrible and a disgrace to rap

i hope in the future you never do this again

and homie you are WHITE...you should neva EVA use that word

One!

[zyko]

and homie you are WHITE...you should neva EVA use that word

One!

if you're so sure, kid, then say it in my face and not from behind your computer screen and then we'll talk.
otherwise, sit the fuck back down.

~weed

[Atomic Dog]

For all you anti-rap folks, try listen to the mix without listening to the lyrics. Try to listen to the harmony and not focus on the individual words. Because this is a really really good mix, even if you don't appreciate the hip-hop genre. AND, I have to say, it's a very unique sound to the genre too. I can't really think of anyone hip-hop/rap artist that might have been inspiration here. The closest I can think of is Cool Breeze. Or Atmosphere. Maybe.

Anyway, I really like it. As for the repetitive use of the word "niggaz" - who cares. It's just a word. If it'll make all the philistines feel better, make your own mix and use the word "honkey" a lot. I won't bust your chops over it, promise.

Oh, and this mix is EXACTLY what OCR is all about. Video game music taken to new and interesting places. Anyone can take an .nsf and throw in synth and drum loops. Few people can do it really well. But only one in a million can do something like this. It's interesting, it's creative, and frankly, it's pretty nice on the ears.

10/10. Good job ABG.

[DCT]

this is horrible and a disgrace to rap

i hope in the future you never do this again

and homie you are WHITE...you should neva EVA use that word

One!
zyko's not white.

As for the song, I thought it was great. That chorus was the cheesiest thing I've heard in a long time - I love it!

And for all those people offended by some of the lyrics (omg teh N word!!!!1111): you people knew what you were getting into when you read djpretzel's disclaimer...if you didn't read it, that's you own fault. As for those who did read it, I have always followed one of the statements in it...

My personal take has always been that words themselves shouldn't be offensive - the ideas and intentions behind them should

And I'll close this by saying that I can't wait to remix this remix.

-DCT

[iggyboop]

Wow, now we can all and come and personally thank you...?

I've been a fan of your work since the brilliant "Of Transformants and Brevity" you brought to us a while back. The funny thing about me is, I can't mmm...understand lyrics. Like, whenever I listen to songs on the radio, I can't understand what anyone is saying, so by default I have to judge songs by their melodical qualities anyway. Of course a certain word stood out (gasp! :roll:), if the 6-page (and counting) review thread wasn't any indication of that already.

So, a welcome change to the usual OCR fare, one that again broadens the definition of "remix" on this site, as you did with the FF7 one. Great job, I look forward to your future works!

In light of your last post...take care?

[dark_inchworm]

While my fellow remix-loving friend didn't seem to be overly impressed with the piece, and I couldn't care less for a lot of rap (the money/guns/girls shit is bland), I found myself hooked to this the very first time I played it. The music is slick and succeeds in not being too repetitive, and the rhymes are more creative and intelligent than one may expect. Also, while I wouldn't use the word myself, I don't see any problems with "nigga" being used in the song; I failed to notice any usage which meant to discriminate against anyone.

The song can be campy, especially the chorus, but that's yet another reason why I'm obsessed with it. That is rap I can go for. Huge props to zyko and Ubik for this; it's quickly become one of my top 5 remixes.

[Facade]

This remix is kinda catchy and it's growing on me. The only question I have is... Doesn't the word Nigga mean stupid? I think it says that in the dictionary...not sure, but if I'm right then your saying I'm your stupid your my stupid. If it means race then... your my black (white) I'm your black (white). Also it might mean friend (?). Trying to figure it out...heh. Other then that I guess the remix is fine. :)

[The Xyco]

I usually don't like rap, or at least most of the mainstream stuff, but this mix put a smile on my face (which borderlines impossibility) from the moment I hit "play".

Seriously though, this is one of my favorite mixes. Very creative stuff from a guy who sorta has the same name as I do.

[Dhsu]

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/video/tokyo_breakfast.php

Watching this will forever make you immune to the "n-word."

(If those don't work, try http://www.pinwire.com/downloads-file-18.html )

[Aphaloghast]

Alright, I admit that when I first saw the name of this song on the front page of OCRemix.com, my first reaction was that someone took a classic game track and turned it into a 5-minute shpeil of "What I gots" and "What I can do".

And I just enjoyed the shit out of this track.

First off, I'm a fan of Outkast, Jurassic Five, and the like. I'm not a huge 50 Cent and G-Unit fan, but hey, what they do is what they love. There's no disputing that and there's no disputing Ubik and Zyko's work here as an innovative mixture of video game tunes and rhythmic poetry, as so many of you have put it.

Music is music, whether the lyrics are spoken or sung. You don't have to like it and you don't have to go along with it, but making music isn't just like pressing a button and there's your whole tune. If you want a quality track, you have to improvise and brain-storm. So I give the maddest of mad props to Ubik and Zyko for this track.

Additionally, I wouldn't mind hearing some other popular game tracks integrated into rap schemes. The "Game Over" theme from Friday the 13th (NES) comes to mind as a potentially great sample for a rap track. I'd like to hear more of this, definately.

- Aph -

[rodtod]

Anyone see the episode of The Chappelle Show with the family who had the n-word for their last name? Now that will change your opinion of the word for sure! :lol:

Great remix. Props Ubik and Zyko.

[DragoonFenix15]

Anyone see the episode of The Chappelle Show with the family who had the n-word for their last name? Now that will change your opinion of the word for sure! :lol:

Great remix. Props Ubik and Zyko.

Actually I think they were called the Niggars. Big difference =P

[King Matt I]

I HATE the Chappelle Show, but I DO remember this much:
"N-I-G, G-A-R! It's the Niggar family!"
...and boy, wasn't that a jolly tune to hear. But yes, in fact, it was Niggar, and NOT the n-word. Come on, Chappelle has FAAAR too much racial sensitivity to use the n-word in such a careless manner! :wink: Heh... I really do hate that show.

[Goldeneye]

I like the beat, the lyrics and what's done with them is interesting, but if only he didn't repeat 'nigga 'till the end of time' at the end of the chorus or whatever. Every time I hear it, I keep thinking if only the second line was 'nigga for life', just like the title, I'd have considered this a solid rap tune about two badass Gauls, instead of an amature entry. But hey, what do I know.

[fisherman]

Zyko himself said it right-on. Wish people could just get over the damn thing...

And DAMN the chorus is catchy! That beat is infectious too. I absolutely LOVE things like this where remixers take the original game stuff and take it in a /completely/ new direction, especially adding lyrics and such to it.

dark_inchworm wrote:
The song can be campy, especially the chorus, but that's yet another reason why I'm obsessed with it. That is rap I can go for.
I like d_i's perspective. I too hate the money/guns/bitches/blunts/weed rap, and this is my thing right here. Can I say again how much I love it? :D

Longinus wrote:
All I kept thinking was, "Christ, is this song in minor or major key?" I mean, COME ON. If it's minor, which it certainly sounds like 90% of the time, then stop throwing in the goddamn major third. Jesus! Just stop lol!
*laughs* For me, that's what MAKES the chorus so damn catchy! "Oh! Major 3!" And the modulation at the end? Absolutely kicks my ass.

[fetusboy]

this is horrible and a disgrace to rap

i hope in the future you never do this again

and homie you are WHITE...you should neva EVA use that word

One!

I agree and disagree. This is not a disgrace to rap as the beat is pretty good.Ubik did a nice job. It's just zyko's lyrics that show concern in my honest opinion. There's an essence of gangsta feel in the mix as threats are uttered even though the chorus boasts of friendship between "nigaz". There should be only one subject. One or the other (love or hate) should dominate the lyrics. Instead, your threatening your enemies in the verses and your showing love in the chorus. That is messed up.

As for the Al Capwin's comment, you can't judge a rapper's color by his accent. Just so y'all know, Double A Ron is Phillipino and English and he raps white, I mean "pure" white. His style's his own. If both these people are black and rap white, who gives a dang! Let the men do their thing. zyko, brotha, just keep a focus if your gonna continue writing rap lyrics.

[Futile]

I have never ever listened to rapp or hip-hop before this tune, so it has brought something new into my cultural horizon.

I was simply wondering if anyone has a transcript of the lyrics, I'm having a hard time picking it out of the song when played, but I do want to sing when hearing it...

btw. calling this tune racistic, or having problems with a white man rapping is too misguided (in my humble white assed opinion).

[Ubik]

zyko posted the lyrics earlier in this thread.

[Seven]

and homie you are WHITE...you should neva EVA use that word

One!

if you're so sure, kid, then say it in my face and not from behind your computer screen and then we'll talk.
otherwise, sit the fuck back down.

~weed

http://future.boomspeed.com/mikus/pwned21.jpg

By the way, this is a great track. Both the lyrics and the actual music fit together very nicely. Well done Ubik and Zyko, I'd give thie ReMix a 9/10.

[njsykora]

Screw the language, this is a skillfully made, top quality mix that emphasises the quality and creativity on show at OCR. Nigga or no nigga this is a must hear.
I feel strange singing the chorus as a whiteboy but that's just me.

For class' sake YES

[Shonen Samurai]

Ubik and zykO are now my niggaz.

Well done. I can't stop listening to it. The chorus will be stuck in my head for weeks.

Thank you for showing that vg fans can also be rap fans.

Awesome!

[Rapyer2986]

I had to listen to this a few times to discover how I really felt about this mix outside of the title, a touchy subject for many. I paid close attention to the lyrics and have few other listen to it. I was still stumped on how to reply. I don't know maybe too much usage of the word "niggaz," but after catching myself humming the chorus around the house I've come to the conclusion that I like it. So to give my two cents-- It's catchy and innovative. The rhyme was good, too (Nice work! :D ). This is a pretty clean mix and I think could be an OCR classic!

[Shonen Samurai]

Why does everyone think zkyo is white? Get your facts straight before you talk about "white boys rapping" when the boys in question may not be white.

[jessthemullet]

I've got to admit that the tune is catchy. I love the tune, and though I'm not big on racial slurrs, I do like the song. Yes, it is a touchy subject, but all in all, the song rocks. The tune get stuck in your head for days at a time. Good stuff, and that about sums it up.

[DJ_Ikronix]

Holy crap. This song is catchy as holy hell. :lol: :lol:

I love it. Excellent work. 8)

[zyko]

davis california?

damn, man, i lived there for the last 5 years. i own that city :) holler

[Kadosho]

Something different, but alright. Nice work.

[H Hog]

My opinion of the song? I dig it.
Most my friends like it, too. Both the black and the white friends I have, if there was any doubt in that matter to begin with.
As was pointed out, the usage of the word nigga is all but malicious, and not even nearly said as much as, say, any given song by Busta Rhymz.
I must say though, that while some songs on this site can be looped continuously for hours on end without getting on your nerves eventually, this is not one of those songs.
It may get tiring after the third or so consecutive playback, and can be better appreciated when dosed sparsely, but regularly inbetween a whole litter of other VGremixes.

...Oh yeah, hi, I'm here again. Been a while since I was last here, and I doubt anyone even recognizes me. XD

[Kaleb.G]

I didn't even know zyko was black. I could have swore I saw a picture of him (in which the person was white). Maybe I was mistakening him for somebody else (perhaps a person he collaborated with).

Anyway, I'm not a rap fan, so this doesn't do much for me personally. But that aside, this is a fun, well-made rap track, and I'm glad zyko & ubik had the cojones to post this mix despite all these people who think they're the experts on how the "N-word" or its variations should be (or rather should not be) used. Great work, guys! :)

[Elex Synn]

Well I'm by no means a fan of rap, but I do like this mix. Rather fun..

Though honestly I don't think I can find myself listening to this song for an extended amount of time. Not that the lyrics bother me (being black), but rock is more my 'cup-o-tea'. Robie zombie anyone? :)

[fetusboy]

this is about friendship and about sticking together no matter what. till the end of time. that you can, through the convenience of a videogame, travel across distant lands, dark dungeons and tricky booby traps... to your death itself... for a friend. for your nigga.

Then why do the lyrics mostly introduce the Asterix characters and have them brag about their adventures and how hype they are? It does sound hip and all and a little bit's good for the song, but I don't see the focus. If you can back yourself up by quoting some of the lyrics and emphasize the focus on the theme besides the chorus then I'll know what you're gettin' at. The swearing and use of the word "nigga" are nothin' to me, but the focus of the song bothers me.

You only hear what you want to hear. I don't recall a lot of swearing, maybe because I'm not really listening to the rapping.

That's exactly why people, innocent straight A+ students who can't relate to one bit of the rap culture, who listen to hardcore stuff like gangsta "crap," love it. They just like the hot beatz and if they actually pick up on some of the lyrics, like what they hear even though deep down, they can't relate to one word of what comes out of the subs. Some of rap's target audience is just sad.

[zyko]

whatever.

you kids will never ever get it.

keep your eyes open for the recording of my band's gig tommorow... it'll make all you stupid "rocker" kids who hate "crap" realize that i can rock it harder than you ever will.
versatility and genius grow off the same root. predictability, limitation and lack of tolerance are the spawn of retardation.

so quit your whining, find your third eye and open up your fucking minds.

[DarkeSword]

I didn't even know zyko was black. I could have swore I saw a picture of him (in which the person was white). Maybe I was mistakening him for somebody else (perhaps a person he collaborated with).

Zyko is egyptian.

[Ubik]

That's exactly why people, innocent straight A+ students who can't relate to one bit of the rap culture, who listen to hardcore stuff like gangsta "crap," love it. They just like the hot beatz and if they actually pick up on some of the lyrics, like what they hear even though deep down, they can't relate to one word of what comes out of the subs. Some of rap's target audience is just sad.

You couldn't be more wrong. Not to mention that your post is incredibly classist and even subconsciously racist.

I'm about to graduate from college with a BA in English, and I can greatly appreciate the lyrics of many, many rap artists. Hell, my sister's in postgrad law school at University of Chicago, and she will sit down and actually listen to the lyrics of rap songs.

Many people I know, including some of the whitest living-in-the-country people you'll ever see, not only appreciate the musical aspect of rap but its lyrical aspects as well. If you have an analytical mind that can actually get past a few reiterations of the word "fuck," you can hear that many rap songs are about personal struggle, emotional turmoil and achievement. Just because zykO's lyrics don't read like an after-school special doesn't mean the spirit of camaraderie, struggle and friendship isn't there. Believe it or not, words can have more than one level of perception to them! There's a little something called "subtext" you might want to get to know.

And if you refuse to believe that people of intelligence and sensitivity can identify with rap, you're simply denying the validity of an art form because of your snotty personal opinion and blatant classism.

[benevolensaurus]

Okay, first off, I like this mix. I don't mind rap as long as there isn't needless profanity thrown in and there aren't corrupt messages involved. In the case of this mix, the profanity never seems out of place, and the overall message is friendship and all, so what's not to like?

On another note: this has probably been said before (many times), but I've always thought of rap as a sort of poetry, only with music to go along with it. Music plays a part in it, but without the actual lyrics it's an empty beat. If you're looking for an orchestra of musical fullness in rap, you'll most likely be disappointed; that's not what rap is about. If you can take this piece for what it is, a poetic masterpiece, and have the capacity to appreciate such poetry, you'll enjoy it. If you can't take this piece for what it is, and just don't like rap, don't go off about it here, in a forum dedicated to reviewing a rap song. That's like going to Papa John's and saying "pizza sucks, you all suck at making pizza if only because pizza is not a food that I like."

Okay, so maybe it's not a poetic masterpiece per se, it's not Shakespeare and such, but it's better than most of the rap you hear these days. It just sounded so dramatic to say poetic masterpiece like that, so sue me.

[fetusboy]

That's exactly why people, innocent straight A+ students who can't relate to one bit of the rap culture, who listen to hardcore stuff like gangsta "crap," love it. They just like the hot beatz and if they actually pick up on some of the lyrics, like what they hear even though deep down, they can't relate to one word of what comes out of the subs. Some of rap's target audience is just sad.

You couldn't be more wrong. Not to mention that your post is incredibly classist and even subconsciously racist.

I'm about to graduate from college with a BA in English, and I can greatly appreciate the lyrics of many, many rap artists. Hell, my sister's in postgrad law school at University of Chicago, and she will sit down and actually listen to the lyrics of rap songs.

Many people I know, including some of the whitest living-in-the-country people you'll ever see, not only appreciate the musical aspect of rap but its lyrical aspects as well. If you have an analytical mind that can actually get past a few reiterations of the word "fuck," you can hear that many rap songs are about personal struggle, emotional turmoil and achievement. Just because zykO's lyrics don't read like an after-school special doesn't mean the spirit of camaraderie, struggle and friendship isn't there. Believe it or not, words can have more than one level of perception to them! There's a little something called "subtext" you might want to get to know.

And if you refuse to believe that people of intelligence and sensitivity can identify with rap, you're simply denying the validity of an art form because of your snotty personal opinion and blatant classism.

You know smart people who actually respect the lyrics behind rap as much as I do. I do see the sub-text in some parts of this song. I just don't see all of it. I know where the camaraderie and struggle is, but not the friendship besides what's belted in the chorus.

When I said my remark about A students, I was refering to the A students who actually don't listen to rap as a primary genre and regard it just as pure entertainment. And I'm refering to people of any race, not just white. arthropod stated a message regarding these type of people up above this post:


On another note: this has probably been said before (many times), but I've always thought of rap as a sort of poetry, only with music to go along with it. Music plays a part in it, but without the actual lyrics it's an empty beat. If you're looking for an orchestra of musical fullness in rap, you'll most likely be disappointed; that's not what rap is about. If you can take this piece for what it is, a poetic masterpiece, and have the capacity to appreciate such poetry, you'll enjoy it. If you can't take this piece for what it is, and just don't like rap, don't go off about it here, in a forum dedicated to reviewing a rap song. That's like going to Papa John's and saying "pizza sucks, you all suck at making pizza if only because pizza is not a food that I like."

Okay, so maybe it's not a poetic masterpiece per se, it's not Shakespeare and such, but it's better than most of the rap you hear these days. It just sounded so dramatic to say poetic masterpiece like that, so sue me.

In Canada we have either wannabe rappers, gangsters, or people who just don't respect hip-hop and see it as either pure amusement or some guys yelling profane words and statements over a microphone. I know what these artists actually go through and that's why I respect rap music. Other people just want to get a high from it. My people choose not comply to arthropod's suggestion and that's what I'm saying.

You've encountered the right people who can actually take in hip-hop for what it trully is. I barely do encounter people who respect hip-hop at all. That's my problem and that's my reason for posting that comment.

[fetusboy]

I didn't even know zyko was black. I could have swore I saw a picture of him (in which the person was white). Maybe I was mistakening him for somebody else (perhaps a person he collaborated with).

Zyko is egyptian.

True. It's all in the eyes.

[Ventrex]

I fucking love this song. I would even go so far as to agree that this is what OCR is all about--taking an original piece of music we loved in some way, and making it out own. Above all, what matters to me in this song is that it's obvious zyk0 and the gang had fun with this track. I mean, it's utterly overflowing with fun.

I hope to see more hip hop themed remixes in the future. :wink:

[A-RoN]

Just so y'all know, I'm only going to be back here once a week to review songs that make it here. Before I close off my connection with you guys, here's my extended thoughts on Niggaz 4 Life as my 200th post since my internet connection's being taken (I can't pay for it anymore so today's my last day).

I reviewed this track over at VGMix since the contreversy was huge. I've always wanted to take on a rap mix and be the first to submit one, but I couldn't think of any good ideas of a good rap to do that would be related to a game. Give me another half year after my EP's done, and I'll see what I come up with. Congratulations zyko and Ubik on beating me to achieving a dream I wanted to have post here long ago and being the first to release the most contreversial rap remix in the VGRemixing Community's History.

First off, I just need to say to some with a lack of historic education that if you have read the book "Of Mice and Men" 'nigga' or 'nigger' was used back in the 30s as a derogatory term for a black person named Crooks. Now 'nigga's used as a greeting or a hardcore substitute word for 'brotha.' The thing that caused alot of contreversy in rap is just that fact that genre's poetry speaks a different language that is foreign to alot of people even some people who are into rap hardcore. This language is that of the black people of the ghetto which uses many different types of slang words and abbreviations and codes to communicate incase the cops were in pursuit.

Here are my thoughts on rap first of all (this song included). There are alot of rap songs out there that can be used to promote a decent message but are delivered in a fashion the faint of heart can hardly tolerate. A prime example of this is "F*** the Police" which was a song by Ice Tea where he curses the cops that are bumrushing or shooting innocent blacks. Ice Tea never meant to target all police officers, he was just talking about the ones who shed the blood of the innocent. Since June when I found this out, I've been trying to dumb down my personal rap lyrics so that people can understand what I'm saying, be careful what I say, so I keep the peotry going, and not offend people easily. But then again, the core of my messages I personally put out are what causes the contreversy I've got now. If rappers have a positive or worthwhile thing they want the public to hear (and rightfully it should be done) rappers should just belt it in a poetic method that will be more understandable and acceptable. Regarding zyko's rapping, I'm not saying eliminate the subtle poetry, but dumb it down just a little so more people can get the right message. And yes, a chunk of profane slang can be chucked in the trash. Luckily, this track doesn't suffer too much from it. Thus, I feel the word nigga would be best replaced just to avoid the whole bunch of hate-mail and posts you recieved before, even if it does have a good intention.

Now we can talk about the song itself. Regarding the backing-beat/instrumental, Ubik's bass shuffling and sampling gave me the feeling that this was going to be so goofy. Everything's perfect here from the strings to the piano and harpsichord thingy. The beat was quite 808ish and this kind of machine pays tribute to some Dirty South thumping.

Now there's just a few things I love about the rap in this song. the fact that there's sound effects and random shouting from zyko in the back make this thing energetic and funny. There are some cheesy lines like "Brass-helmeted nigga widda warrior resemblance," and "Whack niggaz comin' up with backpacks." I was floored by the Star War's reference about Asterix comparing himself as Yoda to the gang as Obi-Wons. Nice. And who can forget the dog eating dog on the farm being transformed into a firearm. Catchy. Unfortunately, some of the lyrics are a little too bruising as zyko talks about the enemies bleeding out of various places and bullets from gats (guns) going through peoples' ribcages. I'm not as bothered with the words as with Shael Riley's verse on River City Rap, but here and there, a few things can clean the mix up.

Overall, the track wasn't too bad. The chorus was catchy, and I too find myself wanting to hum the words and replace the word "nigga" with brotha as Dhsu brought up earlier. Really,I feel the only thing that holds this back would be the word "Nigga" which can easily be relaced with a long list of other words I've conjured which I won't share. Sure the profanity can also be replaced, but zyko's the artist. Let him decide.

8/10

[Ubik]

A prime example of this is "F*** the Police" which was a song by Ice Tea where he curses the cops that are bumrushing or shooting innocent blacks.

Uh, "Fuck Tha Police" was done by N.W.A., which was Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Eazy E and so forth. And the name is Ice-T, not Ice Tea.

[NNY]

I'm gonna blair this on top volume next time I get in a car. Then, I'll count all the bullet holes in the car.
Great mix.

[jordex]

Haha I love it


So gangster

[joe_cam]

zyko's my nigga
Ubik's my nigga
We be niggaz till the end of time...

[ScytheofDeath]

besides that has nothing to do with this song at all, which is great by the way ( i hummed the chorus last nite while i was trying to get to sleep)





Nigger doesn't mean "African America Slave". It denotes someone with origins in Nigeria.


i dont know if it was said anywhere but it MEANS lazy person regardless of skin color...

just like fagot...
you know what a fagot(or faggot) is?
ita a bundle of sticks or branches, as used for fuel
OR pieces of wrought iron or steel to be worked into bars...



just do a bit of research before posting

[SilentKnight]

hmmmm...

to be honest, lyrically this wasn't really anything special, flame me on this if you want

i kinda have to agree with some of the other reviews, a little bit of profanity here and there is fine. but i felt that this song was kinda overdoing it.

nice attempt though

the beat and instrumental however were pretty good in my opinion, so no complaints there.

forgot to mention, your flow and delivery were kinda iffy. basically you're doing what I used to do when rapping, cramming too many words into one measure of music. At most I would suggest around twelve syllables of wording for each line, unless you're someone super fast like Twista. That way you won't have a semi-awkward slow then fast delivery.

[DrEw.]

Did this remind anyone else of that song that plays on the Splash Mountain ride at Disney? Just the chorus. Not the whole rapping part.

[Txai]

Wow! That's excellent! I love this ReMix! Great lyrics! Nice panning effect! The pizzicato on beginning is lovely. The piano is great too. Awesome guitar.

I really enjoyed it. It's very nice! Also creative with the characters singing: Asterix, Obelix, etc. Asterix & Obelix is a good comics for my taste too. Nice work, guys!

[Brim]

This song is awesome. Normally for me, rap is either hit or miss, but this is definitely hit. Either I'm addicted to a rap song or I hate it furiously. And I'm definitely addicted to this track.

Gotta be careful not to sing it out loud in school.

[Cyan_Ide]

Ok, let me preface this entire post by stating that I don't swear. Never did. Don't plan on swearing in the near future.

That being said, this remix is excellent. The music in the back is great in and of itself, it's interesting and dynamic. I really enjoyed the panning of the voices, too.

And I absolutely LOVED the lyrics. As many have stated before, the chorus is incredibly catchy, and today, while I was doing some art work, I had the chorus stuck on constant loop in my head. After reading both Zyko's own take on the meaning of the lyrics and the lyrics themselves, and the use of the word "nigga," I totally see the companionship qualities of the use of the word within the lyrics and context, and it works. It's really funny/cool to see the incorporations of the game into the lyrics. It is absolutely AMAZING to see this come out of the fun, upbeat NSF file that this music is inspired from.

All around great mix. One of my favorites.

To everyone complaining about the swearing. It's this simple.

This is a review thread.

Once again, DJP warned all who come to the download this mix of the lyrics found within the song, and if the use of the profanity in this song bothers you, and you ignored his warnings and listened anyways, then came on to this thread to complain about it, you SHOULDN'T BE HERE. Ubik and Zyko aren't going to learn ANYTHING about making better mixes if your only critisism of this song is about the profanity.

Poster: "Zyko: You use the word "nigga" WAY too much."

Zyko: "Phew, thanks for that invaluable input, seeing as I was going to base the next thirty mixes I do around the word "nigga," as that's all I care about, you know, offending people with it and stuff."

This is a review thread people, not a "I hate this word" thread. If you don't have anything constructive to say, or, in the case you enjoyed the song, as I did, a kudos for the mixers, then just DON'T POST AT ALL. It's called courtesy. Use it.

[SilentKnight]

well the word nigga itself never really bothered me

my main concern was with how they wrote and delivered the lyrics. once again, by cramming too much into one measure, it slightly made the rapping sound iffy.

content-wise the lyrics were actually pretty good, at least better than mine when i first started rapping.

but flow-wise, it would've sounded much better if they took the time, slowed down their delivery, and let the words flow more evenly with the beat. that minor detail was what kept this song from being an instant classic in my book.

[zyko]

except all of "they" is just me :)

[Magical Ninja]

Im not usually a fan of rap/hip hop/ec, But this is Awesome!

[Babylon Skyscraper]

Well...whew. Here I am making my rounds of reviews, and this counts for my third. Which means (that's right, kids) more storytime for everyone!

I was born in Cincinnati, and raised in Bufu (suffice to say a nearby white suburbia). For anyone who doesn't know what this is like, read your romance novels; all the shit about the political cutthroats and reputation whores is true. I won't say that I didn't have friends, but I will say that I did have enemies. Maybe that's true for all societies, but you have very careful terminology for your friends. If you get too close, you're a homosexual in a homophobic society; if you aren't close enough, you're untrustworthy, fickle, or paranoid. It's a Danse Macabre in the worst sort of way.

Sophomore year in High School, I moved back to downtown Cincy, and was enrolled in a public school with a predominantly black population. It was also a performing arts school, so there was a lot of open homosexuality. Being straight, white, and ignorant, this made for quite the culture shock. And I learned very quickly that there are a lot of true stereotypes of my darker-skinned compatriots. But I learned that this wasn't because of the color of their skin or the quality of their person, it was because of the environment they grew up in. I saw kids smoking behind the school. I saw bathroom stall poetry go unpunished. I was in an alien world.

Now, 3 years later, I've graduated and I still don't really feel at home here. But something happened when I heard this song. Pretzel (God love you) referenced this remix in another one of his commentaries, which is what drew me to it. I love controversy. I studied it in my senior year. I wanted to know what people had to say.

I'm the only white kid on my block. This isn't a problem...my Xbox was stolen by black kids (along with all the games). A man was shot on the corner of my street. The gunman and the victim were black. I've had philosophical discussions with the lovely old woman next door. She's black too. Now, they ain't my niggaz. My friends from drama class, both black and white, some gay and some straight, we watch each other's backs. When one of their apartments burned down, we were there to get him some new threads. Those are my niggaz. What I learned when I heard this song is the true meaning of "nigga". Someone said it earlier. True meanings get skewed with time. We haven't always spoken modern English, and many places even in the US still don't. It's a dialect, an accent, a regional presentation to a common language. Just like the British say "gay-rahj" when they go to park their cars, and the West Coast calls everyone "dude", we've got our "niggaz". Your nigga is your friend...take it anyway else, that's cool, you probably don't have anyone you can call your nigga. Brother, homie, friend, comrade, nigga...they're different kinds of friends. You can't define nigga so much as you can define brother, homie, or dude. But there is a brotherhood I've seen between people in downtown without all that reputation bullshit that I grew up in. Like the main characters of this game, they're oppressed by a higher power and have no one to rely on but each other. Yet in this dark realization, they're laughing their asses off firing up a bowl and watching The Matrix for the third time. That's what a nigga is to people who defined the word. Dictionaries can argue, but Pretzel even said in his disclaimer that it's the intention, not the definition, that counts.

You want my opinion? This song rocks. It accomplished exactly its purpose; present a satirical parody of an original idea. I find it deep and inspirational; it inspired me. It captured the idea of the game and put it in a new (modern) light..and I'd just like to quote the main site here, if you will allow me:

"OverClocked ReMix is a website dedicated to reviving the video and computer game music of yesterday, and reinterpreting that of today, with new technology & capabilities. This site's mission is to prove that this music is not disposable or merely just background, but is as intricate, innovative, and lasting as any other form."

Isn't that what this remix does?

So you know, as everyone has to have their favorites, this is indeed my favorite of the verses. While the chorus is catchy, campy, and cute, for some reason this verse captures me; perhaps because the percussion drops out to leave a voice with minimal music:

"so you still think u can face me on the battlefield of ages?
where i'm ten mages, fire breathin and faceless?
i waste half a language feedin my ten rages to break outta ten cages and see what war a fool wages
when the end is as clear as your beginning pages
i rearrange the stages of my rat race mazes in phases
my method is quite tasteless
i insist that you bleed outta various different places..."

On a final note, I don't like rap. I hate it. It's not that I feel that the artists neglect the definition of art when they make their rap; most of it now is unoriginal and has lost its meaning in exchange for an attempt to sell a record because the industry has become a capitalist cash crop. This song is ameteur and should best remain that way; its writers are not looking for fame or money. There's better ways to earn both. This is music for the fun of making music, and that is why this remix rocks.

[nepsus]

I made a clean version of this track with CoolEdit so I could listen to it more often. :P Great arrangement and no I don't particularly appreciate profanity but the lyrics are very creative and fun to listen to. :)

[watkinzez]

Excellent quality. Excellent skill. Great job.
This is what OCR is all about.
Heard this one way back and was impressed. Still am.
Hope to hear more from weed and ubik.

I'll have to say I agree with Protricity's statement made long ago. No, it's not my favourite mix on the site- though it's definitely up there. What I take Prot's quote to mean is that the mix takes a simple, catchy tune from a lesser known game, and does some awesome stuff with it, paying homage to the composer and the franchise material (that being the awesomeness that is Asterix), and having plenty of fun along the way. Going by the guidelines of the site, there's not much more you can do.

10 Days Later Edit- Oh yeah, did I mention that this song never gets old? Two years on, after countless listens, and it still seems fresh and catchy. I am so looking forward to rediscovering this mix 50 years from now on my old hard drive and reliving the memories. Not that I'd suddenly forget about OCRemix..

[Leon K.]

Yeah. Um, this song would be highly entertaining if it wasn't for the "Nigga" being thrown around every 5 seconds. It doesn't matter what the intentions behind it are, the word is terrible, and changing the spelling because some fools couldn't pronounce it correctly doesn't make it a different word. Black people saying it doesn't make it okay, it makes them stupid.
I'm sorry, I'm not going to preach here, but I think you should seriously consider either A: Revising the chorus (Because it would still be the same song, Switch Nigga to Brotha or something like that) or B: Remove it from the site. I'm as liberal as the next guy, but these guys got away with murder. It shouldn't be allowed because of the racial conotations. Regardless of intention, they are still there, and until there are no negative conotations involved with it, we should refrain from using it. Songs like this dont help. They make the word "okay". And I wish rappers would stop using it as well. You don't have to curse or say nigga every three seconds to make a good song.

[AlphaMale]

First of all, I LOVE this track and play it to everyone that comes to my house who has not heard it.

It is funny! and I love the tune, it is just awesome. I do however have a question, are Ubik and Zyko black or white? would be much funnier if they were white.

I get the impression that it is tongue in cheek, does anyone else get that impression?

[watkinzez]

Yeah. Um, this song would be highly entertaining if it wasn't for the "Nigga" being thrown around every 5 seconds. It doesn't matter what the intentions behind it are, the word is terrible, and changing the spelling because some fools couldn't pronounce it correctly doesn't make it a different word. Black people saying it doesn't make it okay, it makes them stupid.
I'm sorry, I'm not going to preach here, but I think you should seriously consider either A: Revising the chorus (Because it would still be the same song, Switch Nigga to Brotha or something like that) or B: Remove it from the site. I'm as liberal as the next guy, but these guys got away with murder. It shouldn't be allowed because of the racial conotations. Regardless of intention, they are still there, and until there are no negative conotations involved with it, we should refrain from using it. Songs like this dont help. They make the word "okay". And I wish rappers would stop using it as well. You don't have to curse or say nigga every three seconds to make a good song.

I take it you didn't read the rest of the thread.

[McVaffe]

Yeah. Um, this song would be highly entertaining if it wasn't for the "Nigga" being thrown around every 5 seconds. It doesn't matter what the intentions behind it are, the word is terrible, and changing the spelling because some fools couldn't pronounce it correctly doesn't make it a different word. Black people saying it doesn't make it okay, it makes them stupid.
I'm sorry, I'm not going to preach here, but I think you should seriously consider either A: Revising the chorus (Because it would still be the same song, Switch Nigga to Brotha or something like that) or B: Remove it from the site. I'm as liberal as the next guy, but these guys got away with murder. It shouldn't be allowed because of the racial conotations. Regardless of intention, they are still there, and until there are no negative conotations involved with it, we should refrain from using it. Songs like this dont help. They make the word "okay". And I wish rappers would stop using it as well. You don't have to curse or say nigga every three seconds to make a good song.

I take it you didn't read the rest of the thread.

I agree. That whole argument to me always sounded like it came too much from people on the "outside" thinking they have an idea of what the word (and to some extent the culture) meant. A good 80% of my friends are minorities, many of them being black. I can throw the word nigga around them without them taking offense because they know it's a joke or is meant in an affectionate way. Living in an upper- middle class 95% white neighborhood, I know many more people who would never use the "N" word but would be scared to death if their children was seen talking to a "black kid."

So getting all bent up on a word is useless... Actions speak volumes more than a word (especially in this context). If there was a hint of overt racism anywhere in this song, rest assured it wouldn't have been posted.

[Ab56 v2 aka Ash]

Ha, I remember listening to this song a few times the first time I downloaded it. Funny stuff.

I didn't read this thread (sorry), but if it hasn't been brought up, did anyone ever consider that black people saying the word "nigger" gives them a sense of ownership for the word? It trivializes what it once meant and strips it of its negative connotation.

[Broken]

The beat and little percussive touches in this mix (especially at the beginning) help make it even better than just the sharp lyrics and the excellent reinterpretation of the original song.
I think the pizzicato strings also keep this mix groovin'. And whatever the heck that thing is that starts playing at 0:40 is cool too.

[Leon K.]

Yeah, You guys have kind of missed the point. A: It doesn't matter whether it comes from the outside or not. And as a matter of fact, I'm a black kid living in New Rochelle right outside of the bronx. I am duly aware of how the word is use, and what it's connotations are. But yeah, Black People using it does NOT trivialize it. Almost all of the black people you hear using it are fools, or know no better. Black people didn't trivialize it, they copied off of white people and used it as a derogatory term towards OTHER black people. Somehow along the way though, It became "accepted" to throw around a racial slur as if it doesn't matter.
You don't hear white people walking around calling each other "Honkey" every 5 seconds. You don't hear chinese people walking around referring to themselves as "Chinks". You don't hear japanese people running around calling themselves "Japs". You don't hear arabs calling themselves "Sand-niggers". Why the hell is it okay for us to call ourselves Niggers? Because a bunch of stupid people decided to use it?
Yeah. No matter WHO uses it it has racial overtones, some people are just too dumb to realize it. And the fact that you had a bunch of people who knew niether the affect, apparently the history, or repercussions of using such a word, than posting it on a site such as this, is terrible. TERRIBLE. It doesn't matter whether the music is good or not (Which it is.) But the content is terrible. I hope that either the content is changed, or this remix is taken down.
I hate to be the party pooper, but I refuse to sit idly by and let people make fun of a people because of their ignorance.
And yes, their ARE racist overtones all through this song. I'm surprised they could get away with this.

[watkinzez]

Yeah, You guys have kind of missed the point. A: It doesn't matter whether it comes from the outside or not. And as a matter of fact, I'm a black kid living in New Rochelle right outside of the bronx. I am duly aware of how the word is use, and what it's connotations are. But yeah, Black People using it does NOT trivialize it. Almost all of the black people you hear using it are fools, or know no better. Black people didn't trivialize it, they copied off of white people and used it as a derogatory term towards OTHER black people. Somehow along the way though, It became "accepted" to throw around a racial slur as if it doesn't matter.
You don't hear white people walking around calling each other "Honkey" every 5 seconds. You don't hear chinese people walking around referring to themselves as "Chinks". You don't hear japanese people running around calling themselves "Japs". You don't hear arabs calling themselves "Sand-niggers". Why the hell is it okay for us to call ourselves Niggers? Because a bunch of stupid people decided to use it?
Yeah. No matter WHO uses it it has racial overtones, some people are just too dumb to realize it. And the fact that you had a bunch of people who knew niether the affect, apparently the history, or repercussions of using such a word, than posting it on a site such as this, is terrible. TERRIBLE. It doesn't matter whether the music is good or not (Which it is.) But the content is terrible. I hope that either the content is changed, or this remix is taken down.
I hate to be the party pooper, but I refuse to sit idly by and let people make fun of a people because of their ignorance.
And yes, their ARE racist overtones all through this song. I'm surprised they could get away with this.

You still haven't read the thread. Zyko isn't white- he's Egyptian, and his intentions were definitely not what you're reading into this. Check his words on pages 2, 4 and 5.

[zyko]

http://www.vgmix.com/song_view.php?song_id=1445

[Cer_ber_uS]

Damnit, I just wrote this giant thing about how much this song is amazing, even if it is rap, but this comp had to be retarded and now I lost it all :x

I'll at least say this song is a 10/10, that Zyko is great for making a rap song that doesn't make me vomit in my mouth a little bit, you people that are all angry about the racial slurs need to read before you make an argument, and that Obelix's part is just amazing.

Oh, and Zyko, is there any way I can get this onto an iPod or something like it? A lot of people I know need to hear this. :D

Yeah. Um, this song would be highly entertaining if it wasn't for the "Nigga" being thrown around every 5 seconds. It doesn't matter what the intentions behind it are, the word is terrible, and changing the spelling because some fools couldn't pronounce it correctly doesn't make it a different word. Black people saying it doesn't make it okay, it makes them stupid.
I'm sorry, I'm not going to preach here, but I think you should seriously consider either A: Revising the chorus (Because it would still be the same song, Switch Nigga to Brotha or something like that) or B: Remove it from the site. I'm as liberal as the next guy, but these guys got away with murder. It shouldn't be allowed because of the racial conotations. Regardless of intention, they are still there, and until there are no negative conotations involved with it, we should refrain from using it. Songs like this dont help. They make the word "okay". And I wish rappers would stop using it as well. You don't have to curse or say nigga every three seconds to make a good song.

well ur my brotha
and i'm ur brotha
and we all brotha's till the end of time
rhyme after rhyme
day or night
we all brotha's till the end of time

Try to sing that with the bg music in your head. It just doesn't go with the beat at all. And this isn't murder at all. There's so much worse out there that poisons people's minds. Like... most other rap! If anything, these guys would get off with a warning; if being the key word.

I do agree with you on the point that swearing doesn't make a song "good". But that's not what I like when I hear this song. I like that it's catchy, yet it doesn't make me want to shove a pistol into my eye and pull the trigger after stabbing my eardrums with a Q-tip.

[Navi]

Oh, and Zyko, is there any way I can get this onto an iPod or something like it? A lot of people I know need to hear this. :D

shouldn't it work like any other mp3?

[ChloroPhil]

It doesn't matter what the intentions behind it are, the word is terrible, and changing the spelling because some fools couldn't pronounce it correctly doesn't make it a different word.

I am mixed, and don't use the word, but am around it regularly. I certainly don't advocate its use, but for the sake of honesty it doesn't really bother me when I hear black people say it. I've certainly heard plenty of people that I would not call "fools" say it.
At any rate, it bugs me whenever someone calls a group of people "fools" or anything similar for pronouncing words different than white people. Black people and white people in America have different linguistic backgrounds, and speak different dialects. (obviously not all black people and all white people, but from a general historical standpoint, they're comin' from different angles) Black people didn't say, "we'll change the pronunciation and make it our word," - it was just their natural pronunciation.
I like how when African Americans, who are historically victims of social isolation and denied education, pronounce a word different from the standard, it's "wrong," whereas I've never heard of anyone anywhere attempt to correct the speech of a white person from the south or tell them that the way they speak is wrong, despite the fact that it has many phonetic/lexical/other deviations from the standard. No one expects them to change the way they speak or thinks that it's important that they do. Seems more funny when there is a theory out there that says some of the similarities between Ebonics and Southern English are the result of white children being raised by black women and playing with black children.

So, yeah, Leon K obviously wants the best for the African American community as is evident from his concerns, but be fair to yourself/black people/half of me.


Well, now that this became such an issue, make sure that none of you ever say the word "gyp/gip" as in "I got gipped," because that's a racist word.

You don't have to curse or say nigga every three seconds to make a good song.

I agree to the fullest.


Apologies to Ubik & Zyko for venting in your thread.
Cool song, everything works together well. I really like the beat. Somehow it feels like your voice is cleaner in this song than the other songs of yours that I've heard. I really like your lyrical style, although I'm another person that'd prefer less cursin'. My friends liked the song.

[Sinewav]

What makes a word offensive? It's when some means it offensively and/or people take offense to it.

With the exception of old books like Mark Twain, I have never heard the word used in a negative way. In fact, the only other times I've ever heard that word was when it was used to refer to someone that the person was particularly fond of. I have a white friend (who hangs out with a lot of black people), who was telling me about how one of the greatest honors he has ever felt was when his black friends started refering to him as "nigga" (as well as each other). I was hanging out with a black pastor in the city, and several of his friends who were very happy to see him exclaimed "Hey! There's my nigger!"... to a pastor. The truth is that the word "nigger" is a very context sensitive word and has changed in meaning.

Anyways, I fear that I'm helping this thread derail, so I'll say a little something about the song and hopefully get us back on track here....

That bass line is really nice. That alone can get stuck in your head for a while. The rest of the song is catchy too. It'll get lodged in your head pretty bad, which is a curse and a blessing. It's a good thing, because it's a fun song, but you really have to be careful not to start singing it around certain people... for obvious reasons.

I noticed that there is some fuzz going on in the background. Really not a big deal, but I couldn't help but notice that this wasn't exactly the most well-recorded song I've ever heard. Casual listeners will probably never notice the difference.

I can tell from little things like the pitch shifting part and the little Michael Jackson sounding thing at the end that you guys had fun making this. At times it almost seems like a really well put together joke tune, which I appreciate. Wait a minute... are you guys even black? I might have a problem with the whole "nigga" thing after all. :wink:

The key change near the end is a bit jarring, and it seems no matter how many times I listen to the song (I've had this song for a while) I can't get used to it. I adjust to key changes just fine... even the harsh ones... but even by the end of this song, my head is stick stuck in the key that you were in for the first part. Frankly, I think it was an unnecessary addition of the song, and it would have done fine (better actually) without it.

Besides that, this is one of my favorite songs on the site. I currently have this song as track 2 on a mix CD that I've been listening to non-stop lately, and it hasn't gotten old yet. Even though I don't usually listen to rap music, I guess there's something about OC Remix brings out some very entertaining rap. It's good stuff. MORE RAP MIXES, PEOPLE!

[Mullenkamp]

(Edit: It should be noted, that the song is pretty darn good, or at least worth a listen, especially for the semi-Micheal Jackson impersonation thing someone mentioned. Hope this sentiment doesn't undermine everything else I wrote...but I had to stay on topic at least a bit)

It's very strange that you mention Mark Twain, considering that's one of the only times I can somewhat look "past" the deragatory language because of two reasons: 1, the book takes place in the South. People in the South were racist sons of guns for the most part back then, their not going to be politically correct. Two, because despite how many times the word is used in the book, it all seemed to be...I don't know, funny, considering the fact that the greatest, kindest, and indeed, best person in the whole book is Jim. With the exception of a few of the supporting characters (Mary, I think her name was, and her sisters, for instance, and Aunt Polly) everyone in the book Huck encounters is either a liar, a cheat, a racist, a murderer, a human being consumed by a senseless, and murderous rage (as in the case of the Grangerfords and Sheperdsons) or generally bad people. Jim is the only honest, kind, and otherwise good person in the whole book.

No matter what you say, or what is going on in the society however, the context of that word will never change. It represents a part of the most vile underbelly of America's history. I don't care if some black people forget that and for some reason look at the word with some degree of misplaced and misguided...adoration towards another person. The word is not a title. It is an insult. The word idiot will never be considered a title of honor. Neither should this word. If a friend of mine came up to me, a very good friend, and said "My Nigga" as it usually works, I might fancy amusing a few times by letting him give me some dap, but sooner or later I'd have to profess my annoyance towards the use of the word mroe and more frequently as some substitute for the title of "friend" and I'd have to tell him the same thing I'd tell anybody; I'm nobody's Nigga.

There's only one group of people to blame in the present time for everyone's apparent ability to push it off as something that isn't a big deal; the African-American community at large. Stop calling each other a word that was used to subjugate, your, my, ancestors. Stop referring to yourselves by the same degrading term that was spat out by countless ignorant women, children, and men. Stop it. Grow up. It's not cool. It's not smart. It's one of the dumbest things we could ever do because it helps cover up the vile and bleak history of that term. It helps people kind of...cover it up so much easier when you veil the truly hideous meaning behind the all of this ignorant hoopla. My gosh, stop making it so much easier for people to accept such a word into proper society. We're better then this. We have more sense than this. The people who died, the people who worked so hard to secure our equality would turn in their graves ever so slightly and maybe more so if they saw what we were doing, how we're forgetting something so important; the ignorance, the bleak and terrible history behind such a word, and the shadow of despair that comes from it.

We need to make it where white people, and everyone stops thinking it's okay to say the word at all. No, that "Do as I say..." and "It's different because he's not black" crap is not going to fly, and rightfully so. Stop covering how stupid we're being in general by celebrating the word in our hip-hop videos that succeed in immortializing the excesses of the world and stop making things like drugs, guns, and gangs glisten that when they should be dull. Stop making the dregs of society look like their trophies which should be glorified.

We've failed as a people if we can't even remember a terrible emblem of the past injustices that have befallen us, and as a result of that, we've allowed others to slowly, but surely become hardened and insensitive towards realizing the truth; the word has become inherently degragatory, as it's past nature has been dominated by the ignorance of the white people who used it, and determined to use it as a way to subjugate people they spat on as they themselves sat on their sorry behind's, sipping lemonade and generally being lazy, and perhaps wholly pathetic people I can feel almost nothing for contempt for. We can't let this get any further than it already has.

This thread is about a song of all things, not my overbearing rants about African-American culture, and how, somehow, we've helped revive a word that should be dead and buried in the annals of history as a word that only represents how far the ignorance and arrogance of humankind can go. I wouldn't have made a huge deal about it if I hadn't read Sinewav's post. That's the real engine behind this machine. It's a perfect example of how badly we've all screwed up. We've got white people viewing the word as ok now. It all starts with that. If the majority of white people deem something to be ok, it won't be long before this all spreads like some infectious disease. It needs to end, and it needs to be said; the connotations behind that word has not changed, the meaning behind it did not change during the 150 or so years African-Americans were in bondage, it's innate ability to summon up horrid memories of what our ancestors experienced did not change during the time it took for our ancestors to gain equality for us in the present day. It took us so long to gain ground, and now we're going to make people say "The truth is that the word "nigger" is a very context sensitive word and has changed in meaning." and actually believe it? Geez, have we learned anything?

It's a horrid word. Don't let the guise of misguided use of it shield you from the truth. It's a mark of shame, and nothing else. You can use it for a different purpose, but you can't change that. If I use crap instead of glue to keep something together, it might work, but it's still going to smell pretty bad. If you use the word as a subsitute of friendship, it might work, you might, horrifically, make the person believe it's okay to use the word, but I doubt that there won't be someone who can simply taste the bitterness, the history of the word, the tragic venom of a snake forcing all the progress we've made slipping away through our own idiocy.

The word shouldn't be in songs, it shouldn't be in common language, and it shouldn't be considered appropritate. I'm ashamed that I almost succumbed to that same venomous snake that so many other people did, people who throw the word out every day, who think it's okay, when it so clearly is not. It may seem blurred, but keep staring at the image a little while longer, and you'll see there is nothing in the word by cruelty and sorrow, accompanied by the stench of ignorance.

It's not okay.

I am duly aware of how the word is use, and what it's connotations are. But yeah, Black People using it does NOT trivialize it. Almost all of the black people you hear using it are fools, or know no better. Black people didn't trivialize it, they copied off of white people and used it as a derogatory term towards OTHER black people. Somehow along the way though, It became "accepted" to throw around a racial slur as if it doesn't matter.

Seems like we learn from the "best", huh?

[McVaffe]

MORE RAP MIXES, PEOPLE![/b][/size]

That's quite an uphill battle. Nice sentiment tho...

[Leon K.]

Mullenkamp put my thoughts more eloquently than I did =/

[Cer_ber_uS]

shouldn't it work like any other mp3?

Well, it doesn't actually save to my desktop, and I can't get it to save anyways. That is, unless I save the shortcut, but I'm not sure if that'd work, since it's only a shortcut.

Stop calling each other a word that was used to subjugate, your, my, ancestors. Stop referring to yourselves by the same degrading term that was spat out by countless ignorant women, children, and men. Stop it. Grow up. It's not cool. It's not smart. It's one of the dumbest things we could ever do because it helps cover up the vile and bleak history of that term. It helps people kind of...cover it up so much easier when you veil the truly hideous meaning behind the all of this ignorant hoopla. My gosh, stop making it so much easier for people to accept such a word into proper society. We're better then this. We have more sense than this. The people who died, the people who worked so hard to secure our equality would turn in their graves ever so slightly and maybe more so if they saw what we were doing, how we're forgetting something so important; the ignorance, the bleak and terrible history behind such a word, and the shadow of despair that comes from it.


I love how you and everyone else complain to Zyko and everyone else that was a part of this song, yet you don't complain to the people who actually make money off of the word. Are these guys getting money for saying a supposedly (not meaning that it's not, just context-wise) derogitory term? Not that I can see.

Christ, it's a word. Words have meanings by the context that they're used in. You can use the word "fuck" in several different contexts. This is no different, especially since they already explained the context they used it in. That said, (and the fact that, on the front page, it says, and I quote, "My personal take has always been that words themselves shouldn't be offensive - the ideas and intentions behind them should, and clearly the ideas and intentions in this mix are groovy, rhythmical, and decidedly not racist in any way", which shows exactly what I'm trying to say), Zyko and his "Niggaz" aren't racist. At all. So lets all understand the point of why they wrote this song, and not care about a couple of words in the song that several other people use in the same context every day (unless, of course, you'll be complaining to them as well).

[Mullenkamp]

I love how you and everyone else complain to Zyko and everyone else that was a part of this song, yet you don't complain to the people who actually make money off of the word. Are these guys getting money for saying a supposedly (not meaning that it's not, just context-wise) derogitory term? Not that I can see.

I love how you totally, and completely misread or ignore parts of my post that invalidate your argument. In the same paragraph you quoted from me, I'm not talking about Zyko, I'm not talking about anyone who had anyting to do with the song. In fact, in that same paragraph I'm talking about black people who use the word, so, really, I think you should read my posts a bit more concisely before you making such statements.

Look, I don't have a problem with Zyko. Hence the reason why I never once complained about him personally despite what you believe. He hasn't done anything to really incur a large amount of my displeasure. He made a song. My whole post is discussing black people and how we need to change, and how if we don't change our deformed context of the word, people like you are going to assume it's okay to say it.

In fact:
Stop covering how stupid we're being in general by celebrating the word in our hip-hop videos that succeed in immortializing the excesses of the world and stop making things like drugs, guns, and gangs glisten that when they should be dull. Stop making the dregs of society look like their trophies which should be glorified.

You seem to have totally missed that part, the part that clearly states what you say I didn't. I don't like the fact that people throw the word out like it's something great, when really it deserves to be dead and buried.

Christ, it's a word. Words have meanings by the context that they're used in. You can use the word "fuck" in several different contexts. This is no different, especially since they already explained the context they used it in. That said, (and the fact that, on the front page, it says, and I quote, "My personal take has always been that words themselves shouldn't be offensive - the ideas and intentions behind them should, and clearly the ideas and intentions in this mix are groovy, rhythmical, and decidedly not racist in any way", which shows exactly what I'm trying to say), Zyko and his "Niggaz" aren't racist. At all. So lets all understand the point of why they wrote this song, and not care about a couple of words in the song that several other people use in the same context every day (unless, of course, you'll be complaining to them as well).

Alright. Did I every say Zyko was racist? No. I did not. I don't think he's racist, I don't believe people who use the word are racist; I just think they are misguided, the same way people who wave the Confederate flag around and wear it say it's just celebrating their "Southern heritage" are misguided. A heritage of treason and selfishness, but a heritage nonetheless I suppose.

I don't have a problem with Zyko. He wasn't ever mentioned in my first post in this topic. At all. Most of my post dealt with complaining to Africa-American people at large who make people like you talk about context instead of understanding a very simple truth: There's only one context that word was originally used for, and that conext is a lot more degrading than anything any curse word can be in my opinion. It has a history that's as dark as the bowels of the human soul. It's very existence and usage for over a hundred years, mainly, was dependent on the ignorance of humanity. It's a tie that binds humanity to the worst and blackest spot of it's history, and if not that, at least the worst and most infamous, and senseless point of American history.

No offense, and I don't mean to be rude or anything, but it seems like your being single-minded, mainly because you seem to be limiting my last post to the song. I'm not focusing on the song. I'm focusing on how shocked I was at how some posters seem to believe that it's an "okay" word nowadays because some black people, for some reason, have decided to use it in a positive context. The word has no other contect, racist people have assured of that, and society doesn't need to try to change the wickedness of the word. It's wickedness can never be erased, and it shouldn't be. It should be remembered, as a bleak reminder of how horrid humanity's ignorance can be, so that we may never return to our savage ways. If we try to superficially change that, humanity is doomed to follow the same path of damnation again and again.

The word's context shouldn't be changed so white people can think it's okay to say, and I'll be darned if any self-respecting black man should believe the word to be a part of his daily vocabulary.

To be frank; I don't care what anyone says about contexts in the case of this word. Look back to my past post for a good example of what I'm saying. I said that the word idiot is always going to be an insult. There's no other context for the word. It's an insult. The word nigger, nigga, or however some people want to change it around so as to feel it's "better" is the same way. It's an insult. It's not a word anyone should be using in a song. It's not a word we should find to be acceptable.

I seriously don't think you read my last post very well, so please do so. Don't skim by it, don't judge it half way through. Read it. Otherwise, I'm left saying the same thing's I already said.

It's not that hard of a concept to grasp. I'm not going to make a song called "Crackers 4 Life" and I'm not going to go up to every white person I see and say, "My Cracker."

Geez, the word's insensitive and degragatory by it's nature. Deal with it folks, and throw out all this meaningless banter about context. Maybe if some of the racist white ancestors of America hadn't been so arrogant as to deem so people less then them based on the color of their skin, you could, but they didn't. So too bad.

[Liontamer]

It should be noted Mullenkamp that if you don't have issue with zyko, especially regarding this mix, then your entire post regarding the self-degredation of blacks is rather off-topic. So just understand that when you post something like that directly in the ReView thread, even when you preface it as off-topic, it's bound to be interpreted as you having issues directly related to this ReMix. In any case, it's really best to keep discussion focused on the ReMix, and take any broader issues to the Politics, Philosophy & Religion forum (http://www.ocremix.org/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=27).

[Cer_ber_uS]

Alright, I admit my mistake at jumping the gun, thinking you had a prob with Zyko. And I apologize for it. But I am gonna have to agree with Liontamer on this one.

I just think they are misguided, the same way people who wave the Confederate flag around and wear it say it's just celebrating their "Southern heritage" are misguided. A heritage of treason and selfishness, but a heritage nonetheless I suppose.
I completely agree with that statement. It's sad that a white kid in my school can walk up to a bunch of black kids, say "Wassup, nigga?", and the black people don't care, meaning the white guy gets away with it. What the hell is up with that? It makes no sense whatsoever.

And now I'm directing that last statement aimed at Mullenkamp at the people who actually have a problem with Zyko and have a problem with this song. Again Mullenkamp, I apologize for jumping the gun.

[McVaffe]

It's sad that a white kid in my school can walk up to a bunch of black kids, say "Wassup, nigga?", and the black people don't care, meaning the white guy gets away with it. What the hell is up with that? It makes no sense whatsoever.


It has to do with intent. Not everyone is hung up on the past and history and how things once were. Some people are wrapped up in some superficial idea of respect when in essence it goes much deeper than using (or not using) certain vocabulary. With the minority friends and coworkers I spend a lot of my time with, our "racist" differences are much more of a joke these days than anything that separates us.

Regardless, if anything it's best to remember that with any music, especially music with lyrics, what you get out of it has a lot to do with your own experiences, culture, and upbringing. I heard this remix and I found no hint of anything offensive with it at all. Unfortunately, some people feel differently. But so long as the original intent of the artist is nothing negative (which has already been discussed), It should be viewed as an expression and as art. As with any art, any number of people can extract any number of ideas from it, but what people read into the song should not override what was originally intended. If we get into censoring and removing songs like this because of reasons like that we'll have censorship issues and an artist focused site, this should be one of the last places where problems like that take place.

My apologies for derailing this review thread a bit. I believe this remix, in addition to being great, is an important precedent in content and should remind us that opinions are important, but freedom of expression is also very important with developing artists.

[Navi]

and with that, i'm ending this discussion. like larry said, let's stick to reviews.

if there is a continued interest in this discussion, i implore you guys to make a thread in PPR and discuss this further. Many people have opinions on language and what's offensive and what isn't (myself included) and if this song can spark further discussion, i'd be glad to participate in it - in the proper context.

please keep this thread for reviews from now on. if need be, i'll talk to dave about editing a link to a "language discussion" thread in the writeup.

thanks guys!

[zyko]

http://www.ocremix.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=2171976#2171976


moving on.

[ubernym]

I've never played an Asterix game, but this is one of my favorite ReMixes on the site.

[A-RoN]

There's only one group of people to blame in the present time for everyone's apparent ability to push it off as something that isn't a big deal; the African-American community at large. Stop calling each other a word that was used to subjugate, your, my, ancestors. Stop referring to yourselves by the same degrading term that was spat out by countless ignorant women, children, and men. Stop it. Grow up. It's not cool. It's not smart. It's one of the dumbest things we could ever do because it helps cover up the vile and bleak history of that term. It helps people kind of...cover it up so much easier when you veil the truly hideous meaning behind the all of this ignorant hoopla. My gosh, stop making it so much easier for people to accept such a word into proper society. We're better then this. We have more sense than this. The people who died, the people who worked so hard to secure our equality would turn in their graves ever so slightly and maybe more so if they saw what we were doing, how we're forgetting something so important; the ignorance, the bleak and terrible history behind such a word, and the shadow of despair that comes from it.

We need to make it where white people, and everyone stops thinking it's okay to say the word at all. No, that "Do as I say..." and "It's different because he's not black" crap is not going to fly, and rightfully so. Stop covering how stupid we're being in general by celebrating the word in our hip-hop videos that succeed in immortializing the excesses of the world and stop making things like drugs, guns, and gangs glisten that when they should be dull. Stop making the dregs of society look like their trophies which should be glorified.

We've failed as a people if we can't even remember a terrible emblem of the past injustices that have befallen us, and as a result of that, we've allowed others to slowly, but surely become hardened and insensitive towards realizing the truth; the word has become inherently degragatory, as it's past nature has been dominated by the ignorance of the white people who used it, and determined to use it as a way to subjugate people they spat on as they themselves sat on their sorry behind's, sipping lemonade and generally being lazy, and perhaps wholly pathetic people I can feel almost nothing for contempt for. We can't let this get any further than it already has.

This thread is about a song of all things, not my overbearing rants about African-American culture, and how, somehow, we've helped revive a word that should be dead and buried in the annals of history as a word that only represents how far the ignorance and arrogance of humankind can go. I wouldn't have made a huge deal about it if I hadn't read Sinewav's post. That's the real engine behind this machine. It's a perfect example of how badly we've all screwed up. We've got white people viewing the word as ok now. It all starts with that. If the majority of white people deem something to be ok, it won't be long before this all spreads like some infectious disease. It needs to end, and it needs to be said; the connotations behind that word has not changed, the meaning behind it did not change during the 150 or so years African-Americans were in bondage, it's innate ability to summon up horrid memories of what our ancestors experienced did not change during the time it took for our ancestors to gain equality for us in the present day. It took us so long to gain ground, and now we're going to make people say "The truth is that the word "nigger" is a very context sensitive word and has changed in meaning." and actually believe it? Geez, have we learned anything?

It's a horrid word. Don't let the guise of misguided use of it shield you from the truth. It's a mark of shame, and nothing else. You can use it for a different purpose, but you can't change that. If I use crap instead of glue to keep something together, it might work, but it's still going to smell pretty bad. If you use the word as a subsitute of friendship, it might work, you might, horrifically, make the person believe it's okay to use the word, but I doubt that there won't be someone who can simply taste the bitterness, the history of the word, the tragic venom of a snake forcing all the progress we've made slipping away through our own idiocy.

The word shouldn't be in songs, it shouldn't be in common language, and it shouldn't be considered appropritate. I'm ashamed that I almost succumbed to that same venomous snake that so many other people did, people who throw the word out every day, who think it's okay, when it so clearly is not. It may seem blurred, but keep staring at the image a little while longer, and you'll see there is nothing in the word by cruelty and sorrow, accompanied by the stench of ignorance.

It's not okay.

It is a good song, I agree. I do think the word should be substituted as well, so I agree to an extent, but please...send a letter to every single hip-hop company instead of a poor Egyptian who actually produces good music who hasn't even made it as big as 50 Cent or Dr. Dre?

PS Check out my review of River City Rap by joecam and crew, and realize you made a serious mistake that's similiar to mine.
Never attack the hype if you want to avoid embarrassment. Again, I do agree with you. There must be some other way to counter this "rap" culture. I'm still trying to find an answer though. If anyone has advise, give it to me.

[Zipp]

We're trying to move away from the arguement concerning whether the word should be replaced or not. Let's not go back there.

It was one the legends of Jazz who said that a song is good music if you can't help but tap your foot to it. The fact that I started singing this out loud at my place of business when in fact I really dislike rap is a sign that this is a good song.

It's a little dated in style, and I actually think that the random useage of Mother Fucker detracts more from it artistically than Nigger, but it's a good song nonetheless.

[Navi]

It's a little dated in style, and I actually think that the random useage of Mother Fucker detracts more from it artistically than Nigger, but it's a good song nonetheless.

Nigga. Not nigger.

Anyways, its been some time since I posted about how much I enjoy this song. It still ranks in my toplist of VGRemixes. Great stuff from Ubik and zyko.

[Zipp]

It's a little dated in style, and I actually think that the random useage of Mother Fucker detracts more from it artistically than Nigger, but it's a good song nonetheless.

Nigga. Not nigger.

Right, gotcha ^_^

[zpeterz63]

The actual verses aren't that bad, but I was far from impressed with the chorus. Sounded to me like the rapper was just some kid who was trying desperately to be "ghetto" and therefore had to say "nigga" every other word because that's what gangstas do. I give this 2 out of 5 sporks.

[PumaJones]

I just remember snickering at the title of this remix as I downloaded it. But yes, I was suprised and impressed by the remix itself. Well done.

[Kozmo]

very creative and well executed. I like the cleverness of the lyrics. The key change was a bit questionable-- i dont think that it worked because after the key change the tone and mood seemed off

[Bobwillis]

This is great. It reminds me of a bastardized version of the song they sing in the Splash Mountain Ride at Disneyland.

[k u n g f u c h i c k e n]

Dude, I'm reading these lyrics again, zyko, you're a beast.

[Goten X]

I actually liked this song as well. I laughed a bit when I read the title, too. I knew it wouldn't be bad, for some reason, but I'm glad I listened to it: it proves there is WAY more than just one way to remix a song.

|GX

[The Xyco]

I won't admit to being the biggest rap fan on the planet. In fact, there has been many a time when I've pulled up next to a Mustang rolling with a full body kit pounding with "bootybootybooty" and I've wanted to roll my windows down shouting "Turn that shit off!"

However, this ReMix has really changed my mind about the genre. It's fun, funky, and all around a really enjoyable song that I love to listen to at work, home, and in the car. It really made me respect rap a whole lot, and actually got me to start listening to it on a fairly regular basis. Of course, living in the South in a predominately white upper-class neighborhood within a relatively segregated city and driving a Volkswagen, I can't exactly roll down the windows blaring "YA'LL MY NIGGAZ" without having to dodge some bullets, but I still love to listen to this ReMix. It's highly original in concept and production, and stands as what I consider to be a milestone in OCR's evolution right up there with Little Mac's Confession (http://www.ocremix.org/remix/OCR00605/) and Squaresoft Variation (http://www.ocremix.org/remix/OCR01130/).

[BlueMage]

Best part is, if it wasn't for all the whoohar about the N-bomb in this track, I probably wouldn't have ever listened to it (never played Asterix as a child :( )

That said, sweet track. Obelix's section is by far my favourite, but the whole track's a winner.

[Koelsch1]

You think the N word is bad, check out what happens when you play the track bacwards.

http://www.home.no/koelsch1vgm/zyko-N4L-reverse.mp3

Thats right. Clear as day, Zyko yells out HUGE TESTICLES!

[watkinzez]

You think the N word is bad, check out what happens when you play the track bacwards.

http://www.home.no/koelsch1vgm/zyko-N4L-reverse.mp3

Thats right. Clear as day, Zyko yells out HUGE TESTICLES!

:lol:

[Omatic]

I used to be a fan of rap, but I got away from it pretty much because of stuff like this. It's creative, and I can appreciate it for that aspect, but I wouldn't promote it as a "must-listen to". It's a well done OC Remix.

As for the title, there's really no need for it. I can see the satire in it (Asterix and Obelik are two vikings), but it seems to cause too much controversy, taking away from the song's greatness or lack thereof. As a black male myself, I was dismayed at the title, and found it to be a dumb decision, albeit not exactly offensive.

Although I wonder what would have happened if the song title had been "Crackaz fo' Life"...

[watkinzez]

(Asterix and Obelik are two vikings)

GAULS!

/picky

[zyko]

should we take this baby for yet another spin?
:)

[Dr. Jekyll]

"YA'LL MY NIGGAZ"

Well, there's also Rap without that. The Roots or Fort Minor, for example.

[Fraggy]

Zyko... no, just no. Please, this stuff gives me a headache. Arrggggh! *throws poop at speakers* Turn it off!

[zyko]

yay!

another happy, satisfied customer!

[Liontamer]

yay!

another happy, satisfied customer!
No one ever disses Brian for having a hand in this. Just weed. :lol:

[Mike OShay]

o.O I can't believe I used to think this sucked. It's actually more kickass than you'd think, and I know tons of people are going to disagree with this opinion. I like the effect when the voice starts really high-pitched in part of the song, then gets slowly and gradually lower and lower, yet doesn't actually slow down, as I can imagine a common problem is with getting that effect to work properly. Anyways, Nice lyrics with part of it, and I've finally stopped laughing at it and decided to recognize it for what it is -- A good remix.

Also, come on... why do some of you people take offense to "niggaz"? I don't think it's EVER used in a racist way anymore. >_>

[jayt11]

yeah, well, it's that type of nonchalance that led to the Michael Richards incident, and the teacher incident.
"I thought it was okay to say it."

Good remix or not, there's not a message behind using the word nigga or nigger 50-60 times in a song. Get that "the message of the song is being lost" bullshit out of my face.

Yes, i am black, and yes I have used the word in my rap music. But after reading a book by Randall Kennedy about the history of the word, i stopped using it. It's just not cool to use the word...

...cause guaranteed, if i made a song called "Kikes/Spics/WAPS 4 Life" SOMEONE will get offended, regardless of whatever thinly veiled "MESSAGE" is trapped within the inner dungeon of the remix itself.

Just something to think about.

[zyko]

jayt11:
so you do realize that it is fundamentally holier-than-thou to say "I'M BLACK, I DON'T SAY NIGGA AND THEREFORE NIETHER SHOULD YOU"

man, you may be like only the 5th brotha in the community, but you aren't the 5th brotha in the world and you aren't exactly preaching any message that wasn't already attempted by 3 of the other 4 brothas in this community before you and has been preached by many a brotha over the years

so here's my response to you: Get that "it wouldn't be the same as making a song called 'crackaz 4 life'" bullshit out of my face. if you can't see the value of self-expression beyond what you deem a "thinly veiled message", explaining it to you would be the same waste of breath the last four times was.

thank you for listening, anyways

[Leon K.]

I don't think my entire tirade on that issue was a waste of breath at all.

Imma try and make a remix when I get ahold of a different mike and show you kids how to rap without all the hubbub that prevades rap these days.

[zyko]

haha not you leon
and i was referring to the waste of my BREATH. not a waste of yours... and you can't credibly qualify whether or not it was a waste of breath to he who breathed it.

first of all, i was under the impression that you and i came to a common understanding about the subject. while it is still in my regular daily vocabulary, i do not record music that glorifies it because i have come to see it as bad influence regardless of what i mean by it. doesn't mean i concede my stance... i still think blowing this up in this context is a joke but i was convinced you and i clearly discussed this. right now, we got a new cat who feels its necessary to play malcolm x to a community of videogame geeks

show us "kids" how to rap without the hubbub that prevades rap? who are you, KRS-one? gimme a break, guy... i've dropped hotter shit than you ever will without uttering the word nigga.

come on, man - i thought we were through with this.

[Liontamer]

zyko wins, niggaz: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Tq4w69Ltjg

[about:blank]

I'm kinda surprised at the negative feedback that this mix recieved. This is probably one of the most creative mixes on OCR, yet all people can focus on is how they don't like rap, or how the lyrics are offensive.

Personally, I thought the lyrics and arrangement were very creative. I'm not even really a big fan of rap music, but I loved this.

[Gandhios]

Maybe someone should check out the history of the word Hurray-Hurrah-Huzzah :nicework:

[Radiowar]

uhh dunno what to say this is pretty weak
serious lack of energy in the vocals, absolutely grating hook, uncreative, unimaginative lyrics...
if it was meant as a joke song it isn't funny, and if it was serious it's not good. we need some higher standard of hip hop around here.

[Zipp]

Oh man people are STILL going off about the lyrics in this song? Look, just let it go already guys. The lyrics in this song don't mean shit. I think that's sort've the point. It's just a bunch f dissing and back talking. The thing is, it's a badassssss song, and that's all you should need to know.

[WesPip]

NIGGAZ.
Til the end of time.
Yo?

[Nicholestien]

i like it, but, your not the best rappers and the chorus is retarded. xD

[jayt11]

jayt11:
so you do realize that it is fundamentally holier-than-thou to say "I'M BLACK, I DON'T SAY NIGGA AND THEREFORE NIETHER SHOULD YOU"

man, you may be like only the 5th brotha in the community, but you aren't the 5th brotha in the world and you aren't exactly preaching any message that wasn't already attempted by 3 of the other 4 brothas in this community before you and has been preached by many a brotha over the years

so here's my response to you: Get that "it wouldn't be the same as making a song called 'crackaz 4 life'" bullshit out of my face. if you can't see the value of self-expression beyond what you deem a "thinly veiled message", explaining it to you would be the same waste of breath the last four times was.

thank you for listening, anyways

you are pretty dense.

maybe as you've seen recently, not every black guy nor rapper, or prominent black man endorses the use of the n word.

It's nothing to do with me, but rather what constitutes good taste in music. Throwing slurs around, despite the song's "message" is not creative. PERIOD.

Matter of fact, this is a microcosm of what's wrong with the hip hop culture itself, shock value wins over actual talent.

let's see this kid drop the same song without the word in it and judge it that way.

So yeah, don't bother wasting your breath again, cause YOURS is a losing argument, son.

TO those who want to hear a QUALITY hip hop game song, check out the Metal Gear and River City Ransom sections, I believe, Po or Zyko put some out on OC.

[ProFiction]

Finally listened to this after seeing it on the front page every day for the past 800 years or so.

I dunno, I thought the vocals could be louder during the verses. I have a hard time understanding what is being said without looking at the lyrics.

Other than that, I like this a lot! The rapping is pretty decent and the beat is hot. Definetly a good addition to the site.

[zyko]

you are pretty dense.

maybe as you've seen recently, not every black guy nor rapper, or prominent black man endorses the use of the n word.

It's nothing to do with me, but rather what constitutes good taste in music. Throwing slurs around, despite the song's "message" is not creative. PERIOD.

Matter of fact, this is a microcosm of what's wrong with the hip hop culture itself, shock value wins over actual talent.

let's see this kid drop the same song without the word in it and judge it that way.

So yeah, don't bother wasting your breath again, cause YOURS is a losing argument, son.

TO those who want to hear a QUALITY hip hop game song, check out the Metal Gear and River City Ransom sections, I believe, Po or Zyko put some out on OC.

that's funny that you'd call me dense. right
at least you gave Venom props. good lookin'

i don't take offense to your point on using the word "nigga" but the debate isn't likely to ever end. i agree with you as a matter of principle; the word is derived from a racial slur and, fundamentally speaking, should not be used. however, i rap as i speak and that is how i speak. chamillionaire and russell simmons and al sharpton can say whatever they want about how it ought to be different but as long as niggas are still calling each other niggas out here on the street, i will continue to express myself as truly and genuinely as i can. perhaps, it is in bad taste but oddly enough, niether you nor i are the judge of that. at least i'm doing and saying what comes natural and am not forcing anything and that is a lot more than what a lot of emcees can say about themselves with their chain-swaying, collar-poppin, wannabe thug status.

what you and every other bitch out there that keeps attacking my track is REALLY trying to say is that i can't spit. its pretty unlikely that y'all have a serious problem with the word because it is too widespread in the genre and a lot of you are clearly very familiar and likewise fans (at least to some degree) of the genre so i'm not buying your bullshit. what this is really about is y'all questioning my ability to spit (or my credibility to say "nigga" due to my skin color). which is fine, whatever. niggaz 4 life was recorded nearly 5 years ago and was really one of my earliest attempts at recorded rap and definetly the first to attract any substantial attention. so as debuts go, i think i killed most of you clowns there.

so you can call me dense. you can even question my game (though grossly stupid to do so). ultimately i'm the one having the last laugh

cuz even if you can bring it on a mic... that's probably where the train stops for you

=============

how much longer will this go, anyhow? :)
why doesnt somebody actually grow the balls to drop something in response instead? expression through art. that is what this is all about. don't hide behind your carefully worded forum rants

spit it. show your mettle. let's have some REAL conversation instead of this watercooler, bitch talk.

[big giant circles]

you know WHO can bring it on a mic?


DISCLAIMER: You're about to be BLAZED

THIS GUY (http://www.youtube.com/p.swf?video_id=pq6vufmTJ9Q&eurl=http%3A//www.google.com/search%3Fq%3Daverage%2Bhomeboy%26ie%3Dutf-8%26oe%3Dutf-8%26aq%3Dt%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&iurl=http%3A//img.youtube.com/vi/pq6vufmTJ9Q/2.jpg&t=OEgsToPDskIFuGl2fJpZJ3IScKOpVRZX)

[zyko]

omg! double a ron!

[SomeCrazyGuy]

Pretty fun to listen to, my only gripe is with how disjoined the vocalists are. While I find some disjointedness to be in place, it is just too noticable in the chorus... Maybe it was just me though, great mix!

As for the use of... Well, a certain word, I honestly don't give a crap. Let the fools argue amongst themselves of such petty issues... While you argue over a mere word, I'll argue the judgment of they who truly use the word in wrath or ignorance, not play.

I mean, yes, certainly it SHOULDN'T be used for the simple reason that the word was used to express immense hatred and/or supposed superiority to another race. But currently, the word is being used, as I lack a better word for it, ironically by that very race (at least SOME people of that race, there are quite a few who know how foolish it is) in mere jest, and in this case, a friendly term. Just how 70 years ago, one could say they were feeling quite gay, people wouldn't think anything more than happiness or joy; but only 20 years ago, that very same word now means something very different, not wrong, but very different nonetheless... But has changed even MORE:

I'm feeling quite gay. (Happy; Well Known, but Obsolete)
I am gay. (This is the form best known and accepted by current society as the meaning [IE, first meaning to come to the minds of most people]; It's meaning being 'Homosexual')
"Aw man, my girlfriend dumped me last night for that stupid football player"
>"Well, that's gay."
"Tell me about it." (Not very often used, but known quite well nonetheless; meaning, more or less, 'An Unsatisfactory Situation')

The word we are talking about has a few meanings as well:

(Ignorant Person; Obsolete)
(Expression of strong hatred or feeling of superiority of one of light skin pigmentation towards one of dark skin pigmentation)
(Can be used as a term of friendliness or comradship between persons, as shown in the remix, most often between persons of dark skin pigmentation, often seen as unacceptable as skin gets lighter)

So while the word itself shouldn't be used in general, and though it isn't particularily neccesary, it is has become acceptable in certain instances (though, again, unneccesary), and, once again... It's merely a word, and I don't really find it worth arguing about unless it is being used by someone, not in jest, but in hate, and even then, we would argue the mindset of the one who spoke the word, rather than the distastfulness of the word itself.

(Sorry if I made myself look like a fool, I'm not so new to message boards, so if that is the case, I am fully to blame. n_n;)

[Jaybell]

That chorus is very much catchy. DJP complained in the writeup about how he ended up getting it stuck in his head? Same situation. I'll just be playing a game or working on something and I'll find myself humming softly, "...you my nigga, and I'm yo nigga" without realizing it.

I'm not offended by the use of the word "nigga" in this context. If they had made a racist song and had lyrics that were racist, then I would not approve. But they aren't. It's like if you're playing a video game with your friends and they're about to beat you and you say "I swear, I'll kill you if you do that." In the most literal definition of the sentence, yes, it does mean "I have the intent of murdering you." But obviously, you don't mean that! It's not like you actually are planning to kill them, you're just goofing around. And you know that, and your friends know that. So, yes, by definition, the word "nigga" is bad, but it's obviously not used like that. They aren't saying "you're my african-american slave originating from nigeria" or "you're my derogatory term for black person" or whatever the definition is. They're saying "you're my friend, I'm your friend." That's all.

[Polo]

Bass beats and claps set the bouncy ground at the start, saying "check it, we got attitude." The ear-ringing whistle and pizzicato following them give the mix an urgent invitation akin to "now gather 'round and listen to my story about my beloved nigga." A reed organ supports the chorus like a parent offering adequate space for his/her child to explore the world around it. The windpipe-like synth at 0:40 seems sly but serious, as if cautioning "there's more to this story than meets the eye." The solo guitar halfway through offers a couch-lounging break to reflect upon things, and the piano appearing after that is a new bass solidifier and mood lightener. Even the octave rise from the source is saved for the end, bringing the sense of niggahood to a closer level. All the while, the beat flows on, confident in its danceability and quietly grinning to itself when it learns another person has been caught up in its contagious net.

The lyrics are so well put together that even when they're slightly asynchronous with the beat, they smoothly pour their energy (in rhyme and tone) into the next words. Many lines are both clever and hilarious, but the ones that really speak to me are:

"Till every Roman soldier bow downs" - a heartfelt wish and goal of every Gaul, to be sure.
"I waste half a language" - sounds like Obelix cusses up a storm as he struggles out of his Roman prison cage.
"Tallest blade of grass is the first to get shit upon" - life lesson right there.

Not just the words, but the vocals are equally all over the map, panned left, right, and center as they playfully change tones and pitches with abandon. A wacky masculinity haunts the chorus, Obelix starts with a lungful of helium before running out of breath (don't worry, he's just "wasting half a language" :D), and even Julius Caesar deigns to note his source of discomfort with a haughty wrinkle of his nose.

And of course I love every smartass quip, grunt, laugh, moan, and ad-lib sound effect that rides on the mainstream rapping. They're the donut sprinkles of the mix, coloring the camaraderie both raw and pure. The lightsaber-ish "bzz-bzz" when Star Wars is referenced, the hurriedly echoed "12-pack of maxi pads!", the howling during Dogmatix's part, the guttural "Amon~ Ra~", the yells of "IT'S ASTERIX!", "dinnertime" instead of "day or night" near the end... smiles all around. They practically comprise a separate song in themselves.

While it's not crystal-polished in terms of production, I've grown to love every idiosyncrasy that Niggaz 4 Life has to offer. zyko and Ubik had a ball crafting this mix, and I enjoy listening to it. Now every time I reach the bonus level in the NES game, I laugh and sing the lyrics of this mix.

One love indeed. <3

[metalsnakejuice]

Wow l had something completely different idea for this but hey l thought l it was great and quirky.

Good job:-P

[yosefu]

HAHa this song is pretty cool and catchy. so thankyou for doing this mix sir.

[OA]

Pretty funny rhymes overall as long as you can handle some coarse language.
Layered vocals worked well, and the shoutouts to the VGmusic sites at the end was pretty cool.

[Holy Land]

This is another classic.

Usually rap remixes here turn into seriously poor and embarrassing performances, but zyko knows how to do it in a credible and inventive way. I love his range (all those different voices are GREAT), as well as his natural timbre.

This is funny as hell, I don't know why people get so upset over the usage of the word in question. I'm half-black, I know he doesn't mean harm with it, this rules guys.

[NegimaSonic]

hahaha, the song is kind of funny... though I can't believe I found this song one night after I heard...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd63P7mYXzo

I can definitely say the lyrics in this song are MUCH better than that.