ReMix: PaRappa the Rapper 'Cookin' with Fire'
Download MP3
Play Preview
- Game: PaRappa the Rapper (Sony, 1996, PS1)
- ReMixer(s): Navi
- Composer(s): Masaya Matsuura, Rodney A. Greenblat, Tuttle & Dynamo Laboratory, Yoshihisa Suzuki
- Song(s): 'All Masters' RAP', 'Cheap Cheap The Cooking Chicken's RAP', 'Chop Chop Master Onion's RAP'
- Posted: 2010-12-16, evaluated by the judges
Man! I can't tell you how much I love this ReMix... But you know I'm gonna try - it's awesome in at least four major ways, which I shall now enumerate for your careful consideration:
- The Return of Mythril Nazgul! It's been over five years since Navid's last mix, and while he's now operating under the moniker of Navi (Hey, Listen!), an Azeez (LIGHT!) by any other name still mixes as great... even better, I'd say.
- Our first PaRappa ReMix! It's no longer all in the mind, thanks to Navi we got us a bona fide mix. I played the hell out of this game, and everyone else should too - one of the original rhythm/music games, with some really rather complex syncopations.
- Rap/Hip-Hop represent! I'd love to see more of it on OCR, and this is a great example of keeping it original while also playing with the source lyrics and generally just kicking ass.
- Amazing lyrics. Seriously, I can't imagine this being better. I'm a huge fan of Top Chef so that namedrop was nice, plus you got whetstones, sauteed spinach, culinary sciences, trashed appliances... the craftsmanship here just floors me.
So yeah, hopefully some or all of that sells you that this is a mix you NEED to check out. For me, it's the homage to PaRappa that I've been dreaming of for probably the full ten years that OCR's existed; I always knew something like this could work, but the execution would have to be perfect. To be honest, while his older stuff is great in its own right, I'm not sure Navid could have rocked something like this five years ago, but present day, present time, he's got some formidable skills. Navi writes:
"I noticed it's been about 5 years since I last submitted a remix so I figured I'd grace the panel with some hip hop musics. And, to keep things fresh, I've decided to make the first OCR Parappa the Rapper remix. I know, you're thinking, how do you remix a hip hop soundtrack in a hip hop style? Well, here's the answer: They've been mashed together in an old wu tang/RZA style, heavy bass and grimy dark drums. Stark contrast to the poppy sound of the actual ost. To be specific, the melody is a slight variation on the main horn riff from 'cooking chicken', the bassline is derived from 'bathroom rap' - most specifically during the breakdown at 1:57. Certain aspects of the actual rap in 'chop chop' have been appropriated to the lyrical content. Hopefully, it fits the arrangement standard of the site. If not, it won't hurt my feelings. :P
Lyrically, the song is built around the rise and fall of a rap star/culinary expert. I won't try and explicate it for you, but it seems to be appropriate in the context of the game (rap) and the track (cooking). Good to submit content back to the old stomping grounds! probably won't be the last! Look forward to seeing what you have to say on this one."
Here's what I have to say: You knocked this one straight outta the park, buddy. Some of the cadence actually felt more Eminem than Wu Tang to me, but I'll take either or both as being great influences. About the only negative "critique" I can even begin to think of is that there were a few more culinary terms - umami, amuse-bouche, sous-vide, foie gras, etc. - that would have made great rhyming material. I strongly doubt those missed bonus esoteric jargon points will bother anyone, though, including Jesse:
"This is a great example of how a videogame to hip hop conversion should be done. Taking the song out of context, it's a fantastic pop construction. Sounds like a lot of underground hip-hop from the past decade. Excellent delivery and your samples (in the hip hop sense, not the virtual instrument sense) are very well chosen. It's definitely on the more liberal end of what we accept, but the approach is authentically hip hop, and the samples used (and created, obviously) are undeniably reconstructions of the sources."
As a sidenote, Navid released some great FREE original tunage you can check out on bandcamp; well worth your time. Great stuff - hope we don't have to wait another five years for a follow-up, but at least the last five years were worth it!
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the - Crulex on October 4, 2012
Musically, this track is filthy in a good way! I love that vinyl sound and the voices in the back both in the intro and exit. The gated synth thing in the back works. For some, it can get a bit annoying sometimes but it's not distracting. I like the acoustic bass-ish type patch used here. Sometimes having a natural sounding bass does give the mix a bit more of a organic feel to it and it does help to bring other parts out. The beat is very "thump/snap" but the effects laid on it really flush it out nicely. The beat also switches around quite a bit when it comes to basslines and instrument parts. It shows Navid put tons of work into everything in this remix. All in all, I like the fact that this is very grimey and goes back to the roots of "two turn-tables and a mic." The sad thing is that there's no scratching. This mix could have used some.
I'm going to let people, especially those in my past who know me, in on an honest note here. I'm not going to judge a hip-hop song or album on the amount of profanity or the fact that there's sex drugs violence and all that other stuff. I'm over that now. I'm looking for lyrical substance. I want a track to PREACH A GOSPEL TO ME. I'm looking for a track that sticks to what hip-hop really is (from the streets, not the nightclubs). This tracks not only delivers ALL of that; it serves twenty course meals on a large French hotel platter to one individual.
This rap track is probably one of the best raps to ever hit OCR and deserves higher than 1000 out of 10. This explosive track destroys every other VG raps out there. Enough said.
Edit: Also listened to his stuff on Bandcamp, there's hit and misses to me but it's worth your money.
- A-RoN on June 13, 2012
DiGi Valentine;738858 wrote: Sorry, i ain't been around OCR that long so perhaps i didn't know him like everyone else here, but Navi produced AND rapped on this?
...... rah! O_O
yeah dude if someone else were on the track they would have been credited as a remixer
navid is just a BAMF
- Benjamin Briggs on January 6, 2011
As far as rap remixes go, this is one of the best.
- Martin Penwald on January 6, 2011
HOWEVER!!!! This is outstanding. The lyrics are creative and well put together. The song is fun and unique and the rapping can only be described as professional. You really blew me out of the water.
Fantastic job, you need to go to hollywood and make raps for them.
- ddavis1979 on December 23, 2010
+
The music, as in the background is great has a nice beat and doesn't get too boring.
The lyrics have obvious amounts of thought put into them, which is nice to know that people are trying to vary their vocabularies here, and the song itself is put together very well.
-
Now... my whole family has played Parappa at least once (thats right parents included) and even with the kitchen lyrics, not one of them even thought once that this song was geared toward Cheap Cheap the Cooking Chicken.
Most remixes have a flow to them that stand out as clear identifiers. In other words if I played a remixed song for you without telling the name of the song or what game the song is from... if you've played the game you should be able to pick out parts of the tune unaided, unless its from some obscure stage that hardly anyone goes to. The only part that this song seems to stick out notably and say "HEY PARAPPA HERE!" is the "Kick Punch" portion, then it's referencing kind of fades out again. I can identify the Cheap Cheap's beat a little after listening to the original song again, but it's still hard to pick out at all.
Another point I'd like to make is that Parappa's songs have a mostly upbeat feel to them, but this one has an overly depressive feeling to it... Although I will admit the negative vibes have complete clearance here because song is a remix. The problem here (to me at least) is that Parappa is all about the emotion mixed in, which might be a good idea to think about when remixing. The beat is a bit too light for depression, and a bit too heavy to be happy, kinda deal.
And finally, a few of the rhymes.. kinda trip over themselves "spinach" and "critics" definitely do not rhyme, and Parappa is all about the over-abundance of rhyme. (taking out the rhyme kind of feels like taking out the bounce from a Mario game). The rhymes that do come don't have a set pattern or positioning flow that I can pick out, as they just kind of pair up whenever. Position flow.. well its not a real term (and I don't know if there is one) but some examples are: 2 lines rhyme 2 lines don't 2 lines do etc etc, and 1st line no rhyme lines 2 & 3 rhyme, 4 doesn't (or rhymes with 1), 5 & 6 rhyme and such. Of course you don't have to go with a pattern, I mean that's what this whole community is about making new frontiers for our favorite music... but eh I feel patterns give some song types more solidification.
Okay, I've said my part for this.. I firmly believe that just saying "it was great" does nothing to help the future development of the music industry.
- Crono3of3time on December 23, 2010
- WesternZypher on December 21, 2010
How ya doin' dude?
I like the low-fi, kids in the hall build, like some dudes hittin' sticks on your cutting board, got some bitchz dancing with the lettuce, and a bunch of dudes hittin' their knives against the plates in hunger .... It's a detailed build. The lyrics are hilarious lol...
- Monobrow on December 20, 2010
Loving how much rap is getting a spotlight on OCR these days.
- Level 99 on December 19, 2010
I always used to find the lyrics in Myf's mixes to be rather juvenile, and while his presentation was generally smooth, his tone of voice coupled with the lyrics always turned me off. The exception of course being Da Black Market.
But this... this is just fantastic. Buttery smooth, awesome lyrics, production is top notch, and... yeah. Wow. This is absolutely brilliant.
- Master_Yoshi on December 19, 2010
http://swamisound.bandcamp.com/
- Emunator on December 18, 2010
Emunator;738841 wrote: Sick. I've been following Navi's solo career closely and find him, as a lyricist and a rapper,Sorry, i ain't been around OCR that long so perhaps i didn't know him like everyone else here, but Navi produced AND rapped on this?
...... rah! O_O
- DiGi Valentine on December 18, 2010
Good work man :-)
- Emunator on December 17, 2010
