Thug Life Army

Members of respective crews: The Abe Froman Showmen and The Inhumanz, rising stars in Vegas’s burgeoning nightclub DJ scene; pay tribute to the greatest hip-hop songs of 2005 with “Backpack Thugs 2005 Megamix”.

DJ Five (Abe Froman Showmen) and Pizzo (The Inhumanz), have come together to produce this mix CD, which bridges the gap between the best mainstream and underground hip-hop of ‘05. Taking songs from both sub-genres, each song on the CD is a blend (or mash-up) of an underground song with a commercial one. This unique mix not only showcases a new twist on last year’s fan favorites, but excellent deejay skills as well.

Rap artist Kanye West’s “Golddigger” is re-imagined on a DJ Premier track (borrowed from AZ), while hip-hop rapper 50 Cent’s “Just A Little Bit” trades the so seductive sounds of Scott Storch for bluesy, lo-fi boom-bap on Atmosphere’s “Smart Went Crazy” track. On the flipside of things, Edan is found delivering his hip-hop history lesson from “Fumbling Over Words That Rhyme” over the beat from Ying Yang Twins’ “Wait”, while Little Brother “Play” on last year’s David Banner banger. Even cross-genre hip-hop is covered, as Mike Jones spits “Still Tippin” over Gorillaz “Feel Good Inc”, or M.I.A. and Blackalicious exchange beats for “Galang” and “My Pad and Pen”. 

“The approach for the mix CD was to basically showcase everything we liked last year, but to do it in a different way,” says Pizzo. “We didn’t want to just give you ‘Lose Control’ or ‘Hollaback Girl’ all over again, because you’ve heard those songs too many times already. We wanted to also spotlight some of the best stuff you didn’t hear, but present it in a familiar way,” he added.

“We wanted to make the mix as smooth flowing as possible, so cats would be able to enjoy the CD from start to finish without having to skip to the next track,” says Five. “I threw in a few of my signature scratches and juggles, but without over killing the track,” he continued.

As an added bonus, Skillz tops off the disc with his “05 Wrap Up”, which looks back at the past year with humorous lyrical insight and commentary.

Tracklisting and credits for Backpack Thugs 2005 Megamix:  

1, Common Dreams – Game Vs. Common

2. Corner Blueprint – Common Vs. Blueprint

3. No Cam – Buckshot Vs. Cam’Ron

4. Remember I Used To Love You – John Legend Vs. Fort Minor

5. We Want Preemo – Kanye West Vs. AZ & DJ Premier

6. Smart Went 50 – 50 Cent Vs. Atmosphere

7. Just A Lil’ Scenester – Cage Vs. 50 Cent

8. Joy Live – J-Live Vs. Missy Elliot

9. Play Some Little Brother – Little Brother Vs. David Banner

10. Fumbling Over Ying Yang – Edan Vs. Ying Yang Twinz

11. Wait For Meat – Ying Yang Twinz Vs. Danger Doom

12. Go Quasi – Common Vs. Quasimoto

13. Watch Out For 1 Thing – Atmosphere Vs. Amerie

14. Galangalicious – M.I.A. Vs. Blackalicious

15. Hollaback Vegas – Felt (Murs and Slug) Vs. Gwen Stefani

16. Random Shake – Lady Sovereign Vs. Ying Yang Twinz

17. Stay In Control – Three Six Mafia Vs. Missy Elliot

18. Tippin’ Feels Good – Mike Jones Vs. Gorillaz

19. The I’s Have It – T.I. Vs. Zion I

20. Hate All Or Love Together – GZA/Genius Vs. Game

21. Crazy Memorial Day – Perceptionists (Mr. Lif & Akrobatik) vs. Young Jeezy

22. BONUS TRACK: 05 Wrap Up – Skillz