Features

All Categories

Music Without Borders Releases Indian-Inspired Version of 'American Gangster'

Posted Oct 26th 2009 3:15PM by Carter Maness
Comments

Somewhere in the Aughts, America's national pastime subtly shifted from baseball and apple pie to creating mixtapes of varying quality by putting Jay-Z's vocals over new beats. Most of this activity surrounded 'The Black Album' -- a record featuring a set of lyrical contributions from Hova that were so strong it didn't really matter if you mixed them with your wildest fantasy.

'American Gangster' didn't receive the full-album remix treatment to the same extent as Jay-Z's faux-retirement swansong, but now Music Without Borders has remedied that issue with the creation of a new mixtape called 'Hindustani Gangster.'

Here's the simple recipe: take Hova's vocals from the entire 2007 epic and remix with evocative samples from (and inspired by) 1970s Indian film. Bollywood movies are beloved by audiences for their uniquely crazy song and dance routines -- an often-grimy style that mixes esoteric instruments, repetition and some howling vocals into a danceable frenzy.

"Being a concept record, we hope people listen to 'Hindustani Gangster' from start to finish in succession as it's meant to be heard," reads a post on the record's website. "Try not to compare it to Jay's album, but rather treat it as an original work with a familiar narrator."

Considering the track list and vocals are lifted line-for-line from 'American Gangster,' listening to the mixtape as a wholly original work is both hard to do and sort of an absurd suggestion. The final mixes feature eight original backing tracks, a turn by ElekTro4, six mash-ups and edits based on productions from Dan The Automator and Batsauce. It's actually a surprisingly enjoyable listen and has solid replay value even though the beats fail to reach the quality of similarly Indian-inspired efforts by producers like Madlib (see 'Beat Konducta in India') or turn of the century Timbaland.

"What was unique about our 'American Gangster' experience were the unmistakable parallels we observed between the men Jay-Z and Denzel portrayed to the gangsters depicted in 1970s Bollywood films," reads the explanation behind the mixing choices. "One such movie, 'Don,' with its storyline, brilliant colors, and disco-era style of clothing was reminiscent of American Blaxploitation films (e.g., Superfly, Foxy Brown) of the 1970s. The more we watched and listened to American Gangster, and the more we revisited Bollywood classics like 'Don', the more inevitable fusing the stories of the American and Indian gangster themes became."

Download 'Hindustani Gangster' here.

Email This

Add a Comment

Sign in »

10 Comments

Filter by:

Harry Konic

www.IndianGangster.com

October 26 2009 at 11:35 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Harry Konic

Dum Maro Dum
Real Indian Gangsters do exist! www.IndianGangster.com

October 26 2009 at 11:34 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

xuchaoxio36

http://www.fogz.eu/hkw8q
In order to meet Christmas, as long as the new and old

customers to buy the corresponding product on this site, both

a gift, so stay tuned! ! ! UGG BOOT ,nike shoes,air jordan shoes,nike shox

shoes,gucci shoes ,true religion jeans, ed hardy jeans,coogi

jeans,affliction jeans, Laguna Beach Jeans,ed hardy T-shirts,Coogi T-shirts,Christian Audigier T-shirts,Gucci T-shirts,Polo T-shirts,coach handbag,gucci handbag,prada handbag,chanel

handbag .

http://www.fogz.eu/hkw8q
Air jordan(1-24)shoes $33
UGG BOOT $50
Nike shox(R4,NZ,OZ,TL1,TL2,TL3) $35
Handbags(Coach lv fendi d&g) $35
Tshirts (Polo ,ed hardy,lacoste) $16
Jean(True Religion,ed hardy,coogi) $30
Sunglasses(Oakey,coach,gucci,Armaini) $16
New era cap $15

Bikini (Ed hardy,polo) $25
free shipping

http://www.fogz.eu/hkw8q

New to Hong Kong : Winter Dress

---**** NHL Jersey Woman $ 40 ---**** NFL Jersey $ 35
---**** NBA Jersey $ 34 ---**** MLB Jersey $ 35
---**** Jordan Six Ring_m $36 ---**** Air Yeezy_m $ 45
---**** T-Shirt_m $ 25 ---**** Jacket_m $ 36
---**** Hoody_m $ 50 ---**** Manicure Set $ 20 ... ...

../**/

October 26 2009 at 8:05 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

xuchaoxio36

October 26 2009 at 8:05 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

xuchaoxio36

October 26 2009 at 8:01 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

xuchaoxio36

October 26 2009 at 7:59 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

xuchaoxio36

October 26 2009 at 7:57 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

xuchaoxio36

October 26 2009 at 7:57 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

ameerkim

as you can probably guess from the above write-up... this tape is mega-cinematic. it's most definitely something you'll want to blast on full volume in the car, and you'll get hype to the energy from some tracks (i.e. "Ignorant Shit") then cool out to the rhythmatics of others (i.e. "Party Life"). The diversity on this tape is crazy... old school hip hop, cinematic golden-age type tracks, grimy movie samples, and some experimental stuff... all while doing justice to the both jay's lyrics and the feelings behind them.

bold statement: this tape might be better than the original (i definitely don't listen to 'american gangster' no more... but this one is in full rotation!)

October 26 2009 at 7:17 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to ameerkim's comment

jhfwkjehfshd

http://ta.gg/3n2

cheap nike shoes, fashion clothes ;brand handbags ,wallet

http://ta.gg/3n2

October 27 2009 at 9:15 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply