Mashup music has gained a high level of popularity in the last decade. You can hear many mashup hits on the radio, in films, in ads and most of the disco clubs. In fact, this genre is so popular that most people don’t realize that they are often listening to a remix that combines several songs from different periods in music history. Here are some well-known hits that you might not know were mashup songs:
DJ Topcat’s folk and hip-hop combo
There are few listeners out there that would include both country music and gangsta hip-hop in their favorite playlist. However, an artist by the name of DJ Topcat managed to combine two famous songs into a mashup hit that both rappers and folk lovers can jam to: “Folsom Prison Gangstaz.” The 2010 hit combines Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” from 1957 with the 1994 release “Luv for Dem Gangstaz” from rapper Eazy-E.
DJ Topcat’s rendition puts Eazy-E’s fast rapping rhymes over Johnny’s masterful acoustic guitar rings to give the impression that the artists are performing a duet in front of a live audience. Although both musicians have been contemporary for a while, they have never played a gig together. Nevertheless, Topcat’s mashup would have probably pleased both of them.
YITT and the Red Hot Chili Eagles
YITT is a music producer from California that came up with the brilliant idea of combining two rock hits from legendary bands like Eagles and Red Hot Chili Peppers. His mashup combines “Hotel California” released by Eagles in 1976 with Californication, a single from RHCP’s 1999 album by the same name. The mashup consists of Anthony Kiedis’ vocals played over Eagles’ melancholic guitar solo. The result called “Hotel Californication” is a downbeat anthem perfect for long drives across the Californian highways.
Twist of the Single Ladies
Amoraboy is a popular mashup artist that debuted at the start of the 21st century. One of his major mashup hits is “The Twist of the Single Ladies,” an engaging combination between Chubby Checker’s hit sensation of 1960 The Twist and Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” released in 2009.
Amoraboy’s mashup was made public soon after Beyoncé reached the no.1 position of international tops in 2009, and thus gained a lot of media attention. Even today, people dance to the frantic rhythms of “Twist of the Single Ladies” in various clubs across the world.
Imagine a Jump
One of the most famous mashup songs of all time comes from internet artist Magic Mike. The unique combination of Van Halen’s “Jump” with John Lennon’s famous hymn for peace and unity “Imagine” was released in 2010. The mix combines the easily recognizable guitar chords of the former Beatle with the lyrics from Van Halen’s 1984 hit.
Lockdown Shelter
The Rolling Stones and Kanye West are some of the most famous contemporary music acts. Even if they come from different musical genres and backgrounds, they have never shared the same stage or the same record together. The DJs from TEAM9 thought they could solve that by combining the 1969 “Take Shelter” hit sung by Mick Jagger with Kanye’s 2008 “Love Lockdown” to create another interesting mashup of hard rock and hip hop music.
