DJ N-Wee

These days, mash-ups of Jay-Z's The Black Album are becoming as common as massive egos on reality shows. Not to mention that the whole DJ mash-up phenomenon is getting to be as played out as trucker hats at Old Navy. But regardless of the impending irrelevance of the novelty blends, they just keep coming.

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• Jay-Z
• Stephen Malkmus
• Hip-Hop and Rap
• Celebrity News

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The latest desktop science experiment is the brainchild of DJ N-Wee. The Slack Album is an amalgamation of Jay-Z's a cappella tracks (of course) and -- get this -- Pavement's 1992 classic, Slanted and Enchanted. While most mashes just don't work, Slack is strong throughout, with only a few misfires. If you spent the early '90's getting high and listening to "Summer Babe" from Enchanted, you'll love this Hov/Pave revision from the very first track. By far, the disc's best cut is "In the Mouth, an Encore" which uses Jay's "Encore" and Pavement's "In the Mouth of a Desert." The familiar guitar lick and Stephen Malkmus singing "It's what I want/It's what I want" work so well with Jay's lyrics that the song sounds like its two components were always meant to be conjoined. The Slack Album takes hip-hop's elder statesman and integrates him with indie rock's genius underachievers in a way that even the most world-weary hipster or jaded DJ can enjoy. It's the new anthem -- throw yo' damn hands up. Actually, if that seems like too much effort, just go ahead and stay put.