Time for track three, you readers (all 6 of you! just kidding). This is by far one of my least favorite joints on the tape, as almost every version I’ve heard of “Chillin’” inevitably seems to be. What the hell is with these remixes?

Okay, we need to face it: “Chillin” wasn’t amazing to begin with. It was a noble effort on Wale’s part to find a chart-plausible single, but my guess is it may have been shoved down his throat by his label. Lady GaGa was a wise choice for that kind of move, the beat sounds like it should, and the lyrics are smart. But the whole joint feels empty. Even with Lady GaGa gettin’ her MIA on in the background, it fails to impress – it sounds like the token chart-friendly-single.

Calling this joint empty is harsh (and honest), so lets admit there are some great lines: “Let’s talk about the cars ya’ll got/You say you got a lotta whips? Well I’ve got a LOT.” This line is genius in it’s own way, if only because most people will never get it. He means a LOT, as in a car-lot of cars. It’s not obvious, but it is. Which makes it annoying and pseudo-clever. I like it. Whatever, shut up.

Now let’s talk about this remix. The intro sucks – it repeats the same orchestral hit WAY too many times in the same pitch before it leads into a totally disappointing beat. It isn’t a bad remix, but it certainly isn’t what I would expect from Nick Catchdubs regardless, but it certainly isn’t what I would put on a mixtape. The beat just doesn’t ever manage to make up for that truly awful intro, and every other time I hear the orchestral beat (every bar or so), I cringe.

Why did this make the cut? Honestly, I don’t get it. It’s a remix, Catchdubs did it, maybe that was enough – they certainly couldn’t include the lead-off single of Wale’s unreleased album on a mixtape as it was. Whatever, it’s hard to polish shit.

But IS “Chillin” shit? I’ll never really figure it out – it’s not TERRIBLE, but Wale is so much more. The music can be so much deeper, so much more raw in terms of energy – this beat is just totally over-produced, and GaGa’s presence (love her though I do) doesn’t help things.

Remixes of “Chillin’” worth listening to as alternatives? DJ Benzi and Skratch Bastid (via the fantastic Mixtape Maestro!) both have different takes on the track, and both are interesting in their own right. Benzi takes the acapella, speeds the crap out of it, and laces it over a Nightcrawler-The Feeling type house beat (with a video totally worth watching), while Skratch Bastid’s is more off the walls in an old-school hip hop and funk sort of a way. Just listen, you’ll understand what I mean – and enjoy the MIA/Arab Money samples at just the right parts.

…NEXT!

Wale – Chillin’ (Catchdubs v 9th) [mp3]

Download audio file (03-chillin-feat-lady-gaga-catch-vs-9th.mp3)

Wale – Chillin’ (DJ Benzi remix) [mp3]

Download audio file (chillin-feat-lady-gaga-benzi-willy-joy-remix.mp3)

Wale – Chillin’ (Skratch Bastid remix) [mp3]