Method Man and Redman have joined forces with DJ Premier for a remix Gang Starr’s “Bad Name.” The original song is one the 16 tracks from the historic Gang Starr album, One Of The Best Yet, which arrived last November to the surprise every Hip Hop purist out there.
“My plan all along was to include and do special remixes after One the Best Yet was released and I knew Red & Meth would be perfect for the remix ‘Bad Name’ and they both really wanted to be a part this remix for me and Guru,” DJ Premier told Rolling Stone. “I did a new arrangement and it’s so dope with Red & Meth putting their spin on it.
“Meth is the perfect closer and Redman blacks out. He sounds so happy and it comes thru the speakers.”
As part his verse, the Wu-Tang Clan luminary spits, “Word to god, if Guru was still here, a lot you weirdos wouldn’t have a real career/Just wannabe gangsters, but you wouldn’t have Premier,” one the highlights the track.
Nobody ever thought a new Gang Starr album would be possible considering Guru passed away in 2010 but sure enough, Preemo made it happen. In an interview with implurnt, he said he felt the late legendary MC’s spirit “every day” in the studio.
“I did a ritual where I burned sage because that’s known to ward f evil energy,” he explained. “Then, I would bless his ashes with the sage and bless his picture. If you saw the picture in The New York Times article that’s in that frame, that’s the picture that sits on top our control board. I would let the smoke billow all throughout the picture and just kind fog up the whole glass frame.
“I’d take his ashes and rub it against the picture and I would always say, “Get everybody evil away from us. Get everybody evil away from us. Get Solar away from us” and not even to keep bringing him up because I don’t really want to speak him like that, but that was one the things I prayed for because the energy has always been bad. Bad energy.
One Of The Best Yet featured Q-Tip, J. Cole and Royce Da 5’9, among others.
Check out the “Bad Name” remix above.