Then again, there are certain songs that are exponentially improved by a remix. "I'll Be There for You / You're All I Need to Get By - Razor Sharp Mix" is one of those cases.
The original track, titled "All I Need" on Method Man's solo debut Tical (1994), was solid: it has his raw verse over the breakbeat from Melvin Bliss's "Synthetic Substitution" (think: Ultramagnetic MC's "Ego Trippin'" and Naughty By Nature's "O.P.P.") and a synth replaying the descending cadence from Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell's "You're All I Need to Get By." And then there was Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs's mix of the song, which used a clip from Notorious B.I.G.'s "Me & My Bitch" over a smooth, R&B-flavored rhythm track, and also added to the equation Mary J. Blige on backing vocal.
But the "Razor Sharp Mix" by Wu Tang's RZA takes this song to a new galaxy altogether. It uses Method Man's original lyric from "All I Need" but sets it to a gritty, thumping beat and hypnotic bassline over these weirdly dissonant samples of sax and organ. Once again, Blige provides backing vocals throughout and vocals on the hook. But this time out, she alters Gaye and Terrell's refrain by shifting it to a minor key. Against the backdrop of the beat and bass (which, by the way, is playing in a slightly different key), the original sweetness of the lyric takes on a dangerous, almost ominous, quality.
Taking each piece individually, it shouldn't work.
It's like the horns on James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)": the song is in D major, yet Brown has the horns slipping into notes that aren't even in the same key signature! On paper, it should sound like the aural equivalent of day-old garbage baking curbside in the New York City summer sun. But in reality, it blends perfectly.
Such is the case here. RZA took a calculated risk, and it paid off with one of the rawest, best-ever collaborations/remixes/tracks in the history of hip hop.
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