DJ/Producer King Most pays homage to Phife Dawg with a remix of one of A tribe Called Quest’s classic joints, “Can I Kick It?”
How do you remix a classic? King Most’s answer: combine it with two other bonafide classics. King Most removes the original backing track for “Can I Kick It?” and replaces it with a seamless mashup of James Brown’s “The Payback,” and Fela Kuti’s “Water No Get Enemy.” The beat combines James Brown’s signature grunts, his band’s horns, Fred Thomas’s inimitable bassline and Fela’s liquid keys, bringing some funk to the kickback anthem. “All of them are timeless artists, James & Fela alone are obviously in-step with each other but ATCQ’s raps make it a perfect triangle,” details King Most. “I also wanted to make sure it knocked as much as anything else today. That’s why I added a deep bass and gave the drums that low end that I always need in my music. I didn’t take all them to the trap, but I didn’t leave them in 1993 either.”
