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Note: Physical copies will be made available in the near future
On February 27th, Hevehitta and DJ Unexpected released Duel of the Iron Fists, a concept mixtape starring Ghostface Killah and DJ Premier. The mixtape combined Ghostface Killah’s epic wordplay over DJ Premier’s boom-bap backdrops. The mixtape even included a break beat and sample section for said artists.
Shaolin Temple Strikes Back is a continuation of Duel of the Iron Fists but with more Wu-Tang Clan members and a new producer, the Alchemist. Shaolin Temple combines the Witty Unpredictable Talent and Natural Game of the Wu-Tang Clan with the underground flavor of the Alchemist. A 20 minute Alchemist break section is also featured.
These two titles combined give you Shaolin Rescuers.
The first of its kind, Shaolin Rescuers holds two different projects on one CD. If you have been following the Hevehitta and DJ Unexpected catalog for quite some time, you know they are not afraid to try different ideas with their projects. Shaolin Rescuers also features the famous Shaw Brothers movie dialog – all recorded by Hevehitta and Unexpected – that you have heard on previous Martial Arts Mixtapes. This is a mixtape movie presentation, with Hevehitta and DJ Unexpected as the directors.
Enjoy and be educated.
Tracklist:
Duel of the Iron Fists [Ghostface Killah & DJ Premier] (1st Feature)
1. The Iron Fists Intro
2. Shaolin Vs. Lama (DJ Unexpected Remix) feat. Raekwon, Jadakiss & Styles P.
3. Masked Avengers (DJ Unexpected Remix) feat. Raekwon
4. The 100 Pace Palm (DJ Unexpected Remix)
5. Eastern Evil (DJ Unexpected Remix)
6. Ghostface Killah – Duel Of Ultimate Weapons (Breaks)
7. DJ Premier – Magnificent Natural Fist (Breaks)
Shaolin Temple Strikes Back [Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Method Man, Inspectah Deck & The Alchemist] (2nd Feature)
8. Shaolin Temple Strikes Back (Interlude)
9. Ghostface Killah feat. Raekwon- Battle For Shaolin (DJ Unexpected Remix)
10. Ghostface Killah feat. Raekwon & Method Man- The 3 Avengers (DJUnexpected Remix)
11. Ghostface Killah feat. Superb- Crazy Shaolin Disciples (DJ Unexpected Remix)
12. Inspectah Deck – My Blade, My Life (DJ Unexpected Remix)
13. Method Man – Hand Of Death (DJ Unexpected Remix)
14. The Alchemist – This Man Is Dangerous (Breaks)
Track by Track Description:
Written by DJ Unexpected
1. The Iron Fists Intro – Every story has to have an introduction, and so do all of our mixtapes. For this one, Hevehitta and I decided to shy away from the traditional scratch intro I’m known for and rely more on dialog to set up the premise. With classic background music used in such films as “Flag Of Iron” and “My Young Auntie” as the backbone, the characters are introduced and told about “The Iron Fist”, a legendary style very efficient in defeating enemies. The student (Ghostface Killah in this case), is denied the chance to learn at first, but is taught after enemies (The Lamas) raid Shaolin Temple. Naturally a fight erupts.
2. Shaolin Vs. Lama feat. Raekwon, Jadakiss & Styles P. – With Raekwon as his fellow student, Ghostface Killah engages in combat with Jadakiss and Styles P, the Lamas (a known nemesis of Shaolin) who are there to prove their superiority in martial arts. They are eventually defeated after a grueling duel. While it’s not entirely a DJ Premier influenced remix, he is represented on the first beat (None Of Ya’ll Betta ironically on Jadakiss’s first album), and it would make no sense to abruptly end the story. (Note- this track was originally featured on “Executioners From Shaolin”, Hevehitta and DJ Unexpected’s 1st entry into the Martial Arts Mixtape series).
3. Masked Avengers feat. Raekwon – With “That White” by Fat Joe and ”Poet Has Come” by Blaq Poet as the backdrop, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon use their skill in weaving a story detailing their former life as drug dealers. Once again, the braggadocio element remains intact. Audio dialog is from the movie aptly titled, “Masked Avengers” (including the line used in the intro “We do what we want here…”; why was that included, you ask? Because we can do that!)
4. The 100 Pace Palm – DJ Premier does his part here with “Living Proof” by Group Home and “Mass Appeal” by Gangstarr serving as the backbone while Ghostface Killah reminds you that his style is “Mighty Deadly” (the acapella used here as well). The audio is courtesy of the late Lo Lieh (via Ted Thomas on dubbing) from the film “Clan Of The White Lotus”, where he displays his “100 Pace Palm” on Gordon Liu (coincidentally starring as Pai Mei in Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill 2″).
5. Eastern Evil – Ghostface Killah’s “The Champ” acapella gets the remix treatment with “Above The Clouds” by Gangstarr feat. Inspectah Deck (fellow Wu-Tang Clansman), “MUG” by O.C. feat. Freddie Foxx and “F-U” by Teflon providing the music. Ghostface goes in for the kill against his enemies and his style is enhanced by the interlude between Pai Mei and priest Chi San (from “Executioners From Shaolin”). The outro audio is courtesy of Tommy Lee Ming Man’s character from “The Hot, The Cool & The Vicious”.
6. Duel Of Ultimate Weapons (Breaks) – Simple enough, it’s a collection of original samples used by Ghostface Killah or songs he was featured on. In keeping with the martial arts theme, the title was deemed appropriate (a classic Hwang Jang Lee movie I might add). (Note- some breaks were previously released on my classic series, “Look What I Found”).
7. Magnificent Natural Fist (Breaks) – Same as track 6, but this track focuses on DJ Premier samples, some of which were previously featured on the “Look What I Found” series. The title comes from a Korean film starring Elton Chong and Mike Wong (trivia time- a clip of it was featured on an episode of “How I Met Your Mother”; the villain has a 20 ft. arm).
Written by Hevehitta
8. Shaolin Temple Strikes Back (Interlude) – Shaolin Temple Strikes Back continues where Duel of the Iron Fists left off. Like with many of our mixtapes, DJ Unexpected and I always like to tell a story that will keep the listener wanting for more. In this interlude, you learn that the Shaolin Temple has been burned down to the ground by the evil Manchu government. But Shaolin doesn’t give up that easily. The Wu-Tang Clan will now have to form together to defeat the evil Manchu’s.
9. Battle for Shaolin ft. Ghostface Killah & Raekwon – “Daytona 500″ gets the remix treatment over the Alchemist-produced banger “Dark Riders” by Swollen Members. This blend was originally featured on the Martial Arts Mixtape, “4 Assassins.” Unexpected and I were such big fans of the original blend that we decided to feature it again on this mixtape, but add different dialog to fit the concept of the mixtape. This is just a great blend to start off the story.
10. The Avengers ft. Ghostface Killah, Raekwon & Method Man – “New Wu” by Raekwon, Ghostface Killah and Method Man was one of the stand out tracks from Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 album. When the acapella finally hit the net, Unexpected knew he wanted to remix it. What makes this blend dope is Unexpected uses multiple Alchemist instrumentals for the backdrop. My favorite part is Raekwon blended over Dilated People’s “Right and Exact.” Man, I just love that beat.
11. Crazy Shaolin Disciples ft. Ghostface Killah & Superb – This was the toughest blend to create for Shaolin Temple Strikes Back. But once Unexpected tweaked it for about the 5th time, we finally agreed this one was it. Ghostface Killah over Prodigy’s “Keep It Thoro” just sounds great. I have to say, it’s unfortunate Wu-Tang didn’t get beats from Alchemist for their albums. He has that sound that just works perfectly with the Wu-Tang Clan.
12. My Blade, My Life ft. Inspectah Deck – Inspectah Deck’s “R.E.C. Room” gets a new soundscape, courtesy of DJ Unexpected. “I’m The King” by Royce da 5’9″ and “Bang Bang” by Capone-N-Noreaga are the two beats used for this blend. The way “Bang Bang” comes in at the :57 mark really brings the blend to life. One thing I love about blends is you hear artists over beats you would love for them to freestyle over. I could definitely hear Deck put some heavy mic work into “Bang Bang.” Of course, the blend ends with some great Kung-Fu fighting dialog.
13. Hand of Death ft. Method Man – This was the first blend completed for Shaolin Temple Strikes Back. Unexpected gave Method Man’s “Release Yo Delf” a totally different feel to it when he blended it over “More Like Us” by Mobb Deep. The energy Method Man brings just fits perfectly with the horns from “More Like Us.” This is definitely the high energy track from Shaolin Temple Strikes Back. Just like the Deck blend, I could hear Method Man rapping his off to this beat in a freestyle. It fits him perfectly.
14. This Man Is Dangerous (Breaks) – This is a twenty-minute collection of original samples used by the Alchemist. The breaks were such a fan favorite on “Duel of the Iron Fists” we had to include it again for “Shaolin Temple Strikes Back.” Some of these breaks can be heard on DJ Unexpected’s successfull mixtape series, “Look What I Found.”
