Written by: Andrew Kirkpatrick
That Korean MC Keith Ape’s “It G Ma” has had this much staying power is some mix of hilarious, impressive, and confounding.
Released on New Year’s Day 2015, the half-Korean/half-broken-English posse cut has developed into quite the trap anthem. It should also be noted that the song blatantly rips off another huge single — OG Maco’s 2014 smash, “U Guessed It” — and no one really cares. In fact, amongst a lot of hip-hop heads, Keith Ape’s homage (read: blatant ripoff) has actually eclipsed the genuine article.
As much was cemented last Summer when the “It G Ma” remix hit, featuring the fantastically strange line-up of Waka Flocka Flame, Dumbfoundead, Father, and A$AP Ferg, all of whom spit absolute fire. With that, a song that most would imagine receiving maybe a week’s worth of buzz became one of the biggest trap cuts of the year.
Now, out of nowhere, the “It G Ma” hype has been built up again — and in perhaps more awe-inspiring form than ever — by electronic producer josh pan, who dropped an epic remix (of the remix) on his SoundCloud a little while back. Now, a fun, stupid novelty song that turned into a hell-raising banger has been turned into a progressive electronic/hip-hop mash-up masterpiece that’s easily my favorite song of this year so far.
With nearly triple the running time comes double the contributors, as pan rallies fellow beatmakers sakuraburst, MISOGI, X&G, MEDASIN., and oshi to split up production duties and invites on Anderson Paak (who’s been absolutely killing it all year) to lay down an extra verse for good measure.
The remix is referred to as an “opus” and that grandiose moniker is well-deserved. This thing clocks in at 14 minutes, and it’s a wilder ride than most full albums I’ve heard recently.
Gloomy, Burial-esque atmospherics lurk underneath a gauntlet of great verses and some head-spinning production. Dumbfoundead’s verse (my favorite from the remix) is now laid down over a grimy stoner rock bass groove, and the result is stunningly slick. And the first chorus, backed by a titanic trap beat courtesy of MISOGI, is a thing of beauty.
My favorite bit, however, has to be Waka Flocka’s verse, cut down to its most striking lines — “Bullets gon’ fly, it’s a homicide / Mommas gon’ cry, sing a lullaby / It’s all about us, never ‘bout I / It’s all about trust, never ‘bout lies” — and set to a loop as a bright synth lead fades into being. And once that lead line crescendos, you won’t know what hit you. Good lord. Words can’t even describe it. Listen below.
