Hot Remixers: Ratatat

Rifle through your rap records and you won't find a single one produced by Ratatat, a.k.a. Mike Stroud and Evan Mast. But don't be surprised if these two New Yorkers from Crown Heights wind up producing Jay-Z's comeback album. "That'd be the ultimate," Stroud says, as Mast grins in agreement. Hot on the stacked heels of their all-instrumental debut album, the duo has created Ratatat Mixtape Vol. 1, a promo-only CD remixing a dozen hip-hop jams, including Kanye West's "Get Em High" and G Unit's "Stunt 101." With a signature sound like Judas Priest slowed down and the Miami Vice theme diced up, Ratatat's punchy beats have already found favor with Wu-Tang affiliates Brooklyn Zoo, who deliver an intro on Mixtape Vol. 1. "Our friend was in jail for jumping a turnstile," Mast says, "and he met this rapper Face, who was recording with Buddha Monk from Brooklyn Zoo. They hit it off, so we all went over to Buddha's house. He had Ol' Dirty Bastard gold records on his wall. We played him our album and he just started freestyling over it." Jigga, you're next.

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