Shifting Gears : DJ Z-Trip : Review : Rolling Stone

DJ Z-Trip was remixing classic rock into hip-hop when Danger Mouse was still a cartoon character. He made his name in 2002 with his influential mix CD Uneasy Listening Vol. 1, which married everything from Kansas' "Dust in the Wind" to Glen Campbell's "Rhinestone Cowboy" with inventive breakbeats. The buzz got him signed, but his new label's lawyers couldn't get sample clearances for Listening. Suddenly Z needed a Plan B.

Fortunately, Shifting Gears doesn't sound like anyone's second choice. These fifteen original tracks deploy sharp sampling, jazzy scratches and the sheer joy of old-school hip-hop. The album starts as a nostalgic re-creation of early-Eighties Bronx hip-hop, chock-full of big beats and party jams, and featuring a standout rap from Whipper Whip, an original member of the Fantastic 5. As the album progresses, it "shifts gears" to the present; Chuck D's screed about war is a real stormer; and the moody, electronic "Walking Dead," featuring Linkin Park's Chester Bennington, is already a hit on modern-rock stations. Shifting Gears doesn't have the novelty of Z-Trip's earlier work, but it points to a bright future for the DJ.