There are all sorts of adjectives I could throw at Stint’s remix of Q-Tip’s “Work It Out,” but the best place to start might be Constant Gardner’s initial reaction when I forwarded it to him: “wavvVvvvVVVVVyyyyy.”
Stint (formerly of Data Romance) took time out of a busy schedule spent working with Banks and Lana Del Rey to put a funky, futuristic spin on Q-Tip’s 2007 single. It’s a bit bracing to hear at first–the voice of one of the great veterans of the Golden Era set against airy accents and a shuffling, deep-house-inspired thump. Quickly surveying Q-Tip’s solo catalog and remembering that producer and DJ are two of the legendary emcee’s less heralded skills (not to say he isn’t celebrated as a producer, but he’s more regarded for his rapping), Stint’s remix sounds like a logical extension of the organic, uptempo grooves of 2008’s The Renaissance rather than a quick cash-in on current fixations.
And, if nothing else, it certainly is wavy. Listen below.
