Diplo Remixes Gucci Mane Mixtape With Help of Underground Tastemakers

Diplo is a tricky one. He's a master producer that has dipped his foot in many ponds, from Brazilian baile funk to Baltimore club music to the backbeats for M.I.A. He loves the big and the absurd, so it's only right that he put together a crew of underground producers and experimental musicians to reinterpret their favorite gems from Gucci Mane's ultra-ambitious 'Cold War' mixtape series. The result, which hit the Net yesterday, is as enjoyable as it is ridiculous.

Diplo opens the tape with an mid-'90s big beat take on 'Dangers Not a Stranger.' It's all stabbing synths and computerized piano tones over a genuine trunk-rattler. Memory Tapes, a blog favorite, turns in a spaced-out beach dub version of 'Excuse Me' that emphasizes Gucci's slurring flow. Zomby represents the U.K. dub-step scene and Flying Lotus brings one of those hazy post-Madlib beats that underground hip-hop heads have been digging over the past few years.

In the midst of all this wild production, there are a couple guest spots from other underground favorites such as Playboy Tre and Lil B that keep things grounded in all things ATL.

Click here for a free download from Diplo's label and crew, Mad Decent.