Most of us know J. Cole as an extremely talented rapper/songwriter whose affinity for spitting bars and wordplay has placed him among some of the most gifted artists of our time. What a lot of people may not know though is that Cole has a talent for production as well and has taken on producing his own music and music for other artists like Kendrick Lamar, DJ Khaled and Janet Jackson.
The North Carolina triple threat recently shouldered the immense task of remixing A Tribe Called Quest's 1990 single “Can I Kick It?” for the 25th anniversary edition of People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. Despite the pressure the rapper must've felt working on such a project, Cole pulled off the remix flawlessly. He added no personal verses to the track but used his producing talent to put a smooth, neo soul spin on the classic. The omission of the notorious record scratches that run throughout the original keeps the sound of the remix continuously velvety. Cole amped up the kicks and claps, added some work on the keys in the background and arranged some sweet, honeyed harmonies between the keys and the extended bass line. While the remix is an updated take on the original, it still sounds like it could be straight from the original album.
Cole's remix is one of three reworkings of Tribe songs for the special reissue of People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, in addition to Pharrell Williams remix of "Bonita Applebum" and CeeLo Green's take on "Footprints." People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm 25th Anniversary Edition is remastered by GRAMMY Award-winning engineer Bob Power and will drop in less than 24 hours on Friday, November 13th. To commemorate the occasion, all four original members of A Tribe Called Quest -- Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed and Jarobi White -- will appear on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Friday night for their first televised performance in years. Talk about "must see TV." Tune into The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on NBC affiliates starting at 11:35 p.m.