the lab techs are responsible for production for both ann arbor groups Now On and the Athletic Mic League. self proclaimed as the best producers on the planet [they have a skit in which they tell pharrell they're coming for him], this mixtape/remix album gives the lab techs credibility, though i'm not sure it's as much as they'd like.

the tracklisting is pretty much all you'll find at the group's website, so i won't waste time relisting the 18 songs recieving attention. the point of this album is the quality of the production and the new beats, though buff1's guest appearances on ciara and mario's tracks deserve mention. consider those mentioned.

simply, the lab techs succeed in reinventing the wheel and taking songs that would bore you if you heard them on the radio right now. the new beats will get as stale as the originals over time [hopefully volume 2 will actually exist before that happens], but for the moment, the reinventions certainly add something. considering the billboard popularity of eminem's "encore" or lloyd bank's "i'm so fly," any positive addition is definitively impressive. the lab techs have managed to create a feeling of newness almost a year after all of the songs became popular.

the best beat reinvention is hands down the changes the lab techs have made to snoop dogg's "drop it like it's hot." the original beat was so odd and off-kilter that matching the cadence for drums that the neptune's used seems laughable. the remix manages to be softer and to feel more epic as the song progresses. the drums sound crisper and the just blaze/kayne west technique of speeded up vocals makes a lot more sense here than it does on most kanye produced tracks. the song still suffers from snoop's stagnating lyrical "izzle" filled verse, but everything you loved about the song the first time has changed for the better.

the biggest problem with this album [and possibly the billboard chart based premise] is the repetition. for whatever reason, two ll cool j songs are remixed, and timbaland's beats are replaced on three tracks. tim is a clever producer (evidenced by his past collaborations with missy elliott, aliyah, jay-z, and a slew of others), but in any given year his beats aren't that varied. the biggest disappointment was the fact that lil jon is on the death list (in the liner notes) rather than taken on in the project. given the course rap has taken the last few years it seems like a glaring and unhelpful omission.

volume 2 is due later in the fall.