Originally uploaded by Auðunn - audunn.com
This would be Snoop’s reaction if he heard Punk Goes Crunk…

“Punk” has gone acoustic, pop, 80’s, and to almost every other genre where it should not have ventured. Now, the wonderful people who brought you those albums are bringing you Punk Goes Crunk.

Two words: Jigga who?!

The CD includes many of your favorite “almost a-list” bands, such as Say Anything, Forever the Sickest Kids, My American Heart, All Time Low, and Scary Kids Scaring Kids. The last track on the CD is by cover-song experts and “easycore” veterans New Found Glory. The 15-song album will be released on April 8th, and is a compilation of cover songs originally released by hip hop legends such as Snoop, Dre, and Pac. While I’m all for cover songs and my daily dose of “punk”, there are just some places it shouldn’t go–hip hop and rap is one of them.

One song I was pretty sad to hear was My American Heart’s cover of “California Love”. Don’t get me wrong — I LOVE My American Heart. But let’s also get this straight — 2 Pac was a hip hop legend and he definitely brought an entire new element to the scene. “California Love” was one of Pac’s most popular and influential tracks and it has been my (as well as many other Californian hip hop lovers’) anthem since it was first released back in the 90s. So to say that My American Heart had extremely huge shoes to fill would definitely be an understatement.

The original song by Pac begins with an up-tempo, catchy beat that has become recognizable to hip hop fans everywhere. As soon as Dre busts out on the track, it’s essentially code for “party time”. The My American Heart cover strips away these qualities that made “California Love” such a hit. They said goodbye to the addictive beat and added unnecessary synthesizers to make up for it. Once the chorus sets in, you can finally hear Pac’s original track trying to break its way to the surface. While the tempo is still not as catchy as Pac’s, the effort is there…

Along the same lines, Snoop’s classic (yes, classic), “Gin and Juice” has also been tampered with by Hot Rod Circuit. The original track was totally smooth, and in one letter, G. I have no idea where the smoothness or gangsta-oscity (yes, I just made that up) went on Hot Rod Circuit’s track, but it would be great if it came back. Soon. Like right now. The rapping is choppy and not nearly as smooth as Snoop’s, but I’ll grant them the fact that they are rockers first, and not hip hoppers. Nevertheless, this doesn’t give the track the right to sound oddly like a flashback to the sixties hippy movement.

Don’t take all of this bashing the wrong way - there are cover songs on this CD that match the quality of the original tracks. For example, Person L covered The “Seed 2.1” (originally performed by The Roots), and the track could not have been any more perfect, but maybe that’s because it basically sounds like the original. The Maine covered “I Wanna Love You” (originally performed by Akon), and I must admit—I enjoy their powerfilled, catchy cover over the original! My personal favorite though, is Say Anything’s “Got Your Money” (originally performed by ODB). If anyone were to cover this song, Say Anything was definitely the right band to do it. Max Bemis has an amazing sense of humor, and as he demands you to give him his money, you really can’t help but crack a smile and feel that ODB is probably enjoying this cover song also.

Long review cut short, I highly doubt I’ll be picking up a copy of “Punk Goes Crunk” when it makes its public debut on April 8th. I don’t know if I want to hear any more of my favorite hip hop songs butchered by my favorite rock bands…although, it may be worth my money in the end, just to have that amazing cover by Say Anything…