Search - Jaymz Bee, Deep Lounge Coalition :: Sub Urban

Give Toronto lounge lizard Jaymz Bee credit for brazenly weathering the lack of mainstream interest in elevator music. Who else but the silver-haired chameleon would have thought of recording a set of lounge versions of contemporary hip-hop hits? Sub Urban is as ridiculous as it sounds, but its grin factor sticks around surprisingly long. Bee and his cast of leisure suit-wearing clowns (including cabaret crooner Patricia O'Callahan, Big Rude Jake, and friend-to-the-stars Gino Empry) coast through jeep classics like Snoop Dogg's "Gin & Juice" and Outkast's "Miss Jackson." The real catch is Dave Howard's interesting arrangements, which turn Shaggy's "It Wasn't Me" into a swinging film noir jazz tune, riddle "Who Let the Dogs Out" with tubas and honking clarinets, and recast Wu-Tang Clan's "Gravel Pit" into an aerobics workout song. Sub Urban also has the unintentionally hilarious effect of showing just how insipid the showboating and lyrics to songs like J-Lo's "Love Don't Cost a Thing" are when they're stripped of their high-gloss production. --Matt Galloway