“That bloke from Oasis said I couldn’t play guitar / Somebody shoulda told him I’ma f**kin rockstar” –Jay-Z on “Dopeboy Fresh (Jockin’ Jay-Z)”

If you’re not convinced by Jay-Z’s claim to rock stardom, pick up the Mick Boogie & Terry Urban mash up mixtape, Viva La Hova. While Jay ain’t exactly strumming power chords, his rap lyrics rock hard enough over Coldplay’s instrumentation. It’s enough to make the most diehard alternative fans give him the co-sign.

By: Rek

Granted, this is not the first time we’ve heard the rap mogul and rock star on the same track. ‘Beach Chair’, on Kingdom Come, is one of Jay-Z’s most knocking yet most personal songs. So, in that aspect, this is nothing new. The magic happens when Mick Boogie & Urban take hype songs like “You Don’t Know” and give it the Coldplay makeover. This creates a situation that forces Hov’s lyrics to sound less cocky and more like the gritty confessions of a remorseful hustler.

“Hola Hovito” is another track that undergoes a drastic change of pace and becomes “Hola Blanco”. The party vibe disappears with the Spanish guitars and all that’s left are the thoughts of a hustler who’s getting tired of the fast lane. Disagree all you want but you can’t help drawing a similarly Emo interpretation due to those organs from “White Shadows”.

Aside from accenting the undertones of Jigger’s verses, the mixtape does other creative things. In what many consider the high point of the mixtape, “The Reverse Fix” features a sample from the song “Fix You” played in reverse while Hov does what he does. These are not your ordinary blends.

According to the mixtape’s website, Jay-Z and Coldplay have already co-signed the project along with a slew of respectable artists like Mike Shinoda and John Mayer. Pretty soon, the rapper ‘with the hand that don’t write’, will be the rapper who don’t need to hit the studio, to put out these classics.