Sweet Diezel Jenkins: Mash Ups review

Mash ups can go either way- they can be really impressive or they can be horribly torturous to listen to. It’s all about who puts them together and, if an amateur does it, you can count on it just being atrocious.

Some songs don’t go well together and some work surprisingly well. When the name Sweet Diezel Jenkins comes across your desk, don’t ignore it- listen to it- and listen to it again and again.

His latest batch of mash-ups for Pavement Records will blow you away, and that’s no bull.

Opening up with Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name,” it’s clear this is gonna be a fun listen. Within the track featuring the Bon Jovi classic, we’re shown what Jenkins can do with multiple genres when he throws in Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” and King Michael’s “Billie Jean” and it works- flawlessly.

On the next track we’re shown what “The Thong Song” smells like with “Smells Like The Thong Song.” You guessed it, folks, we’ve got a rare Nirvana-Sisqo combo that’s perfectly done.

Not only do we have “The Thong Song” and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” but we’ve got a jazzified version of Nelly’s “Ride Wit Me” from Country Grammar and Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok” which makes the pop princess’s smash hit bearable- that makes it a winning effort right there- everything else is just a bonus.

And a bonus is exactly what we get with the final track on the collection of mash ups.

Rounding out the three-track masterpiece is an epic combo of Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop” and Bon Jovi’s classic “Wanted Dead or Alive.”

The strongest part of this collection of mash ups is that even the rap and dance tracks keep a rock-based foundation while throwing in a bit of funk and jazz. Even if you hate Lil Wayne and Ke$ha, you’ll absolutely love Sweet Diezel Jenkins’ Mash Ups.

Give this collection a listen- it’s a home run of a collection that packs as many songs into a three-song catalog. This is a three-punch knockout if there ever was one.

Rating: 9.5/10

-Reggie Edwards