I don’t normally like rap very much, but I recently downloaded and very much enjoy The Grey Album. It’s a remix of Jay-Z’s The Black Album, created by someone named DJ Danger Mouse, using samples from The Beatles’ eponymous-but-aptly-nicknamed The White Album. It’s under fire from EMI, but you can still find it on file-sharing networks.

Jay-Z’s lyrics are rather good, and I find that when rap is combined with familiar samples (and mixed well), it makes the music more exciting. Also, instead of the pounding bass beats found in most hip-hop music, the mixed version generally relies on treble beats, which I prefer.