NIAM

Raised in the Bronx, Niam was raised amid the roots of the Hip Hop culture and instantly took an interest in it. Though Niam had a love of music his entire life, his experience in the music industry did not begin until he attained an internship with multi-platinum producer Dame Grease in 2004. The internship was intended to simply involve office work, but Grease soon took the young producer under his wing and helped Niam develop his own producing skills.
After several years of honing his craft, Niam renamed himself The Remix Kid and released a mixtape version of Jay-Z's "American Gangster", his Immaculate Madonna Mixtape, and a slew of other remixes all featuring his own production. The remix albums and individual songs were well-received and garnered praise from various music websites and blogs. Now Niam is ready to share his own music with the world showcasing his talent for all to see.
American Gangster Remix Mixtape:
Download Mixtape | Provided by DatPiff.com
I missed this tape when hundreds of the remixes hit the net at the beginning of the year but now that all those Jay Z verses aren't driving me sick it was actually nice to listen to.
The production ranges from hard thumping beats (Say Hello)to soft melodic tunes (American Dreamin'). The advantage of using your own production on these remix tapes is that the songs truly sound original and TRK made the Hov songs his own. His interpretation of Hov's mindstate when spitting the verses creates a new canvas for the words which give the songs a whole new feeling. Some of the beats have a very epic feel to them which gave me chills (Say Hello & Pray). I would say most of the songs are as good or better than the original (my opinion of course). The only dissappointment was that I was looking forward to see how TRK was going to flip "Hello Brooklyn" & "Roc Boys" but I thought both fell flat. Overall TRK has SKILLS. Production is top notch and breathe freshness into Jay's verses.
Madonna Remix Mixtape:
Download Mixtape | Provided by DatPiff.com
What other hip hop djs/producers would try something like this? When Niam aka The Remix Kid (TRK) sent me this by email it immediately caught my attention and I had to listen to it asap. With thousands of djs and producers trying to make a name for themselves through the internet you need to go outside the box to make some noise and gain exposure. With Madonna recently releasing her album this was a perfect time for TRK to try his remixing skills on some of her old and new songs. With Timbaland producing her entire record, there are also more hip hop fans willing to listen to Madonna so this mixtape might be more acceptable now then it was a few years ago to the average mixtape fan. Also the cover is dope...no matter the old saying, never underestimate the importance of a great cover. I've listened to quite a few random tapes (wack or not) b/c they had hot covers.
Obviously sh** don't matter if the music isn't up to par. Well TRK doesn't disappointment. If I didn't know who remixed this tape there is no way I would have thought its the same person who remixed the American Gangster mixtape. The first remix "Like a Virgin" is the craziest for me b/c the beat TRK uses has a hip hop (kinda cool n dre) feel but it surprisingly works. "Secrets" uses a nice soft piano melody which reminds me of 2Pac's "Changes" & Snoop's "Can't Say Goodbye." Most of the other tracks have a more poppy electro sound which suit Madonna well. I enjoyed the mixtape and like the creative risk TRK took to show off his production skills. A lot of hip hop producers would never dare to try their hand at producing for other genres of music, so with TRK doing this so early on in his musical career, it can only open more things for him in the future.
First single "Bounce Swag"
This song is HOT!!! Great choice for a debut single. Niam has the advantage of being both an emcee and producer giving him total control of his sound and he showcases both his talents with success.
First off, the production is great. Bouncy club beat which serves its purpose and fits Niam's flow to a tee. Despite being a club banger Niam manages to show off his lyrical prowess on the track as well. He's got a great flow and dope lyrics which is refreshing, particularly b/c club songs don't have clever lyrics these days. With a hot beat and catchy chorus he could have settled for filling the verses w/straight garbage like many artists today do but thankfully he spits some fiyahhhh.
"Now just b/c I got a flow, on a beat w/ a bounce everbody thinks I'm automatically from the south, to the death, I'm a rep, till its gone, but you know that the south that I rep, be the South (south) BRONX"
So check out the links at the top of the post and look out for big things in the future from Niam aka The Remix Kid...co-signed by "Tha Lounge"
-Chivatoslounge.com