Angel Haze’s new Classick mixtape finds the fast-rising New York MC remaking rap tracks that have withstood the test of time rather than whatever’s hot at the moment. She first turned heads with an incredibly intimate re-creation of Eminem’s confessional “Cleaning Out My Closet,” and subsequently impressed by going toe-to-toe with Missy Elliott’s legend in the video for “Gossip Folks.” Now, in a similarly barebones video clip, she takes on Erykah Badu’s “Love of My Life,” once again bucking trends by rewriting a track that is 75 percent sung (as opposed to rapped), giving the clearly versatile young star a chance to flex her impressive pipes. While Haze takes a more literal tack in regard to the subject — the love of Badu’s life was hip-hop as a metaphorical man — she drops a clutch line into the mix: “Feels like I sampled your love, and [that] ish didn’t clear.” And speaking of flexing, how about those abs? Can we interpret that washboard as a tribute to Aaliyah in the “Try Again” video? Speaking of the year 2000, Haze had an epiphany earlier today:
That’s fucked up that Joey Fatone’s last name is really Fat One.
— ?Angel Haze?(@iamangelhaze) November 20, 2012