Since Kokayi is like a five-year-old who can’t sit still when it comes to his music, it’s not a surprise that he is releasing R3TS&DNSR5 RE1MAG1NED, a remix EP based on his critically acclaimed album, Robots & Dinosaurs. The Washington D.C.-based artist has already dropped two of the remixes as singles, the “Chanticleer (Moombahton Remix)” by CamJus and “RoxTar Remix (ft. Substantial)” by DJ Roddy Rod, but was motivated to put out an entire remix EP by his branding team at The General Store Inc. “The two remixes from CamJus and DJ Roddy Rod acted as a catalyst,” says Kokayi. “It was suggested that I get some club DJs and dope producers to remix the entire record. So, I reached out to my friends and asked them to contribute. They all agreed, I loved that idea, and so we ran with it.”
The contributing producers and DJs not only got to rework Kokayi’s inherently catchy tunes, but they also got to choose which songs they wanted to toy with. “I actually didn’t decide who remixed each song, I just sent a link to the dropbox that had the acapellas in them and said pick whatever you want,” says Kokayi. “As each song got snatched up, I’d send an update. Each person that I contacted was someone I respect and is very dope with their craft.” Only two of the remixers were new acquaintances for Kokayi: Billy The Gent, who was recommended to him by his friend Tittsworth, and Man Mantis, who Kokayi contacted after hearing his Sea Ambulances EP. Although R3TS&DNSR5 RE1MAG1NED is a free EP that includes a generous ten tracks, there are some remixes that didn’t make the cut. “I wanted remixes for every song on R&D, but there are folks that didn’t make it due to scheduling,” says Kokayi. “There’s a dope Arsonal remix of “Drive” that is bananas, but it was in too late. So, that’s more incentive to get the rest ready for another release…who knows.”
R3TS&DNSR5 RE1MAG1NED is available for free download via Kokayi’s Bandcamp here.
