While I am not much of a Jay-Z fan I do appreciate a good remix album. Ever since Danger Mouse remixed The Beatles with Jay-Z to create 'The Grey Album' it has been somewhat of a tradition to do Jay-Z mixes. Ravage (see Rodan review) takes his turn at Jay-Z's latest.

The first track 'Pray' really opens the album up with that Monsta Island sound, fitting Jay-Z's rhymes like a glove. Unfortunately those looking for a complete 'Monsta Island vs the Jigga' mix (as the title would imply) will be slightly disappointed as the album is more of a showcase of Ravages production skills and not a themed mix. That's not to say there aren't any more Monsta tracks, the title track is another standout.

The track 'I Know' uses an unmodified version of The Verves 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' for the majority of the track. Bitter Sweet Symphony works well with Jay-Z's flow but I can't help but feel it could have been used a bit more creatively rather than a straight loop.

American Monsta is a good remix album and the price is right. Ravage shows he is a talented musician and I will be looking forward to his next offering. Jay-Z's performance is decent but still doesn't win me over as a fan of his original works. My only gripe is that the album doesn't stick completely to the Monsta theme, but since it's free it doesn't really mater and you should defiantly download it.

6.9 /10

Track Listing

1. Intro

2. Pray

3. American Dreamin

4. Hello Booklyn

5. No hook

6. Roc Boys

7. Sweet

8. I Know

9. Party Life

10. Ignorant Shit

11. Say Hello

12. Success

13. Fallin

14. Blue Magic Ravage

15. American Monsta

16. Mecca"NAS"ZILLA
(Nas' Hope Remix)

17. WVFS 89.7 FM Outro