Remix: Hikaru Utada - Too proud (DJ Mykal remix)

I don't know what it is about "Too proud" why we now have two remixes of it and alternate version with Hikaru Utada rapping in place of Jevon but...here we are. With the second remix of "Too proud". This is a remix of the remix, so it features Chinese rapper XZT, Vietnamese rapper Suboi and South Korean rapper EK with Hikaru Utada sounding like she's guest featuring on her own song.

Two of the issues that I had with the album version of "Too proud" when I reviewed Hikaru Utada's Hatsukoi, was that it was too repetitive and the beat didn't go as hard as I felt it should, and this remix addresses both of these issues. Dubstep and Garage music can be considered highly repetitive and jarring for some. But I feel that this remix manages to throw enough into the arrangement that it doesn't feel too monotonous and flat, and it's a nice touch to feature one of Hikaru's vocal stems throughout too, to still retain her presence on the song.

What I like about this remix overall is that it doesn't feel un-Hikaru. In the sense that I could imagine her listening to this herself and finding ways to work it into her tours. It's something I've always admired about most remixes of Hikaru Utada's songs. They retain the essence of Hikaru Utada. It makes me wonder if she commissions them personally. I wouldn't be surprised if she did.

Let us give thanks for Hikaru's team dropping remixes to album cuts 8 months after said album dropped. I'd honestly be here for Hikaru Utada releasing a video for "Too proud". Shoot the damn thing in London and then have me pressed that I was at the location in the video two days before it was shot and I didn't see a bitch there.

I'd love for other labels and artists in Japan to follow suit with supporting albums post release with music videos and remixes. This whole thing where an album drops and then it's pretty much dead save-for-the-tour-that-supports-it deal needs to stop. Still gimme a video. Still gimme remixes.