This is the much-awaited collaboration between two of today's hottest pop stars. Beyoncé originally recorded this song alone last year during the B'Day sessions, however, it did not make the final cut. After some reconsidering, they decided on doing a duet with Shakira. The main version is a hybrid of R&B and the sultry pop-friendly Middle Eastern sounds Shakira has brought on her tracks. The original Beyoncé-only version had such a feel that Shakira would sound perfect on it, and now it's here. Beyoncé and Shakira take turns singing about their up-to-no-good man on this song. They sound so sexy together. The music video reflects this also.Dance remixes by Freemasons and Maurice Joshua transform this R&B clubbanger for the other clubs.
Promo tracklisting:
01. Original Version (3:20)
02. Freemasons Radio Vox (3:29)
03. Freemasons Club Vox (10:06)
04. Freemasons Club Edit (7:33)
05. Freemasons Dub Vox (9:39)
06. Freemasons Dub Instrumental (9:39)
07. Maurice Joshua New Main (6:05)
08. Maurice Joshua New Instrumental (6:03)
Freemasons bring forth their usual sophisticated retro-chic house style. They move away from the Middle Eastern sound that was in the original. They do bring in some hot Latin elements including a Spanish guitar, castanets, and conga drums. A cheeky little vocal sample from that "Coolie Song" which had its instrumental sampled in countless songs in 2004 has a short vocal sample brought in during some of the vocal portions along with some Indian sitar samples. It's a nice mixture of sounds. The Club Vox mix is an epic mix clocking in at over 10 minutes. It's done in that classic "journey" style of the disco era. It just builds and builds, layer upon layer throughout the track. It's very beautiful. The Club Edit cuts the track down to size making it more manageable for mixshow and not-so-patient club DJs that may not be able to accommodate a mix of that length. The Dub Vox and Dub Instrumental mixes are quite enjoyable as well. These may work better later in the evening. The Radio Vox is a nice tight version of the song that preserves the feel of the longer version in under 4 minutes. Although, the full one is amazing enough that one may want to listen to that instead because it doesn't feel like it goes on forever.
Maurice Joshua delivers a set of soulful/lite Latin house mixes. The pianos, bassline and Latin instruments that come in during the second half of the track really make this mix memorable. The instrumental version is amazing on its own as well. This one differs greatly from what Maurice generally delivers.
Overall, all of these mixes are worth your time. Don't miss out on this massive new one.
The album version will be included on the upcoming re-release of Beyoncé's B'Day. Some of the Freemasons and Maurice Joshua mixes may become available on forthcoming CD singles in the UK and elsewhere.
