Most hip-hop fans out there, this one included, are too young to know the music of Nat King Cole, other than his most famous hit, “Unforgettable”. As one of the most important and influential singers in the history of the United States, Cole was the first African-American to host a television variety show during the 1950′s, collaborating with artists of the era, including Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Belafonte,  Ertha Kitt and others. Cole died of lung cancer in 1965.

So yeah, Cole never collaborated with Rick Ross or Lil’ Wayne, so we can be sure that today’s younger generation is completely in the dark on this – and to be fair, even the post-backpacker thirty-something’s have little to reference either, as there wasn’t exactly any SD50 or Showbiz remixes of Cole’s music. But “Re:Generations” might just be the next best thing. Similar to other remix albums like Sergio Mendes’ “Timeless” or Sly & The Family Stone’s “Different Strokes By Different Folks”, a handful of today’s like-minded artists have reviewed, remixed, and re-imagined the songs of Nat King Cole.

So while Nat’s daughter had already done justice to “Unforgettable” in 1991, the song is not touched here, nor are many of his other hit singles, such as “Smile”, “If I May”, or “A Blossom Fell”. Instead, this album digs deeper into King’s catalog, selecting many of his lesser-known compositions. Many of the usual suspects that are found on these types of albums are here, as well as a few new faces. Will.I.Am teams with Natalie Cole and the ghost of Nat for the sultry jazz sounds of “Straighten Up & Fly Right”, while Gnarls Barkley frontman Cee-Lo Green creates a mostly instrumental rendition of  “Lush Life” around a haunting Nat vocal sample – one that would make Danger Mouse proud. Naturally, The Roots are also present, whom remix “Walkin’ My Baby Back Home” in sort of a two-part edition, first with Nat’s original vocal, followed by a darker interpretation by Black Thought.

A welcome surprise this time around is Nas, who teams with underrated producer Salaam Remi on the samba-tinged “Game Of Love”, finding Nasir effortlessly riding the beat as if it was the latest club hit. Also perfectly executed is the Cut Chemist remix of “Day In Day Out”, which finds the producer in hog-heaven, with probably some of the richest sample material he’s ever got to play with. Here, Chemist goes buck wild, with layers of drum loops and breaks, as if he were crafting another “Swing Set” for Jurassic 5. But some of the best remixes here are not even by hip-hop producers, but by Latin artists like Brazilian Girls (“El Choclo”) and Bebel Gilberto (“Brazillian Love Song”), both of whom match Cole’s spicier selections nicely.

Not every remix is executed with such finesse however. Just Blaze’s take on “Pick-Up” finds the producer crafting the track like a “Daily Operation” era Gang Starr track – which works on that level – but totally falls apart due to the obnoxious actresses that try to turn the song into a man-out-of-time culture clash skit. While the intent is understood, it almost comes off disrespectful to Nat King Cole, in a way. Also oddly included is the TV On The Radio cover of “Nature Boy”. Sure, it’s nice to see that Nat’s influence has even penetrated the world of rock music, but we’re just not sure how Nat sounds over a Trent Reznor-esque track (respectfully produced by David Andrew Sitek).

The only other real fault here was in some of the selections of artists. The inclusion of an unestablished new artist like Izza Kizza comes off as cheap record company politricks, considering he doesn’t even have an album of his own to justify why he was able to share the mic with a legend like Cole. Furthermore, with such a huge influence that Nat has had on music in general, surely it would have made more sense to employ artists like DJ Premier, Guru, John Legend, Outkast, – people that have at least something close to the notoriety that Nat has in their respective genres / eras. Despite these minor missteps, for the most part, “Re: Generations” achieves success. The goal here was obviously to introduce the legendary sounds of Nat King Cole to today’s generations, and with that they have succeeded in insuring that his music remains unforgettable. – Pizzo