Egyptian producer Molotof flips three Western hip-hop songs: Dior by Pop Smoke, Low by Flo Rida, and No Church in the Wild by Jay-Z and Kanye West in an EP titled ‘A Frequency from Hadayek Helwan’. Released as part of his Molowave Remix Project, the EP draws inspiration from walks through the Hadayek Helwan district in Cairo. Here, Molotof reworks hip-hop into a shaabi-meets-hip-hop fusion laced with acid-licked arpeggiated synths and vocal chops.
One of the late Pop Smoke’s hits, Dior, originally by the Canarsie, Brooklyn rapper who was shot and killed during a reported home invasion in L.A. earlier this year, is reimagined through Arabic percussion fused with Brooklyn drill and Cairo mahraganat. Molotof completely strips away the heavy drill 808s recognizable in Dior and replaces the drill beat with a heavy, syncopated mahraganat rhythm. He uses his signature kick-snare shaabi pattern with acid house chords running underneath Pop Smoke’s deep voice. While the original Dior is aggressive and celebratory, Molotof’s version feels more menacing and nocturnal. He doesn’t pitch-shift the vocals; instead, he lets Pop Smoke’s natural baritone sit on top of the Egyptian rhythm.
On the second remix, Molotof completely rearranges the late-2000s club essential Low by Flo Rida and T-Pain into a mezmar-infused version, electronically edited and aligned with stripped-back bass, removing its glossy Miami club feel. He removes the upbeat synthesizers and replaces them with dark, minor-key pads. Molotof drags the energy down, making the rapping sound heavier and more sluggish, utilizing maqsoum patterns but recreating them with heavy, distorted industrial drum samples. When the chorus drops (Shawty got low, low, low…), Molotof introduces a squelching, resonant acid bassline that twists and morphs, replacing the sub-bass of the original.
The third track reworks No Church in the Wild by Jay-Z and Kanye West, featuring Frank Ocean and The-Dream, from the album Watch the Throne. Molotof’s remix leans toward a softer interpretation, blending moulid rhythms with acid synthesizers and adding booming bass drums reminiscent of the dof.
Molotof shares on an Instagram post: “Each night, I walk the streets of Hadayek Helwan to catch the frequency. I take a photo and return at night to make a remix for a track that matches my energy that night. I create an artwork to channel what I see in my head for the frequency I caught, and I share it with you.”
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