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Remix albums are like shopping at flea markets.  You know there's going to be a lot of junk, and things that would only appeal to certain tastes, but occasionally you find a hidden gem underneath all of the "one of a kind" bargains that seem to plague these events.

TobyMac's Renovating Diverse City is aimed at his completist fans, and fans of hip hop dance music.  While some may question the timing of the release (Welcome to Diverse City is still getting airplay), others will praise the artist for striking while the iron is hot.

DJ's and mixmasters will undoubtedly try to redo some of these songs for themselves using Garageband or Cool Edit Pro, but Mac has recruited a plethora of those types for himself: Tedd T, Doubledutch, Liquid, and Math are among the contributors here.

The best of these are "The Slam" (d Dubb) and "Gone" (Tedd T).  The others add little to the originals, which were of questionable quality to begin with.  Rather than renovate Diverse City, it would be preferable to bring in the wrecking crew and start with something new.

Brian A. Smith
12 August 2005