Life After Death Star mashes together The Notorious B.I.G., Star Wars to stunning effect

By Chris Dart | December 4, 2015 | 7:30pm

Aux Features Music

If there are two things nerdcore rapper Richie Branson loves in equal measure, it’s Star Wars and rap. His debut EP, Cold Republic Episode I: The Empire Likes Rap, was inspired by his love for the video game Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Now Branson has combined his passions again, this time in the form of a remix project with producer Solar Slim. (The pair are working collaborating under the name Otaku Gang, which is also the name of Branson’s label.) Life After Death Star combines the rhymes of Notorious B.I.G. with John Williams’ Oscar winning theme from Star Wars, and manages to improve on both. What’s amazing about Death Star is how natural it feels. A Star Wars remix album could be really gimmicky, but this actually manages to make Biggie’s thundering baritone more imposing and adds a new layer of ominousness to his delivery. (The remix of “Party And Bullshit,” which features a slowed down version of the song from the Mos Eisley cantina scene, is a particularly impressive highlight.)