Sade has music that works for just about any mood. Beat Junkies founder, JayLib member, and Soundbombing, Vol. 2 co-host J. Rocc grasps this fact and melded her soulful melodies with the rugged flow of Mobb Deep in Thug Ballads. He combines the right Sade instrumental back-drops and vocals with just the right rhymes from Havoc and the late Prodigy.

The 12-track project offers six original mashups with Sade’s vocals and six with just the instrumentals. Although the combination has the potential to be jarring, the producer married the two seamlessly (for the most part). The best example perhaps comes in the form of 1995 cross-town collaboration “Microphone Masters” joining hands with Love Deluxe single “Pearls” in “Microphone” featuring Das EFX. Another highlight is the fusion of The Infamous classic cut “Survival Of The Fittest” with 1992’s “Cherish The Day” in “Survival.”

DOOM & Sade’s Mash-Up Bond Is No Ordinary Love. SADEVILLAIN 2 Strikes (Audio)

J Rocc has been making intelligent mashups for years, putting phenoms like Biggie and Michael Jackson with band-mate and close associate J Dilla as well as nodding to other celebrated producers like Pete Rock.

In addition to appears from Drayz and Skoob’s appearance, Rakim and Big Noyd verses also make their way to Thug Ballads.