My Ultimate Fantasy

Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy (Bad Boy Remix)” is one of the underrated gems of the 90s. It’s cropped up now and again on my iPod in the last few weeks, and I keep meaning to write it a little love letter, so here it is.

Note that my praise is not for the original version of “Fantasy” but specifically for the Bad Boy Remix, featuring the departed Ol’ Dirty Bastard.

(Please take a moment and pour some out for ODB. It’s cool. I’ll wait.)

This is one of the few songs where the remix is better than the original. Actually, Bad Boy did a few remixes during this time period that I consider better than the original, like Craig Mack’s “Flava in Your Ear.”

This version of “Fantasy” uses a genius sample of Tom Tom Club’s 1981 song “Genius of Love“, and the video features all of the things you’d want out of a classic 90′s video. Specifically..

• Mariah in her prime.
• ODB
• ODB dressed up as a creepy clown
• “I’m a little bit counnnntryyyyy, I’m a little bit rock ‘n’ rolllllll.” Need I say more?

What more could you ask for?

This video also rocks because Sean Combs actually restrained himself from putting himself in the video. Even though his voice features prominently in the audio, he had the good sense to stay invisible and let hot Mariah and the incomparable ODB do their thing.

It seems commonplace now, but this was one of the first songs – if not the first song – to seamlessly meld sultry, female R&B vocals with a hard-hitting male MC rap solo. Mariah and ODB paved the way for Christina/Redman, Beyonce/Jay-Z (in one of the best songs ever ), Rhianna/Eminem, and countless other R&B/rap duets for years to come.

If this song isn’t on your iPod now, it should be. You guys should go back like babies and pacifiers. Get it today.