Recapping 2010…errrr

…what’s happened so far….

Since I haven’t been here to keep you up on what’s hot, I thought I’d catch you up. Without further ado…

The Top 10 Songs of the First 4 Months of 2010

10. “Pursuit Of Happiness (Steve Aoki Remix)”-Kid Cudi

The original was the best song on the album, but this remix, with its’ complete outburts of bass, takes the song to another level.  The album was really dope, though I don’t recommend listening to it on long drives by yourself.  Kind of sucks the life out of any fun you are on your way to have.  Cudi is the poster child for emo-rap.  Dope Emo-rap, but emo-rap nonetheless.

9. “Lil Freak”-Usher feat. Nicki Minaj

The team that brought you “Love In The Club” goes for a more edgy theme this time around, and replaces Jeezy with Nicki, thus thrusting her into the mainstream.  Personally, I don’t see what the big deal is.  Anyone who doesn’t think most men’s fantasy is to have a menage including Ms Minaj is not living in reality.  And Polow’s vintage drumlines merely enunciate that point.

8. “I Wanna Rock” (& Remixes)-Snoop Dogg (featuring just about everyone on the planet)

And the award for the most remixed song of the year goes to…  My personal favorite is the “Green Lantern Interstate Remix” partially because I was never too fond of the Rob Base flip on the original, and partially because it features Rawse’s memorable verse (“Bitch, I think I’m Scarface, bitch I think I’m Nino”).

7. “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home)”-Usher

Usually I prefer the rap versions of R&B songs, but I make an exception for any song including Plies.  While I don’t find his verse as terribly annoying as others have, I still prefer the album version.  It’s no secret that Ursh doesn’t have the star-power he used to.  Maybe he should get in the studio with Mr. Dupri and put together a proper follow-up to Confessions.….you know, because it sold like 80 trillion albums.  Just a thought.

6. “Drop The World”-Lil Wayne feat. Eminem

The odd pairing’s second track together.  For the record, Em, of course, roasts Wayne.  But this is probably his best verse since 2002.  This is more of a typical Eminem song than Lil Wayne song, and he feels right at home on the gloomy instrumental.  For the record, Em is more in his zone on rock production than Wayne anyway.  And this is really the only song on Rebirth worth checking for anyway.

5. “Soldier Of Love”-Sade

In case you didn’t know, Sade is a Goddess who comes down to earth every few years to show us mere mortals how to make music.  Case in point: her new album Soldier Of Love.  The drumline leads the song into the metaphor of love as the wild wild west.  Of course she sounds exceptionally sexy, as she always does.

4. “Babyfather”-Sade

This reggae-tinged sappily sweet love song is very reminiscent of Erykah Badu’s duet with Stephen Marley in 2000, “In Love With You.” I wonder if Sade’s a big Badu fan. In fact, reggae as a whole is making a comeback in 2010, with this song and the Damian Marley collabo album with Nas. It’ll be interesting to see what comes of all this.

3. “Nuthin On You”-B.O.B. feat. Bruno Mars

The most commonly talked about song of the year, B.O.B. has taken the pop charts by storm. Sounding like the child of Tribe’s “Bonita Applebaum” and Lupe’s “Superstar,” this has become the first big pop-rap song of 2010 and may finish the year higher on this list. Plus it introduced the lines “just like that girl you got me froze, like a Nintendo 64” and “nevermind that we should let it go, cuz we don’t wanna be a TV episode” into my life.

2. “Window Seat”-Erykah Badu

While many people talked about her controversial nudity in the video, people may be missing the point. “Window Seat” is Ms. Badu’s most dominant single since “Love Of My Life.” And it’s probably her strongest single since her first album. But I gotta admit, the nudity doesn’t exactly hurt.

1. “Exhibit C”-Jay Electronica

Beating out his lady is Jay Electronica, the newest savior of purist hip hop. To be honest, there’s not another song on the same hemisphere as this one through the first 4 months. And this really dropped in October! This is the best song in years, Just Blaze is the best producer right now, blah blah blah. Now let’s drop a damn album already, okay?

 

The NEXT….

Ok so this new class of emcees has been hugely hyped. Here’s my guide to the 6 notables:

Maino

Singles: 1.) “Hi Hater” 2.) “All The Above”
Heavily buzzed and incredibly overrated, Maino has finally found a song even I couldn’t hate on with “All The Above” (though much props must be given to Just Blaze for the beat and T-Pain for the hook). Yes it’s more auto-tune madness, yes it’s a re-hashed beat, but it’s completely dope nonetheless. Building on the foundation of Blaze’s recent TI/Rihanna smash, “Live Your Life,” the beat is irresistible. And while I’d like to chalk this up to Pain and Blaze solely, one must admit that Maino does his THANG on this track. So props are given. However it’s hard to place him among this group. Maino’s name has been around forever and it seemed he’d be relegated to gangsta mixtape rapper ala Tru Life or Uncle Murda. He over drove “Hi Hater” and let the momentum die out. Let’s hope he doesn’t do that with this single. Although I’m quite the Maino ‘hater,’ even I’d like to see him succeed.

Asher Roth

Singles: 1.) “I Love College”

I’m tempted to say this guy is overrated too. But I think there’s more to it than that. He’d be right at home in the late 90’s. But he would’ve ended up on Rawkus and gotten lost in the shuffle. So maybe its better that he’s coming out now. Now, Asher has skills. He ripped Copywrite (who’s a pretty dope emcee in his own right) a new one. But to me, it seems like his label is trying so hard to make him the new Eminem, that it’s really just coming across as s forced. Hopefully after this album bricks, he’ll go somewhere with a lower budget but more artistic freedom. It won’t be until then that we’ll see how dope this kid really is. So while he might rip some of these other cats in a battle, I’d have to say he only barely keeps my attention further than Maino.

Charles Hamilton

Singles: 1.) “Brooklyn Girls
So this kid, I have no problem saying both that he’s dope, but a bit overrated. The Soulja Boy “beef” was strange and contrived. I am sort of afraid for him that Rhymefest is about to rip him a new asshole. But he has a good thing going. “Brooklyn Girls” has slowly caught on and, if he can get Jimmy Iovine away from his desperate attempts to force-feed us Eminem, Dre, and 50 albums, he has momentum for a bigger follow-up.  He’s definitely talented – both as an emcee and a producer, but you wonder if the pure quantity of product he’s releasing is possibly watering down the product itself.  The thing is, he’s definitely better than Maino or Asher.  But is he better than Cudi?  No.  B.O.B. or Wale?  Not even close…

Kid Cudi

Singles: 1.) Day & Nite

Perhaps the biggest single of the year thus far is Cudi’s stoner anthem “Day N Nite.” Cudi is a throwback to the 90’s era of stoner/creative rappers like Hiero and Pharcyde. With the G.O.O.D. Music muscle behind him (not to mention inevitable cameos from Kanye, Common, Consequence, John Legend, and the rest), he should be good with the marketing game.  There’s really no great current comparison for him, though maybe a more drug-induced Lupe Fiasco? Plus the kid looks like some sort of weird cross between Monta Ellis and Prince Paul. That’s always a plus.

Wale

Singles: 1.) “Fresh”
The Punchline King. I haven’t been this big on a punchline rapper since the 90’s, but Wale’s got mad flow and charisma to go with the package. He has shown he can rhyme over anything, and he’s got the right people behind him to be a star. It seems like it’s only a matter of “when” not “if.” Of course, we’ve said that before with other rappers, so we’ll see how this lasts. “Fresh” is quite fresh and is very dope in its’ own with a well-timed Lady Gaga hook. So it could be very soon that Wale is all over the place. One only hopes that when he does blow up, he remembers what got him there.

B.O.B.

Singles: 1.) “Haterz Everywhere”, 2.) “I’ll Be In The Sky”
While there are a ton of rappers who compare themselves to Jay-Z, Snoop, and Nas, there’s another legend whom B.O.B. compares to that’s a more difficult lane to fill. B.O.B. just reminds everyone of Andre 3000. He’s just ill on the mic, and maad experimental. He brings some originality to the game that desperately needs it.  With T.I. locked up, hopefully the rest of Grand Hu$tle gives him the push he deserves, cuz this kid is a superstar in the waiting.