July 3, 2008

Mona's Half-Year "Hot-5" Hoopla

5) 50 Cent/G-Unit drama
Relations between Fitty and every G-Unit re-org are increasingly dysfunctional. Whether it's beef with The Game, firing Young Buck (where’s the G-Unity?!), to rappers crying about loyalty on Hot 97... it's great entertainment and hot tracks (see: G-Unit’s “Rider Pt. 2”). The music is so good, it's criminal.

4) Chris Brown's 19th Birthday (Thank God!...)

...I was fearing a burgeoning Mrs. Robinson complex. He sings/dances, he's adorable, and makes R&B fun to watch. “Forever” gives 4:12 of pure, unabashedly cheesy happiness. Also check out: “Down (feat. Kanye West).” Perfect fusion of R&B, hip hop, and a rockin' guitar riff.

3) Ridiculous Guest Spots: “feat. Kanye” vs. “feat. T-Pain”

A feud with 50 or blaming Pearl Jam for that Bonnaroo fiasco can't stop the inventive beats and Jagger-like swagger I love. He's never too busy to put out something fierce (“Flashing Lights” or “Good Life”), or lend lyrical genius to electrified collaborations, like Estelle- “American Boy” or Ne-Yo- “Because of You.” Both Kanye, both awesome.



T-Pain, aka the most ubiquitous man in hip hop and R&B today, always makes you smile when he does his hip-hopified jig while singing. Whether he's buying you a “Drank” with Yung Joc, serenading “Shawty” with Plies, or giving a “Kiss Kiss” at McDonald’s with Chris Brown, it’s sonic perfection. Also, he's cool for making the auto-tune effect relevant again.

2) Hip Hop euphemisms for, well, you-know-what

Kardinal Offishall assures “I don't get soft easy, call me Captain Crunch” in “Buy You A Drank (Remix),” and it’s always nice to be put on notice, in case you didn't get the memo. And when he requests help in making his “black snake moan” in “Dangerous,” how can you NOT be flattered? But my favorite: in Lloyd’s “You,” Lil Wayne says “You give good brain like you graduated from a good school, you know I'm a good move you should do (me!).” Whatever's clever!

1) Usher-
Love In This Club (feat. Young Jeezy)”

...my favorite song, particularly the remix with T.I.’s rap intro. It’s a ridiculously catchy, perfectly mellow chill-out club song... with substance. Much like Geraldo's hard-hitting journalism, Usher asks those serious questions. So ladies… have you? “Have you ever made love, to a thug, in the club?” Think carefully.

7 Comments:

Mona said...

Very honorable mention: the good people at QuickCrit who give me great stuff to read daily. Much thanks to Awmercy for taking the e-chance!

Anonymous said...

You've been listening to way too much hip hop this year. Remember the days when you'd talk for hours about Wolf Parade, Camera Obscura, etc etc. Don't give up on your indie roots! haha

Mona said...

I'm saving the WP show for a year-end review. It'll rock. Don't worry, I'm not switching teams. Hip hop is fun and has just captivated me more this year.

It hasn't exactly been the greatest year for indie rock releases (last year was MUCH better)... but we still have 6 more months to go?

Anonymous said...

Make my "black snake moan." Alright, gotta say that's a pretty funny play on words. Did you see that movie btw? Looked interesting.

Mona said...

No, I have not. But I wanted to... it looked good, disturbing and hopefully disturbingly good.

Amanda said...

I'm GLAD you gave a nod to so much hip hop. Without "Kiss Kiss" I don't know where I'd be. But I know I wouldn't be so unstoppable on the elliptical machine.

Mona said...

Hahaha PQK, hysterical! Seriously... hip hop is just fun music that makes me happy. I'm an indie rocker at heart, but this year has honestly been all about great hip hop, so it's hard to deny. I love "Kiss Kiss" too, Chris Brown is sooo cute in that video :)