1. Meek Mill f/ Young Chris - "House Party"
I raved about "I'm A Boss" in this space a few months ago, but I think I like this even more. I love how the beat has some of the most sinister, foreboding synths on the radio but the hook gives the track a party vibe and makes it feel like a hit. I've never been a big Young Chris fan but it's kinda cool to hear him on this, brings home that I think Meek Mill is in what I've always felt is a tradition of Philly having rappers like State Prop or Cassidy or Eve who come across really grimy while having pretty good commercial instincts and managing to not feel like that's as much of a compromise or contradiction as it tends to be with NYC that seem so weighted down by their city's history.

2. Roscoe Dash - "Good Fucking Night"
Throughout Roscoe Dash's whole precipitous rise, I never really got the sense he was capable of anything I'd much like. I didn't like "All The Way Turnt Up," and I fucking hated "No Hands" and "Marvin & Chardonnay," but at this moment when he's on the verge of total ubiquity, he went and made something I really dig. This feels kind of instantly huge in the same way that "Black & Yellow" did when it first dropped, but I never actually liked that song like I like this. I even like how Roscoe raps the first verse, but he switches up for the second verse to the flow he usually does that I hate.

3. Ne-Yo f/ Trey Songz and T-Pain - "The Way You Move"
The first time I heard this song introduced on the radio, the lineup sounded kind of random and perhaps a little desperate on Ne-Yo's part. But I quickly came to realize that the song's strength is that it takes these 3 R&B stars with very distinct and seemingly incompatible approaches and finds this perfect middle ground they can all meet on while still being themselves. Shame Ne-Yo's album is apparently called The Cracks In Mr. Perfect.

4. Cobra Starship f/ Sabi - "You Make Me Feel..."
As a huge stan for the Patrick Stump album, I've been really bitter about the fact that it's been a total commercial failure while two of the douchiest groups he used to be Decaydance labelmates with in the Fall Out Boy days, Cobra Starship and Gym Class Heroes, currently have top 10 hits. But I have grudgingly begun to enjoy this one, which started innocently enough with me watching the video over and over because Sabi is one of the most insanely gorgeous women I've ever seen. The song itself, though, does has its charms -- at first I thought the drums were a bit weak and that that was a symptom of it being half-assed hipster dance pop, but now I've come to realize that the lack of pummeling beats makes it feel a bit lighter and more charming than the more aggressive Eurodance productions. it's sharing pop airwaves with.

5. Flo Rida - "Good Feeling"
I've already made peace with my embarrassment over enjoying "Club Can't Handle Me," so I guess I can deal with liking Flo Rida's latest shameless ploy to stay on the pop charts longer than any reasonable person could've expected, this time assisted by Dr. Luke. Mainly I just like the Etta James hook.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 11:00 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.