B.o.B., Asher Roth, & Charles Hamilton, “Change Gon’ Come” Up and coming internet favorites B.o.B, Asher Roth and Charles Hamilton philosophize on the election, the economy and plenty of other well-worn topics for socially conscious rappers. If the use of the sped-up soul sample wasn’t played out enough, they chose Sam Cooke’s wonderful "A Change Is Gonna Come," a song exploited over the last decade by everyone from Ghostface to Papoose. Hamilton and B.o.B deliver adequate, if dry, verses but it’s hard to enjoy a song featuring Roth’s grating, poor-man’s-Eminem flow. It’s also hard not to shudder when Roth joins in with the chipmunk-y Cooke at the beginning of a chorus.
Sam Cooke, “A Change Is Gonna Come” Sam Cooke’s 1964 anthem for the Civil Rights Movement is everything “Change Gon’ Come” isn’t — soulful, powerful, worth listening to. Released as a single just two weeks after his untimely death, it has gained notoriety and respect as the decades have passed. The theatrical strings work perfectly with Cooke’s impassioned vocals. The lyrics are a poignant mix of heartbreaking stories of racism and optimism for the future — the kind of social consciousness artists like Asher Roth can only imagine conveying.
TI feat. Rihanna, “Live Your Life” TI’s second #1 single off last year’s Paper Trail is a triumphant track built around Rihanna’s recreation of O-Zone’s “Dragosteia Din Tei.” “Live Your Life” follows through on what “What You Know” hinted at — TI’s transformation from moderate success to a rapper whose work is fit for packed arenas. The sample is a key element, but the real MVP is the chorus of “oh!”s and “hey!”s that cut in and out of it.
O-Zone, “Dragosteia Din Tei” This is that song from the internet video of the chubby kid dancing that you laughed at, and then felt bad about, and then forgot. It’s incredibly annoying yet vaguely catchy, a bad mix which is luckily flip-flopped when it’s used as a sample. On its own, it is an unbearable mix of falsetto crooning in Romanian and a relentless techno beat. Yet, somehow it’s been a hit in over 10 countries.
The Notorious B.I.G., “Notorious B.I.G.” “Notorious B.I.G.” has seen a return to the spotlight because of its use in advertisements for the new Biggie Smalls biopic, Notorious. Originally released on Biggie’s 1999 posthumous Born Again, it is vintage '90s Bad Boy — an upbeat, sleek beat that gels just right with the previously unreleased B.I.G. rhymes. Puff Daddy and Lil' Kim each handle a verse, but it says something that their efforts pale in comparison to Biggie’s leftovers.
Duran Duran, “Notorious” The basis for Biggie’s hook on “Notorious B.I.G.,” Duran Duran’s “Notorious” is a strange mix of new wave and funk that only sounds goofy 20 years later. Produced by Chic founder Niles Rodgers, the song is built around a catchy guitar riff, but every other element is drenched in cheesy 80s R&B. The video, which features mullets and singer Simon Le Bon completely rocking out on the tambourine, hasn’t aged well either.
