From Rihanna to Rich Boy, here's 63-48.
63 “SO FLY (REMIX)”
Slim feat. Jadakiss and Freeway
PRODUCED BY Oddz.N.Endz
From mixtapes
With that oh-so-familiar falsetto, 112’s ex-frontman ventures out on his own over a subtle, supple groove. And with everybody from Faith Evans to Big Boi jumping on the remix, we aren’t the only ones feeling this comeback.
62 “AIN’T I (REMIX)”
Yung L.A. feat. Young Dro and T.I.
PRODUCED BY B. Franks
From mixtapes
Out of nowhere, the sing-songy Yung L.A., equal parts OutKast and MJG, dropped this chiming Southern anthem. Tip chips in a fresh verse, and Dro (where’s the new album?) steals the show, as he so often does.
Chris Brown
PRODUCED BY The Underdogs
From Exclusive (Jive/Zomba)
Eleven years after Usher’s sexed-up “Nice & Slow,” another song finally matches both its raunchiness and adorable ambiguity. Obviously this kid is looking for more than a good-night hug.
Beyoncé
PRODUCED BY Tricky Stewart,The-Dream, and Beyoncé
From I Am...Sasha Fierce (Music World/Columbia)
She’s already got the roc on her finger, but Bey belts out this bold revenge anthem like a bitter bridesmaid. A hand- clapping cattle call rousing enough to spike Zales’ profit margin.
Solange
PRODUCED BY The Neptunes
From Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams (Music World/Geffen)
Beyoncé’s little sis upstages her superstar sibling with a Supremes-inspired handclap gem that turned out to be one of the year’s most pleasant surprises.
58 “GET LIKE ME”
David Banner feat. Chris Brown and Yung Joc
PRODUCED BY Banner
From The Greatest Story Ever Told (SRC/Universal Motown)
If you’d said a couple years ago that the hulking Banner would link up with rosy- cheeked, barely legal Breezy, you’d have been laughed off the block. You’d have also predicted a genius collabo.
57 “GIRLS AROUND THE WORLD”
Lloyd feat. Lil Wayne
PRODUCED BY Big Reese and Jasper
From Lessons in Love (The Inc./Universal Motown)
Lloyd’s velvety falsetto smooths out the infamous hard-rocking bassline from “Paid In Full” for this sexy, summertime club jam. Wayne’s slick-talking 16 bars helped keep it hot in the streets.
Al Green feat. John Legend
PRODUCED BY James Poyser and ?uestlove
From Lay It Down (Blue Note)
John Legend holds his own. But on this plea for love, Rev. Al, whose still-impossible voice gloriously evokes his ’70s prime, doesn’t need the help.
Rocko feat. Young Jeezy, T.I., Boo, and Big Kuntry King
PRODUCED BY Drumma Boy
From mixtapes
In a year full of chest-thumping declarations (Hi, haters! I put on! Big up!), none was
nastier than Rocko’s self-serving shout. He’s a cipher otherwise, but luckily Jeezy, T.I., and seemingly the rest of ATL fill in the blanks on this banger.
Portishead
PRODUCED BY Geoff Barrow
From Third (Island)
Melancholy and exhausted, this comeback cut is a poignant ballad for the habitual fuck-up and ’08’s most beautiful ode to insecurity.
Wale
PRODUCED BY Best Kept Secret
From The Mixtape About Nothing
Over a bounce only a go-go beat could supply, the wildly inventive D.C. lyricist goes off. Let’s hope joining Interscope won’t cramp this kid’s style in 2009.
52 “DON’T STOP THE MUSIC”
Rihanna
PRODUCED BY Stargate
From Good Girl Gone Bad (Def Jam, 2007)
Rih-Rih finally gets her Madonna on with this house-thumper. Note to all the young’uns: that “mama-say-mama- sah” chant is actually from Manu Dibango, not Michael Jackson. Get your learn on.
Rich Boy
PRODUCED BY Zaytoven
From Bigger Than The Mayor (mixtape)
With a lead-in from the Crypt Keeper, densely percussive production, an eerie synth loop, and coke-horror cross-referencing, this underground banger is Southern gothic gone gangsta.
Rick Ross feat. Nelly and Avery Storm
PRODUCED BY Drumma Boy
From Trilla (Slip-N-Slide/Def Jam)
For those who like to party in crushed linen and dance by the pool, this breezy jam is about the only good thing Nelly did this year.
Young Jeezy feat. Nas
PRODUCED BY Tha Bizness
From The Recession (CTE/Def Jam)
Rap’s most lyrically improved MC meets the fearless Queensbridge, N.Y., poet for an aspirational declaration to the streets. Political endorsements never sounded this ’hood.
Keyshia Cole
PRODUCED BY The Ghostwriters
From Just Like You (Geffen, 2007)
A rare glimpse into Ms. Cole’s softer side is heartfelt, and her famously bitter tone is absent here. This is the sound of a queen coming into her own.
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