47 “VIVA LA VIDA”
Coldplay
PRODUCED BY Coldplay and Brian Eno
From Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (EMI)
A prince-to-pauper tale led by Chris Martin’s sullen delivery, jabbing strings, and drowning drums. With all that Horatio Alger drama, it’s no wonder this became a rapper favorite.
46 “SINGLE”
New Kids On The Block feat. Ne-Yo
PRODUCED BY Polow Da Don
From The Block (Interscope)
Seriously! Ne-Yo and Polow Da Don chip in on this comeback. But it’s the swelling five-part harmonies and weird urgency from these aging daddies that makes this one so surprisingly winning.
Swizz Beatz
PRODUCED BY Swizz Beatz
From mixtapes
Toying with Coldplay’s gloomy track and transforming it into a triumphant cow-belled stunt-fest, Swizzy is at his best. Michael Jordan’s cash? Not enough. Tiger’s cake? Too small. He’s aiming for that Oprah.
Mavado
PRODUCED BY TJ
From Unfinished Business (riddim)
Dancehall’s “Gangster For Life” has been everywhere this year, from Grand Theft Auto IV to collabos with Jay-Z and G Unit. Just in case you were wondering why, he breaks it down over a reprise of Dave Kelly’s “Showtime” riddim. “I’m so special,” he points out. “That’s why me strapped with a .45 special.”
Bloc Party
PRODUCED BY Jacknife Lee
From Intimacy (Vice)
Lead singer Kele Okereke’s howls ring out like an air-raid siren, but it’s the masterfully drum-driven disorder—think Jim Henson’s helter-skelter muppet Animal murdering a seven-piece trap set—that sets the pace.
42 “POP CHAMPAGNE”
Jim Jones and Ron Browz feat. Juelz Santana
PRODUCED BY Ron Browz
From Pray for Reign (Byrd Gang/Columbia)
How do you top the 2006 smash “We Fly High”? Jack producer Ron Browz’ Auto-Tune– assisted song, keep his hook, throw your own swagger on it, and ahem, pop a couple bottles. Baaaalllin’! Part Two!
41 “I LUV YOUR GIRL”
The-Dream
PRODUCED BY Tricky Stewart
From Love Hate (Radio Killa/Def Jam, 2007)
Proof that the erstwhile Terius Nash isn’t all ays, this simple-sounding but secretly complex look at forbidden love is a slow jam for the new millennium: lewd, specific, and swaying enough to keep the dance floor full.
T.I.
PRODUCED BY Drumma Boy
From Paper Trail (Grand Hustle/Atlantic)
Tip is so smart, he can end your whole career without uttering your name once. Hi, Shawty Lo!
Trina
PRODUCED BY J-Roc
From Still da Baddest (Slip-N-Slide)
Flirty, ferocious proof that female rap is lush and alive, this underrated MC—“Got my own diamonds / So I gave back the promise ring”— drops enough subliminals and sick rhymes to rouse Yo-Yo from hosting. A pop hit disguised as a Florida-fried girl-power anthem, “Single Again” is fun, sexual, strong—sublime.
Raphael Saadiq
PRODUCED BY Raphael Saadiq
From The Way I See It (Columbia)
On an album full of homages, this one hits closest to The Temptations. But Saadiq’s winsome moan makes it anything but a throwback. Masterful replication meets honest emotion.
TV On The Radio
PRODUCED BY David Sitek
From Dear Science (Touch and Go/4AD/Interscope)
The Brooklyn, N.Y., quartet’s first foray into purple-tinted pop is an organic blend of soul-stabbing art-rock that’s too triumphant to be a Negro spiritual but rousing enough to propel it to the church rafters.
Ray J feat. Yung Berg
PRODUCED BY Noel“Detail” Fisher
From All I Feel (KOCH)
Requesting to “hit it from the front” and needing their manners excused, Ray and Berg went crass here but still created ’08’s first official banger.
Maxwell
PRODUCED BY Maxwell and Stuart Matthewman
FromBlack Summers’ Night (Columbia)
What makes this song so amazing is the comeback king’s breathy falsetto massaging the root of the track while crumbling your ideas about love underneath.
Webbie feat. Lil Boosie and Lil’ Phat
PRODUCED BY Mouse
From Savage Life 2 (Trill/Asylum)
With an unavoidable chorus and another chaotic Mouse production— “Wipe Me Down (remix)” made last year’s list—the Trill fam had the fellas and ladies longing for freedom.
Alicia Keys
PRODUCED BY Jack Splash
From As I Am (J)
Few songs are as aptly titled as this one. With its Motown-era drums and punchy guitar licks, Keys’ ode to young romance captures the past like a love letter written on college-ruled line paper.
Plies feat. Ne-Yo
PRODUCED BY JR Rotem
From Definition of Real (Big Gates/Slip-N-Slide/Atlantic)
After unsuccessfully pairing with Trey Songz for the raunchier, unreleased “Bust It Baby Part 1,” Plies snagged the perfect gentleman and a slick sample of Janet Jackson’s“Come Back to Me” to woo his dream lady. Filthy and fervent.
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