Listen Up! 5 Hip-Hop Song Covers We Love

April 5, 2012 - 5:48 pm by VIBE

We think everyone can appreciate a good song cover, which is why we were so pleased with Bruno Mars' cover set at the Playboy mansion last month. From Aaliyah's "Rock The Boat" to The Throne's "Ni**as in Paris," pop's soulful it-boy nailed it all with finesse. The thing about doing song covers, though, is that they can turn out really, really good or really, really bad. But bad isn't the case in the following performances we're sharing with you. VIBE counts down five of our favorite hip-hop covers to hit the net the past few years. —Stephanie Long

5 Hip-Hop Covers We Love

Maroon 5 - "Frontin'" (Pharrell)

Maroon 5's cover of Pharrell's "Frontin'" added just enough flair to make it theirs without tainting the original. If Chad Hugo's presence doesn't nab you, Mos Def's "Bonita Applebum" break will steal your heart. Listen here.

Lissie - "Pursuit of Happiness" (Kid Cudi)

The wonderful thing about Lissie is, despite what you may draw from her quaint appearance, this girl actually commands attention on a track. If there's one song that exemplifies, it's her cover of Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness." Schoolboy Q was aware of this; he picked it up as a sample for a song with A$AP Rocky ("Hands on the Wheel"). Listen here.

The Klaxons - "No Diggity" (Blackstreet)

This London indie rock band isn't exactly what you'd consider urban, but you might think twice upon hearing their cover of the 90's Blackstreet smash "No Diggity." In fact, they hit the head on the nail so directly that, within the first few seconds of hitting play, we had to check that we weren't listening to the original. Listen here.

Rita Ora - "Hey Ya!" (Outkast)

The blonde bombshell has always been striking as a pop vocalist, and this performance only solidifies her musical credibility. Rita Ora does Outkast justice in this stripped down acoustic performance of "Hey Ya!" Listen here.

Karmin - "Super Bass" (Nicki Minaj)

Don't get us wrong, the original was catchy, but there's something about Karmin's charm that we can't get enough of. Amy Heidemann's execution of the Queen Barb's bars is impressive, and we're totally digging the accompaniment provided by Questlove on percussion. All-in-all this cover does it for us, and it doesn't hurt that Miss Heidemann can sing, too. Listen here.

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