Huuuh. School has started, the nights are shorter, box
braids have been removed, boys are getting back with their girlfriends they
dumped back in May. Unfortunately, these are the sure signs that the summer is
officially over. While you hang up your striped BeatleJuice leggings , we can
recap the highly eventful summer we had in hip hop. The summer got Jay Z off his throne
long enough to bless us with another album. Both Wale and J Cole succeeded all
expectations with their sophomore albums. Miley Cyrus scared main stream media
with her twerking. And Kanye… well yea
you know what Kanye did. Just like every
other summer, Summer 2013 produced its own set list of songs that we couldnt
escape. Here are 5 that stood out.
5)Body Party- Ciara -Ciara
Ciara
managed to scrape her way out the clearance cd ben with her first single off of
her fourth studio album Body Party
and gave us ladies a well needed slow jam for the summer. After the tragic DHR
(death by heavy rotation) of Beyonce’s Dance
for You, the club was in need of something for ladies to slow wine to. And
Body Party was just simple and tolerable enough to fill the part. Considering
Ci,Ci has been shooting blanks musically since 2007, it was nice to see her on
the charts again. (Not that we missed her too much). One has to give it up to
the determination of young Ciara. She debut her first single Goodies in 2004 amongst the clutter of all
the other disposable female R&B singers (Teirra Marie, Christina Millian,
Brooke Valentine ect.) and instead of falling into the endless abyss of
forgotten starlets she manages to claw her way out with a tolerable song time
and time again. While men were more interested in the smooth, contorted dance
moves in the video, the chorus was just suggestive and catchy enough for women
to sing along too. Unfortunately as mildly acceptable as this song was this
summer, it apparently wasn’t enough to sell her album. Even the demonic voice
of Nick Minaj couldn’t get people to get interested in her second single I’m Out. We will probably forget about
this record completely by December and
it will take another three years for Ciara to scrape up another half way
acceptable song; but for what its worth, we got something to sing badly to this
summer. Back to the clearance ben with you now.
4) Feds Watching- 2 Chainz-B.O.A.T.S II
What’s
a summer without 2Chaaaaaiiiiinz?! (2 Chainz voice) We actually almost
experienced one, but 2Chainz was able to sneak in one good banger in before
Labor Day. The first single from his sophomore studio album B.O.A.T.S II is a
lyrical catastrophe conveniently overshadowed by the production genus of
Pharell Williams ( he’s been busy this year).
And after listening to his album in its entirety, I must warn you that
Feds Watching is the only song carrying any type of weight. (Ooooo I smell a
sophomore curse!) This song just gives us a reason to drunkenly wipe down our
fresh Forever 21 outfits in the club and gave us an ideal caption for our club
pictures on Instagram. As a law abiding citizen, I don’t know why the “feds”
would be watching me, and considering Mr. Chainz’s previous run ins with the
law this year, you would think he would be trying to keep a low profile. But never the less, it has a catchy hook,
some drug references and a bomb ass beat, therefore it meets all of the
criteria needed for a good club banger.
3) Versace (just
Drake’s Verse)- Migos
Moral
of the story, don’t let Drake have the first verse on your song.
After releasing a few songs so we didn’t forget
about him completely before his album dropped, Drake graced up and coming Atlanta
rappers Migos with a verse on their first single, titled Versace. Upon the
song's release, the up and coming trio learned one cardinal rules of hip-hop; never let a better known (more lyrically advanced) artist have the first verse on your song, simply
because nobody’s going to listen to that garbage after the first minute and a
half. Granted, this may have been the best promotional move for Migos because I
can’t picture them making it main stream on their own. It’s funny, because
seconds after Drake’s verse you realize how stupidly catchy the song truly is.
I mean once you reference impregnating Halle Berry, it really not much you can
say after that. I honestly can’t even recall a DJ even playing the song after
the first verse. This song had us singing about a very popular
label that none of us can afford, and took over the club when it was played.
Miss Donatella Versace appreciated the free promotion so much that she scared
the stuffy fashion crowd by playing the song at the conclusion of her 2014 show
in Milan. Will we ever hear from Migos again? Due to their underground fan base, we probably will,
but I can’t see them having a bigger hit than this summer banger.
2)Don’t Drop that
Thun Thun Thun - Finatticz
 |
| Wow, how creatively degrading is this picture -__- smh |
Now I
don’t know what a “thun, thun, thun,” is, and I’m unsure why I’m NOT supposed
to drop it, but all I know is that this song was the universal signal to turn
up this summer. I’m always a fan of a stupid song that makes a room full of
people sing in unison and this song is just that, nothing more, nothing less.
The unfortunate thing is that, while your IQ may drop as you listen to it; this
song has the potential to go in the unwritten “Book of Club Bangers”. Next summer,
while we are all twerking to a whole new set list of mindless noise; when the
DJ drops that beat that sounds like it was mastered in somebody’s basement,
we’re going to turn up (or whatever phrase we’re going to be using in reference
to having a good time).
Do you listen to this song anyplace other than in a
crowd of people? No. Does anybody sing this song past the chorus? No. (If you
do, kill yourself) Are we going to hear from these dudes again? Probably not.
But it got a good ride this summer, thank you for the banger, it was fun. I’m filing this one next to Crank That by Souja Boy.
1)Blurred Lines-Robin Thicke ft TI & Pharrell Williams -Blurred Lines
OMG,
this f-in song just would not go away. This song was forced into our ears everywhere
we turned this summer. And whether MTV or anybody wants to admit it, this was
the song of summer 2013. I can’t figure out if it was the fault of the people
or of the radio DJ’s that made this the song of the summer but you will not
think of the year 2013 without thinking about Robin Thicke’s , Blurred Lines. Any song that can blur
the generational lines of music automatically goes in the book of summer
classics. The funny thing is that as tired of this damn song as you may be,
something about Pharrell William’s beat will not let you turn it off. This song was able to reduce chopper touting,
family man T.I into somebody’s James Brown shuffling uncle and cemented Pharrell
William’s place as one of the best producers of all time. Robin Thicke’s Beatle
Juice striped suit and the “artistically nude” models got people to glue
themselves to the video and his smooth R&B voice got people attached to the
song. The song grew to such a massive level that it made people forget about
the other 13 tracks on Thicke’s Blurred
Lines album. (Which is Tay Approved by the way). Whether we like it or not,
we are going to reminisce on the events
of summer 2013 when we hear this song in the future. It’s going to be played at
all future cookouts, weddings and family gatherings right after the Atomic Dog. Whether it was forced upon
us or not, we’re going to have to live with this song forever.
Album of the Summer: Magna
Carta /Holy Grail- Jay
Z
The
FSKW(Feel Some Kinda Way) Song of the Summer:
Mirrors-
Justin Timberlake- The 20/20 Experience
6) Work
(Remix)- A$AP
Ferg ft A$AP Rocky, French Montana & Schoolboy Q
-“Coogi down to
the socks like I’m Big Poppa..BAAABBBYYY!”
7)Started from
the Bottom- Drake
-
A
child star on
a hit TV show is not what I would consider the bottom but ok.
8) Holy Grail-
Jay Z ft Justin Timberlake
9)Control- Big Sean ft Kendrick Lamar & Jay Electronica
-.You
can’t shake up the rap game like Kendrick did and get away with it.
10) Clappers- Wale ft Juicy J & Nicki Minaj
-"Shawty
Tay got a big ol butt OH YEEEEAAAAAAA!"
Honorable
mentions
We in the Bitch- B.O.B ft Juicy J
- Drunk
song of the year. " They tried to shut us down bout an hour ago but we still in this bitch!!"
Sail- AWOLNATION
Red Nose- Sage the Gemini
-Anybody
figured out how to do this dance yet?
Blood on the Leaves- Kanye West
This list is strictly objective. I based this
list off of songs that were in rotation on the radio and amongst my area Dj’s.
Knowing that my hip-hop twitter gurus are extremely sensitive to any attempts
of ranking hip hop songs, therefore I
feel the need to state that Tay reserves her right to write posts about songs
that made her shake her booty this summer.
Did I miss your favorite song on this list?! Feel free to
leave your personal summer banger list in the comments below!! Feedback is always Tay Approved ;)
