Year-End Awards & The Top Songs of 2007
Dec 31 '07 (Updated Jan 01 '08)
The Bottom Line I-I get it!
Year-End Awards & The Top Songs of 2007
Rap Single of the Year: ‘I Get Money’ – 50 Cent
50 Cent did not have a good year. He made a complete fool of himself by guaranteeing a victory over Kanye in their September 11th publicity-stunt showdown, even saying that he would retire and stop making albums if he lost. Then he lost by a ridiculous amount of units and acted like a b.itch for the rest of the year. But he did have one shining moment. After releasing five or six mediocre singles (‘Ayo Technology’ still bangs, though), one stood tall among the rest. ‘I Get Money’ is one of my favorite tracks of his, behind ‘In Da Club’ and ‘Many Men’, and it’s mainly because of the sinister synths, brilliantly primitive drums, and that addictive chorus where 50 only has to say two words. But 50 Cent is an artist who has all his career relied on these big singles, and with the right ingredients, he knows exactly how to make a hit. I-I get it!
Nominees:
‘We Takin’ Over’ – DJ Khaled & Friends
‘Can’t Tell Me Nothin’ – Kanye West
‘My Drink N’ My 2 Step’ – Cassidy & Swizz Beatz
Best Single That Never Got Airplay: ‘All The Above’ – Beanie Sigel & R. Kelly
I don’t care what anyone says, R. Kelly plus The Runners equals pure f.ucking gold. ‘Go Getta’ was my favorite single of 2006, but on paper Beanie Sigel didn’t seem like the right fit for this hit-making formula. On first listen I thought he sounded a little akward on The Runner’s demonic chants and two-step drums, but each listen reveals his grimy prescence and straight vicious rhymes. “I Don’t stop for the law, push the pedal to the floor, Rock star n*gga, heavy metal on draw!” And once those enormous, Runners-trademark synths hit as R. Kelly belts another slick, undeniably catchty hook, the whole thing comes together and I can’t stop listening.
Nominees:
‘Get Buck’ – Young Buck
‘The Heart Gently Weeps’ – Wu-Tang Clan
‘Make Me Better’ – Fabolous, Ne-Yo, & Timbaland
Guest-Verse of the Year: Method Man on Ghostface’s ‘Yolanda’s House’ & Busta Rhymes on T.I.’s ‘Hurt’
Keeping with the whole comeback theme I talked about in my top albums write-up, are there two better examples in rap this year than these two? Both of these verses are incredibly different in tone, with a chilled out Method Man continuing a hilarious story that Ghostface started of him walking in on Meth while he’s boning some chick, and Busta’s adrenaline filled rampage over Danja’s swerving synths and stuttering drums. But what makes them both so great is that both rappers are suddenly back at the top of their game, somewhere they hadn’t been for a good half decade at least now, and are using language better then they ever have. I don’t know what the f.uck happened to Method Man, but he is spitting fire on literally every verse he had on 8 Diagrams and his couple appearances on Ghost’s solo. His verse here on paper sounds pretty lame, but the way Meth bounces from rhyme scheme to the next with his confident, breathy voice is really great. Busta on the other hand, is doing the same thing, packing as many syllables into his double time raps as he can and switching his flow effortlessly to keep up with Danja’s stunning production. I also feel like I need to mention Andre 3000’s many great guest verses this year, particularly on the Gangsta Grillz album because that verse could have easily been here too.
Nominees:
Andre 3000 on DJ Drama’s ‘Art of the Storytelling’ and Devin The Dude’s ‘What a Job’
Lil’ Wayne on DJ Khaled’s ‘We Takin Over’
Krayzie Bone on Chamillionaire’s ‘The Bill Collecta’
Posse Cut of the Year: Family Reunion – Joe Budden, Fabolous, Ransom, & Hitchcock
I easily could have gone with one of the DJ Khaled or Drama songs here but I’m honestly just sick of those. This song really caught me by surprise. The beat is one of those epic, cinematic adrenaline bangers that Dipset used to live by, and all the verses are straight fire with the exception of Fab who dosen’t really keep up with the vocal performances around him. Ransom’s grainy Jersey growl kicks the track off nicely before Hitchcock absolutely destroys it. These guys were formally the A-team and have since split, but damn I wish they would put out some more material beyond a couple mixtapes. Hitchcock sounds like one of those Lox knockoffs, except much better than any of them. He relies on multi’s and uses them in interesting ways to make those ridiculously simple and sometimes irrelevant punchlines (“I sling ‘cane off the wing like I’m King James”), but his cocky, assured flow makes it sound so ill. Joe Budden finishes the track spitting two and a half minutes of fury, attacking it with the pop culture and sports punchlines that nobody is better at. Examples: “Us Cowboys don’t need you, you Bill Parcells!” and “I one-line her, you Isiah Thomas the broad!”.
Nominees:
‘We Takin’ Over’ – DJ Khaled & Friends
‘I’m So Hood Remix’ – DJ Khaled & Friends
‘Paisley Darts’ – Gostface Killah, Method Man, Raekwon, Sun God, Trife, & Cappadonna
R.I.P. Song of the Year: ‘Trill N*ggas Don’t Die’ – UGK & Z-Ro
Clearly, this song wasn’t supposed to be in this category, but the passing of one of the pioneers of Southern Hip-Hop and the tragically ironic title of the song makes it worth mentioning. This is just a near-perfect song, with strung-out guitars plucks and warm horn loops it’s actually a celebratory song. It has my two favorite Southern artists ever in UGK and Z-Ro who absolutely blaze the track. Bun B ends the song with one of his best verses of the year, and that’s saying a lot, while Z-Ro's sing-song flow echoes beautifully before he switches into double-time mode briefly at the end of his verse. But the track really belongs to Pimp C, who bangs out two incredible verses with his nasally southern drawl and nails the “I Just Wanna Celebrate” hook, which is hilariously perfect. R.I.P. Pimp C.
Nominees:
Life Changes – Wu-Tang Clan
Send Him Our Love – Joe Budden
How Long Can It Last & Heaven – UGK
Banger of the Year: Say It To My Face – Young Buck, Bun B, 8Ball, & MJG
“Say It To My Face” borrows the gothic chants from Mozart's “Requiem and uses them as the backdrop for an entire beat. At the height of the introit’s terrifying climax (about three minutes in) where the chants are at full force and all the different instruments come in at once, the combination of sounds adopts a haunting melody similar to the one that makes up the organs on “Say It To My Face”. They sound like a sped up, slightly toned down version of the original, and once the hollowing choir chants are dressed up with stuttering, ascending percussion and triumphant horns it creates a magnificent melody and a truly amazing hip-hop beat. Young Buck, who lets his maniacal conviction do the talking through his gruff, southern growl, raps the first verse. This smack-talking is shown in stark contrast to Bun B’s technically sound rhyme schemes which are almost disguised by his monotone delivery and deep Texas baritone. His performance, much like the music he’s rapping over, lets his verse slowly build in sync with the beat until the ghostly chants come and he starts spewing syllables all over the demonic organs. All of this is followed by 8-Ball, who snarls aggressively on the beat before MJG’s muted, flat delivery comes through giving the production complete spotlight for the final segment of the song.
Nominees:
‘Come On Baby’ – Saigon, Just Blaze, & Swizz Beatz
‘Stick Me For My Riches’ – Wu-Tang Clan
‘It’s Over’ – Freeway
Songs of the Year
I’ve already talked about a bunch of these upcoming tracks in this piece and in previous reviews, so I’m just going to end this thing and list my favorite songs of the year.
15. ‘Upgrade U’ – Lil’ Wayne
14. ‘Fifth Gear’ – Joe Budden
13. ‘Prostitute Flange’ – Lil’ Wayne
12. ‘What A Job’ – Devin The Dude, Snoop Dogg, & Andre 3000
11. ‘Yolanda’s House’ – Ghostface Killah, Method Man, & Raekwon
10. ‘Hurt’ – T.I., Alfamega, & Busta Rhymes
9. ‘Stick Me For My Riches’ – Wu-Tang Clan
8. ‘Trill N*ggas Don’t Die’ – UGK & Z-Ro
7. ‘I Think I Love You’ – Chamillionaire
6. ‘Say It To My Face’ – Young Buck, Bun B, 8Ball, & MJG
5. ‘Flashing Lights’ – Kanye West & Dwele
4. ‘No Hook’ – Jay-Z
3. ‘Ignorant Sh.it’ – Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel, & Just Blaze
2. ‘Tell ‘Em I Said That’ – T.I.
1. ‘Int’l Players Anthem (I Choose You)’ – UGK & Outkast
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