Sunday, April 24, 2011

Week of 4/24: SoundClick.com Hip-Hop Top 5

This was a tough list to whittle down. Each artist brings a completely different style, voice, production quality, energy, and perspective. It's hard to compare them against each other, so I went with the songs that I enjoyed personally. Here's this week's list...
Boss Game - Wat Tha Move Is
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10541679

Chayse Maclair - The Best Fan on the Planet
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=9868611

He Man Huff - I've Changed (f/ Mr. Showtime & Kendra)
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10540897

Dirty Dollar - Hustle & Grind
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10515262

Jonny B - Dream Girl
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10408974
Boss Game has the stand out track this week, with commanding tone, presence, and energy. He utilizes a slow and double-timed flow in his verses over a pounding beat with a menacing hook playing the role of interlude. Nicely done. The rest of the tracks are also fun listens, especially Chayse Maclair's. It's a interesting story with great lyricism and a nasty Anno Domini beat. Next, despite a few miscues, "I've Changed" by He Man Huff and friends is a very nice track to bang that's enjoyable and relate-able. Similarly, Dirty Dollar's "Hustle & Grind" delivers tons of energy with relate-able, familiar music but with an unfamiliar delivery, energy, and performance.

Rounding out the list in a very hotly contested #5 slot is Jonny B's "Dream Girl." This was by far the toughest choice for the list because the final three all had great strengths and weaknesses. I ended up choosing this one because, for me, it had the most replay value. Maybe the luck of the draw for Jonny choosing a song with a great hook, or finding someone to collab with to put a great hook on there (I recall hearing a shout-out), but that plus a great, non-sappy, beat did it for me here. The other candidates actually had very strong songs but, for me, the replay value was not as high as this one.

Still, a great outing for the week, and I encourage you to check the entire list of submissions for hearing some fantastic tracks that you can tell had a lot of hard work and time put into them.

Back next week with more...

The full review rundown is here:
http://board.soundclick.com/viewtopic.php?t=362234

N. Talekt