Sorry this took me so long to get to. I just didn't really have the creative juices going.
#70: "No Type" by Rae Sremmurd
Rae Sremmurd (which, by the way, is pronounced Ray Shrimmer) is a hip-hop/trap duo fronted by brothers Khalif "Swae Lee" Brown and Aaquil "Slim Jxmmi" Brown. I have no idea why they decided they needed stage names, as Khalif and Aaquil are stand-out enough, in my opinion. Oh, and they did have a minor hit last year called "No Flex Zone", but this is the first time they've had a big enough hit to make a year-end chart.
Unusual to hear a rap song open with almost a dirge-like synth line. Unfortunately, whatever could be interesting about it goes away pretty quickly, sinking into the background to be drowned out by hi-hat drums and heavy bass. It still is somewhat unique, taking a few cues from their trap side, but it isn't very interesting. The rapping isn't much to write home about. They aren't exactly untalented, but you hear a lot of rappers with their level of skills in terms of flow, and chances are that most of them will not sound like high school kids that may or may not be going through puberty.
This is another bragging rap song, with the lead rapper talking about how he has no type (except for "bad bitches". Which is clearly a type), as well as just in general brag about how much money he has, and how he can live it up. The line "I live life like I live it twice" might have been amusing in 2013 or 2014, when YOLO was still a thing, but in 2015, it's a bit behind the times.
This was not a very good song. The music had some interesting ideas, but they were done with so little passion that the sound got boring. The rapper had no real skills to speak of, and the lyrics were just a mess. This just isn't my type of song.
#69: "All Eyes On You" by Meek Mill feat. Chris Brown and Nicki Minaj
All I know about Meek Mill is that he's a rapper who had a diss track written about him by Drake that I reviewed earlier. As for Chris Brown and Nicki Minaj, this is the second appearance by both of them on this chart.
Interesting music in this song, at least. It opens with a light guitar riff, and continues on with an R&B style piano and drum beat, but the guitar doesn't fully go away. Meek Mill starts off a bit rough, sounding like he's slurring a bit, but before long, he hits his groove, showing nice flow and rapping skill. Nicki Minaj, and I am quite surprised to type this, nails her parts. Again, she does slur on some of the slower parts, but when she was given a verse, she hits the flow quite well, playing off of Meek Mill quite well. Chris Brown is definitely the weak link in this song. He doesn't have much to do, and what he does do is Autotuned out of all control. Honestly, anyone could have done his part, and it would sound the same. I could probably have done it, and I am legitimately tone deaf in terms of singing.
The lyrics to this song match the slower music pretty well. It's another "pick up girls at a club" song, but it focuses on what draws him to her, and vice versa, rather than just treating the female as an object. Meek Mill and Nicki Minaj each get a verse showing him introducing himself to her, and her answering his questions about her, which is quite a unique way to do one of these songs. It doesn't hurt, either, that Meek Mill has a talent for songwriting, making the words and rhymes flow in a way that is quite fun.
I was not expecting much from this song, but it was actually quite good. Chris Brown could easily have been removed, and there are some lyrics with Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill each bragging about how "bad" they are, which is a bit overdone, but most of the lyrics work quite well and flow very easily, and Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill each turn in pretty solid performances. The music doesn't do much, but Meek Mill and Nicki Minaj both hold down the song quite well. Between Drake and Meek Mill, I know who comes off better, and he isn't Canadian.
#68: "Chains" by Nick Jonas
As you can guess by his last name, Nick Jonas was one of the band members in the manufactured-for-a-show Jonas Brothers. They broke up, mostly because those type of manufactured bands almost never have success (although there are exceptions, like The Monkees and One Direction, there are plenty of failures like inTENsity and Lyric 451). After some years, Nick Jonas returned to the music scene in 2014, with a song that became quite a large hit. That song is not this song, but will be covered later.
This is...not interesting musically. There is almost nothing to music for the first verse, other than drums and bass. A synth line does kick in for the chorus, which is much more interesting, and there is a bridge between the chorus and verse that is somewhat interesting, but it goes right back to dull pretty fast. Nick Jonas does fine for the most part, but he's hardly unique, and while there are some singers that can kind of pull off the whiny voice when needed, Nick Jonas is not one of those.
This song is basically Nick Jonas' "dark love" song. He's comparing his relationship to the woman as her having him in chains for her love, but he doesn't mind, saying he wouldn't change for her love. Or something.
I didn't hate this song, but it didn't do anything for me. The whole "dark love song" thing has been done better, and Nick Jonas doesn't really add much to the song vocally. Add in an inconsistent music line, and you have a bit of an "eh, heard better" song.
#67: "One Last Time" by Ariana Grande
Repeat artist!
The song opens with a high pitched piano line, which is something unique in a song on the slower side. The piano continues, being joined by a synth during the chorus, and the bass line gives the song a nice rhythm. This is a song that just works musically. Ariana Grande's vocals...aren't quite as strong. She sounds fine on lower parts, but when she goes higher pitched, she seems to lose enunciation. I do give her credit for keeping control of her voice though.
This song is a lot darker lyrically than the music would suggest, although the desperation in Ariana Grande's voice does tip you off a bit. Basically, she is with a guy who has another lover, one he loves more than Ariana Grande, and has presumably dumped her. Ariana Grande seems to accept it for the most part, but is begging for him to let her take him home one last time, and spend one more night with him. It's actually kind of emotional.
Once again, I didn't expect to like this song as much as I do. Ariana Grande's voice does seem to slur a bit when she gets too high pitched, but the desperation in her vocals matches well with the lyrics, and the light hearted music with a darker undertone through the bass also compliments the lyrics quite well. This is a fairly cohesive song, and one that I felt worked quite well.
#66: "Truffle Butter" by Nicki Minaj feat. Drake and Lil Wayne
This is the third appearance by Nicki Minaj, and the fourth by Drake. Lil Wayne is a rapper/record producer, owning his own label called Young Money Records. If you see him collaborating with someone, chances are they are part of Young Money. Oh, and I still haven't forgiven him for "Love Me" back in 2013's list.
The music is a bit annoying, but at least it does something different compared to other rap songs, having a more high-pitched piano riff and drums. That piano riff gets on my nerves very quickly. Don't be fooled by the credits. Lil Wayne takes lead on this song, and sounds about as dull and uninterested as he always does. Nicki Minaj, on the other hand, proves that this is the year where she's finally made her break, sounding pretty solid in this song, even though she seems to be cashing a check on this song. Drake takes care of the hook and the first verse, but he sounds identical to Lil Wayne, to the point where this sentence is an edit because I honestly thought Lil Wayne had done all the verses.
This is a song about sex. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing, but the song seems to think truffle butter is something that rich people put on their steak, launching a metaphor about...different kinds of meat.
Yeah, this song doesn't really work for me. It seems to be torturing a metaphor somewhat, and the metaphor kind of misses (the advice I found for truffle butter says that it should be used sparingly, because a little adds a lot of flavor. By using this metaphor, Lil Wayne is unwittingly saying that a little sex goes a long way), the music is quite annoying, and Lil Wayne takes over the song despite not being the main artist, and not having the skills to match his ego. This was not a very good song.
Well, that list is done. Two potential entrees for my bottom 10 list. Let's see if either of them make it.
Previously: #75-71 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.932532-2015-Billboard-Top-100-75-71]
Next: #65-61 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.933212-2015-Billboard-Top-100-65-61]
#70: "No Type" by Rae Sremmurd
Rae Sremmurd (which, by the way, is pronounced Ray Shrimmer) is a hip-hop/trap duo fronted by brothers Khalif "Swae Lee" Brown and Aaquil "Slim Jxmmi" Brown. I have no idea why they decided they needed stage names, as Khalif and Aaquil are stand-out enough, in my opinion. Oh, and they did have a minor hit last year called "No Flex Zone", but this is the first time they've had a big enough hit to make a year-end chart.
Unusual to hear a rap song open with almost a dirge-like synth line. Unfortunately, whatever could be interesting about it goes away pretty quickly, sinking into the background to be drowned out by hi-hat drums and heavy bass. It still is somewhat unique, taking a few cues from their trap side, but it isn't very interesting. The rapping isn't much to write home about. They aren't exactly untalented, but you hear a lot of rappers with their level of skills in terms of flow, and chances are that most of them will not sound like high school kids that may or may not be going through puberty.
This is another bragging rap song, with the lead rapper talking about how he has no type (except for "bad bitches". Which is clearly a type), as well as just in general brag about how much money he has, and how he can live it up. The line "I live life like I live it twice" might have been amusing in 2013 or 2014, when YOLO was still a thing, but in 2015, it's a bit behind the times.
This was not a very good song. The music had some interesting ideas, but they were done with so little passion that the sound got boring. The rapper had no real skills to speak of, and the lyrics were just a mess. This just isn't my type of song.
#69: "All Eyes On You" by Meek Mill feat. Chris Brown and Nicki Minaj
All I know about Meek Mill is that he's a rapper who had a diss track written about him by Drake that I reviewed earlier. As for Chris Brown and Nicki Minaj, this is the second appearance by both of them on this chart.
Interesting music in this song, at least. It opens with a light guitar riff, and continues on with an R&B style piano and drum beat, but the guitar doesn't fully go away. Meek Mill starts off a bit rough, sounding like he's slurring a bit, but before long, he hits his groove, showing nice flow and rapping skill. Nicki Minaj, and I am quite surprised to type this, nails her parts. Again, she does slur on some of the slower parts, but when she was given a verse, she hits the flow quite well, playing off of Meek Mill quite well. Chris Brown is definitely the weak link in this song. He doesn't have much to do, and what he does do is Autotuned out of all control. Honestly, anyone could have done his part, and it would sound the same. I could probably have done it, and I am legitimately tone deaf in terms of singing.
The lyrics to this song match the slower music pretty well. It's another "pick up girls at a club" song, but it focuses on what draws him to her, and vice versa, rather than just treating the female as an object. Meek Mill and Nicki Minaj each get a verse showing him introducing himself to her, and her answering his questions about her, which is quite a unique way to do one of these songs. It doesn't hurt, either, that Meek Mill has a talent for songwriting, making the words and rhymes flow in a way that is quite fun.
I was not expecting much from this song, but it was actually quite good. Chris Brown could easily have been removed, and there are some lyrics with Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill each bragging about how "bad" they are, which is a bit overdone, but most of the lyrics work quite well and flow very easily, and Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill each turn in pretty solid performances. The music doesn't do much, but Meek Mill and Nicki Minaj both hold down the song quite well. Between Drake and Meek Mill, I know who comes off better, and he isn't Canadian.
#68: "Chains" by Nick Jonas
As you can guess by his last name, Nick Jonas was one of the band members in the manufactured-for-a-show Jonas Brothers. They broke up, mostly because those type of manufactured bands almost never have success (although there are exceptions, like The Monkees and One Direction, there are plenty of failures like inTENsity and Lyric 451). After some years, Nick Jonas returned to the music scene in 2014, with a song that became quite a large hit. That song is not this song, but will be covered later.
This is...not interesting musically. There is almost nothing to music for the first verse, other than drums and bass. A synth line does kick in for the chorus, which is much more interesting, and there is a bridge between the chorus and verse that is somewhat interesting, but it goes right back to dull pretty fast. Nick Jonas does fine for the most part, but he's hardly unique, and while there are some singers that can kind of pull off the whiny voice when needed, Nick Jonas is not one of those.
This song is basically Nick Jonas' "dark love" song. He's comparing his relationship to the woman as her having him in chains for her love, but he doesn't mind, saying he wouldn't change for her love. Or something.
I didn't hate this song, but it didn't do anything for me. The whole "dark love song" thing has been done better, and Nick Jonas doesn't really add much to the song vocally. Add in an inconsistent music line, and you have a bit of an "eh, heard better" song.
#67: "One Last Time" by Ariana Grande
Repeat artist!
The song opens with a high pitched piano line, which is something unique in a song on the slower side. The piano continues, being joined by a synth during the chorus, and the bass line gives the song a nice rhythm. This is a song that just works musically. Ariana Grande's vocals...aren't quite as strong. She sounds fine on lower parts, but when she goes higher pitched, she seems to lose enunciation. I do give her credit for keeping control of her voice though.
This song is a lot darker lyrically than the music would suggest, although the desperation in Ariana Grande's voice does tip you off a bit. Basically, she is with a guy who has another lover, one he loves more than Ariana Grande, and has presumably dumped her. Ariana Grande seems to accept it for the most part, but is begging for him to let her take him home one last time, and spend one more night with him. It's actually kind of emotional.
Once again, I didn't expect to like this song as much as I do. Ariana Grande's voice does seem to slur a bit when she gets too high pitched, but the desperation in her vocals matches well with the lyrics, and the light hearted music with a darker undertone through the bass also compliments the lyrics quite well. This is a fairly cohesive song, and one that I felt worked quite well.
#66: "Truffle Butter" by Nicki Minaj feat. Drake and Lil Wayne
This is the third appearance by Nicki Minaj, and the fourth by Drake. Lil Wayne is a rapper/record producer, owning his own label called Young Money Records. If you see him collaborating with someone, chances are they are part of Young Money. Oh, and I still haven't forgiven him for "Love Me" back in 2013's list.
The music is a bit annoying, but at least it does something different compared to other rap songs, having a more high-pitched piano riff and drums. That piano riff gets on my nerves very quickly. Don't be fooled by the credits. Lil Wayne takes lead on this song, and sounds about as dull and uninterested as he always does. Nicki Minaj, on the other hand, proves that this is the year where she's finally made her break, sounding pretty solid in this song, even though she seems to be cashing a check on this song. Drake takes care of the hook and the first verse, but he sounds identical to Lil Wayne, to the point where this sentence is an edit because I honestly thought Lil Wayne had done all the verses.
This is a song about sex. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing, but the song seems to think truffle butter is something that rich people put on their steak, launching a metaphor about...different kinds of meat.
Yeah, this song doesn't really work for me. It seems to be torturing a metaphor somewhat, and the metaphor kind of misses (the advice I found for truffle butter says that it should be used sparingly, because a little adds a lot of flavor. By using this metaphor, Lil Wayne is unwittingly saying that a little sex goes a long way), the music is quite annoying, and Lil Wayne takes over the song despite not being the main artist, and not having the skills to match his ego. This was not a very good song.
Well, that list is done. Two potential entrees for my bottom 10 list. Let's see if either of them make it.
Previously: #75-71 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.932532-2015-Billboard-Top-100-75-71]
Next: #65-61 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.933212-2015-Billboard-Top-100-65-61]