About This Site
Each month I select 20 songs (10 songs twice a month) that I am either hooked on or am curious about. Most of the music I select are rock, hip-hop, R&B and pop songs.
My song selection comes from 20-30 CDs I get from various sources each month, as well as recommendations from iTunes and Amazon. I also check out the charts in US, UK and Japan.
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Could this be the biggest reggae hit of the summer 2010? So far it’s looking like it. Even super hot Nicki Minaj has recorded remix version for this track. Although most of people have never heard of him until this track, Gyptian has been a popular artist on the Jamaican charts, even nominated for Best New Entertainer at the 2006 International Reggae Awards.
It’s summer time, which is a good time to listen to reggae. Just in time for summer, Disney released a reggae version of some of their most famous hits, covered by famous reggae artists such as Matisyahu, Ziggy Marley, UB40 and Yellowman. It’s an interesting concept.
I can’t get enough of Nas & Damian Marley’s collaboration album, especially during the World Cup in Africa (their album was recorded in dedication of Africa). I think this is the best rap CD of 2010 (so far), even though it hasn’t gotten much exposure. I was happy to see this video on MTV the other day.
So far I’ve only heard two singles off of this monster collaboration between Nas and Damian Marley, and I dig them both. “Strong Will Continue” and “As We Enter” both mix hip-hop and reggae really well. And this collaboration happened for the good cause to build more schools in Africa, thus the theme for the whole album carries messages about poverty and ancestry.
Album: Rihanna On Oprah (For Haiti Relief)
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A lot of artists are donating their time and music for the Haiti effort. Rihanna performed Bob Marley classic on Oprah Winfrey show, and the live recording was available on iTunes with all the proceeds going to the Haiti relief. Rihanna may not be the greatest singer, but hearing this song makes me realize how good the song is. Rihanna actually does a decent job (she’s not the best live performer, but this one is pretty good).
“Somebody call 911, Shawty fire burning on the dance floor, whoaaaa” the song starts out. This song has been on the charts and in the clubs for a while, but I never got into it until it was featured on Colbert Report. He claimed that song promoted “dangerous abuse of 911” because “you can’t call 911 every time Shawty starts fire on the dancefloor!” That one minute monolog changed my mind, and I began to appreciate the song. You can see the clip from
here.
It must be summer if Sean Paul has a song on the radio. Sean Paul released his fourth album titled Imperial Blaze this August, and the lead off single, “So Fine” is getting enough radio and club play. It’s been four years since his last release. Previously, Sean Paul has commented that he wants to do less clubbing songs, but this track is definitely for the clubs.
The sampling of this song has been around for a few years. Last year, Crystal Waters had a hit on Alex Gaudino's "Destination Calabria." This year Danish artist Enur and Cuban-American Pitbull both sample the same addictive saxophone beat for their songs. Pitbull's version has Lil Jon in it, which always just makes it that much better.
A lot of music magazines in US and UK (including Rolling Stone) named M.I.A.'s second album, Kala as the best album of 2007. This Sri Lankan-British girl makes weird, artistic songs that are catchy and annoying at the same time.
Another Myspace miracle story. She was born in Malaysia, and I believe she is part Chinese, Indian, Dutch and Malaysian. She posted some of her songs on Myspace and some radio DJ heard it, and she was flown to LA, and she signed a deal with Virgin Records America. But for some reason, her album was only released in Japan and Australia (this song is doing well, too), but there is still no set date for the US release.
When I read about this remix of Daddy Yankee and Fergie, I thought it was an interesting match up. But it actually works. Who knew that Fergie could bust some rhymes along with fast talking Daddy Yankee. Although this song is not turning into a hit as big as “Gasolina”, it’s still catchy enough to make it into my selection for the month.
A lot of people thought he might be an one-hit wonder after his debut single, “Beautiful Girls” ruled the airwaves this summer, but I guess they were wrong. This track is also produced by JR Rotem, and it samples elements of Led Zeppelin’s, D'yer Mak'er.
This guy is another Myspace discovery. When you have JR Rotem producing, and you sample “Stand By Me” and you have interest voice as you are from Kingston, Jamaica, it’s probably hard to not have a #1 hit. I thought it was funny that when I saw the video on MTV, they completely cut out the word, “suicidal”.
This is her fourth single off of her successful (thanks to the lead single, S.O.S.) second album, A Girl Like Me. I liked S.O.S, but didn’t like “Faithful” (she sounded terrible) or “We Ride” (too cheesy). At least this song features Sean Paul and is a good dance track.
The sampling of this song has been around for a few years. Last year, Crystal Waters had a hit on Alex Gaudino's "Destination Calabria." This year Danish artist Enur and Cuban-American Pitbull both sample the same addictive saxophone beat for their songs. Pitbull's version has Lil Jon in it, which always just makes it that much better.
A lot of music magazines in US and UK (including Rolling Stone) named M.I.A.'s second album, Kala as the best album of 2007. This Sri Lankan-British girl makes weird, artistic songs that are catchy and annoying at the same time.
Another Myspace miracle story. She was born in Malaysia, and I believe she is part Chinese, Indian, Dutch and Malaysian. She posted some of her songs on Myspace and some radio DJ heard it, and she was flown to LA, and she signed a deal with Virgin Records America. But for some reason, her album was only released in Japan and Australia (this song is doing well, too), but there is still no set date for the US release.
When I read about this remix of Daddy Yankee and Fergie, I thought it was an interesting match up. But it actually works. Who knew that Fergie could bust some rhymes along with fast talking Daddy Yankee. Although this song is not turning into a hit as big as “Gasolina”, it’s still catchy enough to make it into my selection for the month.
A lot of people thought he might be an one-hit wonder after his debut single, “Beautiful Girls” ruled the airwaves this summer, but I guess they were wrong. This track is also produced by JR Rotem, and it samples elements of Led Zeppelin’s, D'yer Mak'er.
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