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Music

Album’s Singles Review: “Reanimation” and “Collision Course” (with Jay-Z) by Linkin Park

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Reanimation (remix album)
Due to the success of “Hybrid Theory”, Linkin Park‘s debut album, the band decided to remix the songs from the album which made up the remix album “Reanimation”. The album achieved international success after reaching the top 10 in many countries. It reached number 2 in the US and achieved platinum status from RIAA.

Pts. OF  Athrty (Points of Authority remix)
“Pts. OF Athrty” was released as the supporting single for the remix album “Reanimation”. The track was the remix of its original “Points of Authority” from “Hybrid Theory”. The original was released in Asia and the remix was also released. I think the original sounds better as the remix sounds overproduced. The single went to top 10 in United Kingdom.
Rate: 7.5 out of 10

“FRGT/10” (Forgotten remix)
“FRGT/10” was not officially released as a single but had a music video which hit the charts in Asia including Philippines. The original rock track was “Forgotten”, and the remix sounds more hip-hop”. Comparing the two tracks, the remix this time sounds better. It charted in music video charts in Asia.
Rate: 8.25 out of 10

Collision Course (extended play) (with Jay-Z)
“Collision Course” was considered as an extended play or EP. It only has eight tracks with some videos on it. It is actually a mash-up of songs by Linkin Park with collaborator Jay-Z. It has been a successful collaboration project from the two different artists as the record reached number 1 in United States and has gone 2x platinum by RIAA. It did well internationally as well.

Numb / Encore
“Numb / Encore” was released as a single for “Collision Course”. It is a mash-up of Linkin Park’s hit rock single “Numb” and the hip-hop single of Jay-Z “Encore”. The mash-up sounds well resulting to the success of the single. It reached the top 20 of both US and UK. In Europe, it has been a number 1 hit.
Rate: 8.5 out of 10

Credits: Billboard / OCC / Wikipedia

Music

In Demand Rappers Being Featured a Lot of Times

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Rappers are very in demand in misic as their talent is often requested by other artists. They do the rap part and it gives them exposure and of course, rack up some money. There were some rappers who are often requested to contribute rap pieces in some songs and here’s the list of some of these rappers which many of the songs tehy were featured became successful:

Jay-Z
Jay-Z has been one of the most successful rappers especially in terms of total records sold. He is also one of the rappers who has been featured a lot of times. He has been featured in more than 50 released singles, and some of the most successful songs he was featured were 3 singles fron Beyonce, including “Crazy in Love”. Rihanna’s “Umbrella” was also highly successful which Jay was also featured.

2 Chainz
2 Chainz is just one of the rappers in the industry for not so long ago. But he’s already featured in a lot of songs with more than 40 by which, the most notable one was “Talk Dirty” by Jason Derulo.

Busta Rhymes
Busta Rhymes is one of the 1990’s rapper who still very relevant today. Aside from his hit songs, he has been featured in a lot of songs with more than 20. He’s been featured in big hits like “Don’t Cha” by the Pussycat Dolls and Chris Brown’s “Look at Me Now”.

Ludacris
Ludacris has became one of the top rappers since early 2000’s. He’s been featured in a lot of hit songs. He’s been heard in about 50 singles by other artists. In early 2000’s, he’s been featured in Usher’s number 1 single “Yeah!”. He’s also featured twice in Justib Bieber’s singles which one of them is “Baby”.

Puff Daddy / P.Diddy / Diddy
Sean Combs had used a number of pseudonyms as mentioned above and featured in a number of songs by Mariah Carey, The Notorious B.I.G. and others. He was featured more than 30 times in offficial singles.

Drake
Drake is one of the biggest rappers today and he never left the Billboard charts, either his own singles or those he was featured. In a short period of time, he was already heard as a featured artist in more than 50 singles, which included the hit “What’s My Name?” by his rumored girlfriend, Rihanna.

Missy Elliott
Missy Elliott has been one of the most successful female rappers and she’s also being featured in a lot of singles. She may had took a break but she’s back recently with a hit single. She was heard in more than 40 singles which included hits by Mariah Carey and other singers.

Lil Wayne
Among all rappers, Lil Wayne can possibly the most in demand. He’s been featured in more than 100 titles which were released as official singles. Well, he had numerous hits by himself too. It included works with Chris Brown and “Down” by Jay Sean.

Pitbull
Pitbull’s music may be different from other rappers as his sound is not hip-hop. But he was featured several times in different singled. He was partnered a number of times with Jennifer Lopez which included “On the Floor” and in some singles of Chris Brown.

Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg was also a hit rapper in 1990’s and even until now. He had been featured more than 90 times in singles which included songs by Pussycat Dolls and Katy Perry.

Wiz Khalifa
Wiz Khalifa was known for his hit “Black and Yellow”, but he was also known for being featured in some singles. One of the most successful singles he was featured is “Payphone” by Maroon 5.

Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj is currently the reigning queen of rap for scoring a number of hit songs by herself. She was also featured in lots of singles ranging at about 50 titles, and included works with David Guetta, Justin Bieber and Madonna.

Credits to Wikipedia

Music

Top R&B Hits of 2005-2009

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Trends in music may be slowly changing during this period but R&B music is still doing very well. They even topped the charts in several weeks even reaching 14 weeks by a song.

Mario- Let Me Love You
This breezy, subtle and midtempo R&B hit makes me listen to it as it is too peaceful for the ear. It has been Mario’s signature hit as it spent several weeks in the US chart and was a big hit elsewhere too.

Mariah Carey- We Belong Together
2005 is a big year for Mariah as she redeemed the throne after 2 flop records prior. This song made a mark on Mariah’s career after sitting for 14 weeks in the US as well as good performance in global charts.

Pussycat Dolls- Don’t Cha
It seems this girls finally took the girlband throne which was vacated for a long time. This song served as an opener for Pussycat Dolls’ success as it was a mega-seller worldwide.

Beyonce- Irreplaceable
Beyonce’s success continues through this pop/R&B hit which was one of the hits that spent more than 10 weeks at the summit. It was also a success in several territories.

Ne-Yo- So Sick
The song that has become a formula by which similarities can be heard from hits of Rihanna, Chris Brown, Beyonce, etc. The song topped major countries as US and UK.

Rihanna ft. Jay-Z- Umbrella
Rihanna may had big hits prior to this but this song has been career defining for her. It made her a superstar and this song was one of the modern hits then with a lot of cover versions.

Alicia Keys- No One
This midtempo R&B hit showcased the amazing vocals of Alicia Keys. It went on to become one of the biggest hits of 2008

Sean Kingston- Beautiful Girls
You might hear “Stand By Me” in this song and yes it is. This is one of the catchiest R&B hits if 2000s which made it spawn to the top globally.

Justin Timberlake ft. T.I.- My Love
I love how the synth, R&B beat and hip-hop was infused in this song. It went on to become the second consecutive chart-topper for JT.

Flo Rida ft. T-Pain- Low
One of the biggest hip-hop songs in 2000s, this was a breakthrough for Flo Rida. The song was the theme of the dance-inspired film “Step Up 2”.

Leona Lewis- Bleeding Love
After becoming a UK big seller, it broke the US market and became the top song of 2008 in terms of sales.

Madonna and Justin Timberlake- 4 Minutes
We rarely hear Madonna sing R&B songs but she pretty nailed it in this danceable R&B pop tune with Justin Timberlake. It turned into a global smash in 2008.

Rihanna- Take a Bow
Following the Ne-Yo formula, this R&B midtempo ballad from Rihanna immediately climbed to the top.

Black Eyed Peas- Boom Boom Pow
Black Eyed Peas settled for a 12-week reign this upbeat hip-hop, electronic and R&B hit which portrayed a big part for the group’s career.

Beyonce- Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)
Beyonce came out with this upbeat song which made a huge contribution in pop culture. It was one of the biggest R&B hits of all time.

Some facts based from Wikipedia

Music

Top R&B Hits 2000-2004

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Since 2000, many R&B songs released were upbeat and it is common for rappers and R&B to collaborate and create good songs. Remixes are very common too. Here are the top R&B hits during this period I listed based on its impact and success.

Mariah Carey ft. Joe and 98 Degrees- Thank God I Found You
This song has become Mariah’s last chart-topper before successful comeback in 2005. The beautiful ballad also included R&B singer Joe and US boy band 98 Degrees. The remix version sounds good too, but excluded 98 Degrees.

Sisqo- Thong Song
One of the best upbeat R&B hits during the first half of 2000, Sisqo gained a fanbase through this song. Oh wait, you might’ve heard “livin’ la vida loca”, you heard it right, it was interpolated.

Outkast- Ms. Jackson
This is the first and biggest hit internationally by the hip-hop duo, the song was also one of the best hip-hop songs since 2000s.

Destiny’s Child- Independent Women Part 1
The group just became a trio and it played big success for their career as this ‘girl power’ themed song became one of the longest number 1 hits.

Janet Jackson- All For You
It was a huge comeback for Janet after a high debut and long weeks at number one with this danceable R&B tune.

Destiny’s Child- Survivor
One of the successful “I Will Survive”” songs, this R&B track became one of the biggest hits of 2001.

Alicia Keys- Fallin’
This remains the most memorable song for Alicia Keys for topping the charts. This soulful ballad was one of the best love songs of 2001.

Nelly ft. Kelly Rowland- Dilemma
How about falling in love with someone even committed with someone? This love song just became a 10-week holder at top spot in the US.

Mary J. Blige- Family Affair
This is one of the catchiest and most memorable upbeat R&B tune during the decade. Just hearing the beat, you will know what song is that. It is the biggest hit of Mary J. ever.

Beyonce ft. Jay-Z- Crazy in Love
This song brought Beyonce’s career to great heights as it became her first hit as lead artist. It has become a global hit in 2003.

Aaliyah- Miss You
This was released posthumously and remained one of the top R&B ballads during the period. It is also one of the most known song by Aaliyah.

50 Cent- In Da Club
50 Cent’s success can be attributed to this club hip-hop hit. It helped his LP to go multiple platinum.

Beyonce ft. Sean Paul- Baby Boy
Incorporating Arabic sound in its music, this is how this second chart-topper from Bey was known.

Usher- Yeah!
Consider as Usher’s biggest hit, this helped his “Confessions” LP sell a million in a single week. This is one of the club-ready hip-hop songs during 2000s.

Usher and Alicia Keys- My Boo
Usher’s team up with the talented Alicia Keys has become one of the best and successful duets of 2004.

Some facts from Wikipedia.

Music

Rap-Sung Collaborations

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It started out in the 90s when singers and rappers work together to form a song. A singer may invite a rapper for a rap part of a song or the other way around. Together, they can form a good melody which became a formula for a hit song.

Below is my list of 10 rap-sung collaborations:

10. Beyonce ft. Jay-Z- Crazy in Love

The couple first collaborated when Destiny’s Child appeared in Jay-Z’s song until the two worked together for “03 Bonnie & Clyde” (not on this list) and finally in this song, “Crazy in Love”. The horn sample dominates the entire song and the rap part is catchy and I can’t think how it’s like without it.

9. Nelly ft. Kelly Rowland- Dilemma

Nelly was known for catchy rapping. I mean his way of rapping creates melody especially heard in this song. Kelly Rowland’s part, though, made the song a bigger hit because of its melody.

8. Eminem & Rihanna- Love the Way You Lie

When bad boy rapper meets good girl gone bad singer, it will result to a great collaboration especially in a song about going through a difficult relationship. The huge collaboration resulted into huge success after achieving multi-platinum certification.

7. Fergie ft. Ludacris- Glamorous

What I love about this song is its smooth R&B sound. The rap is good enough to complete the song. Well, it just became Fergie’s second  number one hit.

6. Twista ft. Kanye West and Jamie Foxx- Slow Jamz

This became one of the rap/R&B hits in 2004. I liked the song when I first heard it on radio. The sampling of Luther Vandross’ song made it more effective.

5. Ja Rule ft. Ashanti- Always on Time

Ja Rule always made effective songs during 2000-2003. Her collaboration with Jennifer Lopez and Ashanti were the most notable especially this song. Anyway, what made this song a hit was the catchy chorus.

4. Usher and Alicia Keys- My Boo

Many of you might think there’s no rapper in this song. Nevertheless, there’s rap part of the song done by Alicia Keys after Usher’s intro. It’s a beautiful mid-tempo love song that’s pleasing to listen to.

3. Black Eyed Peas ft. Justin Timberlake- Where’s the Love?

Justin may not have been properly credited in this song but the chorus is the life of the song along with its wonderful lyrics. It eventually became huge back in 2003.

2. Jennifer Lopez ft. Ja Rule- I’m Real (Remix)

The original version of the song is good but the remix version is better. I love how they sing and rap alternately in every line. It was huge at the charts back then.

1. Mariah Carey ft. ODB- Fantasy (Remix)

This is one of the biggest rap-sung collaboration of 1990s. It was also one of the first remixes of hip-hop and R&B. It proved that rap and singing can be effective in music industry.