Song Of The Day: Drake feat. Lil Wayne- "The Motto"

I didn't think much of this song, since it's fairly forgettable, and sounds just like every other Drake or Lil Wayne song we've heard the last few years.  But the video redeems it all for me.  It's a tribute to fallen Bay Area rap legend Mac Dre, and it features multiple shots with my favorite rapper E-40.  Seeing these guys in a big-time trendy rap video makes me so happy.  E-40 is 44 now, and Mac Dre was never a well-known commodity, so hopefully this gets people interested in Bay Area rap again ahead of E-40's upcoming triple release in March.  Even if this song is almost laughably uninspired.

Song Of The Day: Drake feat. Rihanna- "Take Care"

Yeah I know Rihanna's got her own song out today too, but Drake just came out with his whole album today, and this is the title track, and it features Rihanna anyway, so I thought it deserved the spot a little bit more.  Also this one has a good-quality video to go with it, as opposed to Rihanna, whose record label people do a better job than just about anyone of shutting down bootleggers.

Anyway, some crazy stuff going on here.  We've got a collaboration from two of the biggest stars in the game right now, who apparently had a little fling too if you listen to the YouTube commenters.  And we've got a sample from Gil Scott-Heron, whose song "I'll Take Care Of U" was apparently the inspiration not just for this song, but for Drake's whole album, if you go by the title.  The sample doesn't really fit in the song, though, so I can't say I'm too psyched about this track.  But it's solid, and it's definitely going to be a hit given its performers and its pulsating bassline.

Check back tomorrow for our monthly Dance Jams column, and maybe I'll get to that Rihanna song on Thursday...

Song Of The Day: Drake feat. Nicki Minaj- "Make Me Proud"

This song reaffirms two things I've slowly come to realize recently-1. I like Singing Drake a lot more than Rapping Drake, and 2. Nicki Minaj is a better rapper than Drake, and than most other rappers out there right now.  Major, revelations, I know.  As for this song, it's really not one of my favorites.  But people seem to like it, since it's #1 on iTunes right now.  No surprise, I guess- Drake and Nicki Minaj tend to light up the charts by themselves, and add them up and you've got a certified smash.  But I'm just not really feeling this one.

Song Of The Day: Lil Wayne feat. Drake- "She Will"

As good as this song is, and as big as it may get, it's too bad Lil Wayne might not get to see it top the charts or get to perform it.  Wait, what's that you say?  Wayne's back in jail already?  Nope, he just got in a skateboarding accident in a St. Louis skate park and gashed his head.  Good looks Weezy.  Stick with dressing like a skater and acting like a gangsta (slash a member of a probably-nonexistent secret society) in the future, and don't try actually skating unless you know how to do it.  Besides, skateboarding is so 2005.  Now it's all about beer pong slam dunks (or whatever other dangerous, vaguely anti-authoritarian activity is popular with the kids these days).

Song of the Day: Drake- "Headlines"

It's Friday, so I had to leave you with the hottest hit of the week, even though it doesn't have a music video yet.  This song was only released on Tuesday, but it's been sitting at #2 on iTunes since almost the moment of its release.  I still maintain that Drake's best song was his debut single, "Best I Ever Had," (one of the greatest music videos of the last decade too) but this is certainly in the mix as one of his best tracks to date.  The real question, though, is what happens to a song like this now?  Will it get picked up by radio stations and have longevity, or will it be one of those promotional singles that has about a one-week lifespan? My guess is the former, but Drake is a fairly prolific artist, so by next week we could have a totally new Drake single to get excited about, and forget this one even existed.  Such is the music industry in 2011.

Pop Music "Fantasy Draft," Part 2- The Guys!

So, although I'm a couple minutes after my self-imposed deadline, here is Part 2 of our epic Pop Music "Fantasy Draft," almost on time.  This time we focus on the fellas.  Again, if you missed the basic premise, here it is one more time:

You are a record exec and you have to sign two artists this year- one male solo artist and one female solo artist.  Any and all acts are potential “free agents” who could be signed.  Who do you pick and why?  Rank your top ten choices for each gender from 10-1.  

Feel free to comment tell me how awesome I am (disagreements not accepted).  Here's the list:

10. T-Pain

This is not the most well-informed or well-researched choice, I admit.  But the sheer number of songs that T-Pain appears on, whether or not they reach the Top 10 (which, by the way, there have been 14 of) indicates to me that T-Pain can be a good investment, if due only to his tireless work ethic.  The more appearances he makes, the higher the likelihood of a hit, which means T-Pain is a pretty safe bet.  Also he pioneered the use of Auto-Tune so I have to give props where they’re due.

9. Bruno Mars

A classic up-and-comer with one solo album, a few hit singles, and already an impressive number of featured appearances, Bruno Mars seems loaded with potential.  He was also “loaded” with a charge of cocaine possession, but that’s another story for another time.  Point is, this is a choice with a lot of upside, and Mars still has almost his whole career in front of him (which maximizes the amount of money he could make you) but because we have such a small sample size of material to work with thus far, we can’t say with lots of confidence that he’ll continue to be this successful.  But his potential is strong enough to warrant a number 9 ranking.

8. Chris Brown

Two years ago, Chris Brown would have been in the Top 5 of this list.  Six months ago, he would have been off the list.  But despite his rather serious personal issues, he has managed to resurrect his music career, and has returned to the land of marketability.  Brown possesses such talent and crossover appeal that he should be able to make people completely forget his troubles and continue buying his music, and concert tickets.  As long as he can avoid another meltdown, his product is certainly good enough to make his record label boatloads of money.

7. Usher

Usher is pretty similar to Chris Brown, but different in a few key ways.  First, he’s ten years older than Brown.  Not good.  Second, he’s much more emotionally stable.  Very good.  Third, he’s had a consistently successful career with few bumps in the road.  Also good.  So, although he has less time left in his “prime,” he goes one spot higher than Breezy because the rest of his career seems like more of a sure bet than Chris Brown.

6. Drake

Drake can do it all- sing, rap, dance…well, maybe not dance so much.  But still, he can sing and rap and write his own rhymes, and he can headline a song or just do a guest spot, and he makes it all work.  It’s not really fair to call Drake an up-and-comer at this point because he’s already so established, but he still isn’t quite as much an entrenched sure thing at this point as the guys in front of him.  I’m still not certain that Drake can be his own self-sufficient act at this point; I think he needs help from too many other artists all the time to offset his sound.  Nonetheless, he has an extremely bright present and future, so I have him as my sixth choice here.

5. Jay-Z

An artist like Jay-Z really tests the limits of my premise.  If we look at him purely as a rapper, the signs look bleak- he’s 41 and he already “quit the game” once before returning.  It’s hard to see him signing off on a five-album deal that brings in tens of millions for a record label.  However, if we expand the premise to look at the industry-mogul side of Jay-Z, then we have to take him very seriously.  I draw the line somewhere down the middle.  I say we would stand to profit from some of Jay-Z’s nonmusical endeavors, like clothing lines or other brands, but not from his positions as head of Roc-a-Fella or Def Jam or the New Jersey Nets.  Based on these guidelines, he comes in at number 5, but in actuality he could be pretty much anywhere on the list depending on what you choose to include for him.

4. Eminem  

What an awesome old-school picture!

This one’s a more straightforward option.  Eminem sells truckloads of albums.  He always has.  If he wasn’t so old, he would probably be number one.  But just like Jay-Z, his motivation to keep rapping has wavered at times, and he certainly finds himself on the brink of being past his prime or just tired of it all.  But after the runaway success of his last album, Recovery, and his current venture Bad Meets Evil, with Royce da 5’9, I have to figure he’s got one or two monster albums/tours left in him that will leave my imaginary label flush with cash to go find the next Great White Hope.

3. Kanye West

Some people may be tempted to put Kanye West at number one, but those people are confusing musicianship and artistic integrity with sales appeal.  Sure, Kanye is a gifted rapper and he sells a ton of records, but he doesn’t sell as many as the people above him, nor does he have the total package of album sales, singles sales, concert sales, and other merchandise and ventures to be the top choice.

2. Lil Wayne

Yes, Weezy was in jail for a good while.  But rewind just a little further than that.  His last album, Tha Carter III, was the top-selling album of 2008, selling over 3 million copies.  Since then, he released an ill-fated rock album and an EP, both of which have sold remarkably well for what they are, and headlined a couple sold-out tours.  After this government-induced hiatus, Wayne is coming back with Tha Carter IV, and if it’s as good as the last Carter (which I think it will be) it should outsell it.  Lil Wayne has everything going for him at this point; he’s very versatile and can sell just about anything, and he’s only 28.  The only reason he comes in second here is because of a certain invincible force in front of him…

1. Justin Bieber

Look, it’s not like I’m a Justin Bieber fan.  And to be honest, I have my doubts about how well his act will carry over as he gets older and moves out of his adorable-shaggy-haired-teenager phase.  But what I do know is that if I am a record executive and I have the option of signing any male solo artists and I pass up signing Bieber, I would look pretty damn stupid.  His appeal with teenage girls and children, the most fanatic of all demographics, is unparalleled.  He’s made so much money already, and he’s so young still, that I have to figure he’ll make me more in the future than anyone else on this list.  In real life, I hope I’m wrong, because I can’t stand the guy.  But for the purposes of this exercise, taking Justin Bieber as my male solo artist is an absolute must.