It’s a Hit

by Amerie feat. Lil Wayne

(Island Def Jam)

How about that: a Wayne guest spot that sounds written in advance.
True, “You ain’t got to love me, ’cause the world do/And you ain’t got
to do me, ’cause your girl do” isn’t going to win any awards, but
compared to a cameo hack like Plies, it’s practically gold. The track’s
big cheerleader chant of a chorus just makes the beat even bigger: It
stomps like a vintage big band, complete with brass that huffs and
puffs but never outblows the woman on top.

by Christophe Willem

(Columbia Europe)

The winner of France’s Pop Idol sounds like a woman—not
like a man singing falsetto, like an actual woman—and marries a
galumphing four-on-the-floor beat with strings and guitar that have an
appropriately melodramatic sweep. I don’t understand a word he’s
saying, but I keep replaying it anyway.

by Stefanie Heinzmann

(UME)

More “world” music from—oh dear—a Swedish soul singer
(or so says Amazon) who seems to have gotten her idea of what
constitutes R&B from TV ads in her home country, with a little (and
only a little) ache in the voice to counteract the track’s ceaseless
perk, naturligt.

by Duck Sauce

(Fool’s Gold)

Armand Van Helden used to be one of house music’s loop kings,
wrapping disco strings and/or bass lines around themselves and giving
off thrilling, nonstop tension. Then he made 2000’s Killing
Puritans, which would have been better off titled Killing
Momentum, since nothing he’s done since has had much to recommend
it, whatever his UK chart successes with Dizzee Rascal. But teaming up
with DJ A-Trak as Duck Sauce seems to have revitalized him: This buffs
up early-’80s post-disco (think of a Salsoul act like Logg) with a
gleam that still breathes enough to let the exceptionally friendly
vocal shine even brighter.

“Me N My (Up in the Club)”

by Eve

(Geffen)

When this leaked in early August, I was sure it was a blip. Eve may
be the first major American rap figure to try on dubstep—the
track is a Salaam Remi reedit of Benga’s “E Trips”—but her lyrics
were simpleminded enough to make an old hip-house MC like Doug Lazy
sound like Rakim. Then I caught Eve mentioning its imminent release on
Jimmy Fallon the other week, and now I worry.