Nelly - "Ride wit Me" (feat. City Spud)

It's impossible to hate this track.  "Why," you ask.  Must be the money.

I have a fundamental problem with a lot of popular music.  In a lot of cases, what's in today is quickly forgotten tomorrow (see, all ringtone rap of the past decade) and often overshadows music that is truly timeless.  The fact that we can give a Grammy to Puff Daddy instead of to Wu-Tang Forever (Wu-Tang, in my mind, will always be for the children) or to Nelly's "Hot in Herre" over Jay-Z's beautiful "Song Cry," is a testament to how shortsighted popular music can be.

Conversely, there is a reason why some songs are more popular than others that goes beyond marketing.  At the end of the day, a lot of popular songs are just good and well-liked by fans, regardless of demographic.  As much as it frustrates me that a lot of people in my age group can't name an OutKast song before Speakerboxx/The Love Below or has never heard of Reasonable Doubt, I love that whenever "Roses" or any song from The Black Album comes on, everyone in the room knows every word.

This is one of those very rare songs that, popular or not, is applicable in nearly any social situation.  Much like the R. Kelly's "Ignition (Remix)" or Cam'ron's "Hey Ma," this track is impossible to hate and will brighten up the room regardless of whether it's played at a party, at the gym, or while just relaxing with friends.  While many popular songs are beaten to death by oversaturation on the radio, this upbeat song one of those rare tracks that holds up no matter what the play count may be.  The chorus, the instrumental, the lyrics--they aren't the most superb when taken in separately, but together they transcend the level of popular song and reach the level of timeless anthem.

Peace, Love, & Hip Hop,

WordIsBorn

P.S. School is killing me with reading this semester (I seriously advise against taking four humanities courses simultaneously) and I've had a hard time getting back in to blogging.  But, with some friends' prodding, I've realized that I can still make one post per day without taking too much time away from the rest of my life.  The past few months, I've been going through a rough period in my life and I'll be the first to admit that I burned out at times on the site, but this is something important to me that I want to which I wish to recommit and that I want to rebuild better than ever.  So keep checking back in with the site, because I'll still be here posting.