By: Julia Leiby, Music Director
1. "Where The Party At" - Jagged Edge feat. Nelly
I really hope y’all have heard this song before. The combination of Jagged Edge, a
now-mostly inactive R&B group with four members (two of whom are twin
brothers), and Nelly is so sweet and extremely easy to bob your head to while
drinking. The repeating guitar loop is catchy and fiery--it will be stuck in
your head for days. If you watch the music video, it’s ridiculous and excessive
and all a rap video should be. Within the first 20 seconds, a member of Jagged Edge
parachutes down onto a beach to talk to some hot girls, of which the video has an
abundance. Then a guy parachutes into a pool, which is also (surprise) full
of more girls. It also has a surprisingly relevant repeated line in the chorus: “If
the party’s where you’re at, just let me know.” And honestly, who doesn’t want to
be at the party with the person they like.
2. "Me & U" - Cassie
You might have heard this song at a dance when you were in
middle school. Cassie was 20 when this song came out, but the vibe of the song
is much younger and almost more innocent in a way. The cold and deceptively
simple beat in the background kind of transports you back to being in those
sweaty gyms (or wherever you had dances) but in a good, eerie way. I can’t
imagine anyone being nostalgic for that time but when you hear Cassie singing, “I know them other
guys, they been talking bout the way I do what I do / They heard I was good, they wanna see if it's
true.” One can think about being confident and trying to talk to boys for the
first time.
3. "Leave (Get Out)" - JoJo
This
is honestly the first breakup song I ever heard. I was 10 and found it through
AOL music. JoJo was only 13 when this song came out, which is pretty incredible
because she sings like a mature woman tired of getting her heart broken and
literally yelling (belting) at a guy to get out of her life. The buildup to the
chorus and the slightly '90s guitars make what would otherwise be a throwaway
pop song more intriguing. The music video is pretty essential, too, with
JoJo wearing her "boys stink" tank top and faux-crying in the girls bathroom
and by her locker while alternately dancing with her friends. Put this song on at
a party and see how many people are into it--those are the ones you should hang
around with because they understand adolescent heartbreak.
4. "Dilemma" - Nelly feat. Kelly Rowland
This
is about Nelly wooing Kelly Rowland, who has a son and a kid, and of course she
wants him. It’s honestly kind of tender love song, with Kelly saying over
and over, “You don’t know you mean to me,” and she “thinks about him even
when she’s with her boo” and the “ohs” in the background and the twinkly-sounding
beat make it danceable, too. The music video is sweet and definitely for people
who want to see Nelly when he was in the phase of wearing a Band-Aid on his
face for fashion, Nelly and Kelly dancing in the street and the unforgettable
shot of Kelly getting mad when someone texts her using Microsoft Excel. It’s a
sweet song and overall kind of makes you feel like 2002 was not a bad time to
be a young rapper in the summer with someone he cared about.
5. "The Jump Off" - Lil Kim feat. Mr. Cheeks
This is probably the smoothest jam of 2003, and I believe it still deserves to be heard in 2014. Before Nicki Minaj, there was Lil Kim, one of the first influential and successful female rappers in the public eye. She has bravado and a strong attitude in this song (as always), and mainly raps about cars and partying and calls herself “the black Barbie” and “the wicked bitch of the East." This song is full of lines like that, and you can really get a sense of Lil Kim’s aggression and assertiveness. A downside of this song as something to play at a party is that (unfortunately) some people may not remember it, but the trumpets and Lil Kim’s rapid-fire lines will draw them in.
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