On the corner

Common, Scarface and Mos Def - Corners (Remix)
What can I say really. It's good. Its like getting Ma$e on "Jesus Walks" or Common on the "Why" remix. Better than the original, Scarface's verse is best, his grainy voice is perfect, and Mos is on point lyrically, so New York. "The church, the chicken shack the liquor store the dope house the bail bond the nail salon the barbershop and yo house." or maybe its "the yao house," I can't tell.

Bobby Valentino feat. Ludacris - Give Me a Chance
This is so weird! But its very good. It starts out like Blackalicious or something, soft new-agey "positive" rapping over soft, pleasant synth harmonies. But then the drums come in, and it's a lot better than Blackalicious. Drums are a grab-bag of different timbres, bongos and big metallic knocks during the chorus. The same shifting atmospheres as "Slow Down," but the lens is more focused, the drums are more precise, and Luda's got a verse this time rather than a mere cameo in the video, aiming for that number one spot. And there's even a new age/"world music" pan flute thing going on every couple bars! I assume this is Tim and Bob again. It's like they're trying to take the softest sounds and then hammer them with the beat, rip in-the-clouds dreamy airyness and graft it to heavy drums. This is very good music for summer. Promising producers from the Timbaland school, not imitators but its as if they've taken one of his one-off tangents and turned it into an exciting style all its own, slowing it down, removing the funk and replacing it with a fluffy, expansive polish.