B.o.B Gets Hip Hop On New Album

B.o.B has always been a rapper with more pop sensibilities than most. Only he can work with such mainstream artists such as Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift and Hayley Williams of Paramore and still keep the respect of the streets.
On Underground Luxury, B.o.B's third album he stays away from mainstream guest appearances. Aside from Chris Brown, T.I. and Priscilla Renea the guests are far more, well, underground. While  this is definitely his worst album, it's still a good record. Some of his solo songs blend together, but most of the songs are memorable.
The two best songs are the singles "John Doe" which features Priscilla Renea and "Headband" which features 2 Chainz. "John Doe" is by far the best song though. It features Renea singing a chorus of sadness playing John Doe's love interest While B.o.B  plays the addict.
"John Doe, I just want the John I know/ Once you put the drinks on hold/ Maybe you could come back home/ John Doe," Renea sings sadly during the chorus.
This is the best song and with a song this good it makes the other songs sound like filler. Most of the songs blend together and are broken up by the memorable songs like "Ready" which features Future, "Coastline," "Wide Open" which features Esther Dean and  "We Still In This Bitch" which features T.I. and Juicy J.
Without these songs the record would be nothing more than filler and background music. The problem is that B.o.B is that he works better with a guest appearance on the song. He works better with a Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj or Rivers Cuomo like on is first two albums. For his next record he would do good to have more guest appearances to help him hold his own.

Neon Hitch shines on new single

Neon Hitch is one of the next generation of quirky pop stars who blend dance, pop, hip hop and rock into one weird blend of pop music. Her single "Bad Dog" was arguably the most overlooked song of 2011. Hitch has been featured on "Follow Me Down" by 3OH!3 and the mega hit "Ass Back Home" by Gym Class heroes. She also wrote "Blah Blah Blah" with Ke$ha and songs for Friday Night Boys and Sky Ferreira.
Hitch plans to release her debut album Beg, Borrow and Steal this year and this past week she released her new single "Gold" which features Tyga. "Gold" is a dance-pop number that is so upbeat and catchy that it'll be stuck in heads for days. The song, co-written by Bruno Mars, is about how her lover "shines like gold" and while the lyrics are cheesy, it's cute. She seems truly enamoured with her lover and with her beautiful, distinctive voice the listener can truly tell that she means every word she says.
The only drawback of the song is the rap by Tyga. It just doesn't seem to go with the rest of the song. If she released this song with somebody more well known then maybe the rap would be helpful but Tyga is no Kanye West or Nicki Minaj so his verse could just be erased.
The song is proof that Hitch has what it takes to make a hit and if she makes more songs like this than she's sure to get huge.