Twostepcublog

    " Without Me " - Eminem from the album The Eminem Show (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (five weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 16   Today's song comes from rapper Eminem , whose second album The Marshall Mathers LP (named after his real birth name) landed him his first big hit with the top ten single " The Real Slim Shady " in the summer of 2000, along with a follow-up, " Stan ", which didn't make the pop top-40 but is revered as one of his best songs coined a new term for overzealous fans.  In 2002, Eminem returned with his next record The Eminem Show , preceded by the lead single "Without Me". Written by the rapper with producer Jeff Bass and inserting a quick interpolation of the 80s single " Buffalo Gals " from Malcolm McLaren at the beginning that gave Trevor Horn and Anne Dudley writers credit, the song attempts to recreate the bratty wackiness from his breakthrough single and up everything five notches. This resulted i...

    " Down Ass Chick " - Ja Rule featuring Charli "Chuck" Baltimore from the album Pain Is Love (2001) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #21 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 9   Today's song comes from rapper Ja Rule , whose third album Pain Is Love had already spun off a top ten lead-off hit with " Livin' It Up ", as well as a #1 pop crossover smash with " Always On Time ".  He also was featured on a couple high-profile singles with Mary J. Blige's " Rainy Dayz " and the album version of Fat Joe's " What's Luv ". The third single from the album, "Down Ass Chick" (censored from "Down Ass Bitch" from the album), paired Rule with another rapper from Philadelphia, Charli Baltimore, instead of the R&B singers that were on the last two hits. Baltimore, born Tiffany Lane, was romantically involved with Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace. After his death, she released her own debut s...

    " Awnaw " - Nappy Roots from the album Watermelon, Chicken, & Gritz (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #51 (two weeks)   This week's "robbed hit" comes from the hip-hop group Nappy Roots , who came together in Kentucky in the mid-1990's when they were all attending university in the state. After a couple of independently-released mixtapes, the group was signed to Atlantic Records, where they recorded their debut major-label release Watermelon, Chicken, & Gritz . The lead single from the record was the party track "Awnaw", written by the act's Melvin Adams, Kenneth Anthony, William Hughes, and Vito Tisdale along with producer James Chambers. Producer/singer/artist Phalon "Jazze Pha" Alexander sings the chorus, serving like a Greek chorus to the individual members casting off adversaries while infusing a heaping helping of southern rural Black culture in the mix. It was a mashup of the brag rap of the cities and the brain-heav...

    " I'm Gonna Be Alright " - Jennifer Lopez featuring Nas from the albums J. Lo (2001) and J to the L---O! The Remixes (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #10 (five weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 20   Today's song comes from superstar multi-hyphenate Jennifer Lopez , who had extended the life of her sophomore album J. Lo , which had spun off a couple of hits with " Love Don't Cost A Thing " and " Play ", by remixing tracks from the set and featuring prominent rapper Ja Rule on " I'm Real " and " Ain't It Funny ", transforming them into entirely new concoctions with new melodies and only tenuously sharing a title, but the trick worked, resulting in the pair topping the Billboard magazine Hot 100 for a combined eleven weeks. For her next move, Lopez and her team took another album cut from J. Lo , "I'm Gonna Be Alright", and did the rapper-heavy remix treatment. The original, written by Lopez with Lorraine ...

    Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 "hit" tunes from the previous week. This week Pink hangs tight at #1 for a fourth week, while Ed Sheeran (pictured above) climbs three spots in the top ten. Former hits from Miley Cyrus, Meghan Trainor, The National, HARDY, and White Reaper drop off my chart, while songs from Kelly Clarkson, Miley Cyrus (!), and Foo Fighters make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). And under the list, everything is Spotify playlisted for 5 1/2 hours of the biggest in pop, rock, R&B, country, and dance music. Let the three-day weekend commence!   This Week             Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Trustfall - Pink (1) 2. Flowers - Miley Cyrus (2) 3. Handle On You - Parker McCollum (3) 4. Wild As Her - Corey Kent (6) 5. Lost - Linkin Park ...

    " Oh Boy " - Cam'ron featuring Juelz Santana from the album Come Home With Me (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #4 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 18   Today's song comes from rapper Cameron Ezike Giles, who records under the nickname Cam'ron .  who grew up in Manhattan, New York, before pursuing a music career after childhood friend and rapper Mase hooked him up with the Notorious B.I.G., who in turn linked Cam'ron to Lance Rivera's Untertainment label. In 1998, after a promo single that never saw release, " Pull It " with DMX, got enough airplay to spend a couple of weeks on Billboard magazine's R&B Airplay chart, peaking at #66, the rapper released his debut single " 357 " a month later.  That song, which interpolated the theme from Miami Vice and also was in the movie Woo with Jada Pinkett, kind of stiffed, stalling at #88 on the R&B chart. That was quickly followed by " Horse & Carriage ", which...

    " Hot In Herre " - Nelly from the album Nellyville (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (seven weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 25   Today's song comes from St. Louis-born rapper Nelly , who ambitiously followed the big success of his debut album Country Grammar with the song " #1 " from the soundtrack to the movie Training Day starring Denzel Washington. However that single stopped well short of the top of the pop chart, making the top-40 but making the next album's promotion so important. "#1" was on the sophomore disc Nellyville a year later, but the "true" first single from the record was the party track "Hot In Herre". The song was written by Nelly (under his given name Cornell Haynes) with the Neptunes production team (Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo). It used a sample of R&B "go-go" legend Chuck Brown's song "Bustin' Loose", which topped Billboard magazine's R&B chart and was a to...

    " What If She's An Angel " - Tommy Shane Steiner from the album Then Came The Night (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #39 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 3   Today's song comes from Tommy Shane Steiner , who grew up in Texas, where he started a music career performing before getting discovered and signed to RCA Nashville Records. At the close of 2001, Steiner released his debut single, "What If She's An Angel", the lead single from his upcoming album Then Came The Night . Written by Bryan Wayne (Gallentine), it's a "message song" that preaches about the downfalls of mistreating the downtrodden, whether it be the poor, the sick, and the abused. In each of the three vignettes, it counters ignoring the person with "what if it's a stand-in so God can judge you", as if morality is something exclusive to the religious (news flash, it's not ). But nevertheless, the intention was good, but having it come from such a fresh-fa...

    " Halfcrazy " - Musiq (Soulchild) from the album Juslisen (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #16 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 18   Today's song comes from neo-soul singer Taalib Hassan Johnson, who released his debut album under the alias Musiq Soulchild in Aijuswanaseing in 2000, and from the set scored two top ten R&B hits that crossed over to the top-40 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 with " Just Friends (Sunny) " and " Love ".  When he came back with his sophomore effort Juslisen in 2002, Musiq dropped the "Soulchild" (it would return later on). The lead single from the record was "Halfcrazy", which he wrote with producers Carvin Haggins and Ivan Barias. The song used as a foundation a sample of a track from a French film from 1967, "Vivre Pour Vivre", giving composer Francis Lai a writing credit. (This is the second SOTD in a row using a sample from a foreign movie, but Musiq was smart enough to get ...

    " Too Bad " - Nickelback from the album Silver Side Up (2001) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #42 (two weeks)   This week's "robbed hit" comes from the Canadian hard rock band Nickelback , who broke through big in the States with their single " How You Remind Me ", which topped Billboard magazine's Hot 100 for a month at the close of 2001.  Their follow-up would be the driving rock of "Too Bad", written by the band. Lead singer Chad Kroeger's lyrics tell the story of growing up with an absent father, and the music video follows that plotline as well, adding some drama into the mix.... While "Too Bad" topped Billboard 's Mainstream Rock radio chart for three weeks, and got to #6 on the Alternative Rock counterpart, the song stalled right under the Hot 100's top-40 in May of 2002. Also on the radio, the track made it to #23 on the Mainstream Top-40 chart, and #31 on the older-skewing Adult Top-40 format, but lack of a c...

    " Addictive " - Truth Hurts featuring Rakim from the album Truthfully Speaking (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #9 (four weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 16   Today's song comes from Shari Watson, who records under the moniker Truth Hurts . Born in St. Louis, she got her break when she was signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath label on Interscope Records. With her connections through Dre, Watson sang backup on tracks on Busta Rhymes and Eminem's group D-12 as well as acted in a few high-profile movies before releasing her debut album Truthfully Speaking in the summer of 2002. The lead single from the set was "Truthfully Speaking", which featured rapper Rakim (William Griffin), who was half of the iconic duo Eric B. & Rakim.  They had four albums in the late 80's/early 90's including one, their debut Paid In Full , which sold over a million copies and it still lauded as one of the best rap albums of all time. However that critical and album success d...

    Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 "hit" tunes from the previous week. Pink reigns for a third week, while country newcomer Corey Kent (pictured above) leaps four spots in the top ten. Songs from Hozier, Foo Fighters, and Miguel make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former hits from Morgan Wallen and Jordan Davis drop off my list. And under the chart everything is Spotify playlisted for 5 1/2 hours of the biggest in pop, rock, R&B, country, and dance music. Happy birthday, sis! This Week            Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Trustfall - Pink (1) 2. Flowers - Miley Cyrus (2) 3. Handle On You - Parker McCollum (3) 4. Bloody Mary - Lady Gaga (4) 5. Lost - Linkin Park (5) 6. Wild As Her - Corey Kent (10) 7. Calm Down - Rema & Sel...

    " Hella Good " - No Doubt from the album Rock Steady (2001) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #13 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 15   Today's song comes from the California-based rock band No Doubt , who appropriated dancehall music to score a top ten hit and a Grammy Award with " Hey Baby " in the spring of 2002. For the follow-up they went for the new wave dance rock pastiche for "Hella Good", written by their lead singer Gwen Stefani and bassist Tony Kanal, along with the Neptunes, the up and coming production/writing team of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo. Instead of the Neptunes producing, though, the band did the deed with Nellee Hooper, most notable for working with British group Soul II Soul and Icelandic icon Bjork. The result was a funky white-boy jam with a guitar lick that sounds like Nile Rodgers attempting to go metal.But somehow it worked stupdenously, with the band at their best party mode form. The music video, from Mark Romanek, was mor...