I got an email the other day from one of my friends about our annual Memorial Day vacation in Folly Beach, SC. While most of the message dealt with logistics, it highlighted a very important point: it is time to start scoping out summer jams. Summer jams are responsible for some of the best times in my life. Last year we rocked out to Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis and that (totally nonsensical, but catchy) Damaged track by (the now defunct) Danity Kane. A good summer jam will be released around the time that people start shedding their winter jackets and long sleeves are still in rotation. It gives them a little gestation time before they really blow up. That sounds a lot like this week to me.
This is where I should probably tell you about my predictions for summer jams. The thing is, I haven’t heard a Hey Ma, Hot In Herre, or Izzo (HOVA) yet this year. Am I destined to spend my precious 4 days on the beach listening to Lady Gaga, Flo Rida, and (gasp) Jeezy!? If so, kill me now and spare me the horror. But, perhaps my musical sphere is just too small – I do live in a musical vacuum afterall.
So help me out here AudioShocker readers: What are your 2009 Summer Jam picks?
Need some more inspiration? This track, Would You Like To Ride, by Mr. West, Malik Yousef, and Common was my joint around… 2003 or 2004. The track is syrupy smooth and works whether you are cruising at 25, blazing at 80, or just standing still. Kanye stuck to the basics and relied on a few simple samples combined with a steady knocking beat. West’s verse gives us a preview of the great wordplay we’ve come to associate him with, and Common just destroys Erykah Badu. If you weren’t already up on this one — act like you know!
Sadly, the video is trash – but real summer jams should be on the stereo – not your television!









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