J Thoughts: If I Had to Hear a Song 100x…

Every day, I drive an hour and a half to work. And when the work day ends, I drive an hour and a half home.

And every day, I hear the same 10-15 songs on the radio. Over. And over. And over, again.

It’s unclear how radio expects to maintain an audience with such rigid playlist parameters, but I’ll save my top 5 questions I’ve always wanted to ask a program director for another day.

The three songs I never want to hear again, and the ones I would replace them with:

The Worst – Jhené Aiko

Jhené Aiko - The Worst

Initially I was happy to hear an R&B song in heavy rotation, even if it’s one of my least favorite by Jhené Aiko. After replay 2,567 though, I’ve had enough. #theworst

Na Na – Trey Songz

Trey-Songz-NaNa-Bella-Twins

It was tolerable at first. Catchy. Yet and still, so basic. And intolerable after 7 months. Next.

Loyal – Chris Brown Ft. Lil’ Wayne

Chris Brown - "Loyal" Video

Who didn’t love “Loyal” when it was first released? Questionable lyrics aside, it’s uptempo, has an infectious beat and (what feels like) fun wordplay. Even with Chris behind bars during the promotion period  (-___-), the song took on a life of its own. But now that I’ve had AMPLE opportunity to learn and relearn all the words, I mostly cringe when I hear it. *raises hand* Not loyal.

New Flame – Chris Brown Ft. Usher, Rick Ross

While we wait on the new Chris Brown x Drake, “New Flame” can certainly hold us over. Yes, Chris can rap and “sing-talk,” but I love the songs where he is full-out crooning, he has such a wholesome sound, sighs. (Don’t ask me what he’s really saying though.)

The track gets a huge boost from the original heartbreak, Usher. I could do without Rick Ross, but you can’t win ’em all.

Dumb – Jazmine Sullivan Ft. Meek Mill

Jazmine Sullivan fans have been waiting 3 years for new music, so when I woke up to the world premiere of “Dumb” on the Breakfast Club last month, I was too hype. It has a nice groove, the obligatory rap feature — play my girl Jazzy!!

Love Never Felt So Good – Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake

I don’t care what genre the song  falls into by industry standards, it makes you feel good, plain and simple. Everyone should be playing it.  (Not that I agree with the decision to release posthumous projects, but that’s neither here nor there…)

Honorable Mentions *Drake voice* 

Good Kisser  – Usher

Maybe – Teyana Taylor Ft. Yo Gotti, Pusha T

My Girl – Diggy Ft. Trevor Jackson

J Video: Behind The Scenes of Hot 97’s Summer Jam XX

I’ve had a love/hate relationship with Ebro Darden since starting my struggle hour and a half commute to work in 2012. This was right around the time Ebro began making guest appearances on Hot 97’s morning show, then just the program director trying to save the show’s ratings.

I have always appreciated his fluid on-air personality and the respect he has in the industry, which makes for better interviews; it’s his lack of tact surrounding some highly-sensitive issues that’s left me feeling some type of way more than once (the U.O.E.N.O. Rick Ross controversy comes to mind).

In the video you see the good and the bad, as Hot 97 gives you a behind-the-scenes look at last year’s Summer Jam through the eyes of “the old man.”

I was hoping to learn something new about the concert production process, which didn’t really happen, but having watched the show via live stream, it was interesting to see what was really going on backstage with the artists. (You have to peep Mariah showing up in the middle of the song she is supposed to perform with a champagne glass in hand (7:42). -__-) Check it out!