11 Intriguing Triple Digit Songs | Playlist

1. Morgan Wallen, “865”

Dangerous: The Double Album • Big Loud / Republic • 2021 

“This bottle tastes like 865-409-1021.” Okay – curious how telephone whiskey tastes but have at it, Morgan Wallen!  What is crystal clear is that alcohol and country music won’t be “quitting each other” anytime soon.  “865,” which appears on the first disc of Dangerous: The Double Album, the highly, HIGHLY anticipated sophomore album by Wallen, fuses alcohol and memories of an ex- (from his hometown) he’s totally not over.

“The Tennessee heat had me feelin’ colder / Thought a drink would get you off my mind but,” Wallen sings at the end on the first verse. Here, the bottle ultimately doesn’t atone for his depression as he still yearns for her company.

“This bottle tastes like 865-409-1021
Yeah, one last time don’t think twice
Girl, just pick it up and come over
Give the bedroom door a little closure
I know I told you I wouldn’t call, and I tried
But this bottle tastes like 865 (409-1021)
This bottle tastes like 865 (409-1021).”

It’s not the first country song using the bottle to drown one’s sorrows over a girl, but he manages to make the experience unique.

2. Lady Gaga, “911”

Chromatica • Interscope •  2020

“911” boasts one of the best, most inescapable beats on Chromatica, period.  In the context of the album, it’s a continuation of “Fun Tonight.” Sure, Lady Gaga wasn’t having fun then, and the case is similar here, sigh.

On the chorus, the Grammy-winner asserts, “My biggest enemy is me, pop a 911 / My biggest enemy is me ever since day one.”  With the verses providing some insight, and the chorus summing up the singer’s mental health and such, backtrack to the pre-chorus to hear some sick falsetto.  While the melody is simple on the pre-chorus, it works fabulously.

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3. Shawn Mendes, “305”

Wonder • Island • 2020 

“It’s 3:05 / I’m on a rollercoaster ride,” Shawn Mendes sings on the chorus of “305.” “305” appears as the tenth track on his fourth studio album, Wonder.  He continues (in his feelings), “Hoping you don’t change your mind / I don’t wanna let go, never been so sure in my life.” 

“305” brings a taste of old-school into Wonder, hearkening back to the 1960s.  Even so, it’s still sounds fresh and idiomatic of 2020.  The number is most significant here because it’s the Miami area code.  Obviously, that’s where Mendes’ bae is from (Camila Cabello was born in Cuba), and where he’s spent a significant amount of time.  It’s an enjoyable, up-tempo cut. A successful area code song all in all.

“If there’s a door to heaven, baby, you’re the key
And if I had to beg, I'd be on my knees.”

4. AJR, “100 Bad Days”

Neotheater • BMG Rights Management • 2019

“Woah, when all is going wrong and you’re scared as hell / … Maybe a hundred bad days made a hundred good stories / A hundred good stories make me interesting at parties.” One of the biggest pros for “100 Bad Days”, a standout from the 2019 AJR album, Neotheater, is the sick production work.  Groovy from the onset, “100 Bad Days” is chocked-full of awesome sounds, including the anthemic, brassy chorus.  During this same section, Jack Met sounds incredibly passionate vocally, dropping the strongest section of the record.  Interestingly, the final two lines of the pre-chorus (excerpted above) kicks off the chorus, which continues, “…Yeah, no I ain’t scared of you / No, I ain’t scared of you no more.”

On the verses, Jack Met highlights ‘bad’ happenings exemplifying the ‘millennial’ tilt.  On the first, he sings, “Remember when we all got drunk? / I ended up with two broke thumbs.” On the second, matters of love have him feeling bad – “Remember when she broke my heart / Waitin’ for the waiter to return my card?” But, as the chorus made crystal clear, Jack and company are turning bad into good, or something along those lines.

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5. Halsey, “929”

Manic • Capitol • 2020

“Soft and slow, watch the minutes go / Count out loud, so we know you don’t keep ‘em for yourself.” “929” appears as the closing cut from the standard edition of Manic, the third studio album by Halsey.  What does ‘929’ represent? It’s Halsey’s birthday – September 29, 1994!

“I really was born at 9:29 AM on 9/29,” Halsey asserts on the intro, continuing, “You think I’m lying, but I’m, I’m being dead serious.”  Beyond the specific lyrics, on “929,” Ms. Ashley Frangipane is quite honest about the state of her life and the past.  “And I’m pickin’ my hair out in clumps in the shower / Lost the love of my life to an ivory powder,” she sings on the second verse, continuing, “but then I realize that I’m no higher power / That I wasn’t in love then, and I’m still not now / And I’m so happy I figured that out.” Ultimately, “929” is a fitting coda to her best album to date.

6. Future, “100 Shooters”

Ft. Meek Mill & Doe Boy

High Off Life • Epic • 2020 

“100 Shooters”  featuring  Meek Mill and  Doe Boy marks the 20^th track on  High Off Life, the 2020 studio album from rapper  Future. The trap banger was actually released as a single in 2019, long before the album materialized. Respectable by all means, “100 Shooters” checks off the usual boxes: ear-catching production work ( Tay Keith and  Cubeatz) and a catchy chorus that serves as the centerpiece.  Another boxed checked off, specific to this list – triple digits baby!

Each rapper gets their own verse, encompassing the usual topics. For example, Meek Mill focuses on drip (“Fifty ‘mil buried in my safe, that’s a graveyard”), sex (“Famous ho, she threw me that pussy, I’ma slay her raw, yeah”), and of course, ‘shooters’ (“Hundred shooters, I can get your clique hit”).  The needle isn’t moved, but hard flex is fully intact .

Also appears on :

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7. Azealia Banks, “212”

Ft. Lazy Jay

Broke with Expensive Taste • Prospect Park • 2014 

“You could see I been that bitch since the Pamper / And that I am that young sis the beacon.” Well, da-yum, lol. For most of her career, Azealia Banks has spent her time beefing with any and everybody. If she ever happens to read this blurb, she’ll probably start beefing with me.  Nonetheless, the controversial rapper and singer does have at least one nice tune under her belt in “212,” a perfect fit for this three-digit song list. “212” appears on her sole album (to date), Broke with Expensive Taste.

212, of course, serves as the area code for New York City, New York, where Banks is from.  Backed by hard-hitting, danceable production by Lazy Jay, she’s aggressive AF from the jump – you did see that pamper lyric, right?  She’s on autopilot, regardless how you feel about her. Yeah, asserting “Bitch, the end of your lives are near / This shit been mine, mine” might be a bit over the top, but judging merely by this song, Azealia’s definitely on to something.

8. Tyler, the Creator, “435”

“435” • Columbia • 2018

Though incredibly short, Grammy-winning rapper Tyler, the Creator proves he’s on ‘autopilot’ on single, “435”. Interestingly, “435” never appeared on an album by the rapper.  It arrived post- Flower Boy, and definitely doesn’t fit the vibe of IGOR. There’s plenty to like about this one-minute-and-a-half joint, proper album home or not!

Following a brief intro, Tyler, the Creator drops only one verse – to be expected given the brevity of the record.  As always, he employs clever wordplay.  He makes reference to his cheetah-print hair (“I put the feline in my hair, looking like a cheetah pet”), being under-appreciated by the Grammys (“They was playing at the Grams, one nom ain’t enough”), and God-status (“I’m a god, nigga, ask your reverend.”)  After a colorful verse, performed over jazzy, soulful, minor-key production, Tyler closes out with an outro bragging, “Bitch, one take, yeah.”

9. The Carters, “713”

EVERYTHING IS LOVE • Sony • 2018 

Beyoncé and Jay-Z shocked the world with their surprise collaborative studio album, EVERYTHING IS LOVE in 2018.  Among the very best moments from The Carters’ collaboration is “713,” repping Bey’s hometown, Houston, Texas!  Can you say H-Town!

The distinct, rhythmic piano alone on “713” is enough to make it pop, sigh.  The production (Beyoncé, JAY-Z, Cool & Dre, 808-Ray, and Fred Ball) bangs like a mother! Of course, worth noting, “713” samples three different songs: “Still D.R.E.” by Dr. Dre (featuring Snoop Dogg), “Spinx Gate/The World it Softly Lulls” by Hiatus Kaiyote, and “The Light” by Common. Jay-Z rides that piano (and beat) like a boss, splitting the hook with Bey.

“I’m representin’ for the hustlers all across the world (still)
Still dippin’ in my low-lows, girl! (still)
I put it down for the 713
And we still got love for the streets (oww!).”

Otherwise, “713” is a solo track.  Hov focuses on how his relationship with Mrs. Carter went down, which is quite interesting.

10. Mac Miller, “100 Grandkids”

GO:OD AM  • Warner • 2015

“I swear to God I put the hero in heroin / These flows, kilos, I could sell snow to a ski slope / I could sell evil to the devil / Nonbelievers to a temple / Shit, I could sell water to a speedboat.” The late, great  Mac Miller absolutely kills it on  “100 Grandkids” , the crème of his cleverly titled 2015 album,  GO:OD AM (it’s a swear word, if you couldn’t figure it out).

Miller is incredibly creative with his words dropping some sick punch lines. He manages to make “grand kids” and “100 grand” related. Among his best lines:

“When I first made a hundred grand, thought I was the shit
When I first made a hundred grand, thought I was a king.”

He’s thought he was “the shit” and a “king” when he made $100,000.

Also appears on :

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11. Rick Ross, “911”

God Forgives, I Don’t • Def Jam • 2012

“I bow my head, I pray to God / Survival of the fittest: help me hold my chopper lord / If I die today, on the highway to heaven / Can I let my top down in my 911?” Unlike the other musicians on this list, Rick Ross is more focused on his Porsche 911 than 9-1-1. Even so, Ross does reference the emergency number, in addition to the date (September 11) as well.

“911” is a must-hear banger from his 2012 album, God Forgives, I Don’t.  “911” features badass production ( Young Shun) with malicious synths and hard-nosed drum programming anchoring things TF down. It runs a tad long at five-and-a-half minutes, but hey, Rick is on autopilot.

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