Friend | 3 to 5 BOPS

Friend: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 1 (2023), features musical BOPS courtesy of Drake, The Isley Brothers, Mary Mary, Saint Levant, and Saweetie. 

Ah, you know what time it is! It’s 3 to 5 BOPS time – WOO! On 3 to 5 BOPS, it’s all about brevity and sweetness… for the most part! There’s a theme/topic, 3, 4, or 5 songs, and a blurb – often often no more than two paragraphs.  3 to 5 BOPS is a mini playlist that shouldn’t take much time to consume.  In the 1^st edition of 3 to 5 BOPS (2023), we select songs that are associated with the word FRIEND in some form or fashion. The BOPS arrive courtesy of 🎙 Drake, 🎙 The Isley Brothers, 🎙 Mary Mary, 🎙 Saint Levant, and 🎙 Saweetie. Okay, let’s get into it!

1. Saint Levant, “Very Few Friends”

🎵 “Very Few Friends” • 🏷 Saint Levant • 🗓 2022

“I wanna take you to Paris and spoil you / I wanna go to Marseille and enjoy you / I want those guys in your DM’s who talk to themselves / And then tell all their friends that they know you.” Woo! 🎙 Saint Levant (Marwan Abdelhamid) serves up good vibes – better yet, sexy vibes – on his single, 🎵 “Very Few Friends”.  The brief “Very Few Friends” showcases the appeal, talent, and versatility of Abdelhamid.  This handsome musician with a diverse background (Palestinian/French/Algerian/Serbian) raps in multiple languages: English, French, and Arabic.  To characterize it as ear-catching would be an understatement.

Saint Levant never gets too high while performing “Very Few Friends.” The smooth backdrop gives off love-oriented, romantic, R&B vibes.  Abdelhamid raps smoothly, supporting romantic sensibilities.  After dropping some Arabic rhymes, he continues spitting in the first verse, “Love boy Levant back in the building.” He goes on to drop  French as well.  Even if you’re not proficient at Arabic or French, English lines like, “We have designer sex in the morning / Expensive when you moanin’,” as well as the memorable closing lyric, “When we come together it’s a fuckin’ problem” makes it clear what Abdelhamid has in mind. The chorus is a highlight: “I have very few friends / I’m focused on very few friends.” 🎵 “Very Few Friends” gives a terrific snapshot of Saint Levant, showing his versatility. Furthermore, it will easily enhance your playlist, particularly when it comes to matters of the bedroom.

Appears in 🔻:

• Awesome Songs: November 2022

2. Saweetie, “Best Friend” (Ft. Doja Cat)

🎵 “Best Friend” • 🏷 ICY / Warner • 📅 2021

Rapper 🎙 Saweetie, assisted by 🏆 Grammy-nominated female rapper, 🎙 Doja Cat, brings the heat (and friendship) on the enjoyable 🎵 “Best Friend”. Despite running just two-and-a-half-minute, that’s enough time for Saweetie and Doja to be unapologetic! With numerous songwriters on deck, it’s 🎛 Dr. Luke and Rocco Did It Again that do work behind the boards.  They give the rappers a minimalist backdrop: 808s/trap drums and a minor key synth.  It’s perfect fuel for the fire as we’re made aware of the ‘bad bitch’ status from the jump.

The centerpiece is the chorus:

“That my best friend, she a real bad bitch

Got her own money, she don’t need no nig’

On the dance floor, she had two, three drinks

Now she twerkin’, she throw it out and come back in…”

Each rapper has their own one-liners whether it’s “I hit her phone with the tea, like ‘Bitch, guess what? / All the rich-ass boys wanna fuck on us!” (Saweetie) or “That’s my best friend, if you need a freak / I ain’t dumb, but motherfucker, she my Tweedledee” (Doja Cat).  With these two on the track, the expectation was a banger, and that’s the result, PERIOD!

Appears in 🔻:

• Best: 5ive Songs No. 91 (2021)

3. Drake, “No Friends in the Industry”

💿 Certified Lover Boy • 🏷 OVO / Republic • 📅 2021

“No friends in the industry / My brothers been my brothers, man, you niggas ain’t no kin to me, a fact.” On 🎵 “No Friends in the Industry,” from the formerly, 🏆 Grammy-nominated 💿 Certified Lover Boy, 🎙 Drake delivers a banger. Here, Aubrey has no love whatsoever for the haters – woo!  “Niggas love to start the beef, don’t wanna keep it rap,” he proclaims, adding, “Yeah, he hit us up and now we owe you something back.” Oh, snap 🫰! Notably, of course, Drizzy has been involved in no shortage of feuds, which he alludes to.  According to him, “I was young angel, but these niggas turned me evil.” Honestly, what more needs to be said?

4. The Isley Brothers, “Friends & Family

💿 Make Me Say It Again, Girl • 🏷 RI Top Ten • 📅 2022

Iconic R&B collective 🎙 The Isley Brothers (🎙 Ron Isley and 🎙 Ernie Isley) shine on their classy, feel-good, soulful comeback single, 🎵 “Friends & Family”. “Friends & Family,” which appeared on the long-awaited, 2022 album, 💿 Make Me Say It Again, Girl, screams barbeque and cookout vibes.  The record appeals to lovers of old-school R&B. It hearkens back to a previous era of contemporary R&B – think 💿 Chocolate Factory era 🎙 R. Kelly (aughts).  This sound is a sweet spot for Ron Isley; he’s able to show off that silky smooth tenor and compel with a ripe falsetto.

The record is incredibly feel-good, groovy, and clean-cut.  Even 🎙 Snoop Dogg keeps things classy and ‘classic,’ riding the beat with ease.  Ultimately, we get refined songwriting, awesome vocals (Ron is 80) and fine production (robust bass line, horns, keys). Can you say #Vibes!

Appears in 🔻:

• An Engaging, Unorthodox Soundtrack to Spring
• Awesome Songs: April 2021
• 40 Best Songs of 2021 (So Far)
• Best Songs of 2021: Honorable Mentions

5. Mary Mary, “Superfriend”

💿 The Sound • 🏷 Sony Music Entertainment • 📅 2008

“They’re here now, but then they’re gone / Where they at? I don’t know.” Where’s who at, 🎙 Mary Mary? Why, those so-called friends, of course! The contemporary gospel duo goes on to sing in the chorus of 🎵 “Superfriend” that “Ay, oh, they hit the door / That kinda friend, I gotta let go.”  A friend who is not going to fulfill the role is a friend that is not needed, nor fits the definition of a true friend.  Thankfully and mercifully, the duo – and all who believe – have a much better option.  The chorus of this gem from 💿 The Sound continues: “A super friend, a super friend / Yes sir, I got me one of them / A super friend, a super friend / I got me a super friend.”

That super friend is God,  the ultimate friend.  🎙 Erica Campbell goes on to sing in the verse, “No sir, there’s no halfway about him / This world could be nothing without him.” The Campbell sisters get a lift from an unexpected guest, 🎙 David Banner.  Banner keeps it clean long enough to tout the goodness of God in the second verse:

“And in the church, Lord I’m looked at as Satan

‘Cause in my music I curse

But I’m tryin’ to do better and that’s the thing that really hurts

All this sex and the drugs in my life mean nothin’

When my super friend hugs me at night, tears come rushin’

…So, stuntin’ is a habit when I’m grippin’ this mic

Y’all thinkin’ I’m a pimp but I’m trying to be like Christ

In real life, yeah.”

Banner talks about how he’s perceived by the church/church folk as an explicit rapper.  Even though he’s admittedly imperfect, he is a God-fearing man.  Regardless, Banner contributes to just how awesome God, the ultimate friend – a super friend – is. That, right there, is uplifting if I do say so myself!

Appears in 🔻:

• Mary Mary, “Superfriend”: Music Lifts 🎶 🏋 23 (2022)

Friend: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 1 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner, ICY, Keira Burton via Pexels, The Musical Hype, OVO, Republic, RI Top Ten, Saint Levant, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner]