Hate | 3 to 5 BOPS

Hate: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 41 (2023), features musical BOPS courtesy of Kehlani, Marsha Ambrosius, P!nk, Queen Naija, and SZA. 

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 – two paragraphs or less.  3 to 5 BOPS, hence, is a mini playlist that shouldn’t take much time to consume.  In the 41st edition of 3 to 5 BOPS (2023), we select songs that are associated with HATE in some form or fashion. The BOPS arrive courtesy of 🎙 Kehlani, 🎙 Marsha Ambrosius, 🎙 P!nk, 🎙 Queen Naija, and 🎙 SZA. Okay, let’s get into it!

via GIPHY

1. P!nk, “Hate Me” 

💿 TRUSTFALL • 🏷 RCA • 📅 2023

You know when 🎙 P!nk is at her best? When she has an attitude and shows off her bad ass side! On 🎵 “Hate Me,” a highlight from her 2023 album, 💿 TRUSTFALL, the 🏆 Grammy winner is profane! “Everything you fucked up, failed at, broke or lost / And it’s all my fault, but I know it’s not,” she asserts at the end of the first verse. She’s sarcastic in the chorus, welcoming the accusatory party “to the shit show” and adding in the post-chorus, “I’m not your bitch / Wanna light me up like an evil witch / For my exit / How I disappear, it’s my magic trick.” Woo! Safe to say, on “Hate Me,” she’s untouchable – totally on fire! It doesn’t hurt to have 🎛 Greg Kurstin behind the boards, either!

2. SZA, “I Hate U” 

💿 SOS • 🏷 Top Dawg Entertainment / RCA • 🗓 2022

“And if you wondered if I hate you (Fuck you).” Language, 🎙 SZA! Despite the explicit lyrics – “I be so sick of you niggas, y’all contradicting / I be so bored with myself, can you come and fuck me?” – 🎵 “I Hate U” marks an elite number that appears later in the track list of  her 2022 album, 💿 SOS.  This gem by the 🏆 Grammy-winner checks off all boxes: ☑️ epic vocals, ☑️ lit production (🎛 Sir Dylan, ThankGod4Cody, Rob Bisel, and Carter Lang), and ☑️well-rounded, memorable songwriting.  Furthermore, that attitude is straight up hateful! “And if you wonder if I hate you (I do) / Shitty of you to make me feel just like this.” Ooh wee!  We don’t promote hate, but it never sounded so heavenly 😇 than on “I Hate U.” 

3. Kehlani, “Hate the Club” (Ft. Masego) 

💿 It Was Good Until It Wasn’t • 🏷 Atlantic • 📅 2020  

“Tired of going out, scared I’ll run into you / All of these whereabouts, what is a girl to do?” That is a legitimate question that 🏆 Grammy-nominated R&B singer 🎙 Kehlani poses on the ultra-slow 🎵 “Hate the Club.” “Hate the Club” graces her fine 2020 album, 💿 It Was Good Until It Wasn’t.  She enlists the services of 🎙 Masego (on the saxophone 🎷) which is a winning move 💪 – decadent ear candy. She continues singing, “Say no to everything I’m invited to / and I can’t do that, no.” No, you sure can’t, girl! The slow tempo perfectly captures the mood as the singer, who dislikes clubs (duh), puts herself out there to see someone she’s been involved with, yet, fails to approach them. “Maybe if I drank enough,” she sings in the chorus, “I’ll make my way over to ya.”. Shout out, 🎛 Jahaan Sweet and Yussef Dayes for giving Kehlani an excellent backdrop to sing over.    

Appears in 🔻:  

• 11 Compelling Songs That Reference Da Club (2020)  

4. Queen Naija & Big Sean, “Hate Our Love” 

🎵 “Hate Our Love” • 🏷 Queen Naija / UMG Recordings, Inc. • 📅 2022  

“Boy, I love you on your worst day / Still see you how I saw you on the first day.” Aww, the feels! The L-O-V-E! “Even though there’s times that we ain’t seeing eye to eye / Can’t imagine spending holidays or birthdays without you.” 😍 😍 😍! 🎙 Queen Naija enlists Big Sean Don, aka 🎙 Big Sean on her 2022 single, 🎵 “Hate Our Love.” It is a match made in hip-hop/R&B heaven 😇. The Queen and Sean collaborate superbly.  Sean serves up a smooth, easygoing flow, beginning with the intro and returning for the bridge (“I can’t be worried ’bout mentions, fuck who ain’t us / They can take it how they wanna take it (Take it; Woah)”). As for Naija, her vocals are radiant and chill.  Don’t get it twisted though – this doesn’t stop her from dropping a bomb  (“Said you with me for the clout and you don’t really love me (Love me) / While we sitting here laughing at all these fucking dummies (Uh)”). Beyond the strong performances by Big Sean and Queen Naija, “Hate Our Love” features smooth production work courtesy of 🎛 Mike Woods. Notably, Woods integrates multiple elements from a popular source: 🎵 “Sounds Like a Love Song”, the beloved 1976 classic by 🎙 Bobby Glenn.  Honestly, there is NOTHING to hate about this joint!

5. Marsha Ambrosius, “Scorn” 

💿 NYLA • 🏷 Human Re Sources, LLC / Entertainment One U.S., LP • 📅 2018 

“Boy, you hurt me so bad / I’m scorn.” 🎙 Marsha Ambrosius taps into an emotional state that many women can relate to on 🎵 “Scorn”, the 13th track from her underrated 2018 album, 💿 NYLA. Scorn is a synonym of hate.  Defined as a noun, scorn is “the feeling or belief that someone or something is worthless or despicable; contempt.” As a verb, it means to “feel or express contempt or derision for.” The 🏆 Grammy-nominated R&B singer/songwriter exemplifies both parts of speech throughout this soulful, emotional gem. The mood is set early-on with lush production work.  Despite some optimism given its major key, clearly Marsha Ambrosius is sad, admitting that she’s in a bad mood and bad place.  “Don’t you feel sorry for me / It’s not a question I’m asking,” she sings at the onset, later continuing, “Don’t you worry no more / I’m not sorry, I’m scorn.” She continues to express the pain she’s experiencing, and her inability to adjust, all due to the scorn.  It’s capped off by the recurrent lyrics, “And it hurts so bad / Said it hurts so bad.” “Scorn” benefits from a lack of  traditional form and a lush sound palette that includes celestial backing vocals, a unique harmonic progression, and of course, Marsha, who kills it in her role as a woman scorned.   

Appears in 🔻:  

• Scorn – Marsha Ambrosius (2019) 

Hate: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 41 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Atlantic, Human Re Sources, LLC / Entertainment One U.S., LP, Queen Naija / UMG Recordings, Inc., RCA, Top Dawg Entertainment / RCA; Tima Miroshnichenko via Pexels]