Keeping it short and sweet, “Prepare to Feel the Kindness of These 8 ‘Nice’ Songs” features music courtesy of All Time Low, The Carters, and Drake.   

Not every list has to be lengthy.  That’s the case with this kind, incredibly sweet and brief set, Prepare to Feel the Kindness of These 8 ‘Nice’ Songs.  Where we are short on songs, we aren’t short on words – pretty quirky, wordy title, right? For this octet, we enlist the services of All Time Low, The Carters, Drake, Eminem, PARTYNEXTDOOR, $uicideBoy$, Taylor Swift, and Watsky.  Without further ado, get spoiled buy all this kindness – all this niceness!

1. Drake, “Nice for What”

Scorpion • Cash Money • 2018

“God’s Plan” was Drake’s dominant, ‘ace in the hole’ at the beginning of 2018, but the superb “Nice for What” replaced the gem at no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Nice for What” brilliantly samples the beloved, Lauryn Hill classic, “Ex-Factor.”  The producers soundly use the sample, speeding it up, yet retaining its original glory. An excellent, old-school, hip-hop soul beat anchors down the record. Drake drops a compelling, rhythmic flow, oscillating between pop-rap and un-pitched rhymes. Musically, he makes good choices, specifically the use of space allowing Hill’s sampled vocals to shine. Pretty ‘nice’ ear candy if you ask me.

Drake, Scorpion | Album Review

2. $uicideBoy$, “Meet Mr. NICEGUY”

I Want to Die in New Orleans • G*59 • 2018

On “Meet Mr. NICEGUY”, cousin rap-duo $uicideBoy$ (Scott Arceneaux, Jr. and Aristos Pertrou) take a more melodic approach.  Even so, the f-bombs still fly freely on the advance single from the duo’s proper debut, I Want to Die in New Orleans – they still retain some edge.  For NORMAN ATOMIC aka Ruby da Cherry aka Petrou, he dabbles in relationship issues, asking at one point, “Where the fuck what I when this relationship dried?” ANTHONY MARS aka $crim aka Arceneaux, Jr. confirms how deep the pain he feels is, referencing depression, and potentially more troubling, suicide. Interestingly, on the second verse, MARS contrasts ATOMIC’s first verse by focusing more on coping with life’s hardships with drugs.

He attempts to atone for loneliness from the absence of family “just to numb up.”  The depressing joint ends with the hook, which sums up how crappy things are for the boy$.

“Suicide been on my mind

Pour my heart on the concrete every fucking time.”

Okay, this brief number is not so nice… oh well – it happens.

$uicideBoy$, I Want to Die in New Orleans | Album Review

3. The Carters, “Nice”

Everything is Love • Roc Nation / Parkwood / Sony • 2018

“I can do anything, yeah / Hell nah, hell nah, hell nah, hell nah.” Perhaps its “hell nah” in The Carters’ books, but for all the fans and ‘Stans’ listening to gem from the long-awaited Beyoncé/Jay-Z joint album, “NICE” gets a resounding ‘HELL YEAH!’ Beyoncé and Pharrell drop the chill, yet cocky, hard-hitting hook. Jay-Z takes the first verse, asserting, “My passport is tatted, it look like it’s active.” He goes on to reference his hustling past as well as assert his fearlessness. Beyoncé arrives charged up on the second verse, notably stating she could care less about streaming numbers, citing the Tidal exclusive Lemonade.  Later, she goes on to deliver another short verse, followed by a unique Pharrell verse.  Yeah, of course the results are NICE!

Beyoncé & Jay-Z (The Carters), EVERYTHING IS LOVE | Album Review

4. Eminem, “Nice Guy” (Ft. Jessie Reyez)

Kamikaze • Aftermath / Interscope • 2018

Eminem has had an up and down career in the mid-2010s in particular. The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013) is arguably his best of the period, while Revival (2017) and Kamikaze (2018) are both mixed at best.  One of the more intriguing moments from Kamikaze is the brief “Nice Guy,” the first of two consecutive songs that features Jessie Reyez.  Her distinct, coarse pipes are perfectly suited for this Eminem collaboration.  The blend of the two on the chorus is definitely a lot to handle, in a good way – though maybe NOT so nice… The post-chorus definitely CAN’T be characterized as ‘nice’ (“Suck my dick, you fuckin’ suck, bitch”).

Eminem, Kamikaze | Album Review

5. Taylor Swift, “This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things”

Reputation • Big Machine • 2017

“This is why we can’t have nice things, honey / Did you think I wouldn’t hear all the things you said about me? The wordy eight-word-titled “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” ranks among the most fun records of Reputation. Reputation, unsurprisingly, is another Grammy-nominated album by the ever-ubiquitous pop star, Taylor Swift. The production is filled with swagger, as Swift, who’s amps up the gimmickry. Perhaps he breaks the “nice things,” but “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” is a pretty ‘nice’ record nonetheless.

“This is why we can’t have nice things, darling

Because you break them

I had to take them away

This is why we can’t have nice things, honey

Did you think I wouldn’t hear all the things you said about me?

This is why we can’t have nice things.”

Taylor Swift, Reputation | Album Review 💿

6. All Time Low, “Nice2KnoU”

Last Young Renegade • Fueled by Ramen • 2017

For much of Last Young Renegade, Alex Gaskarth and All Time Low embrace adulthood and the ensuing maturity and responsibilities that come along with it.  To some extent, that mutes the ‘fun’ factor of the LP.  Even so, the up tempo “Nice2KnoU” reminisces to the band’s past stylistically, as well in its overall tone. If fun was lacking on the album tracks preceding it, “Nice2KnoU” restores that element of fun as opposed to completely settling into the humdrum nature of adulthood.

All Time Low, Last Young Renegade | Album Review 💿

7. Watsky, “Don’t Be Nice”

X Infinity • Steel Wool / Obe • 2016

“Don’t be nice / Don’t be nice…” Yeah, that continues multiple times on the utterly absurd “Don’t Be Nice.”  Despite being utterly absurd, the record does so in most impressive fashion.  Chocked full of superb punchlines (“Our narcissism has got us caught up like bars in prison / Claim we’re winning gargling seven dicks and a jar of jizzum”), as dumb as it goes, rapper/poet George Watsky, (simply Watsky) delivers an impressive flow on “Don’t Be Nice.” The best moment of the record comes towards the end when the Watsky and production are in sync with a kickass jazzy groove. So, “Drop all the fuckery, stop it you ugly ignoramus / Don’t be nice…” Word. 

Watsky, x Infinity | Album Review

8. PARTYNEXTDOOR, “Not Nice”

PARTYNEXTDOOR 3 (P3) • OVO Sound / Warner Bros. • 2016

Two years after releasing his proper debut album PARTYNEXTDOOR TWO, Canadian R&B artist PARTYNEXTDOOR returned with PARTYNEXTDOOR 3 (P3) in 2016.  Signed to Drake’s OVO Sound, unsurprisingly, the influence of Drake is all over PND.  While PARTYNEXTDOOR 3 (P3) too often relies on sex, drugs, and lethargic tempo to ‘fuel the fire,’ “Not Nice” marks one of the better moments from the LP, infusing as spark. Danceable, the production, with its glossy palette of sounds including bright synths, exceptionally fuses urban contemporary music with a tropical, danceable beat.  The groove is infectious, drawing instant comparisons to his mentor’s work. Unsurprisingly, the best moment, rather the ‘nicest’ moment of the song comes during the chorus.

“Girl you’re not nice, you’re rude

Want me to feel like I’m new

Want me to watch you do you

Don’t, girl, you look so nice

But you’re not nice, you’re rude

Look what you’re putting me through

I’d never do this to you.” 

PARTYNEXTDOOR Suffers From Predictability On ‘PND 3’

Photo Credits: Aftermath, Cash Money, Fueled by Ramen, G*59, Interscope, Obe, OVO Sound, Parkwood, Pixabay, Roc Nation, Sony, Steel Wool, Warner Bros.