Top | 3 to 5 BOPS

Top: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 17 (2023), features musical BOPS courtesy of bbno$, DJ Khaled, Keni Burke, Lana Del Rey, and Mary J. Blige. 

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 17^th edition of 3 to 5 BOPS (2023), we select songs that are associated with TOP in some form or fashion. The BOPS arrive courtesy of 🎙 bbno$, 🎙 DJ Khaled, 🎙 Keni Burke, 🎙 Lana Del Rey, and 🎙 Mary J. Blige. Okay, let’s get into it!

1. Mary J. Blige, “On Top” (Ft. Fivio Foreign)

💿 Good Morning Gorgeous • 🏷 Mary Jane Productions Inc. / 300 Entertainment • 📅 2022

“Ayy, who run it? (Who run it?) / Who run it? (Who run it?) / Be honest (Be honest) / One hundred (One hundred).” Listening to 🎵 “On Top”, it’s hard for me to believe that 🎙 Mary J. Blige is in her fifties. One of the hip-hop-driven numbers on her 🏆 Grammy-nominated album, 💿 Good Morning Gorgeous, MJB has all the confidence in the world. “Now I’m back and I’m better / Big step in Margiellas,” she asserts in the first verse, continuing, “Buss down sky dweller / My time a little better / Who run it?”  She goes on to tout the longevity of her career (true) and for good measure, some drip.  Interestingly, 🎛 Cool N Dre stitch up a drill production for the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul. Of course, she eats! 🎙 Fivio Foreign assists, amplifying the confidence of this top-driven joint: “This is my city, I’m giving aggression / None of my shooters is getting arrested / Who run it? / Eight hundred, they buggin’ / Dare a nigga come and say some…” Woo!

Appears in 🔻:

• Mary J. Blige, “On Top”: Rap BNGRZ 🔥 8 (2022)

2. DJ Khaled, “Top Off” (Ft. Jay-Z, Future & Beyoncé)

💿 Father of Asahd • 🏷 We the Best / Epic • 📅 2019

🎵 “Top Off”, released in March 2018, marked one of the best moments from 💿 Father of Asahd, the 2019 album by 🎙 DJ Khaled.  On this ‘convertible’ gem, the WE THE BEST hype man secures the services off 🎙 Jay-Z, 🎙 Future, and 🎙 Beyoncé  🤩! All four musicians are 🏆 Grammy winners! “Top Off” is set in a minor key and features dramatic production work including malicious synths. At the top, the listener is served up with a silly intro by Jay-Z, as well as shout-outs from DJ Khaled. The intro is followed by a repetitive, autotune heavy hook by Future.  The lack of profundity by Future is real: “I took the top off the Maybach.” Okay… Eventually, Hov delivers agile, hard-nosed, and tough-minded rhymes. Beyoncé ends up being the biggest surprise. After dropping somewhat warm vocals, she changes course with tougher, more explicit, pop-rap styled vocals. Arguably, she outperforms her hubby and Future.  Honestly, I don’t think it’s even arguable. Bow down!

Appears in 🔻:

• 10 Absolutely Alluring Songs About Cars (2020)

3. Lana Del Rey, “Fucked My Way Up to the Top”

💿 Ultraviolence • 🏷 Interscope • 📅 2014

“I fucked my way up to the top / This is my show…” Holy shiitake mushrooms 🍄, 🎙 Lana Del Rey! 🎵 “Fucked My Way Up to the Top” just might be the most controversial song from the 🏆 Grammy-nominated, singer/songwriter’s catalog. Listening to this explicit gem from 💿 Ultraviolence, it leaves the listener with questions.  No, there does not seem to be much doubt with the fact Del Rey slept around in an attempt to break through in the cutthroat music industry, but beyond this fuckery (😂), it is the shade that raises eyebrows: “I’m a dragon, you’re a whore / Don’t even know what you’re good for / Mimicking me’s a fucking bore.” Shots fired! Who were they thrown at? Most people point at 🎙 Lorde, with some sus Lana Del Rey Twitter activity at the time Ultraviolence was released. 🎙 Taylor Swift has been thrown out there, but, on 💿 Midnights, Swift and Del Rey joined forces on the marvelous “Snow On The Beach” so… Still, “Fucked My Way Up to the Top” remains a top-notch Lana Del Rey song.

4. bbno$, “top gun”

💿 bag or die • 🏷 bbno$ • 📅 2022 

“Honestly, I’ve got nothing against Tom Cruise, but…fuck Tom Cruise. And that’s all I have to say about this song!” 🎙 bbno$ (Alexander Leon Gumuchian) comments to Apple Music regarding his colorful, top song, 🎵 “top gun”. Um… okurrr! “Top gun” arrives as the second track on 💿 bag or die, the 2022 album by the Canadian rapper.  Quite the character, bbno$ doesn’t fail to compel on this brief cut.  Notably, “top gun” features intriguing production work by 🎛 Diamond Pistols. More intriguing, however, are the confident, outlandish, and humorous rhymes, which should be taken with a grain of salt 😏. The chorus takes the cake, as to be expected:

“Your lady thirsty, don’t show mercy

She too curvy, controversy

She suck my D, cure her scurvy

She so mad, she Eddie Murphy

Call her mommy (She call me daddy)

She bad and boujee (Downton Abbey)

I’m poppin’ tags (I’m poppin’ tags)

I’m in this bitch (We makin’ slappers).”

No further analysis or explanation necessary… “Dick game average, but I know how to thrust” 🍆 💦.

5. Keni Burke, “Risin’ to the Top”

💿 Changes • 🏷 RCA • 🗓 1982

“Give it all you got / You gotta wake up your body.” Sometimes, the beat – the groove – is enough to solidify a song’s hit status. 🎙 Keni Burke, initially known as a member of 🎙 Five Stairsteps, delivered one of those gems where the groove cemented the musical legacy. 🎵 “Risin’ to the Top”, from Burke’s 1982 album, 💿 Changes, is nothing short of a surefire vibe.  If you opt for the 7” Version,  you miss out on the build-up of the intro (the 5-minute version is the one to beat).  Beyond the beat, the bass line is among the most elite you’ll ever hear, often outlining an F minor 9 chord. Furthermore, the keys are utterly sublime giving “Risin’ to the Top” a jazzy, soul aesthetic. Soul is alive and well on this early 80s cut but it also shows evolution to a new breed of R&B. The color of the backdrop is one of the biggest selling points, making this Burke joint a popular source of sampling.

It is NOT only the instrumental that makes “Risin’ to the Top” hot. Vocally, Burke serves up compelling lead vocals – both smooth and soulful.  Furthermore, the backing vocals up the ante.  Then, of course, there is the songwriting, with plenty of memorable lyrics to complement the tuneful melody and impressive backdrop.  “Stop losing, yeah losing / Keep risin’ to the top,” Burke asserts at the end of the first verse, prior to encouraging the waking of your body.  The third verse is a prime example of the rise: “Big time illusions / Create a lot of confusion / But the time has finally come / Let’s get it done / Keep moving, yeah moving.” More than 40 years later, 🎵 “Risin’ to the Top” continues to be the definition of an R&B classic. It deserved to be a pop hit, yet, it only reached the R&B charts. Nonetheless, the legacy of the record, written by Burke, 🎼 ✍ Norma Jean Wright, and Allan Felder, is enduring 💪.

Appears in 🔻:

• Keni Burke, “Risin’ to the Top”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 33 (2023)

Top: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 17 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; bbno$, Interscope, Mary Jane Productions Inc. / 300 Entertainment, RCA, We the Best / Epic; Suliman Sallehi via Pexels]