Hero (Feat. Keri Hilson) - Nas

Although everyone is always up on Nas' old work, this is one of my favorite tracks by him. Polow Da Don's tinkling synths play over a fat kick drum, and with a catchy chorus and Keri Hilson's vocals, I'm still surprised that this wasn't a bigger hit when it came out. Although not lyrically Nas' best offering, he still offers some great insight into the direction hip hop and pop music are headed, and the pressure labels puts on artists to churn out radio hits instead of quality, heartfelt music.

Hero (Feat. Keri Hilson) - Nas

Free Gucci

Not such a big fan of Gucci Mane, but this mixtape is actually sort of cool. It includes some crazy remixes of some of Gucci's songs. From minimalist electronic bleeps and blips, to wild, pulsing electro beats, the mixtape offers very interesting takes on a pretty typical mainstream southern rap artist. Gucci's voice actually complements a fair amount of the production on most of these tracks, and while not every song is a banger, these two most certainly are. If you want the whole thing, you can nab it HERE.

Dope Boys (Bird Peterson Remix) - Gucci Mane / Mediafire
Boi (Zomby Remix) - Gucci Mane / Mediafire (This song is fiiire)


Oh, and as a bonus, here's Gucci on a dope Drake track off his Thank Me Later Mixtape.

Let's Have Fun (Feat. Gucci Mane, Lil Wayne & Keri Hilson) - Drake / Mediafire