I'm feeing the current big-tent mainstream North American rap revival recast as R&Bemo, and preparing for the imminent suburban Canuck takeover of American pop music. I predict by the time the Arcade Fire record drops in August, Drake will have already gone platinum and we'll all be speaking Canadian. But I digress.

"Show Me a Good Time" by Drake

Avoiding the plodding R&Bemo overload that could have resulted from this team-up, Kanye West's backing track plays wistful Nordstrom piano chords against a frantic vocal sample and snare, accentuating the two and four, the off-beats, creating an American parallel to UK funky and the lighter side of dubstep. Drake sings about sad sex, then makes his claim for serious rap fan status, dropping names and buzzwords: A Tribe Called Quest, "backpack rap," "the underground," J. Dilla.

"Power" by Kanye West

The fact that "Power"'s bold, battle-charge, King Crimson-sampling beat came from unknown Dallas producer Symbolyc makes Kanye's opaque refrain that much richer with meaning: "No one man should have all that power." West made Symbolyc an overnight celebrity, granting him the lead single off his upcoming "Good Ass Job" album (allegedly giving Symbolyc three hours to get to the airport). But the outsourcing makes it a deferential power move, and suggests Kanye both does and doesn't want to be the most influential star in worldwide pop. His reckless SNL-beefing drunk-driving raps back up the conflicted point, casting him as angry and confused but still convinced he's awesome. And he is. I don't even know what to say about the tacked-on, extended outro where Dwele sings about "a beautiful death."

"Lookin 4 Ya" by Big Boi feat. Andre 3000 and Sleepy Brown

It's all about the huge grainy melodic bass line and echoing, zooming vocal snippets. Boi-1da killed this track, except for a few misplaced snares. I love how Big Boi and Andre start their verses so nonchalantly, the former "Well let me give you one to grow on," and the latter "Here's a revolutionary idea," both acting like their superlyrical sex raps occurred to them in a single thought, fully composed.

Photo by me