Sexiest Women in Hip Hop: Shakira, Beyonce, Ciara, Pussycat Dolls, Rihanna, Toni Braxton, Mariah Carey

"NEVER EVER"  CIARA Ft. Young Jeezy

Ciara combines a confident attitude with creative sexy dance moves, a body that challenges fitness models, yet unlike some of the other R&B divas, Ciara has a sweet homegirl vibe.   "Never Ever" is a collaboration with Young Jeezy.   Their song has been described as hard enough for guys to feel able to crank it up in their cars, but still a soft R&B love song.   Ciara's primarily in sweatpants and a tank top dancing in the video and it's just as sexy as her big production videos like Love Sexy Magic (with Justin Timberlake).

"BEAUTIFUL LIAR"  SHAKIRA with BEYONCE

Back in the 90's, rock videos would put beautiful women dancing in their videos intermingled with scenes of the ugly guys in the band (see Van Halen's Finish What You Started as an example!)  No worries here, Shakira's Latin hips are shaking, mixed with Beyonce in her tight, low cut dress showing off her moves.  They look so alike in the video, you're not sure who you're looking at 100% of the time.  The highlight is the video is when they come together, first on the floor, then segued to a Middle Eastern dance beat and belly dancer moves choreographed to the hot beat.   One of the sexiest dance videos of all-time!   Fun Fact: there was a Spanish version of this song called Bello Embustero.  

"STICKWITU"   PUSSYCAT DOLLS

Nicole Scherzinger, formerly of the Pussycat Dolls, is near the top of my list of the sexiest women in hip hop.   Nicole has gone solo and during the 2012 Super Bowl, a Go Daddy ad hinted at a new lineup for the band.  But what an incredible impact the PCD made in their short seven year career.  The Pussycat Dolls had multiple Top Ten hits including Don't Cha (Wish Your Girlfriend Was Hot Like Me), Buttons, and When I Grow Up.   Their ballad, Stickwitu, showed a softer version of the band, laid back, the natural side of the girls, love it!   I first saw Nicole with another all-girl group, the reality show created Eden's Crush (IMO the sexiest group of all time!).  Even back then you could see Nicole had superstar potential.  

LINK TO: "RIHANNA" 

Link to:  "YESTERDAY" TONI BRAXTON











"THE ROOF"   MARIAH CAREY

A lot of Mariah haters out there!   "She's fat, she's a diva, her high pitched voice is irritating......"    Yet, you ask guys and see polls like Maxim's Top 100 Sexiest Women and Mariah's amazing smile and curvaceous figure was usually on the list back in the day.   She's recently had a baby and has seen her weight fluctuate over the years, but she's bounced back better than ever.   Check out the CD COVER of her new single, Triumphant,  set to release next month, smoking hot!    "The Roof" is Mariah at her best, taken from the 1999 Butterfly CD.

 

Guaranteed You Don't Know All 4 Of These Songs! : Ciara, Black Sabbath, The Rockets, Delbert McClinton

"MAKE IT LAST FOREVER"  CIARA

A dream job of mine would be becoming an A&R guy for a record company, scouting and  choosing new artists to sign, deciding what singles to release, who to promote, and what direction an artist should take.   Ciara's CD, The Evolution, came out with the smash, "Get Up" (great move), then came "Promise" (slow jam, not as popular), "Like A Boy" (sexy video, picked up some momentum although the song wasn't Ciara's best), then came "Can't Leave Em Alone with 50 Cent" (he was losing his popularity at the time and the song died).   I would have released #2 "Make It Last Forever".   The song is a hip hop dance party in under 4 minutes.  Led by two prominent samples of James Brown and the Rob Base classic "It Takes Two", Ciara rocks the mic, one of her best songs ever, and her CD would have gone to higher levels.  

 

"SENDING ME ANGELS"  DELBERT McCLINTON

Delbert scored his biggest hit in the 80's with a J. Geils-styled jam called "Giving It Up For Your Love".   He's an accomplished multi-genre artist, skilled harmonica player, blues guitarist, and singer/songwriter out of Texas.   "Sending Me Angels" is a combination of a spiritual themed message with a simple love song.   Released in 1997, this hidden treasure song will uplift your day and the feel-good message will never go out of style.  Good friends are "our angels" that push us to higher goals.  Love the lyric:   "He keeps sending me angels, teaching me to fly". 

"OH WELL"   THE ROCKETS
"Don't ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer that you think I'll do, oh well". This song is well traveled.   Originally from Peter Green, original member of Fleetwood Mac before Stevie Nicks joined the group.   The song has been covered by artists as diverse as Tom Petty, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and RATT on MTV Unplugged.  The song has that great blues guitar jam intro then that those lyrics suck you in.   Based out of Michigan, this was the band's only big hit, but for a One Hit Wonder, it's a great song.

  

"I WON'T CRY FOR YOU"  BLACK SABBATH

It's a lost ballad from the grandfathers of Metal.  Even some huge fans of the band don't remember this song!   In 1995, after Ozzy and Ronnie James Dio had gone their separate ways, the band enlisted Tony Martin as their new lead singer.  It's been called the worst Black Sabbath CD, but there is no denying this POWER BALLAD.   The song stands up to the best of the hard ballads of the 90's.  Tommy Iommi's guitar work is solid and it's the top track on their "Forbidden" CD.

Princess of Crunk: Ciara, New Editon, new DMX

"PROMISE"    CIARA

Ciara exploded onto the music scene in 2004 with the mega-hits  "Goodies" and "1-2 Step".   She was originally branded the Princess of Crunk but her style has become more contemporary R&B now.   This incredibly beautiful video captures Ciara's innovative dance moves, her breathy baby-making vocals, and Ciara looks as sexy as ever.   I saw Ciara during her first tour in St Pete at the Last Damn Show, you could sense right away she would be incredible.

"I'M STILL IN LOVE WITH YOU"  NEW EDITION

From their reunion CD in 1996, Bobby Brown, Ralph Tresvant, BBD, and Johnny Gill got back together for a masterful CD.   "Still In Love" was the first single and it features the classic NE harmonies backing Ralph's amazing falsetto voice.   Sadly the tour to support this CD resulted in rivalries and the band quit again after the tour.  Johnny, Ronnie, and Bobby have toured together recently as have Bell Biv Devoe, so who knows if $$$ and nostalgia brings them together again soon.

"LAST HOPE"     DMX

Earl Simmons, aka DMX, promised a new CD for 2012 and released a video in late 2011 to whet our appetite.  DMX has had his share of incarcerations, police run-ins, and drama.   Yet throughout it all, DMX always included prayers, positive message songs on each of his CD's.   He has changed a lot through the years and is currently a pastor.   I can only imagine how those church services go!   "Last Hope" describes his struggles and transformation.