Beanie Sigel [ft. Bun B]: "Purple Rain"
genre: hip-hop

It seems sort of lame for Beanie Sigel to do a song about cough syrup, Houston's drug of choice, grabbing this Texas rapper and aiming for that Southern-rap money. Or at least it would if Beanie's melancholy growl didn't fit so perfectly with Bun's tight-lipped drawl, or if DJ Scratch's elegant, sobbing Philly soul didn't sound so gorgeous slowed down to Texas tempos. But it's a warm, sad, lonely song. Beans knows what he's talking about draping a lazy purr over the bleeding, running guitar trails: "I used to watch my uncle sip it/ Going through his act in my grandmother kitchen/ Head in his lap, grandma bitching/ Pocket full of scratch, plus scratching and itching." Bun coolly slides onto the track like he was born on it, telling the story of how the late Houston legend DJ Screw poured him his first cup of cough syrup: "Started off relaxing, shit, and to my surprise/ I was nodding off, looking at the back of my eyes." The Keith Sweat sample curls around the hook, pulls up and drifts off. [Tom Breihan]