The titular girl gets her moment on the latest album by K'Naan in the punchy pop-rap single "Hurt Me Tomorrow." But country and God interest the Somali-Canadian rapper-singer more. Bono appears on "Bulletproof Pride." But K'Naan is more like hip-hop's Chris Martin: a well-meaning guy who's as pop-savvy as he is pompous, and duller than he is pop-savvy. 

Listen to 'Country, God or the Girl'

“1999”

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.