By the time rap superduo UGK gained fame poppin' off on Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin'," they were already revered for putting candy-painted, Texas-centric swag on the map. But since Bun B's player-partner, Pimp C, died in 2007, the sound of Bun soldiering on feels like Dan Aykroyd donning his Blues Brothers suit without John Belushi around. This adds an elegiac poignancy to Bun's synth-strafed verse on the Drake (useless!) feature "It's Been a Pleasure," and, through the ghoulish wonders of digital sutures, Bun and Pimp ride again on the dick-swingin' posse cut "Right Now," joined by (who else?) 2Pac and Trey Songz. But this overlong album can't compare to UGK's truly classic Ridin' Dirty. Then again, as Bun himself asserts over snarling guitar on "Gladiator," "Opinions is like assholes/And I don't like assholes/So stick yo' opinions in yo' asshole." Noted.

“The A Team”

This debut track from the then-20-year-old British singer-songwriter has a dark story behind it. Sheeran says he culls songwriting inspiration from "viewing other people's situations," which, for the heroine in "The A Team," involves drug addiction and prostitution that began as a teen. Sheeran paints the woman's trials with haunting imagery such as "But lately her face seems/Slowly sinking, wasting/Crumbling like pastries." "I did a gig at a homeless shelter, [and the song] is about one of the women there. It's her story," he said.