The Top 100 Songs of 2011 -- #16: "No Church in the Wild" -- Jay-Z/Kanye West feat. Frank Ocean & The-Dream

Watch the Throne, the highly-anticipated collaboration between rap giants Kanye West and Jay-Z, lived up to its potential -- and then some. Its singles were huge, and its reach was astounding. There may not have been any other rap release this year that folks not as enamored with the genre listened to -- save, perhaps, for anything released by an Odd Future member.

Hey, speak of the devil -- "No Church in the Wild."

The lead track from Watch the Throne featured Odd Future crooner Frank Ocean on its hook. The album's densest, heaviest song, it featured prog rock-esque instrumentation over Ocean's vocal, an Auto-tuned segment from The-Dream and a steady flow from both rappers.

The song sets the scene for a grandiose record, for sure. Just check Jay-Z's opening lines, which make mention of mausoleums and coliseums. This was one of the biggest releases in rap in years, and 'Ye and Hova made sure it sounded that way.

An essay could be written on the song's lyrical content, arguably the best on the entire record. The rappers tackle religion on the song, with a plethora of religious imagery popping up, beginning with Ocean's opening chorus, which mentions the Great Chain of Being concept of Christianity.

Both are also concerned with power, and the song makes them appear pretty damn powerful indeed. The two biggest rappers in the world say some things, and you listen. That's power already for you.



Watch the Throne in general is an album that can take quite a bit of time to decipher. "No Church in the Wild" is the perfect starting point. Enjoy the rhymes these titans provide, and then look deeper into what they're really trying to say.

The Top 100 Songs of 2011 -- #47: "Novacane" -- Frank Ocean

2011 was all about Tyler, the Creator when it came to Odd Future, but lest we forget, there was still Frank Ocean. Of course, at this point it's sort of easy to forget Ocean is even a part of the collective. He's had collaborations outside of Odd Future, and has even embarked on his own solo live shows.

If Tyler and Ocean's success this year is any indication, the future is bright for Odd Future -- as in, they won't fizzle out after this year. But between the two, Ocean just may possess the most longevity. While it's possible to see Tyler's act dying down in the next few years, Ocean already has a number of artists and producers in the industry behind him. Who knows -- when it comes to Odd Future, maybe it'll soon be the Frank Ocean Show.

Until then, it's easy to enjoy what Ocean has already given us. His Nostalgia, Ultra mixtape was one of the best of its kind this year, and lead single "Novacane" one of the strongest debuts of any R&B crooner. (And for the record, I'm not spelling 'Novocaine' wrong unknowingly -- this is how Ocean spells it on the tape, for whatever reason.)

"Novacane" is reminiscent of R&B production of the early 2000s, a welcome respite from the overproduced electronic glitz currently overtaking the charts. That's always been a strength of Odd Future in general, of course -- things aren't overblown and too complicated. Instead, it's intimate, sometimes sparse. Ocean proves here that you can still write R&B and make it intricate.

In "Novacane," Ocean sings about a porn star who aspires to become a dentist. They met at Coachella ("I went to see Jigga / she went to see Z Trip / perfect"), and proceed to have the most intimate of relations -- but not before getting super, super high.



His mind is still on her, and his emotions as numb as if he were on Novocaine (ah ha!). It's a clever lyric, one of my favorites of the year.

We'll talk more about Odd Future later, but for now, enjoy the smooth, relaxed beats of Frank Ocean while you still can. Who knows where he'll go in the ensuing years, if he'll go more commercial or stay where he's at now. One thing's for certain right now -- I'm digging it.