Does the girl singing the hook matter?

[bluenote]

Ja Rule, 50 Cent, Lil Flip, Fablous,Beanie Man and other rappers have had hit singles with a female singing the hook. These random, interchangable females include ladies such as Ashanti, Lil Mo, Olivia, Chrisitna Milian,Mya and so on. When these songs become hits do u think its because of that 1 specific female singing the hook, or would any random female have bought the same success to the song? Does it really matter who is singing the song as long as its a female voice or is finding that 1 special girl for the hook important?

[FADE AWAY]

Sometimes certain females make a difference. Like "Put It On Me" and "I Cry" were only hot songs because of Lil Mo's vocals. Nobody liked PIOM until they added her on it. She was the reason the song was a hit IMO, because if Ja would have been singing by himself he would have looked stupid, and if he had somebody like Milian on it, it would have been a wreck.

Then there are cases where it doesn't matter at all. Like this Lea girl that sings with Lil Flip. Nobody cares about her and she brought nothing to the song.

It mostly just depends of if these females have that magic that seperates them from the other hook hoes. Oddly enough, Ashanti has/had it. Milian does not have it. She's a pretty face and that's really about as far as it goes with her, other than her body. I'm not really counting Olivia since she actually put out an album before she was ever singing on anybody's hook. Nor am I counting Mya since she does have some type of credibility (even if her last album was a huge flop and she turned into a huge whore which didn't help anything) so I don't know why she was mentioned.

But I guess to answer the question, sometimes the hook whore can make or break the song.

[kellydicted]

The said:

But I guess to answer the question, sometimes the hook whore can make or break the song.

[bluenote]

The said:

I'm not really counting Olivia since she actually put out an album before she was ever singing on anybody's hook. Nor am I counting Mya since she does have some type of credibility so I don't know why she was mentioned.

I mentioned them because they sing hooks. Mya is currently on 2 new hooks for 2 nobody rappers at the moment. Olivia is tryig to gain a career by singing on 50 cents song, and talk-singing it so poorly anyone could have done it. It doesnt matter if they had/have albums. if u sing hooks, u sing hooks. All the girls mentioned  have albums except Lea.  

The said:

Milian does not have it.

Milian was on Ja Rules 2nd hit of his career with the #11 peak of "every little thing" which is his 6th biggest hit to date and which is the only hook she has officially done as a featured artist.

[FADE AWAY]

Oh okay. Well you forgot to mention Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Toni Braxton, and Mary J. Blige. They're known to do a bit of hook hoing.

And what does the success of Ja's single have to do with Milian as a seperate artist? I said "it mostly just depends of if these females have that magic that seperates them from the other hook hoes." I wasn't saying that they could be nobodies like Milian (and didn't she sing the hook for a terrible rapper who sampled "Real Love?) and not sing on a successful song. I'm saying that if the hook ho has really matters to the song people will go away with a new interest in this female. People did it with Ashanti, they didn't do it with Lea, they did it with Lil Mo, but not with Milian.

If people are able to go away from it and not care about you, its saying that you are just a pretty (in some cases) face that can be interchanged with any other Bu'Keyshia on the street.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

Whether or not it's interchangable, they should still be given credit for it. I'd say most of the time it doesn't really matter who does the hook unless the singer has done something special with it.

[NORTHCOAST]

I don't like the terms "whores", "hos"  and "b**ches" when talking about women artists.  I know its cool in the hood, but it really is demeaning IMO. 

[allow that]

75% of the time the hook ho doesn't matter. This very fact is how non-talents like Ashanti got famous. Usually, when the quality of the Rap is bad, the hook ho quality will be low too. Take the awful "Sunshine" by Lil' Flip, which featured the flat vocals of an unknown named Lea.

However, there are some songs where who's singing the hook does matter. For example, Twista's "Hope." A Lea or an Ashanti singing on that song just wouldn't sound right. Faith Evans adds so much to that song because it really calls for strong, soulfoul vocals. Another example would be "What's It Gonna Be?!" by Busta. Janet brought her own style into that song, which wouldn't have been replaceable by an Ashanti or Lea type.

Basically, I think it's cool if Mariah, Janet, Toni, and Mary sing rap hooks. They just better choose hooks that are on songs that stand out as different or allow them to stand out for their talent or skills. I love Toni, but when she did that hook for Baby, I mean come on,... what the hell was she thinking? Here's on of the greatest singers of our time modifying her voice to sound like an anonymous hook ho.

[jond7699]

Lil Mo is the worst ever. So it really does matter to some extent. When you put Lil Mo on your song you are looking for disaster

[bluenote]

hook ho is not a nice term! >:(

[Bob]

Mr. said:

75% of the time the hook ho doesn't matter. This very fact is how non-talents like Ashanti got famous. Usually, when the quality of the Rap is bad, the hook ho quality will be low too. Take the awful "Sunshine" by Lil' Flip, which featured the flat vocals of an unknown named Lea.

However, there are some songs where who's singing the hook does matter. For example, Twista's "Hope." A Lea or an Ashanti singing on that song just wouldn't sound right. Faith Evans adds so much to that song because it really calls for strong, soulfoul vocals. Another example would be "What's It Gonna Be?!" by Busta. Janet brought her own style into that song, which wouldn't have been replaceable by an Ashanti or Lea type.

Basically, I think it's cool if Mariah, Janet, Toni, and Mary sing rap hooks. They just better choose hooks that are on songs that stand out as different or allow them to stand out for their talent or skills. I love Toni, but when she did that hook for Baby, I mean come on,... what the hell was she thinking? Here's on of the greatest singers of our time modifying her voice to sound like an anonymous hook ho.

right on

and thx for mentiong Faith, I was about to ask how no one had mentioned her when she sings on average 4 or 5 hooks a year, and usually one or two are singles. she's on "hope" and two more right now, w/ Talib Kweli and The Game

[The Rebirth Of ffej]

GetRightDown(Ifithurtsya) said:

I mentioned them because they sing hooks. Mya is currently on 2 new hooks for 2 nobody rappers at the moment. Olivia is tryig to gain a career by singing on 50 cents song,

Milian was on Ja Rules 2nd hit of his career with the #11 peak of "every little thing" which is his 6th biggest hit to date and which is the only hook she has officially done as a featured artist.

Olivia already had a career it's just Clive didn't know what to do with her. she's just relaunching her self.

I personally think Christina has "It", she can carry a hook and her own song.Lil' Mo? Someone once refered her to her as the female Nate Dogg. They sound great on Hooks, but can't carry their own song. Although "4ever" and "Superwoman" were hot songs, would they still be hott without Fabolous.

Which brings me to my question....Does the rapper matter whos rapping a hook or verse?

[Sean]

Agree with Mr Brightside

If the song is catchy and released at the right time, the hook girl is reasonably interchangeable.

[shark cousteau]

adatu7 said:

Which brings me to my question....Does the rapper matter whos rapping a hook or verse?

yes it does, because some rappers rap about the song, others jus rap for the sake of it. perfect exapmle: 'soldier'. lil wayne's verse fits the song because he stays on the topic, rapping about "purple hearts", "talking to the sergant", "join my troop" etc., but t.i. is jus b.s. on this song rapping about cars with no relevance whatsoever to the song.

also i think it relies on if the rapper has a feeling/connection with the artist. a rapper that matches the singer in voice, style, maybe popularity, subject matter, one that compliments that artist. eg. common on erykah badu's 'love of my life'. they both suit each other on that song, but if she were to have someone like fat joe, ja rule, gunits, whatever on it, it wouldnt work. a laid back soulfoul track with a gruff, brashy artists does not fit.

[The Rebirth Of ffej]

So isn't the same way for the girl signing the hook?