(The Hit Hammer Requests are requests from people who want me to review songs that did NOT hit #1, but still charted on the Hot 100. Right now, there is only one request per person, but if you're reading this, and you haven't already sent me a request, feel free to do so. I will try to do a request once a week, while still continuing my main project of reviewing each #1 song on the Hot 100)
Kardinal Offishall - "Dangerous" (feat. Akon)
Peak Date: September 5, 2008
Peak Position: #5
#1 Song At That Time: "Disturbia" by Rihanna
Requestor: Rachel Paris (my sister)
For a time, it looked like a great musical partnership was born. Before there was Drake, Canada's pride and joy rapper was Kardinal Offishall (real name: Jason Harrow. The #1 song in America when he was born: "Welcome Back" by John Sebastian) He started his career as an underground rapper in the 1990's before releasing several 12" singles and his debut album, which netted him his first big recording deal with MCA Records. After signing with MCA, Offishall came up with his first big Billboard hit, "BaKardi Slang". ("BaKardi Slang" didn't chart on the Hot 100, but it made it to #37 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart) Offishall had been doing just fine for himself at this point, but he still had yet to cross over into pop super-stardom. Then he met St. Louis native, and fresh hip hop superstar Aliaune Thiam. Or perhaps better known as "Akon".
I say fresh because Akon was a name that hadn't been known for very long. (The #1 song in America when Akon was born: "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" by Vicki Lawrence) However, before Offishall and Akon met, Akon already made it into the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 with the Styles P collab "Locked Up", which made it to #8. (It's a 6) As well as the follow-up hit "Lonely" which made it to #4, and turned Bobby Vinton's original 1964 chart-topper into an Alvin & the Chipmunks song. ("Lonely" is a 5) Basically what I'm saying here, is that if Kardinal Offishall was to run into some random guy, he could've done a lot worse than Akon. In 2007, Offishall signed with Akon's label Kon Live Distribution, and in 2008, the two had a hit on their hands. That hit would be "Dangerous".
Produced by the Canadian rap group, Rascalz, and written by Akon and Offishall themselves, "Dangerous" would turn out to be Offishall's biggest hit. In 2008, I would have been 11 years old, so I vaguely remember this song being pretty popular. I don't have any sort of amazing memories attached to it, and the song only brings me back to my awkward 6th grade days, so the song doesn't exactly bring me back to any great times in my life. However, the song is still catchy as hell. Akon sings on the track while Offishall raps, and I've got to say, he's underappreciated in the rap world. He's no Eminem, someone who can rap a million miles an hour and still sound good, but he has a "free and easy" style to his rapping that I appreciate. That rapping is one of the things that makes "Dangerous" a good song, and the "noticing you noticing me" line by Akon could be described as an "unintentional hook". That part, for me at least, is more identifiable for the song than the chorus. I don't know why. After listening to the song, that's the part I keep singing to myself in my head. But hey, it works.
Admittedly, the song's lyrics are easy to mock. We're introduced to this "bad girl", who clearly has, let's say, a "desirable appearance". Akon calls her "dangerous" of course, but it's almost like it's out of respect. Akon doesn't sound like someone who is warning us to stay away from the girl. Instead, he sounds like someone who wants the girl too. Offishall and Akon both state how they can't look away from the girl, and the "dangerous" word isn't used in the way it usually is. You know how today people describe stuff as being "bad", but it's really "good"? It's like that. Just like the way Michael Jackson used the word in his song "Bad". (That song will eventually appear in the regular Hit Hammer series) So the whole song's attire is shameless and catchy. Quite frankly, that's not bad at all.
Unfortunately for Offishall, he would have limited success in the U.S. after "Dangerous", though he did fare better on his native Canadian charts. He left Akon's label in 2010, and after that, he pretty much disappeared all together. Akon on the other hand cranked out several hits in his hey day, and he even made it to the top of the charts a few times. In other words, he will pop up in the regular Hit Hammer series.
GRADE: 8/10
(Special thanks to Rachel for the request!)
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