Continuing my streak of B.o.B.-love, I am quite fond of "Airplanes pt. 2," which features the intriguing combination of Hayley Williams of Paramore and Eminem:
A couple of thoughts:
1) I really like the details in this song. "Let's pretend like it's '98 / Like I'm eating lunch off Styrofoam trays," is particular enough to situate the narrative, but general enough that we can nod along in recognition. Eminem's half of the story is similarly situated in the steps in his particular rise. I like the counterfactual approach both of them are taking to their verses, listing all the things that made both of them who they are now, while leaving intriguing negative space instead of explicitly explaining what their lives and the musical world would be like without them.
2) Maybe it's just that she's not a soprano. Or that her chorus acts as a strong frame device rather than wisp of something pretty tossed in to break up the rhymes. But I really like that Williams is an equal in this song. One of the things that I appreciate about B.o.B. is that he often has a dude singing hooks, or has something like this. Listening to him made me realize that I often feel like the samples of women's voices, or the women brought in to sing choruses on hip-hop songs often feel marginalized to me. It's not that they don't work aesthetically, but I like this alternate presentation.
3) This is not the best guest-verse Em's ever done. Any time he's relying on a single profanity to fill up space, or complains about his mother, that's a sign to me that he's backsliding. That said, I appreciate the harshness of the self-examination. And the intense focus on how to provide for family, and the shame of not being able to do it when you want to, in this line: "He's going to have a hard time explaining to Hailey and Laney / These food stamps and this WIC shit." "Mockingbird" is a better song overall about being white and working class (the description of stolen Christmas presents he's unable to replace makes me tear up every time). But I'm glad he keeps humanizing poverty, even though he's so far removed from it now.