This week in Audio Singles, there was a diss from one California rising star to some regional peers, a new free mega-collaboration project revealed from three major label stars, and a surprise single from two of Hip Hop’s biggest hit-makers. Some recent Internet hits maintained a spot on DX’s Top 10 (taken at the time of posting), though it was a week of change – especially without Lil Wayne, who dominated last week’s chart.
Jay-Z & Kanye West Restore The Throne With “Otis”
Wednesday saw the second official leak from Jay-Z & Kanye West’s Watch The Throne collaborative album. This time, the pair brought in Otis Redding’s “Try A Little Tenderness” to make a soulful add to the airwaves. With deejays like Funkmaster Flex and Cosmic Kev playing the record consecutive times, it was a landslide winner in this week’s popularity contest in DX’s Singles section.
Hopsin Unloads On Tyler, The Creator
Panorama City, California’s Hopsin is a triple threat – an emcee, a producer and a video director. Briefly signed in the late ’00s resurgance of Ruthless Records, Hop is now self-releasing his works through Funk Volume. Already a popular emcee under the radar of most radio, video outlets – as well as the Internet, the grassroots royalty released “The Ill Mind Of Hopsin #4” this week. The affiliate of Tech N9ne took shots at OFWGKTA‘s Tyler, The Creator, which drew interest to the Greater Los Angeles native’s hustle, bringing a new name to the top of the charts.
The Top 10 Most Popular Hip Hop Singles The Week Of 7/18/2011
1. Jay-Z & Kanye West – “Otis” 
2. Hopsin – “The Ill Mind Of Hopsin #4”
3. 50 Cent – “Outlaw”
4. Royce Da 5’9 featuring Travis Barker – “Legendary”
5. Wiz Khalifa, Big Sean & Curren$y – “O.T.T.R.”
6. Wiz Khalifa, Big Sean & Curren$y – “Flowers”
7. Wale featuring J. Cole – “Bad Girls Club”
8. Game featuring Chris Brown – “Pot Of Gold”
9. Common featuring Nas – “Ghetto Dreams”
10. Jay-Z – “Criminology Freestyle”
DX COMMUNITY