Workers of the World Unite Edition

1. If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)- NaS

• "Imagine smoking weed in the streets without cops harassing, imagine going to court with no trial, lifestyle cruising blue behind my waters, no welfare supporters more conscious of the way we raise our daughters." In 1996 Nasir Jones teamed up with Lauryn Hill of Fugees fame to record this crossover hit. "If I Ruled the World" is based on a Kurtis Blow song of the same name. It also references The Delfonics song "Walk Right Up to the Sun". If you want to get a feel for Kurtis Blow's original "If I Ruled the World" look no further than the 1985 film "Krush Groove". Not only will you see Kurtis Blow rock the mic but you'll get a look at a 17 year old LL Cool J and pre-"Licensed to Ill" Beastie Boys. If you like NaS and reworked old school hip hop you should check out his cover of Slick Rick's "Hey Young World" from Levi's Pioneer Sessions 2010 Revival Recordings.

2. I Wanna Be Your Lover- Prince

• "I wanna be your lover, I wanna be the only one who makes you come running, I wanna be your lover, I wanna turn you on, turn you out, all night long, make you shout." Shakedown 1979. The purple one kicks off his self tittled sophomore release with this pop classic. The album also features "I Feel For You" which would become a big hit for a Rufus-less Chaka Khan 5 years later. "I Wanna Be Your Lover" fits in with the disco style of the time yet it stands up years later much better than most of the music from that era. If you didn't know any better you'd peg this for a mid 80s hit. An aging Marvin Gaye started to view Prince as a threat after the success of "I Wanna Be Your Lover" as critics framed Prince as the era's new sex symbol. I'd be remiss if I didn't comment on the "Prince" LP cover- a shirtless long haired Prince complete with mustache. What a sight to behold.

3. Hot Blooded- Foreigner

• "You don't have to read my mind, to know what I have in mind, honey you ought to know, now you move so fine, let me lay it on the line, I wanna know what you're doing after the show." I spent the better part of my sophomore year in college playing NHL 96 and listening to Foreigner's greatest hits. Songs like "Double Vision" and "Head Games" found their way into our hockey vocabulary. If you gave me a week to prepare I'm fairly confident that I could beat anyone with the 96 Florida Panthers. The lads in Foreigner were some randy fellows. Songs like "Urgent", "Feels Like the First Time" and "Hot Blooded" are all about shagging in the sheets. Foreigner tours to this day and while the band has gone through countless line up changes, the band's founding guitarist Mick Jones has been a constant. 1977''s Hot Blooded" is built on Jones's hot guitar riff and lead signer Lou Gramm's hormonally charged lyrics. These days Lou is hot blooded for the Lord; his band released an album of Christian music in 2009.