B.o.B. takes his lady to museums.

Recent weather in the DFW area might not feel like spring, but a few sunny tunes have parted the clouds. Among them is "So Good," the third single from B.o.B's upcoming sophomore release, Strange Clouds. More good news: the Atlanta rapper is coming to town on May 15.

This track represents B.o.B's pop-oriented side, down to the mandatory monosyllabic chant after the chorus.The writing credits for "So Good" include Ryan Tedder, who wrote last year's unavoidable, optimistic tune "Good Life" for his band OneRepublic.That same sunny optimism appears on this track. With its lavish globe-trotting theme, "So Good" has a few advantages over another popular track about traveling and enjoying luxury, Jay-Z and Kanye West's "Niggas in Paris" from last year's Watch the Throne.

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I still have to think back to Nicki Minaj's verse on Kanye West's "Monster," what seems like an eternity ago, when people start breaking her down. There, in the span of one verse, were a handful of Minaj's personas, as the NYC rapper asserted herself as both masculine ("My money's so tall") and feminine ("That my Barbie's gotta climb it").

I wasn't really a fan of Pink Friday, her debut. It seemed a little too stiff, a little too dependent on reaching a specific audience, a little too safe. Her new album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, while more eclectic, feels uneven as well, especially with "Stupid Hoe," a diss track, sitting on the same album as "Beez in the Trap," a far superior diss track. The former almost feels like it was a placeholder for something better, but the album was pressed without it. Truthfully, I'd be completely happy just hearing Nicki mix tapes twice a year in lieu of an album.

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He's re-fluffing his bangs for you, girl.

In the wee hours of Monday morning, Justin Bieber's new single, produced by Mike Posner and Mason Levy, found its way onto the Internet, causing numerous belieber's heads to explode upon first listen. In a matter of hours, "Boyfriend" reached the top spot on the iTunes charts with the help of one of the most motivated fan bases in all of music. Perhaps "motivated" is an understatement. By morning, he was making interview rounds at notable radio stations, unconvincingly attempting to persuade gaggles of teenage girls on their way to school that he'd like the opportunity to be their boyfriend too.

Sonically, however, the Bieb's new single is a departure from his sensationally sweet pop ballads, signaling he's no longer the prepubescent tween playing guitar furiously on YouTube while attempting to keep his hair out of his eyes. In fact, now that Justin is of legal age, he's able to vote, purchase cigarettes and buy $5 scratch-off cards that hardly anyone ever wins. Ah, to be young again.

On "Boyfriend," he takes a risk he doesn't have to by rapping in a circa 2005 Ying Yang Twins cadence, which will capture the young hip-hop demographic that previously labeled Bieber as "music for babies."

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In the past couple years, Usher went through a few personal crises, which caused a musical mid-life crisis for the artist. Usher's top singles since 2010 were overloaded dance floor tunes like "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" and "More."

This phase of Usher's career resembled the excesses and lost dignity of post-divorce bachelorhood. Party tracks were out of character for an artist who based his career on smooth, passionate R&B. To his credit, Usher started to taper off a bit with David Guetta's "Without You."

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If I were in a more adventurous, cool-hunter mood, I'd bemoan British singer Estelle's latest album, All of Me, for being too conventional, and say it would get crowded out by the likes of fellow British singers Adele and Emeli Sandé.

However, I've recently found a role for Estelle's music. When I come home from a few days at a music festival, my ears appreciate a bit of plain, modest music to unfold from all the clamor and flash. Estelle's church-like restraint fits that need. The last I heard from her was 2008's Kanye West collaboration, "American Boy." Back then, Estelle allowed herself a tease of tourist-like sass by enunciating the titular "boy" in a more colloquial "bwoi."

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I used to like Dustin Cavazos. Then I didn't. But, now I think I'm starting to like him again. Too confusing? Take a look at this simple time line.

2010
The Oak Cliff rapper's first album, I Think In the Shower, I Dream On My Bike, proved him as a major player in local hip-hop. His sobering delivery, with a slight lisp that hangs on to the back of the rhythm like molasses on a pan, touched on his love for the city and his bike. In the words of a former Observer intern when asked if he wanted Jersey Mike's subs: "I can vibe with that." Even more impressive, Cavazos made his own beats, which hit hard -- especially on the Chi-Lites-sampling track "Fresh."
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At the end of last year, I took back misgivings I had about Drake since his studio debut, Thank Me Later, dropped a couple years back. One of reasons I changed my mind "aboat" the Canadian rapper was the title track from his sophomore album, Take Care, released last year.

"Take Care" follows a chain of samples and covers, including Jamie XX's mix of Gil Scott-Heron's cover of Bobby "Blue" Bland's "I'll Take Care of You." This track, in turn, inspired a few covers and remixes.

While Drake's last single, "Marvin's Room," wandered between Drake ranting about an ex's new boyfriend and boasting about having sex four times that week over a dreary rhythm, "Take Care" is a bit more consistent. The bleak lyrics match the dim sound.

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Those of us who aren't distracted by novelties like "significant others" on Valentine's Day like to think up odd rituals to pass a lonesome day decorated with buttocks-shaped stationary, candles and boxes of chocolate.

My odd Valentine's Day tradition is having a nice, home-cooked, candle-lit dinner with a human-sized inflatable pillow printed with the object of my affection sitting across the table from me. Who else better to spend tonight with than Rihanna?

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Among the electronic music producers who have cashed in on dance music's popularity in the States, I'm most ambivalent about French DJ/producer David Guetta. Last year's album, Nothing But the Beat, took its title pretty literally with two discs of beat, and a couple cameos to keep things interesting.

Guetta's strength isn't in making memorable music; it's giving his guests a platform to excel, as he did with Usher on "Without You." I say he's like Cape Canaveral: He's only important because things launch into space off him.

Guetta's latest single, "Turn Me On," has Nicki Minaj on the launchpad, displaying her adaptability as a performer. She switches from European-style diva to emcee throughout the track's three minutes, and between her upcoming album and the buzzed-about Super Bowl XLVI halftime show appearance this weekend, she's keeping things interesting.

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After a year of being the single most popular woman in hip-hop, Nicki Minaj is getting some competition from all sides in 2012. On her right are jealous industry perennials like Lil' Kim. On her left are blog-buzzed upstarts like Azealia Banks.

This might actually turn out good. Competition breeds innovation, I say -- just as long as the artists play it like a game and don't take it personally. Minaj's divisive recent single, "Stupid Hoe," sure sounds like she's playing a game... with all of us.

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