Gym Class Heroes - The Fighter

I’ll be honest. I’m not always a fan of Gym Class Heroes. They have a unique sound that if isn’t perfected can end in disaster. Most of the time though, when they pair their classic rap/hip hop combo with a well-known singer (think Adam Levine in “Stereo Heart”), the combination is excellent. This happened with “The Fighter.” So apparently, this song has been out for a while, but I just recently heard it and fell in love with it. I feel like any song featuring Ryan Tedder is guaranteed to be good, but that just may be my OneRepublic bias talking. Anyway, I love everything about this song. The intermix of the usual Travie McCoy rap thing and Ryan Tedder’s brilliant vocals transition seamlessly, creating a song with two very different, yet complementary tones. Not to be left out, the lyrics of the verses and chorus merge together to form an inspirational message about never giving up. And hey, who’s not for a song about fighting till the end. It’s like a musical version of Rocky, minus the actual boxing and such. All that aside, I think this song is excellent. It’s a catchy pop tune with just enough hip hop to satisfy the Gym Class Heroes enthusiasts and some really great message lyrics. And like I said, you really can’t go wrong with Ryan Tedder. True fact. - Lindsey