Kanye West, "Power"
Kanye West is everywhere now — in magazines, on television and (of course) on Twitter — but for nearly a year, he was nowhere to be seen. After 2009's Taylor Swiftgate at the MTV Video Music Awards, Kanye canceled his tour and spent the next nine months in hiding. But instead of re-emerging with a humbled, p.r.-friendly persona, he bounced back with "Power" — a jeering retort to everyone who has ever belittled or humiliated him. The Auto-Tuned vocals on 808s & Heartbreak have vanished, Kanye reverting to what he knows best: bombastic rap. He likens himself to superheroes and Napoleon, then hits us with a beat that overwhelms us until we see no other worldview but his. "Power" reminds us why we tolerate Kanye in the first place: the man knows how to make music.