Songs You Need To Know: Trey Songz And Lil' Kim Cover Rihanna's 'Hard'

To take nothing away from the original, it must be said: Rihanna's "Hard" was begging for other artists to take it out for a spin and see what it could do.

The-Dream and Tricky Stewart's beat has absolutely everything: foreboding synth-horns, vaguely Caribbean percussion over a pulverizing rhythm and tons of attitude.

While there have been a few scattered remixes here and there, the most prominent (and most recent) takes on the song have come courtesy of R&B loverman Trey Songz and raunch-rap legend Lil' Kim.

Trey Songz, who invented sex, dropped a version that recalls the half-crooned/half-rapped flow he dropped over Jay-Z's "D.O.A." beat (wherein he took shots at R. Kelly...ah, R&B beef). He does this flawlessly, by the way. You kinda wish he'd use this unique skill on more of his songs, rather than just remixes and freestyles.

The second take on "Hard" comes from the forever-young Lil' Kim. Now, regardless of how you may feel about Kim's propensity for cosmetic rejuvenation...she still knows how to tear a song like "Hard" up. On this version she uses the same island patois that she utilized on her classic "Lighters Up."

+ Listen to Trey Songz's version of Rihanna's "Hard" here and Lil' Kim's version here.

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Tags Lil' Kim, Rihanna, Song You Need To Know, Trey Songz, video