Beat Box: Winter Chill Tracks

A whole slew of hot and sweaty beats are helping to keep temps high on gay dance floors this winter. Here are the essential songs and remixes that should be on your winter playlist right now.

"Under The Stars"
diMaro & Alicia Madison
(Contagious Records)

diMaro may get top billing, but you won't actually hear his voice anywhere here. Instead, he programs and sequences the song's infectious beats, synthy swooshes and digitized loops while Alicia Madison (who last guested on Sied van Riel's "Gravity") delivers a sweeping tale of steely determination in the face of lost love. The track is quickly becoming the biggest song on dance floors and house radio thanks to strong support from influential spinners Markus Schulz, Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike. Of course, Madison and diMaro deserve the real props for presenting a slickly produced blockbuster that is truly big room dance music at its best.

"I Like You"
Tony Moran featuring Debby Holiday
(Sugarhouse)

Debby Holiday teams up with Grammy-nominated producer Tony Moran to celebrate the thirty-year anniversary of Phyllis Nelson's iconic house smash, "I Like You." The song was a top ten radio hit in 1985, due to Nelson's soulful vocals and the song's subtle social commentary. It was seen my many as an ode to omnisexuality, with Nelson justifying her love to all the many different types of people with a simple, "No reason why; I just like you." That message inspired Holiday to remake the song for the modern dance floor.

With the help of Moran, Holiday presents a harder, darker, grainier, more underground sound to the track. This marks the third collaboration by these two powerhouses of dance and the beats simply keep getting better.

"Crooked"
Faith Michaels featuring Nina Flowers and Power Infiniti
(Lomlplex)

"Crooked" shows a rarely seen bitchy side to the queen of nice, Faith Michaels. No doubt, it is the influence of drag superstars Nina Flowers and Power Infiniti, who are also featured on the record. Written by Michael Cosculluela, the song refers to the crown of a queen, which, according to the ladies, should always be worn straight. Those with their noses up in the air, thinking they're all fierce and better than everyone else, well, their crowns are on crooked, honey, and Faith, Power and Nina have something to say on it. Crooked is a comically infectious track that expertly mixes attitude and camp with damn good danceable beats.

"He Won't Do"
Billy Winn
(Ferocious Music/Kaleidosphere)

Scandal has served Billy Winn well. His previous track, "Future X Boyfriend" rocketed him into Billboard's top twenty last summer. Now comes his debut EP, "Cruel Intentions," along with its first release, "He Won't Do." It's a slick single that tells the story of ex lovers not quite finished with one another yet. Winn plays the aggressor, singing how the lover's new man will never compare to him. It's a delicious mix of pop, heavy dance, R&B, electronica and, oh yes, attitude. It sets the tone for what fans can expect to hear from this exciting, young and sexy out artist.

"Hot Homo"
Cazwell featuring Big Dipper
(Peace Biscuit)

The latest record from the leading independent gay hip hopper is a freestyle parody of Bobby Shmurda's "Hot N-a." Like its predecessor, the song has an addictive beat with NC-17 lyrics. Where Shmurda's track is about killing people and selling drugs, Cazwell's single takes on -- what else -- man-on-man sex. And why not? Gay men should feel as entitled to express themselves sexually as straight guys do, says Cazwell.

That's been his message since he first dropped "All Over Your Face" in 2006. In "Hot Homo," Caz is joined by another funny-as-all-hell gay MC: The large, furry bear rapper known as Big Dipper. Together, they present a finely produced rap parody that also manages to poke fun at celebrities like Chris Brown, James Franco and even Debra Messing. The music video is a must-see too.