Our Top 10 Hip Hop Tracks of 2016 (So Far)

2016 has shaped up to be quite the swaggalicious year for hip hop music! So full of swag in fact that we’ve rounded up our top 10 hip hop tracks of the year so far…

Kanye West – Saint Pablo

After the year he’s had, it’s only fitting that Yeezy tops the list! Yeezy raps about his (painfully public) financial problems on Saint Pablo, the closing track on his latest album ‘The Life Of Pablo’. Featuring soulful guest vocals from British singer-songwriter Sampha, this track is definitely deserving of a spot on our list!

Drake – Childs Play

The Six God has not disappointed this year with the release of his album ‘Views’ which brought us multiple bangers, including One Dance and Controlla, but Childs Play is definitely our favourite as Drizzy raps about a past relationship. Tyra Banks even starred in the music video for the track!

[Drizzy and Yeezy fans alert: the two rappers have confirmed they are working on an album together!]

Kendrick Lamar – Untitled 07

Another hip hop heavyweight, Kendrick Lamar came out swinging in 2016 with the release of his compilation mixtape ‘Untitled Unmastered’. Simply titled Untitled 07, the eight-minute track is a clear album highlight featuring some of the albums most memorable lyrics, as Lamar basically tells us that love/drugs/fame/chains/juice/crew/hate won’t get you high as this while repeatedly rapping the word “Levitate” throughout the album’s lead single.

Frank Ocean – Solo

After leaving us in the dark for what seemed like an eternity, Frank Ocean finally showed us the light when he dropped his highly anticipated album Blonde. Unlike his older music, the progressive neo-soul tracks offered listeners an insight into the curious and magnificent mind of Frank Ocean.

Our favourite from the album is Solo, a funky yet soulful track which is driven by a luxurious organ and quirky whistling notes. Frank’s catchy hook is still hot on our minds, “It’s hell on Earth and the city’s on fire/Inhale, in hell there’s heaven”.

Read our full album review of ‘Blonde’ HERE

Mac Miller – Dang! (feat. Anderson .Paak)

Probably the grooviest track on the list is Mac Miller’s Dang! feat. Anderson .Paak. With rich elements of funk, soul, electronica, and rap, this feel-good tune will have you dancing all night as the duo’s husky yet sharp raps produce what can only be described as a match made in heaven!

Joey Bada$$ – Devastated

21-year-old Brooklyn rapper Joey Bada$$ released his single Devastated earlier this year after the booming success of his debut album ‘B4.DA.$$’ in 2015. Devastated features Joey’s signature sound paired with a laidback vibe and a whopping production sound! Joey’s catchy rhymes are undeniably cool as he raps “I used to feel so devastated/At times I thought we’d never make it/But now we on our way to greatness/And all it ever took was patience”.

Kaytranada – Glowed Up (feat. Anderson .Paak)

Electronic producer Kaytranada teamed up with Anderson .Paak to produce one of the best tunes on Kaytranada’s album ’99.9%’. The two-part track begins with some serious extra-terrestrial vibes thanks to a theramin, and continues to showcase both the producer and the rapper’s talents. Glowed Up continues with mellow raps and laidback beats but transitions into a more intense soundscape with sharp percussion and more assertive raps, “Got enough purp to last the whole damn night, yeah/Lately I’ve been glowed up”.

Mick Jenkins – Daniels Bloom

Inspired by a fight he had with a friend, Daniels Bloom is our favourite pick from Mick Jenkins’ debut album ‘The Healing Component’. Opening with a voice altered preacher proclaiming “See, what the world needs is love”, the track continues with a slow beat and oozes funk as Jenkins raps “They say it ain’t no love here/But I do see blood, tears, and sweat/I bet that you could pray for me/Just holla at me I could pray for you”.

Chance the Rapper – No Problem (feat. 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne)

Chance the Rapper teamed up with fellow rapping legends 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne to produce No Problem, a highlight from his mixtape ‘Coloring Book’. The track delivers an uplifting gospel undertone and is layered with beats that will instantly rid your soul of bad vibes (just like the name of the song suggests)!

Rappers 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne lend their killer rapping skills to produce this feel good track while Chance the Rapper uses the track to tell the world he’s a force to reckoned with as he warns “You don’t want no problems, want no problems with me”.

Vince Staples – War Ready

Vince Staples hype new track War Ready delivers a wave of up tempo, syncopated beats that seriously bring the funk! Produced by none other than British musical genius James Blake, Staples samples both Outkast and Andre 3000 throughout the track and despite its up-beat nature, carries the depressing undertone present in the EP it belongs to, ‘Prima Donna’.

We’d also love to give a special shout out to Melbourne based rapper REMI for his out of this world tracks! Our favourite is Substance Therapy – a track jam-packed of funky, syncopated beats and raw AF rhymes!

Thanks to the hip hop artists (and the trap lords watching over us!), we’ve truly been blessed with the copious amounts of fire hip hop tracks this year but we reckon these 10 tracks are definitely deserving of a spot on our top picks list! Head to our Spotify page to check out more of our top picks and playlists!