Top Tracks of 2015

There really isn’t much to say here.  These are 2015′ 100 best tracks.  I did 100 this year because I hate sleep, love music, and adore all three of my reader (hey Tom how’s it going man!).  It’s mostly rap and hip-hop, there is a fair share of trap, bass, house, and other such sundry.  I might throw a youtube, soundcloud, or something playlist together of these 100 tracks when I finish up list week… we’ll see depends on if Tom reads this shit or not to be completely honest with you.

Track titles are all linked.

100. Aesop Rock & Homeboy Sandman- Katz

99. Mr. Carmack – womp

98. Denzel Curry – Ultimate (Mike Gao x Promnite x EurekaTheButcher x IAMNOBODI Remix)

97. Kendrick Lamar-These Walls

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kendrick’s first installment on the list, not his last don’t worry.  “These Walls” is one of the more understated tracks on To Pimp a Butterfly and thus it let’s Kendrick flex his lyrical prowess which we all know is substantial.  Accompanied with the G-Funk and jazz influenced instrumental and the beautiful hook it more than earned its spot on this list.

96. Krs.- Bend Ova (RIP J CAPRI)

95. stoopkids.- Univercity.

94. Felix – 4Grantd

93. Roy Wood$ – All Of You (OZZIE Remix)

92. Ta-Ku x Jaden Smith- Beast Mode

91. Two Fresh-Logos (Shanghai)

90. Travi$ Scott-Antidote

89. Injury Reserve-ttktv

 

 

 

 

 

Injury Reserve on their debut album Live From the Dentist Office is at their best when they’re delivering clever wordplay and not taking themselves too seriously which is why the somber, laconic, “ttktv” stands out on the LP.  It’s one of the more expertly crafted songs of the year.

88. WebsterX- Kinfolk (feat. Allan Kingdom)

87. Rich Homie Quan & Young Thug – Bitches

86. Grynpyret – I Forgive (Ramzoid Remix)

85. Jarreau Vandal- Be Alright

84. Open Mike Eagle- Ziggy Starfish (anti-Anxiety Raps)

83. Joey Bada$$- Hazeus View

82. MEDASIN- Got That

81. PREP- Cheapest Flight (AlunaGeorge Remix)

80. Cavanaugh- Overland

79. deDunamis- Distracted

78. Death Grips- The Power That B

77. Dr. Dre- For the Love of Money ft. Jill Scott, Jon Connor & Anderson .Paak

76. Flamingosis- I Don’t Really Care

75. Scienze- South Bronx.

74. Y4NN-Clothes Off

Okay, if you say so.  Noise low-fi keyboard, and knock… all the knock.  I’m down.  Also c’mon, with that sample though, “I like it when you.”

73. Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment- Sunday Candy ft. Jamila Woods

72. Mac Miller- Clubhouse

71. Louie Lastic – Reactions

70. Kirk Knight- I Know feat. Mick Jenkins

69. Goldlink-Spectrum

68. Alexander Lewis.- 5

67. Flip-D’s- Deep Ass Water

66. Kyle- The Force

65. L’Orange & Kool Keith- Meanwhile, Back Home ft. Open Mike Eagle

64. Curren$y- Froze ft. Riff Raff

63. KDaGreat-Vices

62. GoldLink – Dance On Me (Brasstracks Remix)

61. Tennyson- 7:00 AM

60. Pell- Queso

59. Logic- Fade Away

58. Billy Woods- Dreams Come True

57. Vince Staples- Surf ft. Kilo Kish

56. Sam Gellaitry- long distance

That horn section though!! Gellaitry on “long distance” masters the art of simplicity, the track is mostly just a drum kit, a horn section, and a dope ass sample.

55. Oddisee- First Choice

54. NxWorries- Suede

Anderson. Paak has had one hell of a year.  He’s been all over the place and basically out of no where.  “Suede” is Paak at his best, raspy and playful.  Coupled with Knxwledge the man who brought us Kendrick Lamar’s “Mamma” Suede and their duo EP Link Up & Suede are both a great listen.

53. The Underachievers- The Brooklyn Way

52. Ghostpoet- Shedding Skin

51. Your Old Droog- Homicide

50. Little Simz- Persons

49. JLL- Blue Skies

48. Shadow Sable – Want It

47. Mick Jenkins- Perception ft. The Mind

46. The Game- Crenshaw/808s and Cocaine ft. Anderson .Paak & Sonyae

45. L’Orange & Kool Keith- Sometimes I Feel

44. Czarface- Ka-Bang! Ft. MF Doom

43. Kappa Kavi- Chan Chan

42. Dirty Sanchez – Dial Tone (Leave a Message) ft. Dyemond Lewis

41. whereisalex- doot doot ft. elzie

40. Death Grips- Billy Not Really

39. Freddie Gibbs- Fuckin’ Up The Count

Freddie Gibbs is a man that knows what he’s good at.  Am I going to get tired of drug raps and The Wire samples? Nope, never keep doing it!

38. Tifa – Cloudlike

37. Medasin x Masego- Girls that Dance

36. Denzel Curry- Ultimate

35. Drake – Trophies (Brasstracks Cover)

34. Oddisee- That’s Love

33. Phony Ppl-Why iii Love the Moon.

32. Milo- Souvenir ft. Hemlock Ernst

31. Casey Veggies- New Face$

30. Verbal Kent- Wilkes Booth ft. Skyzoo

29. MED, Blu, & Madlib- The Stroll ft. AMG

28. Tom Misch- Twinkle Twinkle

27. Tall Black Guy- The Motor Is Running

26. KDaGreat- Prisoners

25. Jimi Tents- Elmer Fudd ft. Moxie Raia

 

 

I’m not sure where the fuck Jimi Tents came from and I really have no clue where the hell Sedroc the producer came from.  But I’m loving all this shit.  Tents can rap his ass off and I’ve always been a sucker for a nice ethereal instrumental.

24. Mac Miller- Two Matches ft. Ab-Soul

23. Mick Jenkins- Get Up Get Down

22. Billy Woods- Borrowed Time

21. Kendrick Lamar-King Kunta

Kendrick doing Kendrick shit again.  What’s the yams?

20. Logic-Stainless

19. Injury Reserve- Yo

18. Keith Ape- It G Ma (Glam Gould “SQUAD HYMN” Remix)

17. whereisalex – god can’t save you now

16. Michael Christmas- Everything Burrito

15. Young Futura – Gypsy Woman

Well that video happened.  Doesn’t matter though, Young Futura do house rap to the fullest on this track.  The catchy synths and the punchy flow are enough on their own to qualify this track for a top 15 position.  On top of that though the clever lyricism is nothing to scoff at either.

14. Flamingosis- Summer Solstice

Do I really need to explain to you why murdering an Isley Brothers’ sample is so impressive?  I mean this sample on top of that.  Flamingosis is a man not to be fucked with.  A man who really likes soul music and frisbee.  It might be December but its like 70 outside so this should be the perfect summer track for you all.

13. Young Fathers- Shame

I’m pretty much done wondering how a bunch of dudes from Scotland got so damn funky while being raised on haggis and black pudding.  But the boys of Young Brothers managed it.  On their newest LP they returned to their low-fi roots that I loved so much on Tape 1 and Tape 2 and “Shame” is one of the best examples of it, and the best offering on White Men Are Black Men Too.”

12. The Underachievers- Moon Shot

 

 

 

 

Off the second half of Evermore Issa Gold and AK both go ultra hard on this banger of a beat also self produced.  “Moon Shot” is one of the angrier tracks off Evermore and we all know how I appreciate a little youth rage.

11. Tyler, The Creator- Smuckers ft. Kanye West & Lil’ Wayne

Kanye loves dropping dirty ass verses on features in years he doesn’t drop a record; I’m fairly certain he’s still sending Rihanna apology letters for absolutely demolishing the “Diamonds” remix.  I know I’m proud of me too for not making a Chris Brown joke their.  Not to mention Tyler is still one of the best producers out and “Smuckers” shows everyone why.

10. Travi$ Scott- Oh My Dis Side ft. Quavo

2015 has been the year of the side A/side B track.  It’s showed up all over the place but no one does it better than Scott on “Oh My Dis Side.”  It’s hard to tell whether or not Oh My and Dis Side would be as amazing separately but the bleak dark trap style of Oh My complements so well with the upbeat horns and beautiful vocals of Dis Side.

9. Joey Bada$$- Big Dusty

 

“Big Dusty” may not be the most ambitious track on the surprisingly ambitious B4.DA.$$ but it is the best compliment of both the excellent production and strength of Joey’s flow and lyricism.

8. GOLDWATER-Throw it

What can I say about this track except for it was the more unexpected musical transitions I think I’ve ever heard.  But GOLDWATER managed to make the transition from dark slow cloud production to uptempo bass effortlessly and back again.  The song is simultaneously a banger and melodic and beautiful, and all that from the sample of a shitty Nicki Minaj line… aight GOLDWATER I see you.

7. Jay Rock- Gumbo

I keep telling people Jay Rock is not to be fucked with.  Kendrick might be the leader of TDE and for good reason but Jay Rock is the OG.  That dude has been putting out quality music for a long time and talk about a man who knows what he’s good at, “Gumbo” is an incredibly personal track and Jay Rock is best when he’s drawing from his life.

6. Pusha T- Untouchable

 

 

 

Biggy Samples and drug raps.  Yup!  I’m in.  Reducing an MC as lyrically dynamic as Pusha to those two things is a little unfair of course but it is an adept assessment.  But the stand out of “Untouchable” is witty the verses are, “No matter what the weight, I done ran it off/I’m walking on water, I took the sandals off/Tell A&E to turn the cameras off, Push.” Push.

5. Alexander Lewis x Medasin- Coexist

Sometimes you just need a nasty drop a dirty keyboard.  Sometimes you need Medasin’s drum kit and whatever the fuck Alexander Lewis does to vocals to make them sound like this.  Sometimes you just need some dope shit in your life, here take this.

4. Flamingosis- My Lady

So fucking smooth.  It’s clear that Flamingosis listens to more music than all of us, I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a really unhealthy thing.  But if he keeps making funky shit like this stay in your basement boy I do not care.  “My Lady” is hella simple but it rarely takes a thousand musical lines and a hundred drum beats to make something beautiful.

3. Kendrick Lamar- Alright

Look I was born twenty minutes outside of DC in the suburbs, my mom has a nice job and I was always destined for college.  My experience with the hood was on a weekend basis when I would go to my dad’s house in southeast but I could always go home to my town house Sunday evening.  I know very little personally what it means to speak for the streets even though all the white people I meet assume I do because I’m black and like rap music.  Kendrick gets that shit, and while I may not agree with the sentiment of “Alright” there is something so impressive about someone who can make incredible–and I do mean “incredible”–hip-hop with mainstream appeal that still has such a powerful voice cultural and socially.

2. whereisalex- S E P E R A T E

I’m done. Bye!

1. Open Mike Eagle- Dark Comedy Late Show

I love To Pimp A Butterfly as you will soon see.  There is no single track on TPAB as honest, funny, and smart as “Dark Comedy Late Show.”  Open Mike Eagle is having an incredible year.  He dropped tons of great music and got signed to a multi-album deal with Mello Music Group.  Nothing from the last year by Mike, or for that matter by anyone else, stands up to this track.  Exile, as always, is fantastic but it is the lyrics that steal the show.  Honestly don’t believe me? Here!

“I graduated college, I purchased all the extra books/I’m supposed to be living in a house with a breakfast nook/Joke’s on me, though/All this cheap alcohol and no Coke Zero”