50. “Collard Greens” – ScHoolboy Q feat. Kendrick Lamar. Although we are going to have to wait longer than anticipated for Q’s album Oxymoron, its lead single was delivered to us in June of 2013. Q and K.Dot have collaborated numerous times in the past few years; high points of this one include a partially multilingual verse from Kendrick and a driving beat produced by THC and Gwen Bunn. Oxymoron is now due February 25th. ScHoolboy Q feat. Kendrick Lamar – Collard Greens 49. “U.O.E.N.O. (Remix)” – Black Hippy. More from TDE at #49 on our list, this time with their group remix of U.O.E.N.O. There were many remixes to Rocko’s March hit, but this one stood out. Kendrick, ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and Jay Rock drop verses of varying lengths over the Childish Major beat and just like on other remixes done by the whole BH crew (see: Black Lip Bastard, Scenario, etc.), they sound great together. Kendrick and Ab-Soul have some especially memorable lines in their verses. Black Hippy – U.O.E.N.O (Remix) 48. “LSD” – ProbCause feat. Chance The Rapper. 2013 saw the rise of the SaveMoney crew, a Chicago-based group of guys who do music and make raps together (Chance, Vic Mensa, Caleb James, etc.). They also collaborated with other Chicago artists, as evidenced here. This particular track is one of two PC/Chance collabs from the former’s July mixtape The Recipe Vol. 2. I highly recommend the music video for this track, a trippy journey very much in line with the name of the song. ProbCause feat. Chance The Rapper – LSD [Link] 47. “Red Dot Music” – Mac Miller feat. Action Bronson & Loaded Lux. Mac Miller took his career in a slightly different direction this year. In addition to recording, he did a lot of producing from his LA studio (under the alias Larry Fisherman) and his rhymes and beats took up a chill mellow tone. He released Watching Movies With The Sound Off in June, an album that utilized production by Mac (Larry) himself on about half of the songs. This cut featured Action Bronson on the hook and with a verse and Loaded Lux on the outro, and was produced by The Alchemist. Honorable mentions from WMWTSO: “Suplexes Inside of Complexes and Duplexes” feat. Jay Electronica, “S.D.S.” Mac Miller feat. Action Bronson & Loaded Lux – Red Dot Music 46. “You Song” – Lil’ Wayne feat. Chance The Rapper. This song, from Wayne’s Dedication 5 mixtape, is really more of a Chance song featuring Wayne that happens to live on D5. The story goes: Wayne calls Chance and asks for a song, Chance and his production team make this song and send it back to Wayne, who adds a verse and releases the mixtape when it’s done. D5 was not as egregiously bad as Wayne’s recent projects have been, although he certainly hasn’t even shown flashes of returning to his past greatness. This song, however, was a very bright highlight from the project and brought us a philosophical gem from Weezy: “What if U and I were just letters.” Weezy F Baby and the F is for Filosopher?? Lil’ Wayne feat. Chance The Rapper – You Song 45. “Strictly 4 My Jeeps (Remix)” – Action Bronson feat. LL Cool J & Lloyd Banks. This remix followed the original, which lived on Bronson’s Saaab Stories EP. The remix features a verse each from LL Cool J and Lloyd Banks, as well as a new verse from Action. The highlight here is Cool James, flowing incredibly impressively over the Harry Fraud beat as if he was still a 20 year old rapper and not a 45 year old actor. Action Bronson feat. LL Cool J & Lloyd Banks – Strictly 4 My Jeeps (Remix) [Link] 44. “Fire” – Big Sean. This is an example of a song that finds itself on this list entirely because of the beat. Sean’s rapping is consistent through his second studio album, Hall of Fame, but there’s nothing he does specifically to make this song stand out; it is the DJ Camper beat with the catchy and beautiful repetition of “fire” that makes it special. Bonus: the music video is just Miley Cyrus doing dancey stuff, in case you didn’t get enough of her this year. Honorable mentions from HOF: “Beware” feat. Lil’ Wayne & Jhene Aiko, “10 2 10.” Big Sean – Fire 43. “I Shot You Down” – Isaiah Rashad. In June, TDE announced they were signing two new artists. One was later announced to be SZA (long after constant jokester Action Bronson tweeted then that it was he), and the other was little-known Tennessee rapper Isaiah Rashad. This song was Rashad’s “lead single” for the year, with a jazzy beat and a cool simple hook. This was followed up by a remix featuring Jay Rock and ScHoolboy Q. TDE just announced that there will be 6 albums from the crew in 2014, so we can add Isaiah Rashad’s studio debut to our list of anticipated curiosities. Isaiah Rashad – I Shot You Down 42. “On The Low” – Logic feat. Kid Ink & Trinidad Jame$. Logic announced in April that he had signed with Def Jam. A few weeks later he released Young Sinatra: Welcome to Forever. This particular song is from that mixtape and features fellow 2013 XXL cover freshman Trinidad Jame$ and 2012 freshman Kid Ink. The track, produced by Swiff D, pairs chorus with beat incredibly, and is without a doubt one of the top tracks from this year to blast in the car. Logic and Ink flow perfectly over the beat and the kick-in halfway through the verses is sweet. Logic’s studio album debut is expected next year. Logic feat. Kid Ink & Trinidad Jame$ – On The Low [Link] 41. “Never Surrender” – DJ Khaled feat. Scarface, Jadakiss, Meek Mill, John Legend, Anthony Hamilton & Akon. DJ Khaled’s 2013 album Suffering from Success suffered notably from nobody wanting to buy it, and Khaled became somewhat of a walking meme this year. This song, however, was a worthwhile gem from the October flop album. Scarface, Jada, and Meek Mill tell stories about hustling and betrayal, complemented by choruses and soulful ad-libs from the three singers. DJ Khaled feat. Scarface, Jadakiss, Meek Mill, John Legend, Anthony Hamilton & Akon – Never Surrender 40. “4 Horsemen” – Mathematics feat. Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, Method Man & Raekwon. Wu-Tang Clan producer Mathematics put out this song (along with a few others) so while we all await a potential full new Wu-Tang album, we still have songs to tide us over. Pretty much all the original members still rap, doing features and working on albums (see: U-God’s Keynote Speaker) but it’s always good to hear four of them together on the same track. Mathematics feat. Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, Method Man & Raekwon – 4 Horsemen 39. “Story of a Ghetto Boy” – Horseshoe Gang feat. Kobe. West Coast crew Horseshoe Gang, the four brothers of Slaughterhouse MC Crooked I, have made a name for themselves with their machine gun syllable flow much like Crook himself. This song, featuring a hook from Kobe (not Bryant), lived on HSG’s October Top Ramen Ni**a album. This album was very good, and they’ve since followed it up with the first two mixtapes in their ”Mixtape Monthly” series. They’re putting out a full-length, bar-filled mixtape every month for a whole year in an ambitious attempt to stick their middle fingers up to the music industry. Honorable Mentions from Top Ramen Ni**a: “My Last Song,” “Fly Away.” 38. “Livewires” – Progress feat. Slaine, Ea$y Money, Reks & Termanology. This song can be best described as a Massachusetts Massacre as Progress links up with five local Boston-area syllable-slingers. Lyricism is what elevates this track to this spot on the list, as the unassuming Termanology-produced beat lets the five rappers shine bright on the track; the last two verses (Reks and Term) are exceptional. Progress feat. Slaine, Ea$y Money, Reks & Termanology – Livewires [Link] 37. “New Brooklyn (Remix)” – Dyme-A-Duzin feat. Flatbush Zombies & The Underachievers. “New Brooklyn” couldn’t be a more fitting name for this song (or for the entire year, honestly) featuring two of the best groups spitting today. This movement, of the Beast Coast, includes Flatbush Zombies, The Underachievers, and Pro Era; the three groups went on the BeastCoast tour together this Spring. This remix (the original was just Dyme himself) includes a new-sounding old school-style NYC beat and 5 dope verses. More from FZ and UA later on in the countdown… Dyme-A-Duzin feat. Flatbush Zombies & The Underachievers – New Brooklyn (Remix) [Link] 36. “TKO (Remix)” Justin Timberlake feat. J. Cole, A$AP Rocky & Pusha T. This remix of a track originally on Justin’s The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2 dropped late in the year with three big-time rap verses. J. Cole references Kendrick’s control verse and emulates the flow for a bit, making for a very interesting and emotional verse from an MC who can get boring at times. Rocky follows it up and steals the show with an awesome verse and Push rounds it out. More from all of these artists later in the countdown but all three of them on the same song was quite the Black Friday treat. Justin Timberlake feat. J. Cole, A$AP Rocky & Pusha T – TKO (Remix) 35. “Hive” – Earl Sweatshirt feat. Vince Staples & Casey Veggies. Earl’s debut studio album finally dropped this year after a hiatus. Doris, which dropped in August, didn’t disappoint even with all the hype and buildup; Earl didn’t change his style but rather developed it to fit an album perfectly. This song features a hook from Casey Veggies and a closing verse from Vince Staples, the Long Beach rapper who made a name for himself this year by collaborating with Mac Miller as well as Earl and other Odd Future members. Honorable Mentions from Doris: “Chum” (on our 2012 list), “Sunday” feat. Frank Ocean, “Whoa” feat. Tyler, The Creator. Earl Sweatshirt feat. Vince Staples & Casey Veggies – Hive 34. “My Hoe” – Statik Selektah feat. Blu, Evidence & Reks. Statik Selektah has been busy as hell the last few years, producing entire albums and singles with notable artists, and putting forth compilation studio albums such as 2011′s Population Control and this year’s Extended Play. Statik produced all the tracks on the album, the verses on which were handled by a whole slew of feature artists. This particular song linked California emcees Blu and Evidence with Massachusetts natives Reks and Statik Selekt. The three rappers, known for their upstanding lyricism, flow superbly over the melodic beat to make for a joyful listen filled with nifty lines, the most notable of which is Reks’ “Catch the itis upon Noah’s Ark/40 days and 40 nights of roasted pork.” Honorable Mentions from Extended Play: “Birds Eye View” feat. Joey Bada$$, Black Thought & Raekwon, “Gz, Pimps, Hustlers” feat. Wais P & Slaine. Statik Selektah feat. Blu, Evidence & Reks – My Hoe 33. “Spaceship II” – Alex Wiley feat. Chance The Rapper & GLC. Make no mistake, this song is here because of Chance. No disrespect to Wiley, the Chicago rapper who reimagines Kanye’s classic “Spaceship” on this track from the Club Wiley mixtape, but Chance’s verse steals the show and then some. Paying homage to the College Dropout track, Wiley gets GLC (who was on the original) to preach wisdom on the interlude and outro of the track. Chance had verse upon verse that could be in consideration for the best of the year, but this one flew under the radar. Which is tough for a spaceship, I would think. Alex Wiley feat. Chance The Rapper & GLC – Spaceship II [Link] 32. “Sunday’s Best/Monday’s Worst” – Black Milk. This song was released as one in March, and separated as two back to back tracks on Black Milk’s October album No Poison No Paradise. Black Milk, known more in the game for his producing than his rapping, does his best of both on an album best digested as one continuous adventure. Soulful samples are abundant in the project, produced almost entirely by the mulii-talented Detroit artist, but are never more exceptional than on this duo of tracks right here. Black Milk – Sunday’s Best/Monday’s Worst 31. “Maxwell” – Pro Era (Dirty Sanchez, Capital STEEZ & Rokamouth). This track from the NYC Pro Era crew came during a so-called Pro Era Week on twitter, in which they released a song per day. This stood out as the top cut due to the incredible sampling job done by DJ Black Diamond, speeding up parts of a 2009 song by, you guessed it, Maxwell. The song, touching already, sends chillier shivers down the spine with a posthumous middle verse from Cap STEEZ. Dirty Sanchez, Capital STEEZ & Rokamouth – Maxwell [Link] 30. “R.I.P. (Remix)” – Young Jeezy feat. YG, Kendrick Lamar & Chris Brown. The original version of this song was just Jeezy and 2 Chainz, but it reached another level when the March remix featuring YG and Chris Brown dropped. Oh, and Kendrick Lamar, who steals the show, as always. Kendrick’s verse is a tornado, filled with everything you’d expect from a verse from him. This song (as well as the original) was produced by DJ Mustard, the LA DJ who burst onto the scene with Tyga’s “Rack City” and hasn’t stopped cranking out catchy hits since. He has come to really represent the new West Coast sound and his hits have been undeniably catchy and popular. Young Jeezy feat. YG, Kendrick Lamar & Chris Brown – R.I.P. (Remix) 29. “Rusty” – Tyler, The Creator feat. Domo Genesis & Earl Sweatshirt. Wolf, Tyler’s second studio album, dropped in April and contained features mostly from within the Odd Future family. Tyler produced all the songs himself, just like on 2011′s Goblin, and he’s continued to develop his persona. Rusty is a fitting name for this track as Tyler’s long verse is nothing if not abrasive. Domo flows to kick the song off and there is a brief Earl verse after Tyler’s. Domo’s subtle chorus is a perfect refrain on the song, as well. Honorable Mentions from Wolf: “IFHY” feat. Pharrell, “Domo23.” Tyler, The Creator feat. Domo Genesis & Earl Sweatshirt – Rusty 28. “Tweakin’” – Vic Mensa feat. Chance The Rapper. Much to the dismay of those familiar, Chicago alternative hip-hop band Kids These Days disbanded in May. Although fans can only hope for a short hiatus and an extended reunion, that seems to be out of the question. Frontman Vic Mensa, however, has continued to put out music by himself. His solo mixtape, Innanetape, dropped in late September and was a flying success. Vic showed that he doesn’t need the horns and jams behind him to sound great, and went on a tear of radio/TV appearences after releasing the tape. Vic and Chance have now appeared together on about 15 songs from this year and years past, and they’ve all been spectacular. Vic’s second verse is the best from this song, showing off a little Eminem flow in the middle. Honorable Mentions from Innanetape: “Holy Holy” feat. Ab-Soul & BJ The Chicago Kid, “YNSP” feat. Eliza Doolittle, “Hollywood L.A.” Vic Mensa feat. Chance The Rapper – Tweakin’ [Link] 27. “What’s Love” – Torae feat. Pharoahe Monch. This track, from the Brooklyn rapper’s Admission of Guilt, is truly a masterpiece in all aspects. The production by Praise is top-notch, and Pharoahe delivers an unforgettable verse. Pharoahe’s verse has 4 sections, each entirely alliterative to spell out the key word of the title: L-O-V-E. An alliterative verse is not a new concept, but Pharoahe does it here as well as anyone. Torae feat. Pharoahe Monch – What’s Love [Link] 26. “Sorry Bonita” – Joey Bada$$ feat. Pro Era. People seemed to be split on Joey’s July Summer Knights mixtape. Some thought it paled in comparison to 2012′s 1999 while others thought it was just as good if not better. This particular song featured a lot of the Pro Era crew flowing on a dope boom bap beat produced by Oddisee. The track flows like a cypher, with 8 different dudes taking brief verses. Joey ends it with a bang, but the other verses hardly slouch at all. Joey’s studio album debut B4.Da.$$ is expected in 2014. Honorable Mentions from Summer Knights: “Amethyst Rockstar” feat. Kirk Knight, “Reign.” Joey Bada$$ feat. Pro Era – Sorry Bonita [Link]
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