every year since 2011 i think about not doing one of these and every year i can't think about anything else once the calendar flips to december even though it's more and more unclear who this is for (except promit, u the man u read all my writing shoutout promit day 1). i think ultimately though, this is about etching into internet stone the music (++ thoughts and smiles and frowns intertwined with it) that i lived by. first time i heard "t-shirt" outside of my room i was in boston common after the patriots stole the super bowl watching a kid milly-rock to it off a UE boom. first night i heard "chanel" i was singing bout c's on both sides with my best friends wandering through barcelona sidestreets till 4am. i can't listen to "cannon" without thinking of april. i eat existential crises for breakfast but even considering that, this year put me through the blender — i was in lecture halls, i was in an office, i was skipping school traveling across the world for six weeks, i'm still lost, it's all good though because like it does every single year, the music on this page kept me breathing. my future is both the clearest and the cloudiest it's ever been but i'm learning that means i'm thriving. ok i'm done.
- only one song from a project on the songs list
- only one project from an artist on the albums list
- no grouping together two projects from an artist and treating them as one cause we ranking albums not artist outputs and if we were doing the latter we could start and end this list at Young Thug every year and then nobody would read things i wrote anymore.
Songs
50. Yoshii24k - "Bad Freestyle" (?)
49. Drakeo the Ruler - "Big Banc Uchies" (Bruce24k)
48. OMB Peezy - "Talk My Shit" feat. Yhung T.O (Cardo)
47. Aminé - "Heebiejeebies" feat. Kehlani (Jahaan Sweet)
46. HoodRich Pablo Juan - "We Don't Luv Em" (Danny Wolf)
45. Nef the Pharaoh - "Bling Blaow" feat. Slimmy B (The Two. Fifteens)
44. J Hus - "Common Sense" (The Compozers, JAE5 & Mark Crown)
43. Trippie Redd - "In Too Deep" (Goose the Guru & Paris the Producer)
42. Mozzy - "Sleep Walkin" (Jay P Bangz)
41. Lil Baby - "My Dawg" (Quay Global)
40. Rich Homie Quan - "Replay" (DJ Nasty, Lee Major & LWM)
39. weslee - "Bathwater" (weslee)
38. Yaeji - "Drink I'm Sippin On" (Yaeji)
37. Ty Dolla $ign - "Don't Judge Me" feat. Future & Swae Lee (30 Roc & Mike WiLL Made-It)
36. Young Clancy - "Always Have" (Young Clancy)
35. GoldLink - "Herside Story" feat. Hare Squead (Felix Joseph & Hare Squead)
34. The xx - "On Hold" (The xx)
33. Syd - "Know" (Nick Green)
32. Sampha - "(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano" (Rodaidh McDonald & Sampha)
31. Key! & Reese LaFlare - "Money Phone" feat. Offset (Bobby Kritical & Kc Da Beatmonster)
30. Mac DeMarco - "My Old Man" (Mac DeMarco)
29. Frank Ocean - "Slide On Me (Remix)" feat. Young Thug (Vegyn)
28. Kodak Black - "Misunderstood" (Skip on Da Beat)
27. Amir Obé - "Cigarettes" (NYLZ)
26. Allan Kingdom - "Don't Push Me" (Dro & SinGrinch)
25. Thundercat - "Friend Zone" (Mono/Poly)
24. Two-9 - "None of These" feat. FatKidsBrotha, Key! & Jace (CeeJ & Mitch)
23. MIKE - "Greedy" feat. Jesse Brotter (MIKE)
22. House of Pharaohs - "RYM (Run With Me)" (?)
21. 24hrs - "VSVSVS" (Nard & B)
20. Anna of the North - "Lovers" (Anna of the North)
19. King Krule - "Czech One" (Dilip Harris & King Krule)
18. SZA - "Drew Barrymore" (Carter Lang & Scum)
17. 03 Greedo - "Rude" (?)
16. 03 Greedo - "Breaking News" (?)
15. Young Thug - "Feel It" (Wheezy)
14. Eli Sostre - "New Addy" (Eli Sostre & Soriano)
13. Creek Boyz - "With My Team" (A2RBEATZ)
12. Smokepurpp - "Audi." (Ronny J)
11. Quelle Chris - "Popeye" feat. I, Ced (MNDSGN)
10. BROCKHAMPTON - "Cannon" (Bear//Face, Jabari Manwa, Kevin Abstract, Kiko & Romil)
9. Calvin Harris - "Slide" feat. Frank Ocean & Migos (Calvin Harris)
8. Future - "Hallucinating" (Dre Moon)
7. YoungBoy Never Broke Again - "No Smoke" (DJ Jealousy)
6. Lil Uzi Vert - "Luv Scars K.o 1600" (DJ Plugg)
5. Playboi Carti - "Location" (Harry Fraud)
4. Tyler, the Creator - "911/Mr. Lonely" feat. Frank Ocean & Steve Lacy (Tyler, the Creator)
3. Kendrick Lamar - "Element" (Bēkon, James Blake, Ricci Riera, Sounwave & Tae Beast)
2. Frank Ocean - "Chanel" (Frank Ocean, Jarami & Michael Uzowuru)
1. Migos - "T-Shirt" (Nard & B & XL)
Albums
50. Calvin Harris - Funk Wav Bounce Vol. 1
49. Rich Homie Quan - Back to the Basics
48. J Hus - Common Sense
47. Lorde - Melodrama
46. Miguel - War & Leisure
45. Big K.R.I.T. - 4eva is a Mighty Long Time
44. Trippie Redd - A Love Letter to You 2
43. Jay Som - Everybody Works
42. Jonwayne - Rap Album Two
41. Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked at Me
40. Chief Keef - Thot Breaker
39. Yhung T.O - On My Momma
38. Aminé - Good for You
37. Mount Kimbie - Love What Survives
36. Young Nudy - Nudy Land
35. Medslaus - Poorboy
34. Wiki - No Mountains in Manhattan
33. Lil Uzi Vert - Luv is Rage 2
32. Daniel Caesar - Freudian
31. Kelly Lee Owens - Kelly Lee Owens
30. milo - Who Told You to Think??!!?!?!?!
29. Billy Woods - Known Unknowns
28. Jay-Z - 4:44
27. Mozzy - 1 Up Top Ahk
26. GoldLink - At What Cost
25. Quelle Chris - Being You is Great, I Wish I Could Be You More Often
24. Vince Staples - Big Fish Theory
23. Eli Sostre - Sleep is for the Weak
22. Migos - Culture
21. 03 Greedo - Money Changes Everything
20. Open Mike Eagle - Brick Body Kids Still Daydream
19. Moses Sumney - Aromanticism
18. Cousin Stizz - One Night Only
17. Yaeji - EP1
16. Syd - Fin.
15. King Krule - The Ooz
14. Kodak Black - Project Baby 2
13. MIKE - May God Bless Your Hustle
12. YoungBoy Never Broke Again - AI YoungBoy
11. The xx - I See You
10. Thundercat - Drunk
9. Ty Dolla $ign - Beach House 3
8. Mac DeMarco - This Old Dog
7. Playboi Carti - Playboi Carti
6. BROCKHAMPTON - SATURATION
5. SZA - CTRL
4. Future - HNDRXX
3. Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.
2. Young Thug - Beautiful Thugger Girls
1. Tyler, the Creator - Flower Boy
Other Things I Love That Don’t Fit Into Those Lists
20. When Young Thug said the feds got a camera in his pool 12 nasty and then says he'll order 10 rooms in your town and not sleep in any of them and says a girl so bad he wants some of her features all in the same verse on "Get Mine" (Ayo the Producer, Keyzbaby & Smash David)
19. Dominique - "Problems" (vartikar)
18. SILVER - "Darling Don't" (Chris Plante & Daniel Alvarez De Toledo)
17. YBS Skola - Only Hope 2
16. KAMI - Just Like the Movies
15. Iojii & Swarvy - Due Rent
14. Natia the God - 10K Hours
13. Mach Hommy & The Alchemist - "Brand Name" (The Alchemist)
12. TeeCee4800 - Realness Over Millions 2
11. PnB Rock - "There She Go" feat. YFN Lucci (Bizzy Genius)
10. Benny - Butcher on Steroids
9. G Perico's 2017
8. SOB x RBE's 2017, especially the part on "Bling Blaow" where Slimmy B says that his diamonds are changing colors like a gecko
7. Payroll Giovanni & Helluva - Payface
6. Moneybagg Yo & NBA YoungBoy - Fed Baby's
5. BROCKHAMPTON's 2017
4. Dom McClennon washing his whole entire collective on "Swim" (Q3 & Romil Hemnani)
3. Brent Faiyaz's hook on "Crew" (Teddy Walton)
2. Shy Glizzy's verse on "Crew" (Teddy Walton)
1. 03 Greedo's 2017
Rappers I Didn't Know Before 2017
10. Sheck Wes
9. J Hus
8. bbno$
7. Lil Baby
6. Yhung T.O
5. Drakeo the Ruler
4. Mach Hommy
3. Trippie Redd
2. MIKE
1. 03 Greedo
Things I Don't Like as Much as Everyone Else
5. $ki Mask the Slump God's 2017
i suppose it is good that $ki saw the slickest resolution to his SoundCloud distorted-mix phase but i don't think that means he had the best. give me "Where's the Blow" (or even "Life's Short") over hoarse $ki over Timbaland any day.
4. BROCKHAMPTON - "JUNKY"
Abstract snaps but he does on every song by this band so we not treating that as a real differentiator. but fundamentally i think this encapsulates a lot of what i struggle with when it comes to BROCKHAMPTON -- it feels more like an odd juxtaposition of disparate parts and personalities that's carried more by individual skill than any particular group chemistry, and when a couple of them falter in the same 4-minute-interval (Matt Champion drags here and Merlyn's flow grates) the entire song sags. it all feels something like early Odd Future -- it's great music but it's hard to not see the personalities not poking out a bit too far.
3. SoundCloud rap's 2017
i mean i guess i write this fully prepared to be eating my words in 6 months when Lil Xan ruling Billboard and BIGBABYGUCCI the new hip-hop-rockstar but it was odd to watch this scene not move as linearly as i expected it to outside of the obvious counterexample of "XO." it was odd to watch the most obvious star (XXX) not only get (rightfully) mired in horrifying allegations, but to also make music that didn't make much sense -- i feel like the mysterious-vine-sampling-singing record comes later in the artist life-cycle -- and to generally feel as if SoundCloud generation 3.0 (if 1.0 is Post Malone/Lil Uzi and 2.0 is 21) sort of hit a wall and dissipate to be replaced with a way wider sphere of artists of similar status (Lil Xan, Warhol.ss, etc.). i am not used to feeling this uneasy/off-balance w/r/t a major mainstream rap scene and the more internet hippy tweets i read the more i feel that way. i guess that sentence is another way of saying "i'm old" too, so idk how to feel bout all this. but more of this really does happen on WORLDSTARHIPHOP or Elevator's YouTube channel than i feel like it should in 2017. and maybe that really is just the logical conclusion when objectively a large slice of the pie here is personality -- and i really don't feel like this is a knock, just an acknowledgement that if 6ix9ine had a line-up instead of whatever is on his head or if YBN Nahmir looked like my little brother and shot that video with his boys on the local pick-up court than this whole scene looks upside-down. i have this whole flowchart in my head -- Instagram likes to retweets to SoundCloud plays to Billboard appearances to Genius explanation videos to RapCaviar to Top 40 -- and okay, the whole music industry is being subverted or whatever (i don't have to listen to that speech again, especially not when shit looks like this), but are you really telling me that Lil Pump mattered that much before he hit radio? i gotta see some conceptualization of what success means for this generation of artists if it really isn't album/album equivalent sales before i buy into it blindly.
2. Cardi B - "Bodak Yellow"
Cardi B is probably the best rap star in recent memory and please believe that i'm fully present for the IG flexes and top 5 rap twitter, and every time she washes the entire Migos on a track like she did on "Motor Sport" or 21 Savage like she did on "Bartier Cardi" is just a bonus. but this song is also diet "Ooouuu" and i refuse to accept any revisionism about this being better than "No Flocking" because i can't remember the last time a song snapped me to attention re: an artist i'd never heard before like that.
1. Vince Staples - Big Fish Theory
lazy listening to equate innovative ideas or musical combinations with quality. uk garage + rap is a cool idea and this is probably the pinnacle of that but that's all. man did this!
Things I Like More Than Everybody Else
1. "Gucci Gang," apparently.
Albums of the Year as Ranked by My Friend Nick, Who is No Longer My Roommate But is Still a Great Guy
20. Moses Sumney - Aromanticism
19. Soulwax - From Deewee
18. milo - Who Told You to Think??!!?!?!?!
17. Jeff Tweedy - Together at Last
16. Circuit Des Yeux - Reaching for Indigo
15. Joseph Shabason - Aytche
14. Japanese Breakfast - Soft Sounds from Another Planet
13. Blanck Mass - World Eater
12. A. Savage - Thawing Dawn
11. King Krule - The Ooz
10. Laurel Halo - Dust
9. Psymon Spine - You Are Coming to My Birthday
8. Dirty Projectors - Dirty Projectors
7. Bicep - Bicep
6. Susanne Sundfør - Music for People in Trouble
5. Grizzly Bear - Painted Ruins
4. Chastity Belt - I Used to Spend So Much Time Alone
3. Mount Kimbie - Love What Survives
2. Tyler, the Creator - Flower Boy
1. Kelly Lee Owens - Kelly Lee Owens
All the Songs on Lil Pump by Lil Pump, Objectively Ranked
15. "Smoke My Dope" feat. Smokepurpp (Ronny J)
14. "Pinky Ring" feat. Smokepurpp & Rick Ross (Illa)
13. "What U Sayin'" feat. Smokepurpp (FadedBlackKid & Trapphones)
12. "Foreign" (TM88)
11. "Whitney" feat. Chief Keef (BigHeadOnTheBeat & Captain Crunch)
10. "Youngest Flexer" feat. Gucci Mane (BigHeadOnTheBeat)
9. "At the Door" (BigHeadOnTheBeat & CBMix)
8. "Boss" (Diablo)
7. "Back" feat. Lil Yachty (Mr. 2-17)
6. "Molly" (BigHeadOnTheBeat & Ronny J)
5. "Crazy" (Mr. 2-17)
4. "Flex Like Ouu" (Danny Wolf & Ronny J)
3. "D Rose" (Terrotuga)
2. "Gucci Gang" (BigHeadOnTheBeat & Gnealz)
1. "Iced Out" feat. 2 Chainz (Mr. 2-17)
we going into 2018 with no pump slander on our conscience. he said he got too much racks in his pocket that his wallet won't fold that's how i'm tryna spend my 2018.