These are my Top 15 songs of 2019. Pretty much the songs I listened to the most this year. Honorable mentions are “Sanguine Paradise” and “Futsal Shuffle” by Lil Uzi Vert.
15. Da$h and V Don feat Meechy Darko- Fangs
Da$h has always been one of the most underrated rappers out of the NY scene. From his days with Bluroc to his Caveman Files mixtape Da$h has always managed to have one or two bangers per project and “Fangs” is no different. With eerie production by V Don showing off his NY grit and a standout feature from Flatbush Zombies own Meechy Darko this might be one of Da$h’s best songs ever.
14. Pouya & Xavier Wulf- Whatever Mane
Sometimes you just need a banger from two of the underground’s best. The legend Xavier Wulf and Florida’s own Pouya go bar for bar over a Purrpdogg style beat. Xavier Wulf is the best when he comes up with his own words, like when he says “don’t get your girl tookin”.
13. Westside Gunn feat Estee Nack- Banana Yacht
The first but not last Griselda song to make the list, Banana Yacht just brings you back to a time period. The track reminds me of an extended interlude that could have been on any classic boom bap album. It’s not about what they are saying it’s how they say it. I had never heard of Estee Nack but after his bilingual bars on this track I became an instant fan. Westside pretty much delivers the intro and hook and the verse are provided by Estee who’s talk of gunplay matches up perfect with Westside.
12. Trippie Redd feat DaBaby- Death
“Death” is just a throwback Memphis banger and that’s all it really needs to be. With a insane Dj Paul beat which samples his original Three 6 Mafia track “Push a Muthafucka” this one is the mosh track. Kinda feel like the Da Baby’s feature was kinda week but he’s one of the biggest artists from this year so I get why Trippie had him on it.
11. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib feat Pusha T & Killer Mike- Palmolive
This track is just smooth. Gibbs and Pusha T go bar for bar and it’s pretty hard to say who won. Pusha T is able to paint pictures with his lyrics with one of my favorite bars being “My coke hand is still sketchin out my memoirs What I did to doot panels on them Windstars”. Another stand out line from Pusha was “We all break bread like going Dutch on a dinner date. It would have been nice for Killer Mike to get a verse but I think he does just enough on the hook. Somehow Madlib is able to give the beat a warped scratchy sound giving the track a retro vibe.
10. Travis Scott- Highest In The Room
Being his first follow up single to “Astroworld” I felt this track was pretty solid. That new Jack Boys album he dropped for it is kinda trash but that’s more like his label album so I’ll let it slide. Pretty much any time La Flame has a fire beat and a sick flow he can pretty much say whatever and I’ll be down.
9. Roddy Ricch- The Box
My only West coast track on the list but from one of my favorite new artists. After hearing him on the hook of Nipsey Hussle’s “Racks In The Middle” I knew he would be the next to come out of the west. His radio sing songy flow and catchy hooks are just the best in the game right now. Everything he did right on Mustard’s “Ballin” he just did the same formula on his own song making it better.
8. Griselda- Dr. Bird’s
Just a grimey NY boom bap banger. It was the first single from the new Griselda album, showing fans that just because the album was on Shady Records the bars and beats would be on point. For me Westside and Benny had the best verses but Conway still slides. Production by Daringer is on point as always. Standout lines where “ Amiris filled with cash, I’m in the fashion district Shoot your momma house just for a half a bicken” spits Westside. This track definitely has one of the best hooks of the year “Told Virgil write “Brick” on my brick.
7. Roc Marciano- Richard Gear
Roc Marciano has been bringing the boom bap NY raps was have wanted for at least a decade now but for some reason he is still slept on. Sometimes when his beats don’t have enough drums his bars sort of fall flat basically he is what Jay-z would have been if he didn’t go mainstream. His flow is just so smooth. This track is filled with quotable lines but maybe my favorite back to back lines of the year is when Marci spits “My aura glisten, I shot the bull with the stick from long distance and went off the grid to chill just like a baller with a torn meniscus.” Roc then goes onto say “ I still never slip with all this water dripping, knocked the game up, it was more than just morning sickness.”
6. Conway the Machine feat Westside Gunn & Benny The Butcher- Tito’s Back
This track is just straight fire. Conway and Benny go bar for bar with quotables and some of the best word play I’ve ever heard. The beat from Daringer is just a simple piano loop but that’s all you need when you got some off the best spitters on your beat. Every bar could be considered quotable but my favorite is when Conway says “My number retired you can’t wear my jersey” when referencing his street life. My favorite bar from Benny is when he says “ I went from playing ninas and click-clackin then llamas To walkin out of Neiman’s, mix matching designer” he then goes on to say “I whip crack I brought a brick back to my mamma’s On a crash course, I wore a chin strap in the Honda” Westside pretty much just talks shit at then end but that’s all you really needed. “Doo Doo Doo Dooo!”
5. The Weeknd- Heartless
I cannot get the hook of this song out of my head! Even though it’s just a single it’s already one of my favorite Weeknd songs. I love when he just talks shit about being the man like on the opening line “Never need a bitch, I’m what a bitch need.” This is the only RNB track on the list but for the most part The Weeknd takes a more Hip Hop approach except for the hook. Definitely can’t wait for his new album.
4. Young Thug feat Gunna- Hot
Definitely one of the best bangers of the year. Between the ear worm hook by Gunna and the solid verse from Thug it was nice to see him have a single catch on. This song was meant to play at sporting events, and should definitely be played at every Viper game. The beat by Wheezy has flickering 808 drums and a flute sample that adds a lot to the body of the beat. The Sponge Bob halftime meme just made this one of the best songs in awhile. Slat!!!!
3. Benny The Butcher feat .38 Spesh and Jadakiss- Sunday School
Pretty sure I listened to this track everyday since it came out. Everyone goes hard but I think .38 Spesh had my favorite lines like “I got a lamb and a stick like I’m fresh out the Bible.” And “I brought my own stick like I’m bout to come play pool.” I had never heard of .38 Spesh until this track but I would definitely recommend his back catalog. Again Daringer lays down a simple piano beat but this time with some hard hitting boom bap drums making you feel as if you are in the streets of Buffalo with Benny. Benny’s best line was “ Niggas ain’t see what I saw, a brick turn into a pot of gold, over that I spent my daughter’s first birthday locked in the hole, Plot full of holes came back stronger I’m in control, soft white from my block to the stove not in a cone.” This is the track that made Benny my favorite in the game right now.
2. Trippie Redd feat Juice WRLD & YNW Melly- 6 Kiss
This track just hits different now that Juice is gone. Each artist is able to bring their own to what is probably the best beat of the year. Juice brings that melodic shit, Melly brings the street shit, and Trippie pretty much does both together. The production is handled by Nick Mira & Taz Taylor. It sounds like a Cloud Rap beat mixed with Sega sound effects. The title “6 Kiss” is a reference to the legendary Lil B album title, which is considered the first Cloud Rap album.
1. Lil Uzi Vert- That’s a Rack
Ever since I heard this song I knew it was gonna be number one and nothing has passed it. The bars by Uzi, the catchy hook, and the insane beat by the always on point Oogiemane just works so well. All the singles Uzi released this year could have been on this list but even though “Sanguine Paradise” got more love than this one “That’s a Rack” is still better. I might be biased cause we are both Leo’s and he says “I’m a Leo like lion I’m Simba”. Uzi might get flack for being a so called “mumble rapper” but his strong structures are so different from other people. Like when he sings the part “I could never change gotta stick to my routine, Imma hit it once, then you know I gotta leave.” If this is just a taste of my most anticipated album of 2020 “Eternal Atake” it might be worth the wait.