Year-end lists are the only time you ever want to be early to the party so here's to 2012 AKA the year which gave us a critically acclaimed album by a Rapper who I found practically unlistenable on his song with Gunplay, the year which has still yet to give us Husalah's customary one great song per annum, and the year I'm gonna humbly take credit for Katie Got Bandz's success and Das Racist's break-up. This was also the year which finally presented me with a few Rick Ross solo joints I like since they don't sound like mock-Jeezy or pastiches of American Gangster-era Jay-Z, and which gave the world a great Chief Keef song I never want to hear again due to its terrible G.O.O.D Music remix with KanYe's unintentionally hilarious Junior Reid vocal samples and Jadakiss' ridiculously silly Christian Bale as Batman voice.
So, these are the songs that've rocked my world in 2012. Can't be arsed separating them into singles and album or mixtape cuts + loosies this year since so few of the singles I like become hits nowadays, and, as ever, la règle du jeu are one song per artist and no order of preference.
A-Mafia - Realest N*gga In My City
Fam-Lay - Clap Clap
Ampichino & Young Bossi ft. Yukmouth - Runaway
Gunplay - Jump Out
Rick Ross - High Definition
Mic Terror - Rodney King
Chinx Drugz ft. French Montana - I'm A Coke Boy
Coke Boyz ft. Stack Bundles - Tap That
DB Tha General - Don't Worry
Alpoko Don - Get My Paypa, Dog
Killa Kyleon & Mouse On Tha Track - Freddy Krueger
Mouse On Tha Track - Raise A Finger
Foxx - I Wonder
$hizz & Foxx ft. Webbie - Send Ya Hit Man
Lil' Phat - Countin' Money
Troy Ave - I Know Why You Mad
Clyde Carson ft. The Team - Slow Down
TREE - Sunday School
Young Giftz ft. TREE - Nino
$tarlito - Clap For Him
Travis Porter - Ballin'
E-40 ft. Cousin Fik - Wasted
Cousin Fik - Knocka N*gga Down
DJ Paul - Cocky
N.O.R.E - Kenny Powers
Skip ft. Wacko - Bandana
Future - Trending Topic
Nicki Minaj ft. 2 Chainz - Beez In The Trap
Jackie Chain - So Throwed
Feva ft. Husalah & Franchise - Handsome
Dubb 20 & Husalah - Been A While
Katie Got Bandz - Hittaz Only
King Louie ft. Shorty K - Hitta Shit
Roc Marciano - We Ill
Alchemist ft. Roc Marciano - The Turning Point
NhT Boyz - Freeway
Gucci Mane ft. Rocko - Plain Jane
Frenchie ft. Trick-Trick - Jack Shit
Bo Deal - N*gga Rich
Nas ft. Mary J. Blige & DJ Hot Day - Reach Out
Drumma Boy ft. 8Ball & MJG - Smokin' On That Loud
Treal Lee & Prince Rick ft. Ace Hood - Transform
Max Minelli - Safe Place
Kevin Gates - Radio
TKO Capone ft. RiFF RaFF - Lil' Mama I'm Sorry
Rich Kidz - Never Did
Lil' Durk ft. Fredo Santana - Wild N*ggas
Problem - Trippin'
Ty Dolla $ign - My Cabana
GLC ft. Raheem Devaughn - Cathedral
DG Yola - Ain't It Funny
Black Rob ft. Snaggapuss & Sadat X - Can't Make It In N.Y remix
J. Stalin - The Molly Song
Lil' Cali - Me And My Thugs
Diamond ft. Jackie Chain & Juicy J - At The Bar
Short Kidd - The Mafia
LoveRance ft. 50 Cent, IamSu! & Skipper - UP! remix
IamSu! - Two Eleven
Show Banga ft. Kool John & IamSu! - Party Ain't A Party
Fat Trel - Swishers & Liquor
HD ft. Lil' Rod - Pursuit Of Happiness
Beanie Sigel - Kush Dreaming
Krypto ft. Beanie Sigel, Freeway & Axion Jaxion - Black Tie Affair
Mystikal - Hit Me
Philthy Rich - 3 Bitches At The Same Time
Game ft. Master P - HVN4AGNGSTA
Grip Plyaz - Wasaname
Sasha Go Hard - Why They Mad?
I've only heard five of these songs before now. This could be edumicational.
ReplyDeleteI'll make a Mouse On Tha Track fan out of you one day, Robbie.
ReplyDeletegreat great great, i thought val venis would have made the cut though.
ReplyDeleteI went with the songs I've listened to the most and it just so happens Hitta Shit has gotten more play than Val Venis or Bars.
ReplyDeleteshould i know who alpoko don is?
ReplyDeleteAnon you should know who he is but you should spend time falling in luh with the youtube account instead of trying the tape first.
ReplyDeleteMy plan of not paying attention to rap all year then cheating with best ofs is paying off, how mad are you that new Mystikal song popped up the day after though?
Im with ANU on VV, only one fucking with Man Up Band Up Remix imo. idgaf if its called "bars" I need hooks in 2012 unless youre E-40 or something.
I've heard zero.
ReplyDelete*out of touch*
Bars >>>> Val Venis, "Bars" & "On Da Road" are my favorite style of Louie traxx
ReplyDelete'man up band up remix' def came out last year if not end of the year before.
Me & marty's lists are closer this year than years previous, unintentional gchat conspiracy
I'm still hoping to convince the Drake his year end list needs something by Chinx Drugz.
ReplyDeleteBars doesn't need a hook since the whole song is kinda like one long hook with the flow Louie uses on it.
Nah thats what Im saying, Val Venis is my 2012 MUBU remix. I mean you could say the same thing about a lot of Louie songs having one continuous flow, VV included, its just a waste of the mind that made "Im the man, little do they know" over the Cathphrase noise.
ReplyDeleteDavid if that theres true, your lists for squat if it doesnt have Katie at no 1.
Thanks for this. I have heard maybe 1/3 of these, so I'm looking forward to hearing all the dope shit I missed this year.
ReplyDeleteObligatory Best Rap Songs of 2012 by The Martorialist : http://bit.ly/ZfeBdi / http://bit.ly/UGQYmq
ReplyDeleteOh shit! I'm flattered.
ReplyDeleteHa@ Diamond - At The Bar. Didn't know this happened. Dope record. I can't fathom how you know it exists. Thanks for this post, though. This will round out my x-mas road-trip mixtape.
ReplyDeleteI'll have you know I own both Crime Mob albums and consider What Is Love a top 3 greatest lost mixtape/MySpace cut of the noughties.
ReplyDeleteThat said, it was the Jackie Chain cameo which drew me to to At The Bar. It's from latest Diamond's mixtape. Jelly is also pretty great.
Do a 2012 songs list, Rey!
Favorites list is cooking as we speak but it's already 2 pages long and reads like the inverse to a Wicked22 post. I'll throw it up at PF when I'm done so you can pick at it. LIST DEFINITELY CONTAINS A DON TRIP RECORD.
ReplyDeleteUh oh....
ReplyDeleteFuck wit' it
ReplyDeleteAwww shit. That Joker song at # 1 is pretty incredible, as is the T.I joint with Travis P & Dro. Will explore the rest of the list later.
ReplyDeleteNot the Louie song with the terrible Pusha-T verse or the Montana song where we hear a near-30 year old dude pretend to be Chief Keef, though???!!!!????
Ha. I wanted to qualify that Montana song beforehand for being exactly as you say but I didn't want to give ground on something that was already going to be hard to defend. As shamelessly larcenous as it is (Young Chop beat and all) it's a pretty undeniable record.
ReplyDeleteI'm too lazy to follow up on the kid that had the first verse on T.I.'s Hot Wheels but killed that shit. I may just wait for him to break out and go solo instead of sifting through a bunch of nonsense.
This Slim Thug & L.E.$ joint over The Recipe definitely bodies the original.
ReplyDeleteYou've finally convinced me to listen to that Ace Hood 'tape.
Can't you finally start a Tumblr or something in 2013?