Answer: Alex Cannibal Oxlade-Chamberlain!
2017: the year when ya host went from gettin' views with the bloggin' to makin' the news with the bloggin'. The Martorialist: officially the only rap blog to inspire a Mac Dre weed carrier to record a Ludacris dis in 2017.
Had a blast with the bloggin' this year even though I don't understand what's going on in rap anymore: A$AP Folky Malone is bigger than ever; New York rap somehow continues to get worse and worse; the main artists who fall under the umbrella of Soundcloud-rap are almost universally terrible to my ears; mid-tempo trap beats with that same damn drum pattern are a billion times more played out than Kwame's polka dots could ever be; and people are actually spending their time watching videos of Joe Budden and DJ Akademiks argue about music rather than spend their time actually listening to music.
Oh well - at least I heard less Drake songs than any year since 2010 and didn't have the misfortune to stumble on a single KanYe West think-piece all year. And then there were these songs which made all the other bullshit in rap tolerable. As ever, no order of preference, but I'm gonna do things slightly different this post:
Camp Lo - Camp Lo (Bust Ya Down)
T-Pain & Lil' Wayne - Listen To Me
MF DOOM & Madlib - Avanlache
Level & Mouse On Tha Track - I Bet You Won't
Valee - Shell (O.G version)
OMB Peezy - Lay Down (O.G version)
Quelle Chris - Buddies
70th Street Carlos - Bag It Up
70th Street Carlos & WNC Whop Bezzy - Trell
Creek Boyz - With My Team (O.G version)
French Montana ft. Swae Lee - Unforgettable
Open Mike Eagle - Brick Body Complex
Queen Key - My Way or Kung Fu
Baby Soulja ft. Boosie BadAzz - Dirty
Boosie BadAzz - Webbie I Remember
Migos - T-Shirt
Nef The Pharaoh - My Way (Freestyle)
Tay-K - The Race
Rich The Factor ft. The Popper - Aristocrat
SOB X RBE - Humble
Doughboyz Cashout ft. B. Ryan - This Is How We Move It
Rich Homie Quan - Word Of Mouth
Yung Cat - Killa City Party
Count Bass D ft. Snoop Dogg - Too Much Pressure
GoldLink ft. Brent Faiyaz & Shy Glizzy - Crew
Dru Down - My 501's
Poohman ft. Yukmouth, Keak Da Sneak & Dru Down - Cookies & Drank
Street Knowledge - Dru Down Flow
BallGreezy ft. Lil' Dred - Nice & Slow
Kodak Black - Patty Cake
AllStar Lee - The Fresh Prince Of Brick Mile
Lor Choc - Fast Life
Shabazz Palaces ft. Thaddillac - Shine A Light
Ralo - Calm Down Ralo
Roc Marciano - Killing Time
Que Almighty ft. 70th Street Carlos & JMM Larry - Put That On Gang
Ayo & Teo - Lit Right Now
Mozzy - Sleep Walkin'
Maine Musik - Soulja Slim Flow
8 Bit Universe - XO Tour Llif3 (8 Bit Remix)
J Hus - Did You See
MoStack - Let It Ring
Sneakbo ft. Giggs - Active
If you're the person who turns this post into a playlist then do it on YouTube. A handful of these songs aren't on Spotify/Apple etc in any form, and I don't cosign those jankey re-recorded versions of Lay Down and With My Team or the extended version of Shell on all the official streaming sites.
Related: the best non-rap songs of 2017 IMO.
Did You See is song of the year
ReplyDeleteAren't Crime Apple and Lil Eto from New York? They dropped good records this year.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see Rich Homie on this list, seems like people have really dismissed him as of late. Also awesome to see how far J Hus has come over the last couple years, I loved his album.
ReplyDeleteinteresting WNC picks, forgot bout that Lor Choc you posted its my shit. I think this is gonna be Lay Down, Put That On Gang & Ding Dong yr for me.
ReplyDeleteBoosies slowed up a bit though, hope he gets his beats act together but ffs - the Webbie song also suffers from that cloth on cloth mixing process hes been working with since prison. idk what the story is. Not buying the Black ken hype so?
Black Ken had a few joints, but nothing with much replay value that I'd spend money on.
ReplyDeleteRealistically, my criteria for this list was: the songs I liked enough to spend money on/hunt the MP3 down/rip the audio of.
Cheers for this
ReplyDeleteYou feeling Herbo this yr? First time ive been into him solo rly
ReplyDeleteNeen liking Greedo too
I can't get with the idea of Herb & Bibby as solo rappers.
ReplyDeleteI listened to their duo track from Herb's album over the DJ Enuff Freestyle Dipset sample but the way Herbo says G-Herbo sounded like gerbil and it just made me laugh.
Waitin for one of the frenchies or japs to drop a zipfile
ReplyDeletePleased to see "This Is How We Move It" getting some shine
ReplyDeleteNot pleased to see any Kendrick
I think Im alright w this namechange cos he was a kid rapper + it might be shite but at least its not an insult from the 80s. At the v least that bit on Lil Gangbanging Ass where he sounds like Lil b is p funny.
ReplyDeleteYou need to interview Will High.
ReplyDeleteI was all set with a "Wot, no Tee Grizzley?" comment because First Day Out and No Effort both stuck around for a good while, but thinking about it now, I'm not sure if you even mentioned him on here.
ReplyDeleteNew Boosie is just lame. It's like he forgot everything he showed us in post-prison albums.
ReplyDeleteA-Wax really fell off this year
ReplyDeleteHere for Joe Budden hate
ReplyDeleteImagine being on your deathbed and realising you'd spent precious time listening to Joe Budden talk.
ReplyDeletethe dude with the fro in SOB X RBE might be the best rapper i heard this year. i liked SOB X RBE s/t album but all that singing from Young THO alllllmost ruined it.
ReplyDeleteThe 8 Bit remix of the Uzi Vert song is fresh lol
ReplyDeleteIt's the definitive version; the Uzi O.G is little more than a glorified reference track.
ReplyDeleteTop 3 reasons why:
1. It hits the notes more pleasurably
2. It has more thump
3. It wasn't recorded by a guy with a septum piercing
Nothin from that Young Bleed or C-Bo that dropped this year?
ReplyDeleteThere was a Bleed single I saw the video for which was decent.
ReplyDeleteI vaguely recall a C-Bo song produced by the Mekanix.
Need a zip
ReplyDeleteglad to see some Roc Marciano on the list. Guess he was the one guy doing NY rap decently to your ears this year? I really like that album
ReplyDeletethoughts on Creek Boyz remix? i thought better than original.
ReplyDelete*Max B voice*
ReplyDeleteHated it.
'Webbie I Remember' is soooooooooo good.
ReplyDeleteIt's his equivalent of Wayne's I Miss My Dawgs innit.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely hits that Top To The Bottom nostalgic sweet spot.
...and speaking of Boosie and Wayne, this video is the best music criticism of 2017.
ReplyDeleteAny love for the Valee & Z-Money song that dropped not too long ago?
ReplyDeleteIt's aiiight.
ReplyDeleteZMoney song makes more sense with the beat riding out (tape version)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the list, I made a .zip here it is http://www27.zippyshare.com/v/W9JvNWpj/file.html
ReplyDeleteThere you go, lads who were gaggin' for a zipfile
ReplyDeleteHad Maine Musik's Soulja Slim Flow come out earlier it woulda made this list.
ReplyDeleteTrel production and no trace of Auto-Tune obviously seals the deal, but him slowing his delivery down is very necessary because that dense flow he does on tracks like Insurance can sometimes sound he's reading from a phone book to me.
Been listening to Silkk The Shocker a lot lately, Maines flow reminds me of him but I hear ya it gets Xxxtra Sunz Of Mannish.
ReplyDeleteI'm a sucker for novelty shit n Que using up all of Trels remakes in one song isn't 1/4 the song Put That On Gang is but i predict I'm prob gonna listen to it more.
Also David drake asked a good question recently bout Soulja slim/big boi maybe having common rap ancestry to have them rapping like that
ReplyDeleteSomeone needs to procure Trel's Ya Heard Me instrumental and do a proper remake.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking Peezy would be the best candidate given how hard he ripped the From What I Was Told beat on Interracial Relations.
Thanks! Great list! Queen Key's Kung Fu is very cool.
ReplyDelete+ Best Songs Featuring French People Rapping:
Niska - Réseaux
Jok'air ft. Chich - Squale
Damso - Macarena
(3 is more than enough)
Sweet don't think there was a zip last year only stream thought it was the end of an era. Thanks Ezra, your WRC frees were dope as well.
ReplyDeleteTook the liberty of spoifying your list: https://open.spotify.com/user/11180051859/playlist/768X2tBPL9QUOAiwFxoqWG?si=Hl_C0s9nRMqMn7mbvkpQEw
ReplyDeleteFeel free to give me a snappier name for it. Couldn't find all the tracks obviously.
Out of interest, did you hear/fuck with 'No Don' by Lotto Boyz? Up there with Let It Ring for me.
It's okay. J Hus and MoStack are so much better than all those other guys to me.
ReplyDeleteLoL just spotted your post re Spotify. I apologise - I'll call it unofficial or summat.
ReplyDeleteIt's all love as long as the 8 Bit Universe remix of XO Tour Llif3 is on there.
ReplyDeleteExcellent list with few surprises on from the current best blog outchea. Appreciated your content a lot the past (few) year(s), the quality is consistently high. Hopefully you can keep up this pace for a long time to come. Thanks a lot for your continued work!
ReplyDeleteobviously nothing is touching the GOAT 8 bit remix, xo tour life, but this did remind me of that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaAWsGn5PQ8&t=29s
ReplyDeleteI've never heard a Bladee song but I'm 100% confident that it's better than the original.
ReplyDelete