To follow-up this SPIN post from July, here are my favorite rap songs from the second half of 2011. I’m about to give you a bunch of write-ups for my “50 Best Songs Of 2011,” so not gonna give you pithy song descriptions for these, just a mix, which you can download above.
And yeah, there’s some crossover between this list and my 50 songs of 2011 one, and in some cases, I’ve picked different songs from artists represented on that list, which doesn’t make a lot of sense to you all I’m sure, but in my head, what makes a great song and a great rap song isn’t necessarily the same thing.
- Phonte, “The Good Fight”
- G-Side, “Rabbits”
- Nacho Picasso, “Marvel”
- Freddie Gibbs & Madlib, “Thuggin”
- The Roots ft. Phonte & Dice Raw, “One Time”
- Young Jeezy, “Shake Life”
- G-Mane, “Think”
- Fiend “Ghost Town”
- Drake, “Look What You’ve Done”
- DDm, “Last On Ur Dial”
- Cities Aviv & Royal T, “Araw”
- Lil Wayne, “Nightmares Of The Bottom”
- Starlito & Don Trip, “Life”
- XV, “Wichita”
- Main Attrakionz & Shady Blaze, “Change”
- Jay-Z & Kanye West, “Who Gon’ Stop Me”
- B L A C K I E, “Warchild”
- Danny Brown, “Lie4″
Are You A Serious Comic Book Reader?
I’m FROM Wichita, and let me tell you–that song is fucking NOT a proper homage to the city. It’s missing a lot of the identity, history and downright destitution that that hellhole of a city has. XV ain’t telling the real story, he sounds like a delusional cheerleader, and it’s obvious that Just Blaze has never been there–otherwise, he would have never let this beat be used for this song.
Great list though. I just think that that damn Wichita song does a huge disservice to the real issues of that horrible shithole. Yes, I’m bitter.
Eric
18 Dec 11 at 12:12 am
“look what you’ve done”–yes!! i’ve never even read anyone talk about it, but it’s what i point to when i have to defend that album for having some technically competent rapping. that kind of heavily written shit is usually the element of his style i hate the most, but here it comes off as appropriate for the subject matter rather than just trying too hard over a stilted punchline. also, i think i’m more comfortable with an ingenuous drake song about his family than with either his whining or his bs bravado thing
ian
20 Dec 11 at 5:40 am
Eric-
While I don’t think you can tell anyone, at least anyone also from the city, how they can properly pay homage, I definitely feel you here. Very generic approach to his city, which is odd given how he’s pretty much the first guy to rap about it (at least as far as I know). Still, something about how he sounds–young and dumb and too much confidence–that makes it feel right and this Just Blaze beat. By far his best of the year. Best since “Exhibit C”. All that said, I doubt I will ever enjoy another XV song again.
ian-
Sean Fennessey wrote a really good thing about this song: http://splitinfinitives.com/post/12791108305/boo-hoo-sad-story
But yeah, why this is so good and so different from Drake’s usual whining, which grates on me, is confusing. He just nails all the details right and frames his fame around something bigger/more important. Dunno if it was just me, but I didn’t at first realized he was talking to his mom in the first verse and not a girl. That’s clever. Alternate title for the song: “Mama’s Boyfriend.”
brandonsoderberg
20 Dec 11 at 5:49 am
YES! WARCHILD! I think I’ve listened to that song more than any other in 2011.
Also stoked to see Shake Life, I thought everybody forgot that song came out.
hugh s
20 Dec 11 at 11:58 am
Wanted to drop a remark and let you know your Rss feed isnt functioning today. I tried adding it to my Bing reader account and got absolutely nothing.
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6 Jun 12 at 2:18 am