2013 was a
beast of a year for hip-hop. So much great music to get through and I can
honestly say I probably didn’t get to all of it. Making this list took longer
than expected because I could’ve done a Top 40 songs and Top 20 albums with
little trouble. But I wanted to stay true to the lists from previous years so I
listened, and listened and relistened to songs and albums and slimmed it down
to my favorite 20 songs and 10 albums. So midway through February I’ve decided
to make the list final and put it to bed. Let’s get down to business….
Best Songs
20. “Father Time” – Goodie Mob
Goodie Mob
is back together! That alone is enough to excite hip-hop heads. Their latest
effort, Age Against The Machine, was
good, not great. But this was certainly the highlight of the album as Big Gipp,
Khujo, T-Mo and Cee-Lo all take time reminding the young cats in the game that
they were among the pioneers of Southern hip-hop. And the sample is just
perfect (I just can’t figure out where it’s from and it’s driving me nuts!)
19. “What’s Love” – Torae feat. Pharoahe
Monch
There’s a
lot to like about this song. For one, it uses the same sample as Beanie Sigel’s
“Nothing Like It” which is dope as hell. Secondly, Torae is hungry as hell on
this track. He describes the ups and downs of being a hip-hop artist and
weighing the balance between doing it for the art and the love and needing to
pay his bills. Thirdly, Pharoahe just absolutely slays this track. Nothing can
really surprise me in regards to Pharoahe at this point in his career, but he
delivered another amazing verse on this song.
18. “Your Honor” – Fat Joe feat. Action
Bronson
DJ Premier
laced Fat Joe with a banger here and Action jumps on the track to give it that
extra little push. Joe’s Darkside III
mixtape was short, but solid. The production was tight throughout and it was
great to see him reach out to one of hip-hop’s best new(er) acts.
17. “Dark Knights” – Rapsody feat. Wale
9th
Wonder promoted the shit outta Rapsoday all year long. If you follow 9th
on Twitter, you couldn’t go a day without multiple mentions to the female MC.
After listening to her mixtape, She Got
Game, I understood the hype. I considered going with the Phonte & Jay
Electronica assisted “Jedi Mind Code” here, but the beat on “Dark Knights” is
just too nice to ignore.
16. “Savagely Attack” – Czarface feat.
Ghostface Killah
I’ll discuss
the Czarface album in more detail later, but damn that shit was nice! That
album had so many Best Song candidates that it was hard to narrow it down. But ultimately
it came down to “It’s Raw” featuring Action Bronson and “Savagely Attack” with
Inspectah Deck’s Wu brethren, Ghostface. Ghost’s verse is nasty enough to give
this song the nod, but it’s Esoteric’s closing line, “Grew up on the tape same
color as Galactus” that pushed it over the edge.
15. “Rotation” – Wale feat. 2 Chainz &
Wiz Khalifa
I’ve been a
big fan of Wale for a while now and he put fourth his best album in 2013. The
Just Blaze banger “88” was worthy of making this list, but the beat and
simplicity of “Rotation” was too much to ignore. And Wale’s verse to close the
song is a perfect example of his intricate wordplay and what makes him such a
talented lyricist.
14. “Nosetalgia” – Pusha T feat. Kendrick
Lamar
This track
is just mean as hell. The beat is minimalistic, but effective while King Push
and K. Dot pull no punches delivering an unapologetic ode to drug dealing.
Kendrick’s verse opens with, “You wanna see a dead body?” an ode to Boyz N The Hood which is only fitting
for the old school feel this song gives off.
13. “R.I.P.” – Prodigy feat. Havoc &
Raekwon
I definitely
gravitated towards darker, meaner, harder hip-hop in 2013 and “R.I.P” fits that
style to perfection. Prodigy sounded rejuvenated on Albert Einstein, while Havoc and Rae join to give you a track that
sounds like an ode to 1995’s classic The
Infamous. Gotta mention Alchemist’s production as well as it’s hard as
hell.
12. “Let Nas Down” – J. Cole
Hats off to
No I.D. for producing another gem. The beat on this track reminds me of Jay-Z’s
excellent “D.O.A.” And while the production is top notch, it’s Cole’s narrative
that makes this song what it is. Describing the pressure to output a hit
single, all the while maintaining his credibility among hip-hop heads, Cole
ultimately disappoints his idol and asks for forgiveness. Interestingly, Cole
had a huge hit with “Powertrip” off the same album, showing that he finally did
learn the formula for a single.
11. “1 Train” – A$AP Rocky feat. Kendrick
Lamar, Joey Bada$$, Yelawolf, Danny Brown, Action Bronson & Big K.R.I.T.
I found A$AP’s
debut album to be largely uneven. It had some moments for sure, but it didn’t
always hold my interest. One song that certainly stood out was this posse track
featuring some of the hottest MCs in the game over the past few years. And
while all deliver with their guest verses, it’s K.R.I.T. who closes the track
with the strongest performance.
10. “Control” – Big Sean feat. Kendrick
Lamar & Jay Electronica
Here we go,
the song that created the most buzz among any other in hip-hop in 2013.
Deciding where to put “Control” on this list was a bit of a challenge. On one
hand, you had the Kendrick verse which just about broke Twitter and had the
whole hip-hop world talking. On the other hand, you had a 3-minute verse from
Sean that most fast forwarded to get to Kendrick. Then there’s a wasted
appearance from Electronica, not because he didn’t bring it, but because K. Dot
made everything else on this track irrelevant.
9. “Juice” – Chance The Rapper
Chance
grabbed everyone’s attention with his mixtape, Acid Rap. And before we go any further please remember that
mixtapes don’t qualify for the Best Albums list, otherwise Acid Rap would’ve found its way into the Top 10 with ease. As for “Juice,”
it’s my personal favorite on the tape and a good barometer for whether you’ll
like Chance or not. His style/voice is certainly unique so “Juice” is a great
place to start if you need to get familiar with his work. Oh, and “everybody
fuckin’ hates the Lakers” – who can’t get behind that?!
8. “Love Game” – Eminem feat. Kendrick
Lamar
Em’s most
talked about song was “Rap God” which was very good, but at 6-plus minutes
there’s some filler on that track and the beat is just not that great. As for “Love
Game” it’s classic Slim Shady over Rick Rubin production. It’s lyrically on
point and a fun listen. Then there’s Kendrick’s appearance (seriously, K. Dot
was everywhere in 2013) where he puts his spin on Em’s style and rips it.
7. “Started From The Bottom” – Drake
Quite simply
Nothing Was The Same did little to
impress me. It’s Drake, so you know there’s going to be some smash records on
it and there’s probably a fair share of critics who don’t give Drizzy enough
credit for his lyrical ability. But overall, the album didn’t do anything to
further develop Drake as an artist to me. But damn did “Started From The Bottom”
knock. Drake delivered another anthem with this one.
6. “Bird’s Eye View” – Statik Selektah
feat. Raekwon, Joey Bada$$ & Black Thought
After “Control”
dropped, everyone handed Kendrick verse of the year. Everyone except me. I
still contend that the best verse of 2013 came from Black Thought on “Bird’s
Eye View.” Statik’s production was on point for all of Extended Play, and this song was no exception. But it’s Thought that
made this the best song on the album and one of the best songs of the year.
5. “Bound 2” – Kanye West
I’ve been
all over the place in my opinion of Yeezus
and I’ll discuss it more later, but one thing that never wavered for me was my
love for “Bound 2.” After a very loud and experimental 9 tracks, “Bound 2”
kicks in and brings you as close to classic Kanye as you’ll find on this
project. The song is full of Kanye quotables and the great Charlie Wilson on
the hook makes it a Top 5 song.
4. “Holy Grail” – Jay-Z feat. Justin Timberlake
I probably
listened to this song more than any other in 2013. So much so that it probably
had a positive and negative effect on its place on this list. On one hand, I
remember the impact it had when it was still new to me. On the other hand, I
overplayed the shit outta this song. The song shows that Hov still knows how to
make a commercial smash without compromising lyrically or conceptually.
3. “A Christmas Fucking Miracle” – Run The
Jewels
If you
picked “Sea Legs” as your favorite RTJ song, then I’d agree with you. If you
picked “Banana Clippers,” I’d still agree with you. If you picked “D.D.F.H.”, I’d
be fine with that too. In fact you can pick any song off the album as there’s
no weak spot. But for me, “A Christmas Fucking Miracle” is the cream of the
crop. The production is as good as any other track on the album and Killer Mike’s
opening bars on the second verse sum up the album perfectly – mean, in your
face and unapologetic. And that’s how I liked my hip-hop in 2013.
2. “Dead In The Middle” – Demigodz
Much like
D-12’s “Fight Music” and M.O.P.’s “Cold As Ice”, the Demigodz “Dead In The
Middle” is a song I’ll listen to forever and reach to crank the volume up on every
time. The beat is sinister, the Big Pun sampled hook works to perfection and
Ryu, Celph-Titled and Apathy all rip the track apart on the mic. Celph was the
star of the Demigodz’ KILLmatic, and “Dead
In The Middle” exemplifies why as Celph spits: “Leave your corpse crispy down
in Corpus Christi/My instruments hollow out pianos and leave every organ empty/I
got greezy with a groupie and I smacked her britches/The bitch worship my nuts,
I guess she’s sacreligious”
1. “Strictly 4 My Jeeps (Remix)” – Action Bronson
feat. LL Cool J & Lloyd Banks
Action
Bronson had a huge year in 2013. He released the Harry Fraud assisted Saab Stories EP, as well as the Party
Supplies produced mixtape Blue Chips 2.
Bam Bam also appeared on projects from Statik Selektah, Fat Joe, Czarface, Flatbush
Zombies, A$AP Rocky, Prodigy, Mac Miller, Willie The Kid, Chance The Rapper and
Tony Touch among others. Dude was busy. Bronson dropped “Strictly 4 My Jeeps”
which served as the first single off Saab
Stories and would’ve made a claim for Song of the Year on its own. But the
remix featured the best LL verse I’ve heard in over a decade and an equally
hungry Bronson and Banks which was enough to gain it the No. 1 spot.
Best Albums
10. Magna Carta Holy Grail – Jay-Z
This is a
tough album to critique. On one hand, Jay did something completely innovative
with the release of this album, including a commercial spot for the album
during the NBA Finals, and cultivating in an exclusive download on July 4th.
The album became an event, which took away from the music a bit. As for the music,
it’s good, but not Jay’s finest work which knocks it down a few pegs. There are
plenty of highlights in the beginning half of the album, it just loses steam
over the second portion of the album. I had this and Danny Brown’s Old in this spot and ultimately gave the
nod to Hov because the second half of Old
is almost unlistenable to me.
9. Colour de Grey – Uptown XO
Talk about a
pleasant surprise, I stumbled across Uptown XO based on a recommendation off
another site and couldn’t be happier. This album was one of those gems that was
discovered by accident really. XO touches on a bevy of topics and brings it
lyrically from start to finish. The production is handled by AB the Pro and has
a real soulful sound which meshes well with XO’s content and delivery. There
are plenty of standouts here, but the best are “Everyday,” “Finding My Way,” “Soul
Value” and “XO Skeleton.”
8. Albert Einstein – Prodigy &
Alchemist
There are no
frills when it comes to this album. It’s raw as hell. Alchemist has been on
fire lately (not that he ever really fell off) and he blesses Prodigy with some
of the meanest beats you’ll find in this day and age of hip-hop. In return, P brings
a performance we haven’t heard from him in years. He sounds refreshed on this
project. No, it’s not “Keep It Thoro” classic, but top to bottom it’s really
dope.
7. Marshall Mathers LP 2 – Eminem
It’s never a
good idea to create a “sequel” to a classic album. Just by reusing the album
title, the artist is setting themselves up for failure. Em made that same
mistake in 2013. Not that MMLP2 was
bad, but it wasn’t anywhere the first and a sequel really wasn’t necessary at
all. However, after getting past the title you realize that Em has another
solid work on his hands. There are a few missteps, but the highlights (“Legacy,”
“Rap God,” “Love Game,” “Evil Twin”) are good enough to get Em back on the Top
10 list. Really wish he would’ve put “Don’t Front” featuring Buckshot on the
album though.
6. My Name Is My Name – Pusha T
A full album
from Pusha T didn’t really excite me, but I have to say he exceeded my
expectations with his debut album. Not surprisingly the production is on point
throughout with Kanye and Pharrell’s influences firmly in place. But it was a
matter of Push’s subject matter keeping my interest and he succeeded. Lots of
dope tracks on here, including the album opener “King Push” and the oft-kilter
production of “Numbers On The Boards.”Other highlights include “Hold On”
featuring Rick Ross, “Pain” featuring Future, “S.N.I.T.C.H.” featuring Pharrell
and the already mentioned “Nosetalgia” featuring Kendrick Lamar.
5. Twelve Reasons To Die – Ghostface Killah
Now 20 years
into the game, there’s really nothing left for Ghostface to accomplish. He’s a
part of the greatest hip-hop group of all time, he helped create the greatest
hip-hop album ever (and my favorite album of all time, regardless of genre) and
he’s been the absolute most consistent member of the Wu over the past two
decades plus. But that wasn’t enough for Tony Starks, as he joined forces with
producer Adrian Younge to create a concept album about the rise and fall of
Tony Starks and the eventual resurrection as the Ghostface Killah. It’s risky
territory, but it absolutely works. Younge’s production/composition reminds of
vintage Wu-Tang and Ghost never lets down on the mic. This was my No. 2 album
at one point, but dropped a few spots as it hasn’t quite held up for me over
repeated listens. Regardless, it deserves its due as a truly creative and risky
album that is executed very well.
4. KILLmatic – Demigodz
A Demigodz
album is never going to be a mystery. It’s going to be an album full of
punchlines, clever wordplay, vintage ‘90’s samples and one MC after another trying
to out rhyme who ever spit before them. KILLmatic
is no different. It’s much like Apathy’s Eastern
Philosophy and Celph-Titled’s
Nineteen-Ninety Now with newer production and even sharper lyrics. The
album starts with banger after banger and never really loses steam. Highlights
include “Worst Nightmare,” “Dead In The Middle,” “Raiders Cap” and “The Summer
of Sam.” If you like punchlines, creative wordplay, vintage ‘90’s hip-hop
samples, banging production and even a Tecmo Bowl sample, then this is the
album for you.
3. Yeezus – Kanye West
Reviews and
opinions for Yeezus seemed to become
more and more favorable as time went on and I can say I’m the same way. After
first listen, I was wondering what the hell Kanye just did? It was loud, it was
scattered, it was a big disappointment. Then the more and more I listened to
it, I realized how good the album was. It still doesn’t crack Kanye’s top 3,
but it is one of the best albums of 2013 for sure. I’ve seen a ton of reviewers
name it Album of the Year, which is wrong, wrong, wrong! I’ve also seen people
call it trash and absolutely hate it, which is also wrong. It’s loud. It’s
different. It’s abrasive. It takes time to set in. But it’s also really good.
2. Czarface – Czarface
Reason No. 1
that Yeezus isn’t the best album of
2013 comes in the form of the Inspectah Deck collaboration with 7L &
Esoteric, Czarface. Everything that
made Ghostface’s Twelve Reasons To Die
and Demigodz KILLmatic great is taken
to another level on this album. This is vintage hip-hop. This is that ’93-’96 golden
era hip-hop sound. It’s a lyrical tour de force as Deck and Esoteric both bring
their ‘A’ game. Then there’s 7L’s production that is every bit as good as Deck
and Eso’s performance on the mic. Most people have no idea who Czarface is or
that this album even exists. And that’s really, really sad.
1. Run The Jewels – Run The Jewels
Read an end
of the year list that said Yeezus was
the Album of the Year and it wasn’t even close. And part of that was true. Yeezus wasn’t even close to being Album
of the Year because Run The Jewels
exists. Period. No album could claim Album of the Year in 2013 because Run The Jewels exists. It’s the best
hip-hop album of 2013 bar none. The production is better than any other. The
lyrics are better than any other. And it’s one of the rawest, meanest, most in
your face albums in a long, long time. And it’s perfect. Killer Mike’s R.A.P. Music was one of the best of
2012. And that relationship with El-P paid huge dividends in 2013, as Run The
Jewels was formed. The album begins with the title track and smacks you upside
your head and never lets go. It’s sad that most people are unaware of Czarface.
It’s criminal that most people are unaware of Run The Jewels.
