Top 10 Songs of 2021

It’s that time of the year for this list again. I’ve been delaying finishing my top albums of all time list which I should get to after this, so I will resolve to publish that before the end of the year as well. I think this year was actually fairly opposite to 2020 in the fact that almost all I listened to was hip hop. That doesn’t mean I didn’t listen to variety within the genre; I went through a ton of new albums, gave previous ones a full refresh, and overall just fell back into my music comfort zone. I swear I had TPAB on repeat for like the first half of this year but funny enough every year my Spofity wrapped always turns out to have repeatable pop songs as my top songs, which makes sense. Without further ado, here is the list with some honorable mentions.

Honorable mentions: 95.south (J. Cole), NY State of Mind (Nas), Peloton (IDK), Jail (Kanye ft. Jay Z), After Last Night (Silk Sonic), You Ain’t Gotta Lie (Kendrick Lamar)

10. Take My Breath - The Weeknd

Starting off the list we have The Weeknd’s one off single this year. It isn’t groundbreaking or anything but it plays so well into the 80s sound he has been putting out recently. In fact it felt like with this single he completely aligned himself with that disco synth sound if there was any doubt. This song is catchy, has excellent use of synths (esp in the chorus when it matches the notes he’s singing), and keeps a high tempo and energetic mood. Very fun and repeatable song at number 10.

9. Family Ties - Baby Keem ft. Kendrick Lamar

I had a good month repeating this one when it came out. I’m usually not one for abrupt beat switches but this song made it really work. Keem sounded hyped, Kendrick sounded angry, which again just worked. The horns that start the track are anthemic, there’s even a switch to like a flute(?) melody halfway through Keem’s verse as well, there’s quite a lot goin on here to enjoy in the production. That “pop off only on occasion brother” line made me rewind and listen to that part again, it cracked me up and was hard as shit at the same time.

8. Just Like Martin - IDK

IDK really dominated my listening this year, partly because he dropped an album, and partly cause there were singles like this that I never gave the time of day before that I revisited. His flow through this entire song is nuts, mostly because of the way he transitions through bars. His creativity really shines through in multiple parts, like how he finishes off his verses by using the first word of his next line as the last syllable in the previous bar, or the flow he starts the second verse with. Overall a truly top quality rap song, also gotta love the way he says “Maybach”.

7. No Child Left Behind - Kanye West

Apparently this is my most played Kanye song of this year. Not super surprising I guess cause I knew I was gon like this song since that first Beats commercial that featured it well before Donda actually dropped. This the type of modern gospel sound I would like to hear more from Kanye, which honestly was a good chunk of the album. There’s something very calming about listening to this, especially Kanye singing “he’s done miracles on me” over and over again and I ain’t even religious. I love how it’s so simple and grounded in it’s execution, it’s basically just vocals and an organ and I loved it this much.

6. RIP Young - Isaiah Rashad

My most recent addition this year, I just went through The House is Burning a month ago, and this has been the most standout track, with Headshots in second place. Isaiah Rashad has been king of laid back hip hop, and he’s an artist I really don’t give enough attention to tbh, I may hafta put on Cilvia again for that. This song is packed full of dope, fun, quirky lines, especially that cool cat/top dawg line is so good man. Even using bitch as the ad lib after certain lines made me chuckle internally. The project pat sample matches the energy with the southern flair. This song is great.

5. Dogs Don’t Lie (/Remix) - IDK ft. Royce da 5’9

I’m including both versions of this song on this spot, cause the original of this song was gon make my list for sure, maybe not this high but then I heard the remix in the extended album and goddamn was this an unexpected upgrade. To start I think this song is an excellent 3rd track in USE4YOURSELF, really good way to ground the album after a banger 2nd track. The vocal sample that becomes the main melody for the entire instrumental is Kanye-esque, maybe it’s why I’ve been so deep on IDK’s music this year, he really does really have that quality of unpredictability that kanye brings to how he approaches music production. Anyways the original was already a very great song but yo this remix has Royce spitting one of the cleanest verses I’ve ever heard. I have never heard this guy rap this smooth. The flows he goes through, how many syllables he's rhyming on each line, the shit he was coming up with “literally might throw caution to wind/ my spit is a microcosm to phlegm / blueprint ain’t come from hov you should copy lebron’s” like yo what the fuck is this man on. Wild, I listen to this song all the time just to hear like the first min this verse over and over again.

4. u - Kendrick Lamar

I cannot believe I waited until this year to finally do my long overdue listen of To Pimp a Butterfly. Oh my god my life is changed forever, 2016 was too early for me to realize how insanely good this album is, front to back, damn. I had to include this song in the list, it was just too personal to not. It’s unconventional approach to song and storytelling structure makes this a bit of an unnerving experience. I remember listening to this the first time and getting to the housekeeping clip bouncing between my ears, shit was haunting. The last 2 verses Kendrick gives while crying is something that I’ve never heard in music before.

3. Come to Life - Kanye West

This is instantly one of Kanye’s best songs, which to me means like around top 30. I’m honestly just so glad that Kanye was able to come back with actually good music this time, even through a bloated almost 30 track album. There were definitely some gems in there and this is the highest high that DONDA has to offer. The way the piano comes in after the synthy build up right as he says “come to life”, its magic, there really is something about that piano. The way this whole album for the most part is minimalistic in its production yet incorporates just the right amount of gospel, but also knows how to deviate away makes for a quite modern take on religious hip hop. Last note is that I love that “ultra ultralight beam” line.

2. Paper Trail$ - Joey Badass

Ok from the moment I heard this song, I had a hunch it would be between this and the number 1 song for the best song of the year. This was stuck on repeat for a good month around October when I fully went through B4DA$$ for the first time. Incorporating heavy elements of 90s hip hop production, record scratches aplenty, a nice bassline, this instrumental is beautifully made. Not even mentioning how Joey snapped on this beat, some of my favourite lines I’ve ever heard about money, starting with ‘money ain’t a thing if I got it”, the chorus “money is the root of all evil/money is the route of all people”, even the CREAM line “cash ruined everything around me”. The album overall was up and down but this stands out as the clear cut second best song of the year.

1. Perfect Circle/God Speed - Mac Miller

Ok where do I start with this song. I don’t know how I missed this one on my first passthrough of GO:OD AM, but I’m glad I finally found this in August. From the first second, the vocals give a melodic but haunting sound to serve as a motif throughout. The western sound throughout Perfect Circle is also a very interesting creative choice. There’s even lines that reference it “all that horse shit you shoulda left it at the barn/get a stallion”. The chorus is beautifully sung, and that line “my mother raised me a god” got me feeling some type of way. The way he ends off the second verse with the dialogue part leading back to the same vocals, while he spits to end it off is amazing in it’s execution. Then we get to God Speed where he puts in some of the realest lines he’s even said, even predicting his own death “they don’t want me to OD and have to talk to my mother”. I love the contrast between how the bold and reckless Perfect Circle juxtaposed with the grounded and real God Speed (even adding a conversation about having to get up for work) paints the rise and fall of ego and self destruction. It ends with “good morning” a perfect realization that despite our highs and lows of what life throws at us, we ultimately make the choice to continue to try to make the best of it, getting up every morning to face what the day has for us. This song feels very very dear to me and I am grateful to have this as my number 1 song of the year.