Each year, in a (mostly) vain to stay up to date with the music world, I put together an end-of-year CD set, and give them out to some close friends as Christmas presents (you can see my
2009 and
2010 writeups here). I finally handed out the last one on New Year's Eve, so I figured it was high time to put up this year's list.
As a reminder, nearly all of the songs on the Aboveground mix reached the Billboard Top 100, while the Underground mix are songs that are decidedly the opposite. The only other rule is that the song had to be released commercially during 2011.
Aboveground Mix
1. Adele: Rolling In The Deep
This one was solidified early in the year. I don't really think there was a better candidate for song of the year.
2. DJ Khaled: I'm On One f/ Drake, Lil' Wayne & Rick Ross
One question -- is DJ Khaled still the DJ for the Terror Squad? Ha. The beat here shines the brightest, and that's saying something, as all three rappers turn in excellent verses, particularly Rick Ross. It's funny that Ross pops up here, since I don't care for him at all. But despite his lackluster catalog overall, he finds a way to put up or be a part of one good single every year -- he's managed to find his way onto my collection in five of the six years I've done it. He's like the Michael Young of hip-hop.
3. Coldplay: Paradise
Any song that features people dancing in
elephant costumes in its video is a winner in my book.
4. Jay-Z & Kanye West: Ni**s In Paris
I know some people didn't care for
Watch The Throne's decadent ways, but I loved it. Of the two most popular singles from the album, this and "Otis," this was the clear choice for me. I actually found "Otis" to be one of the weaker tracks on the album overall, and even liked tracks like "No Church In The Wild" and "Murder To Excellence" better than Paris, but I stuck to my format here, for better or worse.
5. Gym Class Heroes: Stereo Hearts f/ Adam Levine
Feel free to hate on this one, but this track really bangs. I kind of think of Gym Class Heroes as the poor man's and pop man's GZA.
6. Britney Spears: Till The World Ends
The most over-the-top Britney single ever? The world could be collapsing all around you, but hey, as long as we're dancing, it's all good!
7. Bad Meets Evil: Lighters f/ Bruno Mars
I've only been waiting for this reunion since 1999.
"Scary Movies" is still one of my favorite tracks of all time.
8. Nicki Minaj: Super Bass
Pink Friday didn't meet my expectations, but this bonus track, which was for some reason not released until this year, is hard to deny. Yes, she uses her voices, which I don't much care for in general, but here, they intertwine nicely. A runner-up for song of the year.
9. Foster The People: Pumped Up Kicks
This song was apparently first written in 2009, but became the little pop song that could only in this year. I relish in songs that have violent themes but catchy little dittys, where you end up merrily singing the chorus without even realizing what you're singing. Good times.
10. Kelly Rowland: Motivation f/ Lil' Wayne
A second song where the beat is the champion, it's always nice to see Kelly Rowland -- who I always felt got unfairly shafted out of further fame and fortune when Beyonce set off on her own -- see some success. The brief cameo from Weezy here gives him three appearances on the mix, the most for the year and tied for the most in any year (Kanye West, 2008; Drake, 2010). I find this amusing, because I really didn't think it was that great of a year for him. But he keeps turning up.
11. Dr. Dre: I Need A Doctor f/ Eminem & Skylar Grey
This is the second straight year where the maddening doctor has released a single for an album that has not yet been released in full, and may never be at all. I didn't like this song when it first came out because I was upset that Nate Dogg didn't get to sing the hook, but that's kind of silly -- Skylar Grey did a good job with the hook.
12. David Guetta: Without You f/ Usher
David Guetta gets the heavy hitters, and I preferred this track to the Nicki Minaj/Flo Rida track. I do have some standards, and not including Flo Rida songs is one of them.
13. Maroon 5: Moves Like Jagger
Of course, my standards aren't
that high.
Me: I need to get going on my end-of-year CD's.
Wife: Oh! Are you going to put "Moves With Jagger" on it? I love that song.
Me: Uh.......sure.
14. Lil' Wayne: 6 Foot 7 Foot f/ Cory Gunz
Six foot, seven foot, eight foot, bunch! There wasn't much that stood out on
Tha Carter IV -- this and "Outro" was about it.
15. Beyonce Knowles: Countdown
I really enjoyed
4, and might have included the track with Andre 3000 here, but "Countdown" was the standout single.
16. Lady Gaga: You And I
I'm not really concerned with the way in which she was born, especially since that song was more of the same from her. But this was a departure, and while I generally don't care for country music, I thought this was a well-done song, and more still, a brave effort that should be commended. She could have easily churned out 10 "Born This Way's" and still sold a gazillion records, but she didn't. That's refreshing.
17. Drake: Headlines
This album has stirred so many different emotions in me it isn't funny, but the bottom line is that it's an awesome piece of work. I would have preferred "Marvin's Room" here, but the track is simply too long, so "Headlines" it is.
18. Kreayshawn: Gucci Gucci
Between her
beef with Rick Ross, and her girl's use of the
N word, people may tire of Kreayshawn quickly, but if she ends up a one-hit wonder, it certainly was a memorable hit. "I got the swag and it's pumping out my ovaries" was one of the funniest, if not best, lines of the year.
19. Rihanna: We Found Love
At this point, Rihanna is a legend, and legends are comfortable standing at the back while everyone does their thing, patiently waiting to explode and re-claim the crowd when it's their turn. And explode is exactly what "We Found Love" does. It also fits well at the end since it debuted late in the year.
20. The Muppets: Life's A Happy Song Finale
I'll be fairly pissed when
The Muppets is inevitably ignored for Best Picture, but that's a discussion for another time. This was a pretty good year for me personally, and I thought this was a fitting way to cap it. If you think that's corny, well then
corn me up. Life's a happy song, when there's someone by your side to sing along.
Underground Mix
1. Aaron Spacemuseum: One Night Standard
A gratuitous lead entry, and it's not even hip-hop. Aaron is a good friend of mine, and it's been a long time since he put out any music in a long time, so I was excited for his
EP, which was an excellent five song set. Do me a favor and pick it up, you won't be disappointed!
2. A$AP Rocky: Peso
One of my favorite albums of the year, I thought about putting one of the versions of "Purple Swag," but I felt the original was too short, and Chapter 2 was too long.
3. NaS: Nasty
"Any rebuttal to what I utter get boxcutter." Indeed. It's been too long since we had a NaS solo album, and this was a marvelous appetizer.
4. Kendrick Lamar: HiiiPower
"Trying to stay above water, that's why we shun the Navy." Classic, and that's not even the best line of the song.
5. The Roots: Make My f/ Big K.R.I.T. & Dice Raw
I kind of like "Kool On" a little better, but it's an upbeat song and the album overall is more morose, so "Make My" is a more emblematic choice (plus it was the single they released, which I do like to try to stick to when there is one). And while it may seem odd to see The Roots on an underground disc, the album really hasn't sold that well. It hasn't charted at all, and had only sold 84,000 copies between its Dec. 2 release date and Christmas, which is a shame.
6. Action Bronson: Larry Csonka
Full disclosure, I'm late to the party on Action Bronson, and still haven't listened to either of his projects from this year in full. But I knew I needed to include something from him here, and I have a hard time turning down songs named after athletes.
7. Freddie Gibbs: Menace II Society f/ Dom Kennedy & Polyester
I liked Freddie's take at a west-coast style song.
8. Apathy: Stop What Ya Doin' f/ Celph Titled & DJ Premier
Any time a rapper titles his album
Honkey Kong, he gets a song on my CD!
9. Tyler, The Creator: Yonkers
TTC is another guy who I haven't fully delved into yet, but this song and
video will undeniably go down as the most memorable of the year.
10. Azealia Banks: 212
This chick is filthy. She's like a sped-up Nicki Minaj, which I didn't think was possible. Looking forward to her debut album.
11. Childish Gambino: Bonfire
Pitchfork famously lampooned this album, but I enjoyed it. I actually enjoy "Fire Fly" a little more, but I was so squeezed for time trying to fit everything in that I couldn't spare the extra 10 seconds, so "Bonfire" will have to do. Sometimes you gotta make the hard decisions!
12. Danny Brown: DNA
Realistically, I could have just copy and pasted all of
XXX here and just called it a day, it's that good. You could make a case for a half-dozen other tracks from the album.
13. Random Axe: Chewbacca f/ Roc Marciano
"Your tough talk, I don't get it / you wouldn't fight a ticket, so why recite a lyric." Tough-guy rap sometimes gets lost in the shuffle these days, making this even more important to include.
14. Mobb Deep: Get It Forever f/ NaS
Speaking of tough-guy rap, thank goodness for Mobb Deep's return. Black Cocaine wasn't their strongest effort, but "Get It Forever" was good enough to whet my appetite. "I did my little bid." You did Prodigy, now get back in the lab!
15. Curren$y & The Alchemist: Scottie Pippens f/ Freddie Gibbs As Kramer would say, Curren$y is so prolific! Curren$y plus The Alchemist equals pure gold, to borrow another Seinfeld-ism, and Freddie Gibbs here is the icing on the cake.
16. Lil' B: I Hate Myself
Lil' B goes on a personal journey over a lush track. Just like Drake's
Take Care, Lil' B's
I'm Gay disc was great music to write to at the end of the year.
17. Ski Beatz: Looking For Me f/ L.E.P. Bogus Boys & Terri Walker
Ski is an awesome producer, just check this
resume. He actually gets the production credit on this track and the next.
18. Talib Kweli: Cold Rain
With each passing year, Kweli seems to slide further out of the zeitgeist, but he still hits as hard as he ever did. I have my fingers crossed that the Black Star album actually happens.
19. Pete Rock & Smif-n-Wessun: That's Hard f/ Sean Price & Styles P
Rounding out the album with two awesome posse cuts. The song's title says it all.
20. Mr. Muthaf**kin' eXquire: The Last Huzzah! Remix f/ Despot, Das Racist, Danny Brown & El-P
This song is just bananas. One of the best singles of the year, and perhaps one of the best remixes of all-time, even if breast milk doesn't really make my day.
BONUS CHRISTMAS TRACK. Eazy-E: Merry Motherf**king Christmas f/ Menajahtwa, Buckwheat, Will 1X & Atban Klann
I ended the Aboveground Mix with a sappy cut, so you know I had to go in the complete opposite direction for the bonus Christmas track. Merry motherf**king Christmas!