- The strongest rule: The song had to be released during the year in question. Exception - An international song, as songs aren't always/ever released internationally and domestically at the same time.
- The mostly strong rule: The Aboveground mix is picked from the Billboard Hot 100, and the Underground mix is quite the opposite. I usually cheat a couple of songs on the Aboveground mix, but with good reason.
Usually, it is harder to fill the Underground mix than it is the Aboveground mix. Not so this year. Here are those who just missed the cut for the Aboveground mix:
This is always a long post. If you made it this far, thanks for indulging me!
- Rihanna - She assists on Kanye's song, so she's not completely absent, but I didn't really like her album this year.
- Schoolboy Q - I try so hard to like him, but whenever there is a guest on his album - from Jadakiss to Vince Staples to Kanye - they completely outshine him. For someone who seemingly wants to be about lyrics, he has a hard time putting together an uninterrupted 16 bars.
- 21 Savage - I don't get why he is popular. Get off my lawn.
- YG - Close, but no cigar.
- Fat Joe & Remy Ma - Fat Joe gets on the Underground mix. Just couldn't swallow "All The Way Up." I had it in initially though.
- Jhene Aiko (and Big Sean) - Tweeners.
The Underground mix was a lot harder to cut. I could probably make a second mix just with the snubs. I ended up narrowing things down by picking just one song from a particular producer -- notably The Alchemist and Pete Rock. I made several cuts. Those who I listened to generally but didn't hone in on a particular song were: The Hamilton Mixtape (just can't include something Jimmy Fallon participated in), Kodie Shane, Nao, Joey Purps, King, Jamila Woods, Blood Orange and ASAP Mob. Then there were two more rounds of cuts with specific songs that I was considering. Round two:
- Talib Kweli: Every Ghetto, Pt. 2
- Vinnie Paz: The Ghost I Used To Be
- Termanology: We're Both Wrong
- Ras Beats: Wit No Pressure
- Flatbush Zombies: Bounce
- The Enforcers: The Enforcers
And then there was a third round of cuts, with songs I really wanted to squeeze onto the mix but ultimately couldn't do it within the 80-minute framework:
- Smoke DZA and Pete Rock: Black Superhero Car f/ Rick Ross
- Spitta Andretti (Curren$y) & The Alchemist: Smoking In The Rain
- Masta Ace: Young Black Intelligent (spoke word by Chuck D)
- Kamaiyah: I'm On
- Kaytranda: Got It Good
- Epidemic: From The Beginning (final song cut)
Let's get to those that actually made the cut.
ABOVEGROUND MIX
1. A Tribe Called Quest - We The People..... I waited 20 years for this. No other song could possibly go first.
2. Beyonce - Formation. Just a master class in meaningful pop music.
3. Childish Gambino - Redbone. This one just gets inside you. It's great that a song like this became popular.
4. Ariana Grande - Side To Side f/ Nicki Minaj. An obvious choice, need a Nicki verse and she didn't do a ton this year.
5. Sia - Cheap Thrills. One good thing about this song is my son asked me what the world "thrills" means.
6. Chance The Rapper - No Problem f/ Lil' Wayne & 2 Chainz. Chance is so good he can coax a good verse out of 2 Chainz.
7. The Weeknd - Starboy f/ Daft Punk. This guy really seems unlikable, but he keeps making undeniable hits...
8. Justin Timberlake - Can't Stop The Feeling. Probably my kids' favorite song of the year.
9. Shakira - Try Everything. This song and JT's are probably having the same effect on parents my age that Phil Collins songs being featured in The Lion King had on our parents. "Wow, they got great talent to sing for this movie? Cool!" On the off chance you don't have a child, this song was from Zootopia.
10. Auli'i Cravalho - How Far I'll Go. Surprisingly, the Moana soundtrack - which my daughter demands to listen to constantly - had multiple songs chart on the Billboard 100. This one was my favorite, as it is the kind of inspiring song I want my daughter to grow up listening to. Thus ends the kid-friendly block of the mix. I figured I'd lump them together. They actually flow into each other pretty well.
11. Daya - Sit Still, Look Pretty. One of the last songs to make the cut, and in the same vein as "How Far I'll Go."
12. Kendrick Lamar - untitled 07 levitate. I actually like the final cut on the album best, but it didn't chart, and it also sounded very much like his previous material. So 07 it is.
13. D.R.A.M. - Broccoli f/ Lil' Yachty. This one grew on me. Initially, I didn't much care for it, but I came around.
14. Frank Ocean - Pink + White. I really didn't care for the way Frank Ocean dropped his albums this year, and still haven't bothered with the "visual" album. But this song is a great ballad.
15. Solange - Cranes in the Sky. It's not a typical pop song, but it is a beautiful song.
16. Rae Sremmurd - Black Beatles f/ Gucci Mane. I'm as surprised as you are, because previously I couldn't stand these guys. But I like the concept here a lot, and the Gucci verse helps. I wonder if "Black Beatles" will become this generation's version of the "fifth Beatle."
17. Young Thug & Travis Scott - pick up the phone f/ Quavo. I still don't quite know what to make out of Young Thug, but he is a lot of fun. I like fun. This and "Black Beatles" are two of my favorite songs on this mix, and it's a real treat to have them this far down in the mix, because it rewards you (me) for getting to the back end of the mix.
18. Alicia Keys - In Common. One of the two songs (Tribe being the other) that hadn't charted on the Hot 100 when I picked the songs. This one got close enough. Love Alicia. She's criminally underrated.
19. Kanye West - Famous f/ Rihanna & Swizz Beatz. I didn't much care for Life of Pablo, and the optimistic first couple of cuts didn't feel right to me, because that just isn't who Kanye is. "Famous" however, is classic Kanye. When the beat flips halfway through, you can't help but vigorously nod your head.
20. Kehlani - Distraction. Love her. Looking forward to the whole album when it drops.
21. Bruno Mars - Versace On The Floor. Closing out the mix with a great ballad is always great, and this one certainly qualifies. I liked this song far more than "24K Magic," which seemed like a song that fit better in 1996 than it did in 2016.
You'll notice I haven't mentioned Drake yet. That's because I didn't even bother with him this year. I was a staunch Drake supporter for years, but I've had enough.
UNDERGROUND MIX
1. Noname - Reality Check f/ Akenya & Eryn Allen Kane. It's hard to believe that this girl is just getting started in the music business. This song is so amazing. And the hook is so uplifting. Just let your light glow!
2. Open Mike Eagle & Paul White - Admitting the Endorphin Addiction. This beat is so weird, this guy is so weird. I love it. There were three or four cuts I could have included from this album.
3. Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein - Stranger Things. Yup, the theme song of a TV show. When the mix came in at 78 minutes, and I didn't have enough room to fit on another full song, I decided to add this in. It's rare that a TV show's music is so captivating. The whole soundtrack is awesome.
4. Cormega - Guns And Butter f/ Gunplay. The concept of this one is sort of silly, but the beat is so damn theatrical, and 'Mega kills it, as always.
5. Anderson .Paak - Come Down. I'll be honest, I was surprised this song didn't chart in the Hot 100. Next album for sure.
6. Isaiah Rashad - Free Lunch. I love this dude, more people should know about him.
7. De La Soul - Memory Of... f/ Estelle & Pete Rock. There were a few big reunions this year, and De La was chief among them. I had a hard time narrowing down the song to pick for the mix, but this song, aided by the video, ultimately won out.
8. Apollo Brown & Skyzoo - Visionary Riches. There are few better producers out there than Apollo Brown.
9. Vince Staples - Pimp Hand. I feel like he should be charting as well, but he doesn't seem especially interested in making music tailor-made for the Hot 100. And that's OK with me.
10. Oddisee - Lifting Shadows. I have just recently been digging in on Oddisee, and he's been a revelation. He put out an instrumental LP and a regular EP this year. This song, which is a powerful one about how he is treated by people based on his skin and religion, comes from the latter. "I think my TV's clothes in wool" might be the best lyric of the year.
11. D.I.T.C. - Make 'Em Proud. I generally try to just keep up with current music rather than dig back in the crates for older stuff, but I might have to make an exception for D.I.T.C. Their reunion reminded me just how awesome they were, especially before Big L passed. If you don't know, Fat Joe got his start with D.I.T.C. "I'm like Vince with his arm in the rim" is the perfect description of Fat Joe, btw. At his peak, an absolute showman who captivated his audience, and in the grand scheme of things, not recognized for having as good a career as he has.
12. General Steele & Es-K - Just Live f/ Buckshot. An old-school meets new-school team-up that was beautifully done, and Buckshot capably rides shotgun on this track.
13. Kodak Black - Everything 1K. This kid is going to be a fixture and a southern rap titan.
14. Beneficence - The Heart. I had never heard of this guy before, but he's been around for some time, and is pretty damn legit.
15. Danny Brown - Hell For It. I wasn't as enamored by Brown's album this year as I have been with his work in the past, but this track - the last on the album - redeemed it for me.
16. Run The Jewels - Don't Get Captured. Released just in time for this year's mix, RTJ3 isn't quite as good as RTJ1 or RTJ2 - at least not on the first few listens - but it's still pretty epic. This song in particular shows off what the duo do so well, inhabiting different stereotypical perspectives to create a powerful song. And it leads beautifully into the next song.
17. Journalist 103 - Good Die Young Pt. 2. This song is haunting.
18. Ka - That Cold and Lonely. This was the one I wavered on most, but ultimately it just beat the song from Epidemic.
19. Havoc & Alchemist - Buck 50's and Bullet Wounds f/ Method Man. Some of that old old. Meth is always best on other people's tracks.
20. Common - Pyramids. I initially was going to include Common's song with Stevie Wonder, "Black America Again," but it is six minutes long, and the final two minutes are basically Stevie just repeating the same phrase over and over, which didn't feel like the best use of space. The politically-motivated song is undoubtedly more important this year, but given the length I went with "Pyramids," which is more of a selfish choice, but it is refreshing to know that after all this time, Common can still spit as hard as he used to. And the ODB sample in the hook puts it over the top.
21. Mr. Lif - Don't Look Down. Speaking of comebacks, Lif really came out swinging in 2016. It was nice to have him back.
22. The LOX - Move Forward. "Hey yo Preem we had to do it again, right?" Yes, yes you did. Filthy America was a classic LOX album in the best and worst ways - they were always so close to putting it all together but never quite got there. But at their best, they are, as Jadakiss is fond of saying, top five dead or alive. This song, assisted by the legendary DJ Premier, is the LOX at their best.
23. Czarface - Two In The Chest. They'll never get as much respect as RTJ, but the parallels are there. Two guys who were well established veterans in the game came together and have been making beautiful music together well beyond the time when the gimmick of a team-up should have worn off.
24. Bonus Christmas Track. Chance The Rapper and Jeremih - Snowed In. There has been a general lack of Christmas rap in recent years, but that changed this year. Dej Loaf and Gucci Mane dropped Christmas tunes, and just before Christmas, Chance and Jeremih dropped a whole Christmas EP. The pick here was a toss-up between "Snowed In," "Stranger at the Table" and "The Tragedy," but "Stranger" is a remade cover of a Jackson 5 song, and "Tragedy" isn't as uplifting, so "Snowed In" it is.
If you want, you can listen to these mixes on Mixcloud. Embeds are below.
This is always a long post. If you made it this far, thanks for indulging me!