1. Nnamdi Ogbonnaya - "Let Go of My Ego"
the way this song stutters into existence is why i listen to music. like all good weird music, there's an alternate universe where this is a top 40 hit. man somebody give young thug a medal for helping allow this to happen.
2. Kid Tyler - “72″ feat. Famous Dex (Big E)
important visual accompaniment: exhibit a, exhibit b
3. KOSHR. - “.223″ (KOSHR.)
i always liked my roommate but then he showed me this song and now i like him more
4. Brodinski - “Weekend” feat. HoodRich Pablo Juan & José Guapo (Brodinski)
this song is so great for so many reasons -- on the low, though, it's structured incredibly. back-and-forth rapping always has a special place in my heart but it is very rarely fed to me quite like this
5. Mike WiLL Made It - "Bars of Soap" feat. Swae Lee (Mike WiLL Made It)
still haven't made it past the first 8 measures, i'll keep you all updated
6. Frost - “Did I Do That” (Keanubeats)
i question pretty often why i still gravitate so instinctively towards music like this -- songs that don't explore subject matter (largely inapplicable to my own life) to a degree that future hasn't already subjected me to -- and at some level, it processes as an abdication of my responsibility as a Listener of Music to choose to burrow deeper into one musical rabbit hole instead of blinking a couple times and remembering that 95% of the time i've spent consuming music in my life has been dedicated to just one genre. i still do not have an answer for this particular musical dilemma but i do know that i can sing this entire hook to you front-to-back and there's like, two english words in the entire thing.
7. 24hrs - “Whatever”
24hrs - 1, nav - 0
8. EMI - “Like Us” (Bobby Raps, Charlie Handsome & Rex Kudo)
like part of me really doesn't have the mental headspace to deal with yet another relatively talented singer that's got her first singles produced by like, post malone's entire production team, but this sounds like lorde got pissed off two years ago and started hanging out with travis scott or something
9. Richy Hyliger - “14k Italy” (Mason Flynt)
my enjoyment of this song is almost certainly inversely-related to the length of my attention span but that is okay
10. Allan Kingdom - “Know About It” (FNZ & Ronny J)
this is the best thing that could have happened to this man's career
11. Navé Monjo - "Collect My Pay"
hook!!!!!!!
12. BIGBABYGUCCI - "In My Bag" (BLVC SVND)
i will also admit that the first thing i thought of when i saw lil uzi vert was "rock star" and i am very glad that BIGBABYGUCCI did not stop there
13. Amir Obé - “Wish You Well” (NYLZ)
this dude quiet stunning.
14. Playboi Carti - “Woke Up Like This” feat. Lil Uzi Vert (Pi’erre Bourne)
horribly tragic that this wasn't the single
15. Smino - “Amphetamine/Krash Kourse” feat. Bari, Jean Deaux & Noname (J.Robb, Monte Booker & Phoelix)
the album should've been way more "anita" and way less this but i will suspend that cynicism and disappointment temporarily
16. GoldLink - "Herside Story" feat. Hare Squead (Felix Joseph & Hare Squead)
this hook makes me want to cry
17. Drake - “Sacrifices” feat. 2 Chainz & Young Thug (DeeJae & T-Minus)
guess what my favorite part is! do you understand that young thug is on the biggest mainstream hip-hop album of 2017 twice and one of those times is a jeffery throwaway!
18. Charli XCX - “Dreamer” feat. Starrah & RAYE (A.G. Cook)
didn't know that i've been waiting for charli xcx to sing about stepping out of beamers my whole life but i'm glad that's been cleared up