Rap-up’s 20 best songs of 2016

Here are Rap-Up’s 20 best songs of 2016.

1. “ONE DANCE” – DRAKE FEAT. WIZKID & KYLA

Drake has always flirted with dancehall, and “One Dance” featuring Wizkid and Kyla off his fourth studio album Views was fully immersed in the Caribbean sound. Drizzy seamlessly incorporates the style into his own, making for one of the most infectious hip-winding singles this year.

2. “FORMATION” – BEYONCÉ

Just one day before she took the stage at the Super Bowl with Bruno Mars and Coldplay, Beyoncé surprise-released her Mike WiLL Made It-produced “Formation,” which swiftly became a cultural anthem. Bey is all attitude on the sparse cut, dropping catch phrases left and right (“I got hot sauce in my bag, swag,” “When he f**k me good, I take his ass to Red Lobster”).

3. “WORK” – RIHANNA FEAT. DRAKE

Rihanna and Drake have an arsenal of collaborations—”What’s My Name?,” “Take Care,” and “Too Good” have all been respectable smashes. “Work” was yet another notch on their belts, with Rih’s patois chants mingling with the 6 God’s pitch-perfect crooning.

4. “ULTRALIGHT BEAM” – KANYE WEST

As the opener to his sprawling The Life of Pablo, Kanye West showed himself up with one of his most inspirational songs to date. Over a stripped-down instrumental, he takes turns on the mic with The-Dream, Chance the Rapper, and Kelly Price, tapping a gospel choir that aids in fleshing out its church-ready feel.

5. “NO PROBLEM” – CHANCE THE RAPPER FEAT. LIL WAYNE & 2 CHAINZ

Chance the Rapper came into his own with Coloring Book, a project so potent that it helped sway the Grammys to change its rules about nominating mixtape albums. “No Problem” is the ebullient standout from the set, a bop as uplifting as it is lyrically sound.

6. “CRANES IN THE SKY” – SOLANGE

A far cry from her doo-wop-inspired 2008 album Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams, Solange’s third full-length A Seat at the Table settled for low-key R&B gems about the state of race relations in America. “Cranes in the Sky” is a gentle centerpiece on the LP, with a delicate percussion section and floating vocals.

7. “STARBOY” – THE WEEKND FEAT. DAFT PUNK

The Weeknd wasted no time parlaying the mainstream success of last year’s Beauty Behind the Madness for Starboy, which nudged him even further towards superstardom. With Daft Punk in the passenger seat, Abel Tesfaye goes intergalactic on the title track, perfectly suited to soundtrack the club in the year 3000.

8. “BLACK BEATLES” – RAE SREMMURD FEAT. GUCCI MANE

In addition to co-writing Beyoncé’s “Formation,” Rae Sremmurd’s Swae Lee had a banner year with his brother Slim Jxmmi thanks to the runaway success of “Black Beatles” featuring Gucci Mane. Bolstered to cultural ubiquity as the official soundtrack for the Mannequin Challenge, the icy tune blended the duo’s knack for catchy melodies with Gucci’s gruff delivery.

9. “PANDA” – DESIIGNER

Though he was often pegged as this year’s answer to Future, Desiigner staked territory for his own with “Panda,” a hypnotic rap attack that pushed the trap anthem to the top of the charts thanks to a boost from Kanye West interpolating the song for “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 2.”

10. “ALL THE WAY UP” – FAT JOE & REMY MA FEAT. FRENCH MONTANA & INFARED

To stage a double comeback on one track is highly unlikely in today’s music climate, and yet it’s precisely what Fat Joe and Remy Ma did with their summer single “All the Way Up.” With French Montana by their side, the Terror Squad members put themselves back on the map on the strength of this shout-along anthem.

11. “IVY” – FRANK OCEAN

Frank Ocean made his grand return in 2016 with Endless and Blonde. The latter wasn’t so much a pivot from his 2012 breakthrough channel ORANGE as it was a continuation, with soft R&B tunes strung together for supreme vibes. “Ivy” set it off at the onset of the project, replete with warbling guitars and sensitive vocals.

12. “CHAMPIONS” – G.O.O.D. MUSIC

Cruel Winter may still be a pipe dream, but Kanye West gave hope to the existence of Cruel Summer’s sequel with “Champions,” a volume-cranked posse cut featuring Gucci Mane, Big Sean, 2 Chainz, Travis Scott, Yo Gotti, Quavo, and Desiigner. The song doesn’t explode or go beyond its comfort zone, and yet it’s still one of the hook-iest tracks of the year.

13. “24K MAGIC” – BRUNO MARS

If his Mark Ronson collaboration “Uptown Funk” was any indication, Bruno Mars was headed into nostalgic territory for the follow up to 2012’s Unorthodox Jukebox. It manifested throughout the LP with the title track “24K Magic” standing aside as an ode to Cuban links and designer minks.

14. “BROCCOLI” – D.R.A.M. FEAT. LIL YACHTY

In 2016, D.R.A.M. moved on from the success of his introductory single “Cha Cha,” rumored to be the inspiration for Drake’s “Hotline Bling.” “Broccoli,” his Grammy-nominated smash with Lil Yachty, is a ray of sunshine, coasting on vamping piano lines and vocals delivered through a grin.

15. “GOOSEBUMPS” – TRAVIS SCOTT FEAT. KENDRICK LAMAR

For an artist who boils songs in the trap, Travis Scott gets unexpectedly candid on “goosebumps” featuring Kendrick Lamar, a melodic inclusion on his sophomore album Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight. He strains his vocals through an Auto-Tune filter, per usual, but humanizes it with lyrics about missing his girl.

16. “NOT NICE” – PARTYNEXTDOOR

PARTYNEXTDOOR earned a few credits writing songs for Rihanna and Usher this year, but he flexed his pen on his solo project P3 with standouts like “Not Nice.” Consider it the companion piece to Drake’s “One Dance.”

17. “THAT PART” – SCHOOLBOY Q FEAT. KANYE WEST

West’s influence was felt throughout the year, and some moments stood out more than others. ScHoolboy Q’s “THat Part” got the Yeezy treatment, with its haunted house instrumental and shoutouts to Kurt Cobain and Chipotle.

18. “DANG!” – MAC MILLER FEAT. ANDERSON .PAAK

Arguably one of the smoothest hip-hop collaborations of the year, “Dang!” is Mac Miller at his finest. Off his ladies-targeting album The Divine Feminine, the Anderson .Paak-assisted burner is rife with horns and snaps, a feel-good single that 2016 couldn’t have done without.

19. “WYCLEF JEAN” – YOUNG THUG

Thugger had a banner year, taking his image to new heights by rocking a dress and a designer conical hat on the cover of his 10-track album JEFFERY. In addition to featuring Wyclef Jean on “Kanye West,” he named the opener after the former Fugee, one of his breeziest confections to date.

20. “NEW LEVEL” – A$AP FERG FEAT. FUTURE