12 singles, 12 shots of musical style.
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Nas - “Nasty”
A sincere “fuck you” if you don’t think that Nasir Bin Olu Dara Jones didn’t snap on this. Make room for the King, ni—a.
Snoop Dogg - “Its D Only Thing”
The West Coast G’s shoutout to the Pittsburgh Steelers off ‘Doggumentary’ is SERIOUS
motivational hip-hop. David Banner on the boards makes the bass snap extra hard.
Slaughterhouse 2011 BET HipHop Awards Cypher
Yelawolf, Slaughterhouse and Em changed this cipher FOREVER with this performance.
Not a single in the technical sense but we bet you have it on your iPod..Hi Rihanna.
‘Give It To You’ - Elle Varner w/ J.Cole
Remember those days where your day wasn’t complete without a fly sister dropping
sweet melodies over a hip-hop breakbeat? Elle Varner fulfills your fix with the help
of Young Simba himself.
Electric Sunshine - Recloose
One of those ambient dance tracks that can make you move and put you at ease,
Recloose shows another side of the ongoing musical re-emergence of Detroit.
You Already Knew - Black Star
Talib Kweli and Yaasin Bey gave us a sample of what’s to come with their new
album in 2012 with this quintessential soul-filled track.
The Greatness - Pac Div
The SoCal hip-hop trio put their stamp on 2011 with this lead single from their
album, The Div.
Rolling In The Deep - Adele
The British songstress threw us all for a loop with this song from her second album,
and inspired a few superstar covers.
N——s In Paris - Jay-Z & Kanye West
The track that inspired umpteen freestyles, spawned not one but TWO catchphrases
of the year and was also responsible for an NYC subway rendition not soon forgotten
on Youtube.
Words I Never Said - Lupe Fiasco w/Skylar Grey
Lupe channels his label frustrations and other issues perfectly into this track, supported
by stirring vocals from Skylar Grey and in the process expanded his fanbase greatly.
Thursday - The Weeknd
This song made The Weeknd a star and raised more than eyebrows on the ladies.
Lonely Boy - The Black Keys
Serious hard-driving rock made this the centerpiece for their album El Camino.