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Top 20 Rap/Hip-Hop Records of 2019


20) Mustard ft Migos - Pure Water


“Uh (Woo, woo), no Master P (Ayy)/ Ten bad bitches and they after me (Bad)/ One bad bitch look like a masterpiece (Uh)/ Lookin' for a dunk, like a athlete (Uh)” The first single off Mustard’s third solo album, Perfect Ten, that was released later that summer, this one right here is one of Migos best songs and one of the best radio hits of the year.

 

19) Obie Trice - Intro


"Father – Thanks for blessin me with number five'a/ went on to make three after my shady goodbyes but/ Em will always prosper/ Fif landed power/ D12’s a monster, Proof, never forgot ya/ Obies a survivor, rose from the fire” 🔥🔥🔥 Obie Trice released his fifth studio album, appropriately titled The Fifth, and this introduction is way more 🔥 than I ever anticipated in the year 2019. This lowkey was one of the best intros of the year.

 

18) Offset ft Big Rube - Father Of 4


“I was seventeen years old when I had you (when I had you)/ tryna find my soul when I had you (when I had you)/ I was oh so broke when I had you (when I had you)/ locked up down the road when I had you (when I had you)” Offset dedicated his debut album to his four children, and the title track/introduction sets the tone perfectly, mainly in thanks to the legendary Big Rube of Outkast/Dungeon Family fame. For the record, when people think of Migos they’re likely not to think of Andre 3000 and Big Boi despite their Atlanta connection, yet to his credit Offset was able to bridge that gap for one of the best surprises of the year.

 

17) Your Old Droog - Train Love


“She was on the train looking bad as hell/ lil madememoussele, I got off mad enough to yell (fuck)/ down to smack up, cut and spray somethin/ cause she gave me the eye and I ain’t say nothin” This my favorite Old Droog record to date, the production is dope, the verses are relatable, and metaphors/ wordplay in the hook are ingenious.

 

16) Quality Control ft Lil Baby & DaBaby - Baby


“Baby puttin' on for the city/ baby, he the realest, baby prolly got a couple million/ baby hang with four or five killers/ baby got children, baby prolly still drug dealin/ baby ain't a trapper, he a rapper/ baby makin' classics, baby in the hood gettin' active/ baby keep it real with his people/ baby like a preacher, baby prolly still sell reefer” Quality Control Music released their second compilation album, Quality Control: Control the Streets Vol. 2, and this collaboration between DaBaby and Lil Baby is one of the best surprises of the year. Produced by Wheezy this one is flames 🔥

 

15) Joyner Lucas ft Logic - Isis


“Kidnap a ***** like ISIS (Whoa)/ turn a whole world to a crisis/ walk around the city with a ice pick/ I been paranoid, usually, I ain't like this/ Ain't no tellin' how crazy I might get, uh/ beat the police with a nightstick/ In my whole life, I been lifeless/ now I'm so fly, I'm a muhfuckin' flight risk” 🔥🔥🔥 two well-respected lyricists in the game went ahead and smoked this single off Joyner’s long-awaited debut album, ADHD, the production on this is crazy.

 

14) Nipsey Hussle - Racks in the Middle


“Look, under no condition would you ever catch me slippin'/ motorcaded shooters plus the Maybach chauffeur driven” Nipsey Hussle’s final record before he was tragically killed in broad daylight in front of his clothing store in his own neighborhood, this Hit-Boy and Roddy Ricch-assisted track would go on to win a Grammy award the following year. R.I.P. Nipsey Hussle - The Marathon Continues 🏁

 

13) 88-Keys ft Mac Miller & Sia - That’s Life


“They told me, "Don't make a promise you can't keep/ all the drugs in your system, you can't sleep/ how many times you had to buy a Plan B/ for a girl you never bring back home to meet your family?" This could be my favorite Mac Miller record of all time, one that was initially recorded in 2015 (without Sia), and was eventually released after his death in 2019. Ultimately, the miscellaneous track was released through producer 88-Keys, who arguably helped create one of Mac’s most timeless records.

 

12) DaBaby ft Offset - Baby Sitter


“You know I ain't come to play, let's get it (turn me up)/ I'm snappin' off the rip your ho say I'm her favorite ***** (Hah)/ you probably don't want to let your baby mama take a picture (Why? Go Grizz)/ 'cause I'm the type of baby that's gon fuck the babysitter (Marii Beatz, turn me up)/ I just did a show and pulled off laughing on a hating ***** (Hah)/ them bitches aiming at y'all fast, I'm on these rapper ****** ass/ I pulled that .40 out, he better have an angel with him/ fuck all them ****** and whoever they got hangin' with 'em” Produced by Go Grizz & Marii Beatz this was the best record off DaBaby’s breakthrough album, Baby on Baby.

 

11) Freddie Gibbs, Madlib ft Yasiin Bey & Black Thought - Education

“A dead-end street with a lemonade stand/ where is the sky in upside down land? That question is hard if you can't see the stars/ I’m really not sure, ask me tomorrow” Honestly Mos Def has the best verse on a track with Black Thought on it, and that’s a fun fact that will go down in the hip-hop hall of fame.

 

10) 2 Chainz ft Marsha Ambrosius - Forgiven


“Got a phone call from Lil' Fate/ somebody shot his son, he didn't make it/ my head aching, hands started shaking/ foul beyond flagrant” 2 Chainz’ fifth studio album, Rap or Go to the League, was one of the best albums of 2019 and this intro produced by Dem Jointz was incredible.

 

9) Logic ft Eminem - Homicide


“Fuck rap/ bustin' like an addict with a semi-automatic/ who done had it, and he ready for anybody to buck back/ hold up, catch a vibe, ain't no way in hell we leavin' nobody alive/ leave a suicide note, fuck that/ Bobby feelin' villainous, he killin' this/ I'm comin' for your man and his lady and even the baby/ I'm feelin' like I'm, chika-chika-chika-chika/ chika-chika-chika-chika-chika, Slim Shady” Produced by SHROOM & BREGMA, the Logic and Eminem collaboration is full of energy and does not disappoint.

 

8) Jim Jones ft Jadakiss, Philthy Rich - Don’t Know What They Took Him For

“Nah, that title does not fit you (Nah)/ the culture is not with you (Uh-uh)/ your verses are not scriptures (No)/ I was a first and fifteenth block clicker (I was)” The absolute best record off Jones eighth solo album, El Capo, produced entirely by The Heatmakerz who came with Diplomatic Immunity-quality production.

 

7) Nas - Queens Wolf


“At fourteen tried out for the ball team/ junior high, they denied me/ I shot bricks that made the backboard scream” Nas at his most cinematic and done seemingly with relative ease, this one is produced by DJ Toomp and inspired by “Teen Wolf,” the Michael J. Fox cult-classic from the 80’s, and honestly only Nas could make this sound as clever as it does. Also for the record, the last time Nas collaborated with DJ Toomp was on the Untitled album for N.*.*.*.E.R. (Slave and the Master), so clearly these two creatives need to get together more often.

 

6) Pusha T ft Ms. Lauryn Hill - Coming Home


“Uh, ah, fuck it, we all poor/ even if you got money, still lookin' for more 🔥🔥🔥 With no Js on, I'm still lookin' to score/ you see they gave us crack, then started wagin' a war/ uh, all these lies, they steady tellin' me/ before Obama, we had Eric B. (Woo) 🔥🔥🔥 Uh, I do it for my big Benz drivers (drivers)/ for my street-corner survivors (survivors)/ for my ****** that miss The Wire (Woo)/ and throwback mamis, that won't retire” 🔥🔥🔥 Originally in recorded in 2015 and produced by Charlie Heat, MIKE DEAN, and Kanye West, this track went through multiple renditions and was never officially released until now as a miscellaneous track, one that happens to be one of Pusha T’s best of his career. (Lauryn smoked this as well 🔥🔥🔥).

 

5) The Game - Hug The Block


“I can't believe this life took my pops/ we fightin' each other and we both look like pops/ nah, I take that back, I look like pops/ and when I see you, you look like opps” Nobody wins when the family feuds, yet this is undoubtedly the most memorable track off Born 2 Rap, where Game is at his best as he writes an open letter to his older brother Big Fase 100.

 

4) Rick Ross ft Dej Loaf - White Lines


“I know you see and smell the smoke (smell the smoke)/ but that's the way I choose to float/ but you could do just what you want” One of the best windows down feel-good records of the year, this CAMEone & Rowan production is a BIG MOOD when the summer weather calls for it.

 

3) J.I.D., Bas, J.Cole. EARTHGANG, Young Nudy - Down Bad


“I was just fucked up, I was just down, down bad/ I had to tighten the fuck up, but I'm here for the crown/ Board of Education vs. Brown/ I was bored of education, left the town/ fuck a résumé and fuck a cap and gown/ fuck a background check back 'round when I get the check/ *****, that's now” J.I.D. smokes this Pluss production yet it’s debatable who has the best verse, as Bas also has an unforgettable verse in addition to Cole’s homage to LeBron James when he raps “Now little Jermaine got the same story/ as that boy out of St. Vincent-St. Mary, G.O.A.T.​/ all hail King Cole, first of his name, long may he reign” Long Live King Cole

 

2) J. Cole, Lute, DaBaby (and Kendrick Lamar) - Under the Sun


“Nothing new under the sun, nobody fucking with son/ I got a couple of sons, a couple of guns/ a couple of ****** that bust up the party and fuck up the fun” The long-awaited Revenge of the Dreamers III tape kicks off with a Carolina connection for the ages, one that connects Cole with one of the hottest hip-hop acts to ever come out of Charlotte, in addition to his apprentice and labelmate who happens to be managed by Rapper Big Pooh. Furthermore, an uncredited Kendrick Lamar hook helps make this record complete.

 

1) Young Thug ft Travis Scott & J. Cole - The London


"I know—I know you in high demand"/ I'm ballin' on a pussy ***** like Juwanna Mann/ I'm drownin' all inside the pussy like I never swam/ Ayy, fuck your IG, I put somethin' on your sonogram/ I'm the man” J. Cole absolutely smoked this T-Minus production that did major numbers for Young Thug’s So Much Fun album.


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