2016 has been one helluva of a year for music. Those that continue to say “hip-hop and R&B are dead” do not work at VIBE — and are dead to us. Yes, it’s true: it takes some digging these days to find music with substance — especially in rap — but we’re never underwhelmed with what we find.
READ: Wake Up & Jam: The 13 Slept On Albums Of 2016
Artists like Chance The Rapper, Anderson.Paak, Lil’ Yachty, Ro James and more helped make sure the last 365 days were filled with tracks that made us laugh, cry, feel good and hit the dancefloor. Billboard chart veterans like Beyoncé, Rihanna and Drake also delivered some monster singles as expected. Even brand new talent like Zay Hilfigerrr & Zayion Mcall killed the scene with undeniable hit music. Unfortunately, we opted to leave “JuJu On That Beat” off the list, because let’s face it — the song would be nothing without Crime Mob’s “Knuck If Buck,” and we did that in 2004 already.
READ: Ears To The Streets: 10 Artists To Watch In 2017
As for the “cut off” date, we took a firm stance and only included music that was released before Dec. 1.* As much as we love songs from albums like J. Cole’s 4 Your Eyez Only and Ab-Soul’s DWTW, they were released after the aforementioned date. So, sit back and press play on the 60 songs that received the most burn at the VIBE offices in 2016.
*Note: These songs are not ranked in any particular order.
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1. Vince Staples “War Ready”
2. Dee 1 “Sallie Mae Back”
3. Desiigner “Panda”
4. Anderson .Paak feat. BJ The Chicago Kid “The Waters”
5. Kaytranda feat. Syd “You’re The One”
6. Tyler, The Creator feat. Kali Uchis & Austin Feinstein “PERFECT”
7. Ka “Conflicted”
8. Jamila Woods “Blk Grl Soldier”
9. OT Genasis “Push It”
10. Travi$ Scott feat. Young Thug & Quavo “Pick Up The Phone”
11. 2 Chainz feat. Drake “Big Amount”
12. Bas feat. J Cole “Night Job”
13. A Tribe Called Quest “The Space Program”
14. T.I. feat. Quavo, Meek Mill & Rara “Black Man”
15. Beyonce “Formation” -
16. Kendrick Lamar “Untitled No. 5”
17. A$AP Mob “Yamborghini High”
18. Future feat. The Weeknd “Lowlife”
19. Ro James “Permission”
20. Fetty Wap “Wake Up”
21. Kanye West “Ultralight Beam”
22. Young M.A “OOOUU”
23. Lion Babe “Where Do We Go”
24. Drake feat. Kyla & Wizkid “One Dance”
25. Solange “Don’t Touch My Hair”
26. Major Lazer feat. Justin Bieber & MO “Cold Water”
28. Vybz Kartel “Fever”
29. Gucci Mane “First Day Out The Feds”
30. Rihanna feat. Drake “Work” -
lion-babe
31. Fortie Bowie “Birfday”
32. Migos “Say Sum”
33. Kap G “Girlfriend”
34. Fat Joe feat. Remy Ma, French Montana & Infafred “All The Way Up”
35. BiBi Bourelly “Ballin”
36. Chance The Rapper feat. Lil Wayne & 2 Chinz “No Problem”
37. Drake feat. Kyla & Wizkid “One Dance”
38. Amine “Caroline”
39. Tory Lanez “Luv”
40. YG “Fuck Donald Trump”
41. French Montana feat. Kodak Black “Lockjaw”
42. Andre 3000 “Solo (Reprise)”
43. The Weeknd feat. Daft Punk “Starboy”
44. Rae Sremmurd “Black Beatles”
45. Bruno Mars “24k Magic” -
46. J Balvin feat. Bia & Pharrell “Safari”
47. Alica Keys “In Common”
48. Schoolboy Q feat. Kanye West “That Part”
49. John Legend “Love Me Now”
50. Kehlani “Crazy”
51. Divine Council feat. Andre 3000 “Decemba”
52. Zayn “Pillow Talk (Tyler The Creator Remix)”
53. D.R.A.M feat. Lil Yachty “Broccli”
54. Ab-Soul feat. Da$H “Huey Knew”
55. Frank Ocean “Solo”
56. YFN Lucci feat. Migos & Trouble “Key To The Streets”
57. Sia “Cheap Thrills”
58. Childish Gambino “Redbone”
59. Lil Yatchy “1 Night”
60. Pusha T feat. Jay Z “Drug Dealers Anonymous”