My list for my top 10 favorite songs of 2019 is currently on my Youtube channel!
Click the link and see what my brother, cousin, and I have to say in regards to 2019’s slew of songs. Top 10 Albums of 2019 coming soon to Youtube also! Subscribe to my channel for more content and don’t forget to like the video if you enjoyed it!
– Ant
Juice Wrld, unfortunately, passed away today from an apparent seizure and the world of hip-hop is in shock. The 21-year-old was a rising star for the past couple of years from Illinois who took the music industry by storm with his hit song “Lucid Dreams”. Juice Wrld was unfortunately plagued by loss in the past two years from friends and idols such as XXXTentacion and Lil Peep, both were emo-rappers like Juice Wrld. These losses made him release the now prophetic song “Legends” in which he detailed how the 21 club is now the new “27 Club” and sadly that became true for him on December 8, 2019. While we continue to mourn the loss of one of hip-hop’s most unique and rising rappers, I compiled my writings of him on this article so that I too may pay my respects to the artist and his work. Rest in peace Juice Wrld, may you be forever missed.
2017 saw the rise of rappers being emotional and down to Earth with their music. Rappers such as Lil Uzi Vert, XXXTentacion, and Lil Peep are some of the few names that dominated the “emo-rap” genre of 2017. 2018 introduced us to another key player in the genre, that being Juice WRLD.
Juice WRLD is a 19-year-old rapper from Calumet Park, Illinois. His work can be compared to Lil Uzi Vert, XXXTentacion, and Lil Peep yet it still sounds unique and different from these artists even though they have a similar theme in their songs. Juice WRLD is perhaps the most human amongst these names, especially because of his age and his outlook on life. Lil Uzi Vert and Lil Peep were mostly about drugs, money, and losing the love of their lives. Meanwhile, XXXTentacion was more in line with releasing songs about life, death, and his feelings towards others. Juice Wrld can be described as the ultimate combination of these three artists who is then sprinkled with bits and pieces of other artists such as Trippie Redd, Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, Lil Yachty, and Lil Tracy to name a few. Juice Wrld is definitely someone I can see becoming one of the most notable acts of this year.
His music is what you’d expect from an emo rapper, however, his lyrics are what sets him apart from others in his genre. The way Juice WRLD raps on each dreamy and cloudy beat is perhaps his best feature. The delivery of his lyrics are sincere and full of sadness which results in an excellent display of character as each song follows this similar trend. Songs like “Lucid Dreams” are popular due to his unique take on the genre. “Lucid Dreams” is my favorite song by him due to his genuineness that he bleeds on the track. The message he maintains is deep and relatable on a personal level. Lyrics such as “Who knew evil girls had the prettiest face?” hit me in the feels to a great extent. I believe his honesty and straight-forwardness is what will propel him to further success this year.
His album Goodbye & Good Riddance is a very strong testament to his ability and versatility as a rapper. 15 tracks are barely enough to even scratch the surface of Juice WRLD’s persona. I don’t believe Juice WRLD to be a “character”; I consider him to be more lifelike than most of the current rappers. I feel that rappers such as Lil Xan and Yung Lean simply lack the humanity and realism that Juice WRLD extorts on this album. Nonetheless, this album is a song debut from the rising rapper and I can’t find many negative aspects of this release. Juice WRLD also made some solid skits for this album such as “Betrayal” and “Karma”. Skits haven’t been featured in modern music recently and if they are, they mostly just are called interludes. The skits on Goodbye & Good Riddance really set the tone and theme of the album as they feature a woman who laughs and betrays him at the start of the album, however, in the end, she gets her karma when he ignores her. These simple two skits really give the album an identity that can resonate with almost every listener.
With 13 songs and two skits, Juice WRLD released one of the best albums to come out this year. This year has already been a great year for music and if we get another release from him this year, I could see this year being better than 2016 when it comes to albums. I am glad to see Juice WRLD is blowing up and getting proper exposure and I hope he continues to put out quality work and works to further perfect his craft. I definitely must say that Juice WRLD is a name you need to look out for this year as I’m sure he will own a section of this year with his fantastic debut album.
10. ON GOD – Juice Wrld ft. Young Thug
Juice Wrld has been on a streak recently with releases and Death Race For Love is no exception. This 22 song album has some notable hits such as “Robbery” and “Hear Me Calling”, however, I believe the best song on this album is “ON GOD”. The song “ON GOD” features Young Thug and shows the insane chemistry that the two have together. With the two interweaving together they form a meticulous yet infectious song that ranks at 10 for this year’s list so far.
With 2019 coming to an end soon, it is important to highlight some of the great songs to come out this year. With the first list of the year, we saw 2 Chainz, Kevin Abstract, and SAINt JHN take the top spots, however, since then we’ve seen a lot of great releases from artists as they continue to impress me over the year. Here is my list of favorite releases from 4/21 to 9/26! (As usual, there is a limit of one song per artist)
10. I Was On The Block – YG ft. Valee and Boogie
“I Was On The Block” is by far one of YG’s most intriguing songs in his catalog. This song begins my top ten list because of its use of one of my favorite flows to emerge in recent years. The “Valee Flow” is a flow used by many rappers such as Smokepurpp, Lil Pump, Nicki Minaj, and even Tyler, The Creator. While Valee isn’t a major name yet, his flow is easily influential and YG’s and Boogie’s use of the iconic style is one of my most favorite highlights of the year.
9. Proud Of Me – Lil Keed ft. Young Thug
Explaining the appeal of Lil Keed is fairly difficult as he doesn’t add much to modern music that hasn’t already been done already. But, what Lil Keed does do quite well is make attractive and infectious songs such as “Nameless” and “Proud Of Me”. Young Thug’s feature in this song is definitely the best part as his voice compliments the song in every way imaginable and even ends up becomes more likable than Lil Keed on this track. While Lil Keed has some things to work on, Young Thug once again proves that he’s one of the hardest and greatest working rappers in today’s scene.
8. Baguettes in the Face – Mustard ft. NAV, Playboi Carti, and A Boogie Wit da Hoodie
As I’ve said in the past, I love NAV but he is simply one of the non-ironically funniest artists in the industry. But, where NAV lacks in seriousness, he makes up for in catchy choruses and verses. Mustard is a genius when it comes to selecting features for his song because of this song and “ON GOD” which both came from his newest release, Perfect Ten. “Baguettes in the Face” combines the chorus power of NAV, the style of Playboi Carti, and the flow of A Boogie Wit da Hoodie. Together these four created one of the best hits that this year has to offer.
7. Jollof Rice – Bas ft. EARTHGANG
Ever since I heard Bas on “Night Job” back in 2015, I’ve been a fan of some of his songs. While he has some great songs, I tend to prefer his songs with J. Cole, however, Bas surprised me this year with the release of his song “Jollof Rice”. This song features WowGr8 from EARTHGANG whose presence brings the song to a new level. While it is unfortunate that Olu from EARTHGANG wasn’t on the song, I am thankful that at least WowGr8 provided some great verses to this highly addictive song. I really am impressed with Bas because of this song and I hope his EP, Spilled Milk 1 sees a sequel in the near future.
6. I THINK – Tyler, The Creator
IGOR is without a doubt one of the best albums of the year but picking just one song from it to represent the album is very tough. I decided to go with “I THINK” because of its masterful production and message. I honestly really enjoyed IGOR and I hope that it receives its much-deserved recognition at the end of the year from critics and listeners alike.
5. UP – EARTHGANG
EARTHGANG is perhaps the best duo of the 2010s and “UP” is the best piece of evidence I can give to this claim. “UP” combines Olu’s powerful vocals with WowGr8’s top-notch delivery to create a beautiful masterpiece. EARTHGANG has had a good amount of hits throughout the years but “UP” is by far their best one yet as it combines the best abilities of both rappers. I am really fascinated with their ability to produce terrific songs that never cease to become too repetitive.
4. Find Our Way – Being As An Ocean
Finally, Being As An Ocean released their newest album PROXY: An A.N.I.M.O. Story which contains some wonderful tracks to be heard. One of these songs is the single, “Find Our Way”. This song is definitely the best song to come from the band in years and is possibly their finest song ever made. I was thoroughly impressed with the post-hardcore band this year and cannot wait to see what’s next for the group.
3. On My Own – Jaden ft. Kid Cudi
Before I start, I just want to say that I love Jaden Smith, however, I love Kid Cudi more. Now, with that in mind, it is pertinent to say that “On My Own” is one of the strongest songs to ever come from Jaden and that is because Kid Cudi lends his amiable voice to the already appealing song. I adore these two for their own reasons, but, combined they made a memorable song that I will never forget. I really hope these two work together more often because their synergy is perfect together.
2. Dangerous – ScHoolboy Q ft. Kid Cudi
ScHoolboy Q’s latest album, CrasH Talk looked very promising based off the singles but wasn’t able to surpass previously released albums of his, especially the Blank Face LP. Regardless, CrasH Talk did supply us with some great songs such as “Numb Numb Juice”, “Drunk”, and my favorite “Dangerous”. While the song is only two and a half minutes long it makes each second count as ScHoolboy Q delivers a remarkable verse while Kid Cudi performs a grim chorus. This song by far has some of the most impactful and perilous lyrics I’ve ever heard from a rapper in this decade. ScHoolboy Q has serious potential to create fascinating and hypnotic songs and “Dangerous” is a glorious example of this.
1. NO HALO – BROCKHAMPTON
BROCKHAMPTON is an unstoppable collective that seemingly never loses steam nor fail to adapt to changing times. Five albums in and they are still going strong especially with the slew of singles from their fifth album, GINGER. One of these singles to the album is the song “NO HALO” which has every member contributing vocally. The song is a beautiful piece of art that excellently showcases the imperfections that humans inevitably have. Deb Never even lends her voice to the boyband to bring the song to it’s fullest potential. I think “NO HALO” is a great way to begin an album about that covers the past, the future, and every mistake made along the way.
So far 2019 has been a fairly good year for music especially when you count many great album releases from artists such as Boogie, 2 Chainz, and Kevin Abstract so far. Here is a list of my ten favorite songs to come out so far in 2019!
10. ON GOD – Juice Wrld ft. Young Thug
Juice Wrld has been on a streak recently with releases and Death Race For Love is no exception. This 22 song album has some notable hits such as “Robbery” and “Hear Me Calling”, however, I believe the best song on this album is “ON GOD”. The song “ON GOD” features Young Thug and shows the insane chemistry that the two have together. With the two interweaving together they form a meticulous yet infectious song that ranks at 10 for this year’s list so far.
9. Rainy Days – Boogie ft. Eminem
Boogie’s album Everythings For Sale is one of my favorite album’s to come out this year and I cannot wait to see what else the Compton rapper has to offer. But, for now, we are gifted with “Rainy Days” featuring Eminem. “Rainy Days” is a smooth song that Boogie glides over until the Eminem verse starts. Eminem hijacks the track in order to provide us with some typical Eminem wordplay that we’ve all come to either love or hate, but, it ultimately compliments the song and Boogie’s performance. Boogie already has my attention in 2019 and I cannot wait to see what his next project will be.
8. Numb Numb Juice – ScHoolboy Q
In less than two minutes ScHoolboy Q made one of the hardest, catchiest, and energized songs of the year. With his album release right around the corner, I think “Numb Numb Juice” was the best choice to be this album’s lead single. If CrasH Talk is anything like this song, I believe we are in for an unparalleled treat from ScHoolboy Q.
7. Venom – Little Simz
I’ll admit that I’m new to Little Simz and British rap overall, aside from Skepta, however, I regret sleeping on her and this style of rap. “Venom” has one of the most intimidating beats of the year as the strings and drums intrude your ears. Little Simz holds nothing back when it comes to “Venom” and it shows. This song is full of aggressive lines that match the intrusive beat. I really enjoyed her 2019 album GREY Area and highly recommend it the same way it was recommended to me by one of my closest friends.
6. Sanguine Paradise – Lil Uzi Vert
Release issues aside, “Sanguine Paradise” is one of the most enjoyable songs so far this year. While we wait for the eventual release of Eternal Atake we have “Sanguine Paradise” to listen to in the meantime. The beat is so pleasurable and Lil Uzi Vert’s lyricism and delivery compliment it so well in every way. I love this song and would rank it higher if 2019 wasn’t already so stacked with hits. Until then, we wait for Eternal Atake and hope for its eventual release in 2019.
5. MIDDLE CHILD – J.Cole
J. Cole came out swinging in January with the release of his song, “MIDDLE CHILD”. J. Cole stops at nothing to say what is on his mind and how it the entertainment industry makes him feel. With the powerful horns and gratifying beat, J. Cole sets the standard for hip-hop hits in 2019. I really hope we see another album from him besides his anticipated Revenge of the Dreamers III album that will be coming out this year. Until then, we are gifted with “MIDDLE CHILD” to tide us over until his next release.
4. Old Town Road – Remix – Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus
Lil Nas X is perhaps the greatest rapper to emerge so far in 2019. The mixing of country with rap wasn’t easy as we’ve seen with other attempts in the past, however, he not only did this but got Billy Ray Cyrus to come on for a feature. Billy Ray Cyrus presumably joined the song to protest Billboard and their classification of “Old Town Road” as a non-country hit. No matter what it’s genre is considered by Billboard, “Old Town Road” is one of my favorite songs so far in 2019 and I cannot wait to see what else Lil Nas X has for us this year.
3. Trap – SAINt JHN ft. Lil Baby
SAINt JHN is one hell of a vocalist and his newest song “Trap” only reaffirms my point. “Trap” has what might just be favorite beat of the year so far and paired with SAINt JHN’s vocal range creates a beautiful sound that is only further perfected by the inclusion of Lil Baby. The feature by Lil Baby is brief and a nice little touch to add more character to the already wonderful song. I really hope his next album has songs that mimic this vocal range and beat so that I may fill my lists with more SAINt JHN songs.
2. Momma I Hit A Lick – 2 Chainz ft. Kendrick Lamar
To say that “Momma I Hit A Lick” is 2 Chainz’ s best song would be an understatement. “Momma I Hit A Lick” is the ultimate 2 Chainz song. This song features 2 Chainz giving some of his best lines but above all else, the Kendrick Lamar feature makes the song a classic. Kendrick Lamar hits hard with his voice changing abilities that compliment the beat so well one could assume that these two were made for each other. 2 Chainz really goes all out in terms of lyrics, vocals, features, and presentation to deliver my second favorite song of 2019.
1. Georgia – Kevin Abstract
Kevin Abstract is a musical genius whether it’s his involvement in Brockhampton or his solo work, he is a genius in all sense of the word. “Georgia” is a simple yet satisfactory song that can connect with anyone and everyone. Kevin Abstract brings back his iconic vocal modulation for “Georgia” in order to paint the landscape with vivid and familiar images that we can all relate to. I cannot wait to see what Brockhampton and Kevin Abstract have in store for 2019 but if this is any indication I think it will be an incredible year for music.
The Appreciation Enthusiast 