My Top 20 Songs of the Year: 2023

Every year I put together a list of my top however-many songs and share it with my friends, because I have a fat ego and LOVE music. Especially rap and hip-hop. This years list I am posting on my website because all content is good content, even when it is objectively wrong. Especially when it is objectively wrong, please argue in the comments.

Flowers - Miley Cyrus

I'm not usually a pop-music head (I mean look at the rest of this list), but this song is definitely one of the exceptions I want to make from this year. I've always had an affinity for the independent woman trope, especially in music, and while certainly a bit cliche, this song is really fun. I think Miley Cyrus has always had the ability to convey a lot by saying a little, which is one of my favorite things to see in music, and her performance is also touching, and the beat is extremely catchy.

svnshine - Jaylock

First of all this beat... this BEAT. Classic sample, amazing woodwinds, just a crazy flip, and it’s a damn shame I couldn’t find the producer to credit him, although considering the size of Jaylock;s following and the fact that he is a bassist, it's very possible that he did it himself or it's someone in his direct camp. Second, this is also one of the best flows and deliveries of the year, with some pretty tight in-rhymes and excellent timing over what I feel is a difficult beat to catch lyrically. I couldn’t find too much about this artist other than his instagram @lockofthelex, and his youtube channel. I hope that he catches a little bit more success, because if he is making music like this, I would love for him to be making it full time.

Best Time - Brent Faiyaz

This song probably doesn’t deserve to actually be here, but every time it comes up on one of my playlists, I find myself repeating it once because it’s just too short. Turns out, like most people my age, I am an absolute sucker for the production of The Neptunes, and this remix of their classic U Don’t Have to Call beat just hits in the best way when combined with the modern-day version of Usher’s toxicity, Brent Faiyaz. It’s such a fun song to jam to, and Brent Faiyaz’s vocals complement the vibe extremely well. Unabashedly toxic song, but only in the best way.

BEIN’ MYSELF - JIMMY

JIMMY has been a part of the deep underground (read as: unsuccessful) hip-hop scene on the West Coast for going on a decade, and achieved his first real success with the release of some music we will talk about later. Capitalizing on this success, he has released music throughout 2023, and this song is a loosie he dropped midway through the year. It’s basically an origin story, coupled with the type of mentality his upbringing left him with, and explains how his devil-may-care attitude coexists with his obsession over his artistry, as he produces, writes, and masters all of his own music, alongside directing his own videos, and even designing his own graphics, controlling every single aspect of his artistic process. JIMMY is potentially the next in line of those obsessive musical artists we’ve had in eras past, the Freddie Mercurys, the Coonye Wests, the Dr. Dres, the ones who make truly great art for the sake of great artistry. I have extremely high expectations for JIMMY moving forwards, as we will speak about even more later.

Scaring the Hoes - JPEGMafia and Danny Brown

This year JPEGMafia and Danny Brown collaborated to make one of the least club-friendly albums I have ever heard, entitled Scaring the Hoes. Why was that the name? Because that's what it does. The title track encapsulates the vibe of the album, with a beat made out of random sounds I assume Danny recorded by sitting in Detroit’s sewer system, which were then flipped by Peggy to make some pretty hard beats. Peggy’s signature style (known in the hip-hop world as “fucking screaming in your ears”) is present throughout this track on the chorus, which actually makes up the vast majority of the songs runtime, and also presents the key juxtaposition of the album, JPEGMafia and Danny Brown want to make their avant-garde and aggressive hip-hop because it is what makes them happy, but at the same time, their music is not the most widely marketable, especially compared with the club sounds of artists like Drake, future, or even Kendrick Lamar. It’s hard to “vibe” to, and demands a lot of attention, and frankly I think its outright aggression is a bit of a red flag for women (JPEGMafia fans are all highly problematic, this includes me), but it is extremely novel if nothing else.

Jesus Run - Akeem Ali

This song might be preachy, and at this point almost cliche, but guess what? Police still kill the disenfranchised at inordinately high numbers, which of course, has an outsize effect on the number of black people they murder for little to no reason. Ali is excellent at not only articulating, but gesticulating the pain

GANG SHIT! - Reason

Reason has been one of my favorite artists out of TDE over the past few years not named Kenrick Lamar, but lacks a lot of the clout and accolades the other members of the label have. Much of that could be attributed to both mismanagement and a lackluster debut project for the record company, but his sophomore effort had a lot less of the pop-trap fluff watering down his last project, and goes back to his creative roots. Reason finds himself in that backpack rapper camp in which you can find your Mick Jenkins, your Westside Boogies, your Killer Mikes and the like. GANG SHIT! is a song written to reflect on both whether or not Reason is “fake” and also what amount of giving back and service in one's community constitutes being “real”. While not coming with a solid conclusion to either question, finding the relationship between those two things is something I personally think is unexplored in rap music, and poses an interesting question not just for rappers, but for anybody who finds success out of bleak circumstances.

Mancala (ft. Vince Staples) - Earl Sweatshirt + The Alchemist

Earl Sweatshirt is one of my favorite artists, his pen game is virtually unmatched, but honestly Vince Staples is who really takes this song to a new level. Earl’s verse is, as always, solid, and a bit extra when it comes to being decipherable, but Vince Staples has the incredible ability to compose metaphors and allegories for complex situations and feelings with the simplest words. That may sound like a dig, but it really takes a deep understanding of the issues you are speaking about to boil it down to relatable language, and Vince Staples has mastered that practice. You can tell this is the case whenever you listen to him in interviews, in conversation, or perhaps more importantly, in his music. In this particular song, most of what he says relates to how gang clashes with his religious (Christian) upbringing. And of course, The Alchemist has been on a crazy run over the past two years, dropping some of the best production in the game at the moment.

Camille - ChloTheGod

ChloTheGod is another artist who is new to me. Unfortunately, I haven’t listened to any of her other music, but this song drips sexuality and desire like few others I have heard this year. It’s definitely a bit of a rhythmic throwback to the dirtier and more physically-inclined type of love song reminiscent of the early 2000s, and it's great. ChloTheGod also just has amazing vocals, and her voice shines through a very catchy beat, alongside a rhythmic and almost hypnotizing cadence. The song is an absolute earworm in the best way possible.        

Wussah (ft. BingX) - KarmaKnows

BingX, the producer, easily wins my fake award for bassline of the year. This song is funky, simple, and straightforward, but it's also unimaginably smooth in a way that not a lot of music is. In that way, it feels old-school, but has a lot of the tight composition lyrically which we associate with modern rap music. Albeit not being the deepest song ever, it is really, really really FUN, and I think that deserves recognition.

TGI Fridays - Dave James ft. Ari Lennox and Foggieraw

This song is very cute, and while lacking a bit in poignant or punchy lyrics, the vocal performances (especially Ari Lennox’s) are excellent on this song, and compliment each other very well. Absolutely one of my favorite R&B songs of the year, and a great song to put on when you’re remembering those good times before you had responsibilities and your biggest worry was your high school crush thinking your outfit looked bad. It contrasts this nostalgia with the reality of dating as an adult, and the responsibilities and obstacles which come with it. Again, its pretty surface level in its analysis, but it is a lovely background song, with great performances from each artist (but again, Ari Lennox especially please dm me).

Stop Giving Me Advice - Jack Harlow & Dave

If Jack Harlow was absent from this track, it would be song of the year material. Harlow is... fine... but he gets absolutely flexed on by Dave’s staccato delivery and storytelling. There are some crazy, CRAZY bars in his 90 second long verse, and it's honestly a pleasure to listen to. Enough to get me to listen to more Dave in the future. The instrumental is also solid. But having to wade through 90 seconds of Jack Harlow spitting very average-ly is just no fun at all. This is less of a song I can describe and one I am just going to tell you to listen to and concentrate on... at least for the second half.

Year Zero (ft. Danny Brown) - Billy Woods and Kenny Segal

Billy Woods is his usual esoterically complex self, walking that thin line between clever and up-one’s-own-ass like he always does. As close as he comes to stepping over it, in this song he doesn’t, dropping bar after bar, leading into an absolutely unhinged tirade by Danny Brown, which sounds awesome over Kenny Segal’s production. As with most Billy Wood’s songs, it's kind of a thinker on first listen, but the clashing styles actually make for a very entertaining track as Danny Brown’s manic rambling is hilarious while also fitting the generally dark tone of the piece. Also the line “My taxes pay police brutality settlements” is the single best bar of the year, unquestionably.

He’s Bad - Akeem Ali as Keemy Cassanova

In his second appearance on this list, Akeem Ali shows off his groovy 70’s alter ego, Keemy Cassanova. The aforementioned entry may not have you believe it, but Akeem Ali doesn’t seem like an artist above having fun, and this song is nothing but a TON of fun. In his Cassanova persona, Ali tends to move with old pimp cliches, and as many double entendre as he can pack in every bar. Even though it is a bit old-school, it is a fun throwback, and a funky bassline and melody keep you moving throughout, and Cassanova’s vocals aren’t half bad. His delivery and cadence are also clean, and it's undeniable that this man has talent for real. I look forward to listening to more of his music.

EUGENE - GLORB

As you can tell, I do love some foolish and asinine rap music as long as it recognizes what it is. Spongeop, Squidwock, Mr. Swags, and Dankton (characters which definitely don’t infringe copyright, created by GLORB) have been beefing all year, dropping bodies throughout the Bottom, and generally getting up to no good gangsta shit while making drill songs about dropping ops the whole way through. This song was the first one to go viral out of the saga, and while the momentum has continued, this particular one is iconic. This is the single most productive use of AI aside from passing your college courses, kids.

Namesake - Noname

Noname has... a complicated legacy, but she is still one of the best MCs in the game today, bar for bar. Despite her passionate dislike of her fanbase and general air of controversy, she put together one of the best projects of the year after (kind of but not really) retiring for a few months. Namesake is the best song on that project, and it is... I mean, she’s just an excellent rapper. She strings together rhymes out of what feels like a stream of consciousness about whatever happens to strike her fancy, yet upon further reflection, what she says is so poignant and so deep that there is no real way that it could really just be her freestyling and editing that down, right? Not to mention her stripped-back production and simple, but funky beat work emphasizes every word she says... and she says some shit. Noname stands at the intersection of capitalism and socialism which many black Americans do, recognizing that social equity and economic reform would likely benefit minorities and the oppressed more, however, at the same time, she recognizes that she is privy to the upside of capitalism in that she stands to benefit from it. Unlike many other artists, she still comes down (ideologically speaking) on the side of the majority, which gives her the leeway to launch biting criticisms at the system and those who have succeeded despite it and then perpetuated that which kept them down in the first place.

deepfake - Brakence

Brakence makes sadboi emo rap and hyperpop cool again. Usually my lists skew towards hip-hop (obviously), and while Brakence may not be the most subtle or clever in his lyrics, his musical arrangements are so brash and new (at least to me) that they really make up for what he lacks in introspective substance. This song specifically contains a manic energy, ups and downs which seem to reflect the emotional instability of the subject. It’s wild hearing dub-step styled synth alongside a fluttering falsetto, but it works, I promise. Brakence feels like a breath of fresh air, having much more refined, yet complex musical composition than the more foundational emo rappers of the past few years, while aping their lyrical style. In this way, I relate Brakence much more to an artist like Juice Wrld rather than the lyrical complexity of XXXtentacion, or the vapid emptiness of Lil Peep.  Brakence clearly has immense instrumental talent, having arranged and composed his music himself, and I look forward to more of his genre-bending music in the future.

the BLACK Seminole - Lil Yachty

I’m not including lyrics for this track, because frankly, it’s not what it is about. I have been known in the past to be a Lil Yachty hater, because before this project, he put bad raps over good beats, and was corny. This album completely changed my perspective on him as an artist. In my experience, most rappers have a lot of trouble transitioning genres, and often find themselves making vanity projects which have a lot of effort and love put into them, but frankly, don’t sound very good. This almost feels the opposite. His 2023 album Let’s Start Here is incredible. This is the first psychedelic rock album I have heard in years, and the opening track the BLACK seminole sets the tone for the entire journey. I can’t really put into words exactly how hard this song hits, because it is outside of my comfort zone as a listener, but I know it’s damn good, and that’s awesome. Who would have expected such an aesthetically and musically rich album from the man who once wrote, recorded, and performed the line “she blow that dick like a cello”?

Pasta - Mick Jenkins

Mick Jenkins is one of the densest lyricists in the game today, and this year he dropped his newest project, The Patience. This is a return to form for Jenkins, as his more recent work included a more laid-back sound, and less tight-knit deliveries which were smoother, but lacked some of the punch and sting of his earlier work, building on his jazzy foundations. But The Patience is anything but jazzy, with beats that complement Jenkin’s usual pointed delivery in a way the previously smoother sound juxtaposed. While both approaches have their merit, the newer production ideas are never more evident on this album than in the song “Pasta”, a song about imposters in the industry who Jenkins feels have not earned the stripes they claim to have. It’s also the best song on this album, with tons of tight double-entendres, and bar for bar it is one of the most technically well-written songs of the year.

SORRY NOT SORRY - Tyler the Creator

Tyler released a follow-up to 2021’s Call me if you Get Lost as an extended album this year, which largely consisted of songs which didn’t make the cut. The Estate Sale is easily one of the best projects to come out in 2023. What I found listening to it is that these songs are amazing, but either didn’t fit in with the message or tone of the original album. Unfortunately, this also meant we were deprived of cuts like this one for the better part of two years, as SORRY NOT SORRY is a standout song, easily competing as one of the best singles Tyler has ever put out. Taking us through Tyler’s mind (which always has the potential of being a disaster of an idea), the song dives into all the people Tyler may have disappointed, but also reassures the listener that any change he makes will be borne of his own desire, rather than for the people around him who may think themselves familiar, but don’t really know him well enough to criticize him in the ways that they have. The song has those things we now regularly associate with Tyler since 2016, self-reflection, tight lyricism, and strong entendres. But it also features some things we associate with Tyler’s older work, with that grimy, dirty feel and edgier lyrics which cut a bit harder than his recent work. Each of these two types of “Tyler” represents each side of this self-contained argument, ultimately giving into the more arrogant and brash persona with his closing line; “Fuck em”..

UNCULTURED - JIMMY

This is the first song by JIMMY I heard, and his second entry on my list. This song technically dropped at the end of 2022, but JIMMY, being a relative unknown, started my year off with this absolute banger. While clearly within my personal wheelhouse (introspective/”boring” conscious rap music), the bouncy instrumental and happy tone of the song coupled with an aggressively positive message really spoke to me. The ideas pushed in this song aren’t new, but JIMMY very much says the quiet part out loud about the music industry at large, but even more specifically the hip-hop record business, which has a history of turning trauma into money with the formula outlined in this song. This song is very self-reflective, and also pushes some of those dirty questions about the rap industry to the surface, forcing the listener to at least on some level question what they are listening to. And criticism is at the heart of good rap music. JIMMY himself seems to be outside of what we would consider the traditional industry mold, and prides himself on the control he has over his art, no matter the price. This song was recorded in his car, for chrissake. Yet and still, JIMMY seems to revel in the amount of work he puts into his art, and because of his self-imposed expectations, I think we will see him become more and more prevalent going forwards. I know I will be paying close attention to him.

-Kazi Baker