Summer has officially come to a close. Back to school shopping is underway, screaming children and their eager parents are venturing around your local Walmart, piling valued education necessities into their already piled-high carts, and that last week of summer fever is really sending a chill down our bodies. It’s been an extremely fast summer albeit an eventful one, and the music put out has been an amazing companion piece to the events that have occurred over the course of the past three months. Whether they’re political, dance-oriented, dripping in synth layers, or relatively simplistic, these are the 16 best songs of Summer ‘16.
16. Child’s Play
Artist: Drake
Drake’s Viewssurprised many people when it was released, mainly because it was a step away from what he usually put out. The album highlight, Child’s Play -- which I forget most of the time, I just remember it as ‘bounce that sh** like woah,’ as those are the opening lines of the song -- pins the already-classic lines, ‘Why you gotta fight with me at cheesecake, you know I love to go there, say I’m actin’ light-skinned, I can't take you nowhere,’ that made its way into our hearts, changing the way we eat at The Cheesecake Factory forever. Views is a good album, but it's also the Drake album where, on Pop Style, he raps 'got so many chains they call me Chaining Tatum.' Let that fester, and think about how it makes you feel. Child's Play is fun and it's funny, much like the rest of Views, but it isn't a song of ridiculous substance - which we've come to expect from Drake's music.
15. Time Moves Slowly (feat. Sam Herring)
Artist: BADBADNOTGOOD
BADBADNOTGOOD are another musical group from The 6. A jazz-fusion group of sorts, they have collaborated with many different artists, such as Kaytranada (they're featured in one of his debut album highlights, WEIGHT OFF) and Sam Herring. His feature is one of the album's highlights, and his deep crone carries the slow-burning song to the vibe-tastic euphoria it eventually reaches. The smooth bass guitar, along with subtle electronic undertones, add on to this already impressive song, making it a good one for relaxing and experimenting with the sounds of Jazz, R&B, and electronica.
14. High Hopes
Artist: PARTYNEXTDOOR
PARTYNEXTDOOR excited all of us when he dropped P3, his slowest album to date. He, along with OVO record label head Drake, released an album heavily influenced by Jamaican and Haitian calypso, and High Hopes, the album’s 7-minute opening track, is one of his strongest to date. While I personally believe that his very first self-titled album is his best, as it features the amazing track Break From Toronto, an under-2 minute song that blows my mind every time it comes on, making me wish there was a sequel or longer version out, P3 is a great addition to his musical collection, and seals his title as one of the strongest pop-R&B artists to date.
13. Danger
Vic Mensa is a name you ought to know if you’ve never heard of him before. Mainly a rapper that is seen on features, some of his best work is music that he hasn’t released yet (listen to Feel That, a song that details drugs and sex in the most comical and nonchalant way I’ve heard in a very long time). His newest EP, There’s Alot Going On, released back in June, is one of the strongest rap contributions of 2016. Featuring New Bae, 16 Shots, and Danger, the highlight of the EP, There’s Alot Going On is strongly carried by its stellar production, Mensa’s wit and ability to carry any tune with any beat, and his strong lyrics - the chorus of Danger (I think this life is the only one for me/I wouldn’t trade it for nothing unless/She was 5’7, pretty waist, coke bottle, basket case/You know me, I like the danger) details an interesting bout of preferences as, along with “double fisting” tequila while he drinks and drives, Vic Mensa proves might actually, in fact, like the danger.
12. Dang! (Featuring Anderson .Paak)
Artist: Mac Miller
Anderson .Paak has blown up in 2016, and it’s no wonder that he’s featured on just about every rap and electronic album of the year. Mac Miller’s new album, The Divine Feminine, is set to release on September 16, and the first released track, Dang, sees a more accessible and 80s-friendly house beat played beneath .Paak’s vocals and Mac Miller’s supporting rapping. Mac Miller has proved himself to get better with age and, with the release of last year’s GO:OD AM, he proved that he has grown in both terms of production and as a rapper.
11. Frankie Sinatra (Extended Mix)
Artist: The Avalanches
Imagine listening to music that is purely samples, layered with the best rappers and artists in the industry. The Avalanches, fresh off of a sixteen-year gap in releasing music, have created one of the most innovative and unusual albums (Wildflower) to date, but it was also one of the best and funnest to listen to. Featuring famous underground rapper Danny Brown (who has a really good song with Purity Ring titled 25 Bucks) Sampling an average of 4-to-5 artists per song, the Austrailian DJ trio find their best samples in Frankie Sinatra, ranging from Mic Geronimo to Kid Rock, to My Favorite Things, as heard in The Sound of Music.
10. Borders
Artist: M.I.A.
9. I’m a Stone
Artist: River Tiber
I remember the first time I heard River Tiber’s unusual I’m A Stone. I was looking around for new music, and came across it, as I had heard his voice featured in Kaytranada’s 99.9% on the track VIVID DREAMS. Tiber is another up-and-coming artist from The 6, and his unique fusion of electronic and alternative make him one of the most important new artists of this decade. He takes a step away from regular old synths and guitar riffs. He shoots for distortion, craving the sound of Toronto. Many of the songs on his album drip with distorted synths, background vocals, and unusual instrument pairings that work together brilliantly and make this album work - I’m A Stone is no exception. The song sounds incredible from the get-go, a dark, approaching villain straight out of an 80s-thriller. It’s unsettling at first, but after a few seconds in, it grows immensely, building up with Tommy Paxton Beesley’s strong vocals, followed by an incredibly unique and fitting bass drop that will send chills down your spine and bring you to your feet dancing.
8. Mixtape (Featuring Young Thug & Lil Yachty)
Artist: Chance the Rapper
Chance the Rapper blew up this year, and he deserves all the notoriety he has received. Not only is he an extremely talented rapper and vocalist, but his penmanship is out of this world, and his multiple-track mind has created some of the most innovative music in the hip-hop world. He’s a talented artist, and his skills as a producer shine specifically in his newest work Coloring Book. Many critics are already hailing it as the best album of 2016, as it contains more than just good-vibes and catchy tunes - Chance, much like Kanye, released a gospel rap album worth listening to, and the highlight track Mixtape, while straining from the gospel sounds the album shoots for, manages to stand out on its own. The clarinet-infused beat pops off to a surprisingly meaningful song - it’s Chance’s homage to the fact that he has never released music through a label, yet is still widely successful, beating expectations and hopefully garnering some long-awaited Grammy nominations.
7. Two Men Down
Artist: James Blake
James Blake is like Sam Smith, with stronger vocals and more impressive background music. He sings of sadness, loss, heartache, hope, and the trials of relationships and living life. His newest and best album, The Colour in Anything, was released back in May, and it is one of the best albums of 2016. James Blake - who produces for many artists such as Kanye and Beyoncé - has the voice of an angel, and his album is guaranteed to break your heart and make you go crawling back to that ex you swore you’d never take back. There are so many good songs on this extremely long album, that it was extremely hard to find the best one. So, while you’re looking up Two Men Down, one of the albums most beautifully sang and produced songs, you should also check out Modern Soul, Radio Silence,andChoose Me.
6. HEAVN
Artist: Jamila Woods
Jamila Woods is another artist that you should look up if you haven’t. So far this year, she has been featured in Chance 3, on Blessings, one of the album’s strongest tracks, and recently on Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ White Privilege II. Her mixtape, also titled HEAVN, is an opus on what it is like to be black in America. Describing it as a secret world filled with inside jokes and unexpected connections, Woods sings of the beauty in her culture and just how she has survived in America - despite obstacles and expectations. She channels Erykah Badu and Amy Winehouse on this track, and the production and vocals are incredible.
5. THat Part (Featuring Kanye West)
Artist: ScHoolboy Q
The Blank Face LP is one of the best albums I’ve heard in a long time. 2013’s Oxymoron was also a great album, filled with party bangers like Collard Greens and Man of the Year. Blank Face is an even bigger and more successful album, and THat Part is one of the album's strongest tracks, and its most accessible one. A fun and catchy tune, the beat is familiar, yet endearing, and it kicks off for over five minutes of repeated 'that part/that part/that part,' inviting the beat to make its way back in. Kanye's feature consists of some of the song's funniest lines, such as 'Wifey gonna kill me, she the female OJ.' Both ScHoolboy and Kanye play off of one another brilliantly in this track, and it is one of the best tracks of not only the summer, but of 2016 in general. Check out the rest of Blank Face, it's not to be missed.
4. I Want You
Artist: Marian Hill
Marian Hill has been around for a while, but she’s quite the rarity. She has a sharp, beautifully unique voice, and the trip-hop Jazz production is incredibly fused to make something unheard of. Her album, Act One, was released in late June, and it consists of many songs like this - they’re fun, they’re risque, and they’re pretty to listen to. In I Want You, the lyrics sound like something out of a classic pop song: “I’ve been so tired on the weekend/I’ve been holding on too tight/I never thought I’d be thinking/I want you,” and they have every right to. The song is so jovial and upbeat that it’s nearly impossible not to dance to it - it brings back nostalgic feelings of summer romance, specifically in the excitement that overcomes her voice when she sings about this person who she’s pining over.
3. Glowed Up (Featuring Anderson .Paak)
Artist: Kaytranada
I know every word to this song, and I get excited every time it comes on my playlist. Anderson .Paak is one of the coolest artists to emerge in 2016 - his voice is incredibly unique; his rapping and singing abilities have made him one of the artists to be reckoned with - and he is featured in just about every electronic and hip-hop album of the summer. His time to shine comes in his feature on Kaytranada’s brilliant 99.9%, where he gets to create alternative-hip-hop vibes with the Haitian fusion DJ. The first half of the song is extremely vibe-tastic and great to listen to over loud speakers, and we almost forget that this highly accessible song was made by Kaytranada. In the last minute and a half or so, there is a tempo change - much to the likes of Kaytranada, and .Paak goes from rapping about being “glowed up,’ to singing over a smooth, alt-jazz infused bassline about the limelight, and how he’s “Not just another name/Not just some wannabe/In the hands of love/Just like I wanna be,” and his message is read loud and clear: he can do anything and everything, from gansta rap to a more mellow sound.
2. Girlfriend
Artist: NAO
NAO is a beautiful human being, with a ridiculous register and a mean wit - she knows what she wants from herself and from other people. Her song, Girlfriend - appearing towards the end of her stellar album For All We Know, which I recently wrote about being the best album of the summer - is a vintage, genre-fusive song that sees NAO playing the role of the ingenue. It starts out with a mellow beat and her ethereal vocals, building up, and eventually dropping to sound like a vintage 90s pop song. The lyrics are stunningly human - she details insecurities in the early stages of a relationship - “feels like pretty doesn’t know me/Only shows up when I’m lonely/Through the tears of imperfection/The mirror knows,” she wails, “Could you like someone that’s hoping that/They crawl out of their own skin, for a time?” It’s a question that we all should be asking prospective lovers - will you love me even if I can’t stand to be around myself? It’s sad, albeit hopeful and stunning, and her voice carries you through this emotional rollercoaster of a song.
1 . Best to You (Featuring Empress Of)
Artist: Blood Orange
Blood Orange’s July 1 release Freetown Sound has been hailed as one of the best albums of not only 2016, but of this generation. Sharing undeniable parallels to Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly, Dev Hynes’ beautiful album reaches out to all minorities in the world - detailing his own origins in the mix - voicing their struggles and creating an art piece that details just what it’s like to hold a minority status. In a summer where there has been multiple violent recordings of minority deaths, Freetown Sound detailed this loss and heartache - most significantly through Best to You.
In Best to You, which sees Hynes step back from the mic and focus more on producing, he recruits Honduran-electronic goddess Lorely Rodriguez, better known as Empress Of, front and center. She sings beautifully, detailing loss and the broken relationship she’s in - all while promising to be the best to her significant other. The background music is incredible - lots of wind instruments, a beautiful bass line, and a silky finale that will send chills down your spine - and it adds to the beauty of what she sings about - loss.
