Kanye West’s Yeezus is the most polarizing album (from one of the most polarizing people) of 2013, hands down. Hell, I’m not too fond of it myself, but that just attests to the highs and lows that I feel when speaking about this album that I can say an album that I have a love/hate relationship with contains the best hip-hop song of the year.

TyrantX’s forum post regarding the projections for this song is
on-point.

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No rapper in 2013 gained more of a buzz off of a mixtape than Chance did with Acid Rap.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bigsk2g7xO8
His song writing ability is quite possibly his strongest asset and this song may be the best display of it. His inspirational sing-song hook combined with good friend and frequent collaborator Nate Fox’s smooth production creates the best record on the best mixtape of the year.

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NOTE: (I like to think of this and Paris Morton Music 2 as separate songs. Excuse my blasphemy.)

Probably the most anticipated track off of Nothing Was The Same, this song is everything you would expect from a Drizzy x Hov collaboration. Drake spits a pretty dope first verse which has one of my favorite lines on this album:

I’m holding all the cards and niggas wanna play chess now

That line, however, doesn’t change the fact that I think Jay upstages Drake for two key reasons:
- He has two verses, while Drake only has one, allowing more time for a renegade.
- He does what modern-day Hov still does better than most rappers in the game. He is quotable. as. fuck.

The all black Maybach, but I’m not a racist

This, along with him name-dropping all the people he claims to have made millionaires are just a couple of retweetable things he spits on this track.

It also shouldn’t go without mentioning that Boi-1-da (who also produced “The Language” and “5AM in Toronto”, both of which just missed my cut) crafted one of the best and most freestyle-worthy beats of 2013 for this track.

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If Kendrick’s mammoth verses on “Control” and the BET Cypher serve as him asserting his dominance as king of the new school, his aggressive verses on this remix must serve as him actually receiving the crown from an established legend. Just look at the artwork…

The black and white photo of a young Kobe Bryant (Kendrick) standing side-by-side with his idol, Michael Jordan (Jay) symbolizes the “passing of the torch” moment that this track was likely meant to be.

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Chance The Rapper – “Everybody’s Something”
Childish Gambino – “Crawl”
Ab-Soul feat. Mac Miller – “The End Is Near”
Big KRIT – “Banana Clip Theory”
Drake – “The Language”
Drake – “Too Much”
Drake – “5AM in Toronto”
Pusha T feat. Ab-Liva – “Suicide”
Mac Miller feat. ScHoolboy Q – “Gees”
Kanye West – “Blood On The Leaves”

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Here, Q imitates the sound made famous on NBA Jam games after backboard-shattering dunks.

This sound is also heard on the chorus of the 1969 song, “I Want to Take You Higher” by the band, Sly and the Family Stone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDjnB_61k58

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Continuing the references to the Hotstylz song, “Lookin' Boy”, the self-proclaimed rap god would appreciate if you backed the fuck up.

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Ab-Soul is on his way to becoming a star, and with his rising popularity, wherever he goes people recognize him as the “the black lip bastard”, similar to the way that people recognize Beyoncé and her little sister Solange wherever they go.

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At the moment, Ab-Soul gets more than enough love from underground hip-hop heads. It’s clear though, that he would like to match his underground recognition with commercial success, much like his close friend and fellow Black Hippy member, Kendrick Lamar has accomplished with his now platinum debut album, good kid, m.A.A.d. city.

Ab is well on his way to mainstream recognition though, as he was named a 2013 XXL Freshman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1Cf_O-PWH8

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Q and the people around Figg St. realize the opportunities to get money out on the street, and will seldom pass up those chances. He also compares and eventually claims to be superior to the well-known hip-hop mogul Diddy.

It should also be noted that Q frequently calls himself “the new Puffy” referring not only to his ability to hustle, but also the facts that he puffs a lot of weed.

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