A WALK THROUGH MY 2016 PLAYLIST

A lot of good music was made this year and I did try to catch as much I could.Our 'big' local artistes delivered-from Phyno to Sheyi Shay while the lesser foreign artistes fared better than their more established counterparts. Drake's VIEWS  may have shattered lots of sale records but it just didn't work for me.'Ye let me down as well.But overall, the artistes who held it down outweigh those who didn't.
Lets walk through my 2016 playlist.

This year officially popped off for me with Meek Mill's PRAY FOR 'EM.The lyrics were catchy and he put in just the right energy to create Max effect.It came at a time when the dust from the Dreezy beef was yet to fully settle and he did take a coupla good shots...'OGs see me comin thru & they say thats a baller,thats a N***@ started from the bottom really in that order.....Mac 11 hit u 20 times,have u Harlem shaking like u Diddy.Pop N**@s spittin melodies wen theres really nothing they can do with me'.Meek killed this murder one!!.My best rap joint for 20 16.
The 'Oga Boss'-Illbliss's NKU feat Flavour and Stormrex was a song I felt to the bone marrow as well.Illbliss is the 'Stunna' of Nigerian music.Nobody does that boss talk better...'Came up from nothing to national, they say my people irrational, they say we buying the same cars different colours but that is intentional...'.Stormrex was great on the hook and even if some may say he jacked MI' style, it won't change the fact that Illygati made magic.My best naija hip hop song of this year no doubt.
My best rap album this year wasn't 'Ye's LIFE OF PABLO and it sure wasn't Drake's VIEWS,it was Yo Gotti's THE ART OF HUSTLE.A great piece of work.Gotti has a style that might not really work on everything but he did play to his strengths without any attempt at getting overly versatile.BIBLE feat Lil Wayne was dope.So was GENERAL with Future and LAW feat the legendary E-40.BANK TELLER is my pick of the bunch..Crazy hook.
While I agree EMPIRE is one of the best things to happen to TV in recent times, I don't quite think the quality of music is top notch.Too many sub-standard songs for a music themed series.However, it did spawn one of the best love songs I ever heard-BORN TO LOVE YOU by Jussie Smollett (Jamal).He put his chords to awesome use and made me want to fall in love right away.Lol.Great stuff.My best slow song for this year.
Slay's DISHANKU feat Pepenazi rocked hard.Pepenazi dropped one of the tightest verses I heard in '16..'I come up wit an attitude like We We the boys dem,if they try to piss me off then We We the boys then....U and ur crew smoke kiss,e no mean say u go blow(look)'..Pepe sneh was on some carpenter shee... nailed the hook and the bridge as well...'I don't give a...'.He dropped HIGH GO just a few days ago and I've had it on repeat ever since.Pepenazi sings just as well as he raps...'Some say na high grade,sugbon no do LaLa for highway...'
This year has to be the best so far in the life of Desiigner.PANDA set the world on fire and the follow up hit was so tight, it rocked better than PANDA for me (most people find it hard to believe).He  called it TIMMY TURNER.It was the Desiigner english at its hardest but thank God for Google,Lyrics are easy to come by these days.Kanye West dropped a verse on the remix and thankfully, it fell on his 'on' day.Really nice verse.

Joe Budden made what in my opinion is the best diss track since Nas' ETHER.He called it WAKE and went for Drake's jugular in typical beast style...'Am callin Stunna,all Summer 16 ain't heard a hot 16 bout all Summer'.Epic Shii.No one expected Drake to reply in similar fashion coz Joe outweighs him lyrically.In other words,he ain't Meek.Lool.Like he said 'killing Dreezy is expected of him and he doesn't weigh it an achievement'.Definitely one for the archives.
A rejuvenated Pryse dropped 2 really good songs after leaving Choc city.QUEEN KONG with Eva was insane and I still can't get enough of that Eva verse. U NAME IT Feat Koker and Big H is archive material. That feeling when she goes 'Beans,Greens,potatoes, tomatoes, lamb,rams,chickens,turkey' is PRYSEless. Whats more?.Chic says shiz good in the kitchen, the boardroom and the other room.Lol
Still on Pet beasts,Mzz Kiss made a remix to Ycee's JAGABAN alongside Tipsy and it was so tight it made me want to propose to her...'You know Warih do'.Lool.
Lil Durk had two dope songs out I really loved. FOR FREE was one of my best turn up songs of 2016 and then RIDER CHICK with his boo(ex?),Dej loaf who is rumoured to be a dyke or bisexual at best.RIDER CHICK sounded like a gangsta version of Jay and Beyonce's BONNIE & CLYDE.It made me wonder why no rapper has made a Cookie Lyon song till date as she is without a doubt the best boss chic TV has seen in recent times; a G-Boo extraordinaire.I had never heard of Dizzy Wright before the 702 album and I was blown after just a coupla listens.Had not only a sick delivery but the lyrics to wow you as well.Kinda reminds how present day hip hop seems to have transcended dope punchlines, word plays and metaphors.Intrigue packed lines on a good beat and a great mode of expression will suffice.
Guy is one of those artistes you keep wishing would get the respek they deserve in record time.DOIN SOMETHING was my pick of an awesome work of art.
I loved Cynthia Morgan's OLOWO a whole bunch.Tjan's ADUKE was my best Nigerian slow song of the year.I easily forget my age is in the suit and tie numbers when I listen to Yung6ix on D'Tunes THAT THING.Its a banger!!..'She dey look fine boy,I dey look bad thing!!!!'.Lool.
And talking about bangers, the loudest I heard was SKIIBII's SKIIBII.It kicks in the adrenaline better than a Messi would.Made me wanna throw a one man house party a coupla times.
First time I heard Money Man was when he released OUT THE MUD feat Young Thug and not until I listened to Akon & Crew's KONVICT KARTEL album did I know he was signed to Akon's Konvict records.He made one of the best songs on that album in BOSS UP.And talking about that album, OG Boo Dirty's LIL BISH was crack.Great song.
DJ Drama dropped QSM2 (Quality Street Music 2) and it had some really tight songs on it.BODY FOR MY ZIPCODE was fabulous. It had Young Life, Freddie Gibbs and Dave East dropping lava on wax.Had to be one of the best features this year where all guests delivered on the same level-1 huned.
And talking about Dave East, I have always thought him to be the best hope of resurrection for the 'Hip Hop is dead' theorists.He is as real as it gets and probably the most likely to appeal to the purists than any other new school cat.Blends don't come any more perfect, the New York in East flosses like a true baller.To put it succinctly, there is nothing like East out there.He dropped 3 of the best songs I heard all year.He did an East mix to Corry Finesse's buzzing hit-VAGABOND and it was Vintage East..Trap baller.Then there was STOVE TOP off Def Jam's DIRECT DEPOSIT Vol.1...'Caught a cramp on my wrist from all the whipping'.Dope stuff..literally you could say. Lool.
DEPOSITS was ill.It was a real rapper staying unapologetically true to the game and literally shutting up anyone saying 'Hip Hop is dead'.Well,maybe it was but Dave East resurrected it...'You be hanging with scholars,I'm with jack boys and 'em gualas,pullin up in impalas.Diss me i ain't responding.N@#$ living on Instagram can't pay rent with 'em comments, i'm midtown with some lawyers trying to add a coupl more commas'.I toasted to Hip Hop when I first heard this,I ain't pouring nothing no where coz its still here.Dave East...Respek to a real one.
Cassidy's TAKE YOU DOWN feat Jeremiah was a really nice song and it reminded me of GET NO BETTER off his SPLIT PERSONALITY album which is one of my fav love joints of all time.
CDQ dropped the album-QUALITY and it had some great stuff on it.Woss is streets in streets out and everyone expected a strictly street content.SALARO,FERRARI and GBEMISAYA feat Skales were my best songs.
Glad to see Ace hood ditch the singing on STARVATION 5.Hoped he would after last year's mixtape and album.It was that appealing mean delivery all through.BEAST OF THE SOUTH was 'that black boy from the south' in full throttle. Beastly shii.
YFN Lucci had a remix to KEYS TO THE STREET feat 2chainz,Lil Wayne and Quavo...The 2chainz flow was on steroids and the tunechi verse was my favourite this year.Tune released a joint album with 2chainz called COLLEGROVE and whether or not it was going to be dope,I just knew there was that one song I was going to love senseless and it turned out to be SECTION.2chainz blew me to bits with that verse..one of my best this year.Tune wasn't at his best but 2chainz more than made up for that.
He was on Timbaland's album as well with THIS ME,F IT!!.The swag is branded,only 2chainz can do 2chainz.Beliiy Dat.
Phyno dropped THE PLAYMAKER album and it more than lived up to expectations.ABULO is the best naija trap joint ever made and OBIAGU was a really nice warrior song.NNO MA and YES I PRAY were really great songs and then you had the hits we had already known-FADA FADA, one of the best songs made this year, E SURE FOR ME  and PINO PINO.
Sojay's CHINENYE was a great song, had me feeling thankful all through.Na God.Ice Prince dropped JOS2THEWORLD and it didn't quite live up to expectations.He understood he needed to rap more and when he did,it just wasn't Ice Prince. Someone actually did start a BringBackIceprince movement months before the album dropped. WANT IT ALL  was a really good song and I would attribute that more to Krept and Konan (whom he featured) than anything else.BOSS feat Tekno I had already heard as a single and its really tight.It was Pop Prince popping shii up.Still think this song deserved to be way bigger than it is.
Reminisce dropped the latest installment to his cypher sessions-FEEGO feat Seriki,Ola Dips & Ice Prince. Ice did look like he was getting back to his rapping best here and it gave me a hard-on for his album.FEEGO was dope...cartel dope.
KOKER's KO LE WERK drove me nuts.It became obvious Davido pulled a coup by signing Dremo when he dropped OJERE.Has a very distinctive style that reminds you of 2chainz-dope witty lines.Cracked up bad when I heard him say even the ones wey dey cover book for class don dey famz now,Ojere!!.
Cynthia Morgan's OLOWO is one that will not be forgotten in a hurry and Tekno's PANA is up there with the very best made this year.
Young Thug had a very busy year spawning records and features at an alarming rate.BREAD WINNER was the 1st  Thugga song on my playlist and then F CANCER (Shoutout to Boosieeee!!.Lol) all on the same mixtape.Asides the title,one other thing about the NO,MY NAME IS JEFFREY mixtape was that he made songs named after stars he loved.There was RIHANNA,there was SWIZZ BEATZ and others.POP MAN feat Wyclef Jean isn't just my personal favourite,it was one of the very best I heard and up there with the most creative as well...'Wamp Wamp,Wet Wet!!!'.Lool.
Vybz Cartel's COULDN'T was top notch and Maino's HEARD YOU was ill...'F my old B like am new N'.Lool.He was made Brooklyn Ambassador of rap coupla weeks ago and it was giving honour to whom its due.
Its a miracle how E-40 does what he does.For a man in his 50s,the Legend sure doesn't show any signs of slowing down.He featured AD on ONE and it was great.
Travis Scott had everyone buzzing this year and his biggest hit was PICK UP THE PHONE feat Young Thug and Quavo.Tight stuff.Wale switched up a bit on his version of PULL UP HOP OUT and it was seamless.'i can go anywhere and i can go with 10 hoes & 'em 10 hoes could be cousins'.One of the craziest lines I heard all year.Lool.Early in the year,he made BRYCE HARPER (MVP) and it was Wale at his best.Guy is a beast..'Don't pitch no birds but off them words out that 3rd,am Escobar'.He showed you what a good delivery could do to a song on the remix to Lil Kesh's CAUSE TROUBLE.Adapted pretty nice.He killed the verse on Reminisce's ASSALAMA ALLIEKUM remix as well.
Cobhams is starting to produce some really funny tracks and I think THE OTHER ROOM feat Ugovinna is the funniest yet.It came after the President said his wife belonged in 'the other room'.The song had the potential to be funnier than it was if Ugovinna had worked a lil extra hard on the lyrics.But it was really great.
Pusha T made one helluva copacetic song in CIRCLES feat Ty Dolla $ and Desiigner.Sometimes its really not just about getting the hottest artistes on a track,its about making their talents all come together to create the best possible sound.King Push did just that on CIRCLES. Ty with his unique voice and Desiigner speaking Desiigner. Lool.
B.O.B made the best socially conscious song I heard since his MISSING and it was called VULTURES. It was 'Bobby Ray' spitting just what he felt about the system and being one who has seen the ills of hypocritical leadership up close by virtue of being African,i could very much relate to it.Its my joint best rap song along with Meek's PRAY FOR 'EM.He also made the craziest Christmas carol I ever heard alongside No Genre and Jaque Beatz-a gun-weilding Santa copping bricks and making that MF snow.
G-Eazy's VENGEANCE ON MY MIND was a really inspirational one.I loved it a whole lot.Meek Mill dropped ALL I WANNA DO feat Chris Brown and Breezy was at his hook-killing best.That Breezy I love so much.
Word is Omeeka have split for real this time and that Nicki is currently involved with Fetty Wap.Well I guess time will confirm or disprove that like it did after rumours of her dating Meek surfaced.Fetty and Nicki made what might just turn out to be the last bonafide hit of 2016 in LIKE A STAR.Fabulous piece of work.Nicki did justice to her verse and Fetty was awesome with the sing along hook.Fetty Wap was featured by Block Boys on ALERT and rapping 'Zoovier' helped made better and already dope track.
Eric Manny's Runtown dropped a classic love song called MAD OVER YOU and it was a sweet victory for all those fans that saw something in him they had never seen in anyone from the very beginning.Song is tearing up charts everywhere as at the time of writing this.Eric Manny,owned by the billionaire mogul,Dili also signed Emeka this year and his IN MY ZONE is one of the best rap songs I heard all year.Watch out for Emeka,dude's got insane talent.Airtight song.
Well just about everyone loved The Chainsmokers' CLOSER. Words can't possibly express how I feel about this song.Classic is my best attempt.
COMING HOME by Trey Songz was an ecstatic lover heading home for Xmas and I loved it to bits.
Johnny Drille's Headies-nominated WAIT FOR ME was one of the best songs made out of this country in the last decade or more.It was released in 2015 but I only got to hear it this year and I have being fiending since.2T Boys' CUSTOMER DADA NI was Headies-nominated as well and it dazzled me beyond words..Great concept.
Wiz Khalifa was one of the artistes that made my year tick.He kept it slow and soft on NO FIGHTING and I was mesmerized to no end.He was on Snoop's KUSH UPS and he made a really great hook...'Roll a whole book up..I'm in the crib doing Kush ups!!'.He kept up the A-game shii on Currensy's SPEED BOAT.Dope stuff.

Currensy made magic on TOLD ME THAT feat Starlito as well.Hard for a year to roll by without getting at least a Kid Ink song to drive me nuts and this year it was LAMBORGHINI DREAMING feat Verse Simmonds.

There you have it,my best songs for the year 2016.A really long walk I must say but thanks for sticking by.