TRAP RAP 2010s
Best trap tracks this decade. |
| 1 | Bones
RestInPeace
An extremely short track, but when Bones' screams come in, I get chills. Sonically, there isn't one song that goes as hard as this one. A few come close though. |
| 2 | The Game
Really (feat. Yo Gotti, 2 Chainz, Soulja Boy, T.I.)
The choral backbone of the production on this track is nothing short of epic. Everyone absolutely murders their verse, especially Game. Unfortunately, this one went a bit under the radar for most listeners. |
| 3 | Kendrick Lamar
Alright
No one but K-Dot can craft a song so uplifting, but still keep that hype element in the mix. This is an extremely powerful song, through its lyrics as well as its presentation. So much so that this has essentially become the Black Lives Matter movement's anthem. |
| 4 | Logic
Gang Related
Logic shows off his storytelling abilities on this track. The haunting vocal sample loop over the rattling trap percussion is a proper fit for Logic's lyrics about gang violence. |
| 5 | Mick Jenkins
Martyrs
Mick spits about troubled youth getting stuck in vicious cycles because of today's popular culture. A female vocal and clean guitar sample reverberate and echo around Mick's lyrics |
| 6 | Jay Rock
Vice City (feat. Black Hippy)
Hands down, this is the quintessential Black Hippy track. Each member uses the same sort of delayed flow in their verse while still adding in their own style. I've especially never heard Q sound this hungry before. |
| 7 | Vince Staples
Señorita
When the kick abruptly stutters in this song... OH GOD. Too good. The high register of Vince's voice works well with the spastic the beat and the high octave piano loop. |
| 8 | Tyler, the Creator
THE BROWN STAINS OF DARKEESE LATIFAH PART 6-12 (REMIX) (feat. ScHoolboy Q)
The drop in this song might actually kill you if you're not ready for it. This is THE song to blare at max volume in rich upper class neighborhoods. You know what I'm talking about. |
| 9 | Denzel Curry
Threatz (feat. Yung Simmie & Robb Bank$)
This is more of a war chant than anything. We don't take kindly threats. Conceptually, there isn't much to these verses. But they are some of the meanest, most stink-face-inducing verses, you will ever hear. |
| 10 | $uicideboy$
Paris
This song essentially breaks down into four parts, each differentiated by the unique inflection and accents used from more monotone to completely eccentric. Eerie beat is a good canvas to show the range $uicideboy$ is capable of. |
| 11 | The Underachievers
Herb Shuttles
Listen up. There hasn't been a rap duo as good as Underachievers since OutKast. You heard it here first. Issa and AK balance each other out beautifully. Fast-paces verses with actual substance to them like these are hard to come by. |
| 12 | ASAP Rocky
Long Live A$AP
One of the best rap album intro tracks ever. This song has a very dark tone dealing with death, morality, and god. The staccato ah's pop around throughout the track and the eerie hook help to tie everything together. |
| 13 | ASAP Ferg
Shabba (feat. ASAP Rocky)
Ignant track. One gold tooth like I'm Sha-Shabba Ranks. Verses delivered with Jamaican Patois. There was a point in time that any hip hop venue you would go to would playing this song before the show. Perfect for getting people's energy up. |
| 14 | Big K.R.I.T.
King of the South
K.R.I.T. should just be handed his crown at this point. No newcomers from the deep south comes close in terms of technical skill on a rattling trap beat. And this song perfectly demonstrates that. |
| 15 | Drake
6 God
I've never been a big Drake fan. But IYRTITL changed that. Drake ditched his soft persona on this project and it was definitely a step in the right direction. "You too worried about the bitches." |
| 16 | Future
I Serve the Base
WHAT IS THIS BEAT. Metro Boomin is a genius. It sounds like a swarm of angry bees. And Future is right in the middle of it all, nonchalantly rapping with his usual apathetic style. It's a weird blend, but it works. |
| 17 | Drake and Future
Jumpman
What a Time to be Alive did not live up to its expectations. But it definitely had it's highlights. Jumpman is undoubtedly one of them. If Drake + Future + Metro Boomin with a track like this doesn't make you feel like a complete boss, I don't know what will. |
| 18 | OG Maco
U Guessed It
This song got so much exposure that it inevitably became a meme that people would say they like ironically. But this was in some ways a game-changing track. Before it became an epidemic, a yelling delivery like Maco's was virtually unheard of in the mainstream scene. |
| 19 | T.I.
Check, Run It
THAT CHOIR SAMPLE. How do you not feel like running out and getting stuff done when you listen to this? T.I.'s fast energy in his verses contrast well with his slower hooks. The beat sounds like it's on some end-of-the-world tip. |
| 20 | Captain Murphy
Shake Weight (Bonus Track)
TNGHT's bipolar production blends well with Captain Murphy's pitch-shifting delivery. With a title like "Shake Weight" you can safely assume what it will allude to. FlyLo's disturbing alter ego usually caters to more offensive subject matters and I'm perfectly fine with that. Laugh it up, fuzzball. |
| 21 | Pro Era
Bun N Cheese
Around Pro Era's earlier days, it was rare to hear them on a trap beat. It is well-known that they came up thanks to their throwback 90s boom-bap style. So this is a nice change of a pace and is one of the best tracks off the PEEP tape. R.I.P. Steez. |
| 22 | Danny Brown
Smokin' & Drinkin'
Danny Brown is crazy. He is that one guy at a party that's just completely lost his mind. Bumping into everything, extremely loud, you can hardly understand what he's trying to say. This is basically drug-induced party insanity summed up in one song. |
| 23 | Kanye West
Facts (Charlie Heat Version)
WOO. Ye on that Jumpman flow. This Kanye's ego exorcised onto one track. Some of the most braggadocious lyrics I've ever heard. Business talk, I-got-more-money-than-you talk. What did you expect? |
| 24 | Jay-Z
FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt (feat. Rick Ross)
Victory lap song. Jay-Z may not have the same raw hunger he had back in the 90s like on "Reasonable Doubt." But he has unimaginable wealth and success today. Do the money dance and pretend you do, too. |
| 25 | Mac Miller
Insomniak (feat. Rick Ross)
It's just something about trap beats with vocal samples like this... Mac and Rick Ross both kill it. Verses about insomnia and being a workaholic, all in pursuit of them Franklins. |
| 26 | Travis Scott
Antidote
Though I'm not huge on Travis Scott's music, I also appreciate how he experiments with different styles in hip hop. The drop in this track is heavy. The production is wavy. And Travis' singing is very direct and not as whiny as other contemporary R&B singers. |
| 27 | Rittz
LAF
Production sounding like something ripped from a slasher flick. Straight murdering rappers. Rittz makes a joke out of the rap scene right now. Makes me laf. |
| 28 | Nyck Caution
What's Understood (feat. Joey Badass)
Please please please get Joey on more Metro Boomin beats. Everything would change. Pro Era x Metro Boomin 2016. This track was one of the few highlights from Nyck's tape. |
| 29 | Kirk Knight
Knight Time
The beat and hook on this track is fire. I only wish Kirk would put more energy in his delivery. But that's a small complaint. One of the best tracks of Kirk's tape, worth checking out. |
| 30 | Mark Battles
Going (feat. King Los)
The verse Los unleashed on this is one of the best I've ever heard. Good lord. This man said "You said you getting limelight? I was like, what? What, a diet Sprite?" Los completely ruined Mark Battles on his own track. |
| 31 | Freddie Gibbs
Mexico (feat. Tory Lanez)
Though I'll always prefer Freddie on Madlib production now after hearing "Piñata," he is more familiar to beats like these. And most of them work really well. A descending piano loop, a catchy Tory Lanez hook, and some tasty verses. |
| 32 | Young Thug
Drippin'
Thugger gets plenty of criticism for his lyrics. But the appeal of his music can be appreciated through his delivery. He experiments with different inflections and styles and I respect that. If you're going to give Young Thug only one chance, listen to this song. |
| 33 | Migos
Freak No More
"Do not try to run game on me, I'm not a Playstation. I'm not a 360." Low piano notes contribute to the backbone of the beat. With a catchy singing hook to boot. |
| 34 | Lil Dicky
Lemme Freak
Every medium of entertainment needs some sort of comic relief. That's where Lil Dicky comes in. This is a very relatable track about satisfying certain primal instincts. And the song itself has some clean production centered around what sounds like a vibraphone. |
| 35 | G-Eazy
I Mean It (feat. Remo)
G-Eazy's only good song in my opinion. But it's extremely catchy. Lyrics are simple, but are delivered with such conviction. Sounds like he really means it. |
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