Thanks for putting this together. Great to see “Freedom 2” included here- they included it in Bleep's Top 100 for 2023 (generally more electronica) but I'd argue that there is increasing crossover between genres at the moment especially within electronica and hip-hop. This beat really suits Kwengface and I especially enjoyed it last year when Denzel Curry experimented with Drum and Bass on his album or that single with JPEGMAFIA and Y2K “Dirt” that was actually released as a single in 2023 I think(?) that's def a sound I'm more into personally.

 

Also really loving “Little Things” and especially “Spirit 2.0” <3

 

I sadly wasn't as in to “Kill Bill” as much as SZA's other output, “Good Days” ended up as my number 2 favourite single of 2021 tho so it was a tough hurdle to match really.

 

I'm also loving to see hip-hop branch out a bit more and see more blends with other genres, especially electronic genres. I also loved the JPEGMAFIA X Y2K song as well (just checked and it came out quite late on in 2022, I was unsure as well :lol:)

 

Spirit 2.0 :wub:

 

I don't listen to much R&B/Hip-Hop but Sampha's album has been a real highlight of the year for me. Like Dr B above, I too like Freedom 2 and am definitely interested in the acts that are crossing over into electronic based influences - including Sampha himself now I think about it, some of the tracks on Lahai definitely have some drum & bass vibes in the production.

 

Yeah, the electronic influences were even more prolific on 'Lahai' compared to his debut. I'd love to see more songs that fall under the electronic inspired side of R&B and hip-hop in the mainstream!

 

'AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM' was already one of my faves from 'RENAISSANCE' but elevated even further by a fantastic Kendrick performance (I do like him having fun sometimes as much as I love the more serious material on his own albums ofc x) :wub: shame it still didn't end up becoming a huge hit but at least a few weeks in the top 40 is better than nothing. 'Cobra' is one of my favourite songs from Megan to date (though the lyrics do make me worry about her), would be cool to see her further experment with rock sounds after this working unexpectedly well. 'Run, Run, Run' another great BJSC entry from you ofc (the triple rap qualifiers that contest *.*), I do need to pay attention to McKinley more going forward, I heard a clip of another song off the album ('Tyler Forever') recently and that sounded brilliant as well.

 

The verses on 'All My Life' are good (especially Cole's) but I was never super keen on the hook (also it's a Dr. Luke production so x). 'Double Fantasy' is definitely the best of the songs from The Idol that I've heard, I don't ever really remember how it goes oops but I do enjoy it a lot whenever it's on! I don't often find Drake's timestamp songs to be worth revisiting but '8am In Charlotte' is easily the best I've heard and one of the highlights from 'For All The Dogs', was good to see Conductor Williams getting such a mainstream production placement. 'Doomsday' is up there with the best posthumous Juice releases, the chemistry with Cordae is great indeed.

 

I do worry for Megan as well and I can see where these feelings are coming from, life has been really tough for her in recent times :( Three rap qualifiers in that BJSC contest was indeed iconic, the Abeltesfayeton impact :lol:

 

I didn't remember that Dr. Luke produced 'All My Life' at all oop. It does work out as the production is the weakest part of the song for me by far... I'm also totally here for Conductor Williams producing for more mainstream artists and getting some commercial recognition. 'Stories About My Brother' from the Scary Hours edition of 'For All The Dogs' was also another great cut produced by him.

10. Killer Mike & André 3000 - SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS (feat. Future & Eryn Allen Kane)



Killer Mike's mega-collaboration with André 3000, Future and R&B singer Eryn Allen Kane just scrapes into the top 10 this year! It originates from Mike's sensational 6th studio album 'Michael' which was released back in the June of 2023. The song features Outkast legend André 3000 performing his only rapped song/feature of 2023 despite releasing his debut album the same year. Instead André released 'New Blue Sun', an experimental flute album that was actually solid :lol: Mike, André and Future all perform fantastically on their own verses giving hope that maybe the latter could have a great next album in him even if his other features in 2023 weren't anything exceptional (he has a supposed album with Metro Boomin' coming soon...).

9. Travis Scott - THANK GOD (feat. KayCyy)



Here he is.... Travis Scott is back in this list! His highest entry (so far.....) comes in the form of the sophomore song off of 'UTOPIA'. 'THANK GOD' is an incredible display from Travis and KayCyy who is uncredited on the song for singing the chorus. There is another feature on the song which is none other than Travis' daughter Stormi and I'm still convinced that Don Toliver sings the 'Oh' between the 2nd chorus and the 3rd verse :lol: 'THANK GOD' has the best production of any hip-hop song this year for me so well done to Travis and the others who were involved :clap: I'm quite glad that this song didn't end up on Kanye West's 'Donda', Travis has done a much better job on it than I could've seen Kanye doing imo.

8. Tyler, The Creator - SORRY NOT SORRY



'SORRY NOT SORRY' is another exceptional song from 'Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale' that features some incredible production from Tyler himself. The genius of this song is in the lyrics. It sees Tyler apologising to many people for several different reasons including hiding his sexuality, polluting the planet by using cars and being distant from his friends. The video is also a classic. The new shirtless Tyler appears alongside other Tylers of the past (each representing a past musical era for him). The new Tyler takes the old Tylers throughout the video and kills them, with Tyler Baudelaire (of the 'Call Me If You Get Lost' era) being viciously killed last (RIP). With the standard of his B-sides being this high, there is no denying that whatever Tyler releases next will be nothing but pure quality.

7. Raye - Ice Cream Man.



'Ice Cream Man' is a song that can melt any listener's heart, especially mine. The song taken from RAYE's debut album 'My 21st Century Blues' was the final single from the album prior to it's release. The song was another commercial success for RAYE, charting just outside the UK top 40 singles chart. The song deals with RAYE's horrifying and heartbreaking past experiences of being sexually abused and raped. From what I've seen from discussions about the making of this song is that it was incredibly hard to make for RAYE. I'm so proud that she did this song. To put it in her own words, she's "a very ******* brave, strong woman'.


6. Drake - First Person Shooter (feat. J. Cole)



For 10 years we waited for a collaboration between Drake and J. Cole. Since 2013 Drake has become the world's most popular rapper and Cole is possibly the best rapper lyrically in the world (Kendrick & JID are up to his standard though). 'First Person Shooter' is much better than I could've anticipated. The 'big as the Superbowl' part of the song sees Drake and J. Cole flexing in a pretty descriptive way. Cole also declares that he, Drake and Kendrick Lamar are the three G.O.A.T.s of hip-hop (true for Cole and the latter but the proper question is.... How much did Drake pay Cole to mention him :lol:). Then there is the beat switch-up..... The songs turns from quite a steady and bright beat to a menacing, fast-paced, head-banging beat that Drake does wonders across. He also name drops all of his dogs in this part as well (Nadine, Christine, Justine, Kathleen, Charlene, Pauline & Claudine). This duo are going on tour next year together, could this mean they have an album coming? I certainly hope so.

5. Travis Scott - TELEKINESIS (feat. SZA & Future)



Everything about this song would've made it the perfect ending to Travis Scott's 'UTOPIA'. The softer tone of the track, the smooth crooning and the strings at the end of the track would've made it a faultless outro. As you will have gathered It wasn't, to my disappointment :( Instead the outro was 'Till Further Notice' which was kind of meaningless in comparison to 'TELEKINESIS'. I believe that 'I san see the future' is a much better album-ending lyric than 'I'll keep you posted'. Anyway.... Back to the song. Like most songs on 'UTOPIA', the production value of the song is insanely high. Future and Travis both have excellent parts on the song and the hook is infectious. However, the highlight comes nearly 4 minutes into the song. It is of course SZA's incredible vocal display (possibly her best ever) which ends the song. Listening to this part of the track feels like you are being literally being knocked off of your seat with its majesty :lol:


4. Doja Cat - Attention



The lead single to 'Scarlet' marked a serious change in sound for Doja Cat. Her previous album 'Planet Her' was a commercial smash spawning endless pop-influenced hits ('Kiss Me More', 'Woman', 'You Right', 'Need To Know' + more). However in early 2023 (or late 2022, I can't really remember oop) she declared that she would depart from the pop-ish sound entirely and go hard on rapping. Well done to her, she made the right decision :clap: 'Attention' is a trip-hop and boom-bap inspired track from Doja. Doja proves her rapping skills on the song, she works really well on the beat (produced by Y2K who ironically produced a few tracks off of 'Planet Her'). I really hope Doja stays with rapping. Thankfully It looks like it will stay that way for now.


3. Travis Scott - HYAENA



Coming 3rd and getting the bronze medal is...... Travis Scott with his final entry in this list titled 'HYAENA'! 'HYAENA' was the perfect opening to 'UTOPIA'. This song proved everyone who thought that 'UTOPIA' "would be a mid album that played on the sound of 'Astroworld' again" wrong. Instead, Travis took us to a dark and energetic place. The song samples two classic 1970s songs: 'Proclamation' by Gentle Giant and 'Maggot Brain' by Funkadelic. Both work exceptionally well within the song. Travis also has an impeccable flow throughout the song. And to top it all off we get a classic Mike Dean synth-driven outro. However, was this the best intro track of an album in 2023. No (yes, another intro to a 2023 album will be somewhere in the top 2 :thinking:)

And the final two are........

 

:silver:2. KAYTRANADA & Rochelle Jordan - Lover/Friend

 

 

Just missing out on the highly sought-after title of being the Best R&B/Hip-Hop song of 2023 is KAYTRANADA & Rochelle Jordan's 'Lover/Friend'. This song is the definition of R&B perfection. The song features absolutely stunning vocals from Rochelle Jordan who works so well on Kay's production. The song also features an incredible chorus that lyrically has a lot of similarity to the Spice Girls' 'Wannabe' (the lyric is 'Heard you wanna be my lover, wanna be more than friends' compared to 'If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends'). Hopefully, this is an indication that Kay's next album will be of a very high standard.

 

 

The winner is.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Lil Yachty & Diana Gordon - the BLACK seminole.

 

 

Congratulations to Lil Yachty and Diana Gordon (fka Wynter Gordon) who claim the title of the best R&B/hip-hop song of 2023 with their masterpiece 'the BLACK seminole.', taken from Yachty's album 'Let's Start Here' which was released back in January 2023 :cheer: It is certainly a controversial decision for me to put this at #1. 'Let's Start Here' marked a new sound for Yachty. He drifted away from his typical hip-hop sound and instead he experimented with psychedelic rock. This song is a psych rock song so maybe it isn't really a fitting #1 however Yachty is usually a hip-hop artist so I thought it was fair for it to be #1 (I'll do anything to get it a bit more recognition :lol:). The song features obvious inspiration from Pink Floyd's (overrated) album 'The Dark Side Of The Moon'. The song also features phenomenal vocals from Diana Gordon at the end which sound an awful lot like Florence Welch's vocals :lol: I desperately hope this psych rock sound isn't a one off for Yachty but I'm not getting my hopes up that we'll recieve a follow-up album.

 

Once again... Congrats to Lil Yachty & Diana Gordon! And an extra special thank you to everyone who commented :heart:

The Full List

50. J Hus - It's Crazy
49. Doja Cat - Demons
48. Nines - Daily Duppy
47. Headie One & K-Trap - PARK CHINOIS
46. JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown - SCARING THE HOES
45. Lyrical Lemonade, Jack Harlow & Dave - Stop Giving Me Advice
44. Travis Scott - MODERN JAM (feat. Teezo Touchdown)
43. Drake - Rich Baby Daddy (feat. Sexxy Red & SZA)
42. Tems - Me & U
41. JID - Van Goph (feat. Lil Yachty)
40. The Kid LAROI - Sorry
39. Teezo Touchdown - Sweet (feat. Fousheé)
38. Lil Yachty & J. Cole - The Secret Recipe
37. Drake - Tried Our Best
36. Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar - The Hillbillies
35. Sampha - Spirit 2.0
34. Raye - Oscar Winning Tears
33. 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne - Long Story Short
32. Janelle Monáe - Float (feat. Sean Kuti & Egypt 80)
31. Kwengface, Overmono & Joy Orbison - Freedom 2
30. Lil Uzi Vert - Suicide Doors
29. 070 Shake - Natural Habitat (feat. Ken Carson)
28. Nicki Minaj - Let Me Calm Down (feat. J. Cole)
27. Jorja Smith - Little Things
26. Dave & Central Cee - Trojan Horse
25. Bad Bunny - MONACO
24. SZA - Kill Bill (feat. Doja Cat)
23. Ice Spice & Nicki Minaj - Princess Diana
22. Kenny Mason - Dracula
21. Tyler, The Creator - DOGTOOTH
20. Beyoncé - AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM (feat. Kendrick Lamar)
19. McKinley Dixon - Run, Run, Run
18. Megan Thee Stallion - Cobra
17. Metro Boomin & James Blake - Hummingbird
16. Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist - Sirius Blac
15. Lil Durk - All My Life (feat. J. Cole)
14. The Weeknd - Double Fantasy (feat. Future)
13. Drake - 8am In Charlotte
12. JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown - Lean Beaf Patty
11. Lyrical Lemonade, Juice WRLD & Cordae - Doomsday
10. Killer Mike & André 3000 - SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS (feat. Future & Eryn Allen Kane)
9. Travis Scott - THANK GOD (feat. KayCyy)
8. Tyler, The Creator - SORRY NOT SORRY
7. Raye - Ice Cream Man.
6. Drake - First Person Shooter (feat. J. Cole)
5. Travis Scott - TELEKINESIS (feat. SZA & Future)
4. Doja Cat - Attention
3. Travis Scott - HYAENA
2. KAYTRANADA & Rochelle Jordan - Lover/Friend
1. Lil Yachty & Diana Gordon - the BLACK seminole.

I'm gonna try and find some time at some point to listen through all the songs from this list that I've not heard yet but quickly rounding up with the songs I did already know, 'the BLACK seminole.' is a fabulous choice of #1 even if not really fitting 'R&B/hip-hop' per se, I remember when I first saw the hype around the Yachty album I was unconvinced and initially wasn't planning to listen as I just heard 'sAy sOMETHINg' and wasn't initially that impressed by it but very thankful I ended up changing my mind, hearing that song as the intro immediately rewarded me as it is quite stunning :wub: I really liked most of the rest of the album too (and 'sAy sOMETHINg' did grow on me a lot too), my other big standouts were 'IVE OFFICIALLY LOST ViSiON!!!!' and 'REACH THE SUNSHINE.' <3

 

'THANK GOD' was actually one of my least favourite songs on the Travis album oops but I can certainly get behind your other two picks here, especially 'TELEKINESIS' which I'm surprised wasn't your highest ranked from it! 'Attention' was another really good single from Doja, glad she gave that its moment as the lead single rather than jumping straight to the more obvious 'Paint The Town Red'. Drake's album was a mixed bag as per usual from him but 'First Person Shooter' was my immediate fave from it and I think it's only got better with more listens for me, such a banger, Cole on top form and Drake's post beat switch section is really addictive for me even if not super strong lyrically. 'Ice Cream Man.' is another absolute stunner although quite the gut punch lyrically. And I still need to listen to the rest of the Estate Sale tracks oops but luckily have heard 'SORRY NOT SORRY' since it did make the UK chart and that is a huge banger too, also loved the music video, shame Tyler broke his streak of dropping a new full album each 2 years but at least we got something from him!