ROUNDUP: The Best Singles of 2019
Time for one last long look back at The Year That Was. This joint is really more of a collaboration, but I’ll never indict any of my co-conspirators here; it's just been a month of side conversations. (And one open thread on Facebook, there's some great picks there, too.)
That said, of course: this is all objectively true and if you disagree with a word of it, you're wrong.
Ripstick - 99 Neighbors
This young crew had, perhaps, the single greatest single year in VTHH history. They also ran up a lightning-hot string of singles all summer long. Yet no single song got mentioned more often by more people than "Ripstick," a track that unites grumpy old boom-bap heads and young fans. It's also got a dope, urgent, cinematic music video to match. A grand slam home run, in other words.
Konflik - The Foulness of Being Young, Gifted and Black
Konflik never exactly left, but in 2019, he re-asserted his place in the pantheon in a big way. First up was "Microphone Fiend," a blast of old-school flow pyrotechnics and a tribute to the god Rakim, but he stepped it up even further on his follow-up single, "The Foulness of Being Young, Gifted and Black." It's a nod to Big Daddy Kane, of course, but Konflik builds a monumental track that is completely his own.
Jun Fargo ft. March Davis - Finesse
Jun Fargo and March Davis are both serious talents who don't get the coverage they deserve here. Case in point: "Finesse" is a honed, catchy, and flawless single that will bang in the car, in the club and on the radio. March Davis has been seeing a lot of success outside the state of Vermont -- for years now, too -- and it's a safe bet that Jun Fargo's futuristic R&B style is destined for the same path in 2020.
D.FRENCH ft. Yung Breeze and Raw Deff - On Gawd
Proud St. Albans representative D.FRENCH made huge waves in 2019, dropping two outstanding projects that managed to unite almost every clique and crew in the state. His blend of boom bap, tight bars, and pop sensibility has something for everyone, and damn near everyone seems to love it. So while it's hard to pick a single track ("What It Is" and "Dance" both came up a lot, too) the combination of the verses, the beat and the hook put "On Gawd" on top. This is still stuck in my head months later.
Pro ft. Fattie B - Naturally
Pro has grown into an elder statesman of sorts for the 802 scene. He supports everyone, he's generous with his time and his advice, and he raps circles around pretty much all of us, too. He's been working at an incredible pace for years now, but his solo debut After Dinner Before Dawn was a triumph that's been in rotation from Burlington to Berlin and back. "Naturally" is a feel-good single that features Fattie B delivering one of the best verses of his long, distinguished career.
Omega Jade - Power Of My Mantra
Omega Jade’s debut album Wounded Healer featured some of the best writing of 2019, synthesizing her spoken word and standup comedy roots with a lifetime hip hop influences. Once again, it's hard to pick the one best joint, but "Power of My Mantra" manages to demonstrate her entire skillset and deliver an artistic manifesto, all in the space of three minutes. (Also check out "War Cry," featuring one of BTV's best pure spitters, Bitzzzzz.)
Es-K - World Travel
Producer / composer Es-K spent 2019 dropping some of the best work of his long, distinguished career. "World Travel," though, is a pefect single song introduction to both his style and his extended family of musical collaborators. I've written so many superlatives about Es-K by this point, I'm unable to do anything but repeat myself, so: this is an all-time great 802 talent who is representing us on a worldwide level, project after project, month after month, and he's still evolving & growing. Get caught up on everything he did in 2019. You won't regret a single second of the ride.
Chyse ft. Tata - Ride
Chyse is one of the best rappers the Green Mountain State has ever seen, a pure, natural talent. Everything he dropped in 2019 was impeccable, and he's ready for a much bigger spotlight. Two of his videos made the final round for the 2019 VTHH Awards -- "Anyday" and "Look What You Started" -- but my personal favorite was this short, potent collaboration with Tata, "Ride." If you get an opportunity to see this cat live, do so. He is destined for either Los Angeles or Atlanta, and it'll probably be both.
Wax ft. Jarv - I Got It
Jarvage Vol. 2 was wall to wall burning flames, an embarrassment of riches. It was cutting edge and classic at the same time, a self-produced love letter to the genre. Despite that, one of Jarv's finest moments in 2019 was this collaboration with Los Angeles legend (and one of the original internet viral sensations) Wax, "I Got It." This was a perfectly timed summer jam, genuinely catchy, feel-good stuff. Expect to see Jarv everywhere in 2020 -- hopefully we finally get that Maiden Voyage debut LP this year, too.
Big Homie Wes ft. The Big Scrilla & DZY - Blood Sweat Yearz
Big Homie Wes dropped a lean, strong project at the beginning to 2019, Contraband. It was a testament to how much he's honed his own flavor as a solo artist, so it feels almost unfair to spotlight another StiltzGang posse cut, but ... it's a gem, just like "Scooby Snacks" was in 2018. The beat, the vibe, the chemistry between the emcees -- this is just an excellent slice of rap music. Wes has been hitting the lab hard lately so expect more beautiful noise very soon.
XP - Say It Ain’t So
In a year full of notable comebacks and returns, XP's string of killer singles really stands out. It also makes it hard to pick a top track, but "Say It Ain't So" is a standout precisely because it's such an unexpected turn. XP is a boom bap fundamentalist with a 90's mentality, so taking on not only pop, but pop-trap, is a wild twist. Wilder still, it really fucking works. This is top notch stuff, and proof that his engineering & mixing game is getting professional as heck, too.
Causin’ Effect - Extortion
So, yeah, speaking of "notable comebacks and returns." The reunion of Vazy and Jibba "The Gent" as Causin’ Effect was a long time coming, but they've both been building the tools (and the networks) to make a real career out of this rap game. "All Right" was a catchy anthem that hewed true to their country rap roots, but "Extortion" was a monolith outta nowhere with a music video to match. Like "Ripstick" and "Naturally," this is another song that came up constantly in conversations with other artists. It also took Music Video Of The Year in the 2019 VTHH Awards.
Flip Physics - The Crown
Flip Physics has long been, as the bloggers say, “criminally under-rated” — but that's finally starting to change. He's the human hub of the 802 beat scene, in a lot of ways, and a tireless hard worker & student of the artform. He's also been running the Sample Challenge competitions over at the Vermont Hip Hop Artists Collective group, which have been increasingly impressive. "The Crown" is a low key masterpiece of a composition, and it also won the Vinyl Frontier Beat Battle, which is an international contest. In the immortal words of Ron Burgundy: "Kind of a big deal."
Alpha ft. Yung Breeze - Art Of War
Alpha did pretty much everything right as a new artist: he sought out quality mentors, held himself to high standards, and took his time crafting pro-grade product. "Art of War" is a classic blueprint that will never age, tight verses over a banging beat. And as long as you're going all out on a track, well, Yung Breeze is the right collaborator to call. Holding your own on a cut with one of the 802's finest motormouths is a real achievement, and we can expect great things from Alpha in the months to come.
Highh Def - Floetic
One of 2019's most unexpected hits was Highh Def's country rap jam "Floetic." Dude has an effortless flow, a sly pen game, and on top of all that, he's got a genuine, soulful singin' voice, too. His breakout single was a perfect introduction to his easygoing style and outsized personality, and based on nearly every conversation I've had over the last month, he left everyone wanting more. Sure enough, he's been hard at work in the lab. No word yet on when we can hear the second wave, but rest assured, it's coming.
Learic & Es-K ft. Jarv & DJ Kanga - Amen
Aztext co-founder Learic had a dynamite 2019, dropping two of best rap albums Vermont had to offer. First up was the incomparable narrative project The Theorist, which was truly a movie on wax, laid down over some of SkySplitterInk's best -- and funkiest -- production to date. Then he followed that up with Thought Instruments, a packed smorgasbord of true school hip hop and hyper-literate lyricism that he cooked up in the lab with Es-K. "Amen" is a tour de force that also features Jarv and DJ Kanga on the cuts, truly an All Star team.
Bourbon Legends ft. Ruste Juxx - Razor Blade Flow
Bourbon Legends is an 802 supergroup of sorts, consisting of Hoarsehed, Eyedos and Eugenyks. So that's Epidemiks, JynxINC, and Joint Manipulation all being represented in one lineup -- some of the most creative, uncompromising hip hop acts from outside the Chittenden County Bubble. Fittingly enough, the group apparently formed around a mutual love of just plain getting lit and kicking freestyles. If you can't respect that, you're already dead. For "Razor Blade Flow," everyone is bringing 110% and they even got NYC legend Ruste Juxx to spit the hook.
Jazzy The Kid & Dokowala - No Breather
The combination of St. Albans producer Dokowala and Vermont ex-pat Jazzy the Kid is perfection. The musical, staccato flows, the intricate rhyme schemes, and the rich, organic boom-bap all coheres into something timeless, every time. So it's good news that this duo is working on a followup to their 2018 debut EP, Stay Pushing. You just can't beat organic chemistry. "No Breather" is the lead single from their forthcoming sequel, and it's a more polished and propulsive beast than anything on their last outing. I think everyone is going to be surprised by this one.
Rivan C ft. Eva Rawlings - Stupid Qpid
Even with his earliest SoundCloud demos, Rivan C has been a attention-grabbing talent. That's partly due to his cool, calm delivery -- this kid owns the mic better than a lot of dudes twice his age. The other major factor is the clarity & agility of his writing. This is a rapper with a lot of shit on his mind, and the toolkit to communicate every last bit of it. He's also ambitious; this is apparently the lead single for a conceptual album that dissects youth culture through the lens of Greek mythology. Having recently joined up with jazz-rap phenoms Juicebox, I'd wager that Rivan C will become an unavoidable name before summer.
SkySplitterInk ft. DJ Kanganade - Triage
Finally, it would an affront to almost all four elements if I omitted one of 2019's highlights, "Triage." This dropped just as the year was getting started, but it's still a high water mark for sheer creativity -- and true school tradition. DJ Kanganade is a famously great guy, endlessly enthusiastic about his craft and the history behind it. He's also an absolutely spooky talent, the result of (approximately) billions of hours woodshedding his chops on the turntables. This single is a serious workout over a SkySplitterInk monster, and a bulletproof business card. You should get this young man to cut a scratch hook or three on your next project while you can still afford him.