Hip-hop

There was a time, not too long ago, when the term “LGBT rapper” did not exist. Of course there were lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender rappers out there but, the truth is, they simply were not accepted by the mainstream hip-hop community. As recently as 2012, it was considered somewhat taboo for Jay-Z to come out in support of gay marriage. Around the same time, Odd Future was catching flak for their overuse of a certain anti-gay slur that’s been around rap for decades. In 2017, Jay-Z’s mother came out as lesbian on 4:44 and Tyler, The Creator confirmed on Scum Fuck Flower Boy that he’s maybe, but maybe not, gay or bisexual, like fellow Odd Future members Frank Ocean and Syd.Those are still the most high-profile examples in hip-hop, and, despite Macklemore’s best intentions with “Same Love,” the genre has yet to accept a truly mainstream LGBT artist. But advances have still been made, and the fact that there are enough rappers to fill this playlist (as well as enough bad LGBT rappers that not all of them had to be included) shows how far the genre has come in a relatively short period of time.This playlist begins with the hits, in an attempt to prove that ILoveMakonnen and Young M.A. make songs we all like, regardless of their sexual preferences. Then we get into artists that have become icons of LGBT rap, like Le1f (pictured above), Cakes da Killa, and Big Freedia, as well as younger artists like Kevin Abstract and his Brockhampton group that consider being gay normal and probably wouldn’t even want to be on this list at all.The only non-LGBT artists here (aside from the aforementioned Jay-Z) are Chance the Rapper and Jeremih, who feature on Taylor Bennett’s song “Grown Up Fairy Tales.” They’re included because Taylor Bennett revealed earlier this year that he’s “a bisexual man,” and the fact that Chance—one of the world’s most popular, Christian rappers—is supporting his brother’s sexuality is yet another small but significant testament to the genre’s progress. (Even though Bennett’s other song on this list is called “Straight from the Bottom,” it’s also good.)There are a lot of openly LGBT rappers now, but things will be better when we don’t categorize them in that manner at all. In the meantime, enjoy these songs, all of which are great regardless of their creators’ sexual orientations.

In this recurring playlist, The Dowsers Mosi Reeves gathers new sounds and styles from across the hip-hop diaspora. Some are familiar, and others are personal favorites, but all reflect the state of rap as it is lived now.Every year brings a new culture war, and the dog days of 2017 have found us arguing over the alleged criminality of rappers like Xxxtentacion and Kodak Black, and whether listening to them amounts to tacit support. On their new projects, both men acknowledge their controversial reputation—and perhaps even ask for forgiveness. Elsewhere, Action Bronson rehashes his old Blue Chips mixtape formula, and makes a decent retail project in the process. And if you can’t be bothered with the drama surrounding the "lamestream," then there are vital indie voices like Milo and his densely literate art-rap.

Subscribe to the Spotify playlist here.2016 was a year of insurgent indie label artists breaking through to hip-hop radio, including Young M.A, YFN Lucci, and Chance The Rapper, whose jubilant gospel rap sound crossed over from self-released mixtapes to mainstream stardom with the help of killer guest verses by 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne on “No Problems.” Kevin Gates’s long-simmering buzz finally paid off with his first two platinum singles, the sweetly melodic “2 Phones” and the rampaging “Really Really.” Lil Yachty led the charge of a new generation of teen rappers with his breakout guest verse on D.R.A.M.’s “Broccoli.” And mainstays of radio playlists like Drake, Future, and Young Thug continued to dominate the airwaves along with post-prison comebacks from veterans Gucci Mane and Remy Ma.

The despondent cover image of Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. may reveal more about the unsettled nature of 2017 than the music itself. Yes, its lyrics contain references to far-right demagogues as well as his usual spiritual crises. But at heart, Lamar is an optimist, and he’s more likely to find strength in his self-lacerating critique than despair. The same could be said of the rap music we’ve heard so far: increasingly aware that something is wrong with the state of the world, but unclear as to how to respond. Life goes on. Future continues to issue his sepulchral takes on Southern trap; Migos fuels their rising fame with insatiably hooky memes; Drake cannibalizes trendspotter styles (and uses too many laptop filters in the process); Rick Ross regurgitates his luxury rap sound to pleasing but diminishing returns. There aren’t many new storylines, though the revival of Detroit street rap (via Tee Grizzley) may be a trend to watch. But the rap scene continues to unfold as it always has. If you’re waiting for the end of the world, what else can you do?

Donald Fagen and Walter Becker were already anachronisms when they met as jazz-obsessed teenagers in the late ‘60s and began to write the droll, harmonically complex songs that made Steely Dan one of the greatest and most unique bands of the ‘70s. So it’s not surprising that the duo who worked tirelessly to get the best performances out of skilled session players never had much interest in hip-hop and the art of sampling. They even made it difficult to clear samples; they negotiated for the entire songwriting credit and publishing for the Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz hit “Déjà Vu (Uptown Baby)” and only allowed a “Kid Charlemagne” sample on Kanye West’s “Champion” after West sent the duo a passionate handwritten letter. But even Steely Dan’s stingy attitude towards sample clearances hasn’t stopped dozens of artists from doing the necessary paperwork to obtain use of the band’s gloriously recorded jazz-rock grooves (though De La Soul may not have, which could be why one of the most famous Steely Dan samples, the “Peg” loop on “Eye Know,” isn’t available on streaming services). But while the Dan’s tightly syncopated grooves and densely detailed arrangements clearly attract crate-digging producers the most, Donald Fagen’s voice figures into a surprising number of samples, boasting “Yes, I’m gonna be a star” on Amiri’s “Star” or chanting “They don’t give a fuck about anybody else” on one of Super Furry Animals’ biggest UK chart hits. The Steely Dan songs that have been sampled by multiple artists offer a case study in how many options the band’s rich arrangements offer to beatmakers. Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz went for the obvious but irresistible opening bars of “Black Cow,” while MF Doom zeroed in on a lovely keyboard flourish that happens just once in the song’s bridge. And where Audio Bullys looped the hypnotic guitar lick from “Midnite Cruiser,” legendary Atlanta production team Organized Noize played the riff at three different speeds to create a whole new chord progression for Sleepy Brown’s solo track “Dress Up.” Becker, sadly, passed away on September 3, 2017. But his music lives on—and continues to find new audiences—through the many hip-hop, rock, and R&B tracks collected here.

Click here to subscribe to the Spotify playlist.In an era where singles carry the industry, and albums are just collected singles, and mixtapes are albums, TDE in 2016 approached their releases like Def Jam in 1998 — stuffing them to the gills. Each album featured the patented TDE approach of Two Songs For One, pioneered on Kendricks "Sing About Me, Im Dying of Thirst, the 12-minute capper on Good Kid, Maad City and followed by the seven-minute "Prescription/Oxymoron" on Schoolboy Qs Oxymoron. Check the track totals and album lengths this year:Ab-Soul, Do What Thou Wilt.: 16 songs, 77 minutesIsaiah Rashad, The Song’s Tirade: 17 songs, 63 minutesSchoolboy Q, Blank Face: 17 songs, 72 minutesKendrick Lamar, untitled unmastered: 8 songs, 34 minutesHaving the patience to make it past 10-12 songs in one sitting for any music fan is trying. TDEs position is its better to have more and not need it than to not have enough. Long gone are the days of GZAs philosophy of making albums "brief son, half short and twice as strong.” Blank Face would be a top 3 album if it closed with the title track, and Ab-Souls fascination with Lupe and Eminem would be better served in under 40 minutes.This would be a deterrent if not for the artists themselves choosing to eschew the pop charts they so clearly had their eyes on in the aftermath of Kendricks breakthrough Good Kid four years ago. Schoolboys Blank Face was a popcorn movie of an album, action-packed, fun, violent, and full of beloved heroes like Tha Dogg Pound, Jadakiss, and E-40. Isaiah Rashads The Suns Tirade was breezy and introspective, more than capable of soundtracking cookouts for the next 5 years. Ab-Soul doubled down on his Conspiracy Brother impulses on his third album Do What Thou Wilt, becoming the millennial Ras Kass in the process. And Kendricks untitled unmastered, while sloppy in parts, was an interesting bookend to Pimp a Butterfly — 34 minutes of outtakes and "How the hell was THAT not a single?" moments jampacked into 8 songs.This playlist is the easiest way to enjoy the high points from TDEs best overall year top to bottom without having to take on too much Netflix truther documentary talk from Ab-Soul, nihilistic glee from Schoolboy, unfinished jazzy ruminations from Kendrick, or mumble mouthed charm from Isaiah.

If you ask Big Boi to name his favorite albums of all time, he’ll include all of his own solo LPs. He’ll also throw in the Dungeon Family album, which he contributed to, and Janelle Monae’s The ArchAndroid, which he both appears on and executive produced. At least that’s what he did for a Complex feature in 2013, shortly after the release of his sophomore LP, Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors. Now that Big Boi’s released Boomiverse, his first solo album in five years, we’ve compiled a playlist featuring 25 tracks from those 25 favorite albums—21 of which actually don’t include him at all.Though Big Boi showed preference towards his own work for the Complex list, he conspicuously failed to include any of OutKast’s albums. Perhaps that’s because the duo was still a year out from their eventual reunion at the time of publication. Still, Big Boi discussed how many of the albums he chose influenced him and Andre 3000 during various recording sessions. He claims Bootsy Collins’ Ahh…The Name Is Bootsy, Baby! and Funkadelic’s Cosmic Slop helped form the funk experimentation of Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. He also recalls the “mutual respect” OutKast had with Mobb Deep around the time the duos released ATLiens and The Infamous, respectively.The rest of Big Boi’s favorite albums are—as to be expected of the innovative producer and rapper—eclectic. He claims Bob Marley and Kate Bush are “his favorite artists of all time,” citing two albums by the latter. He lists Tom Petty, Phoenix, and John Frusciante alongside A Tribe Called Quest, N.W.A., and the Boomerang soundtrack. His favorites span genres and eras, much like his own work (which is, of course, his true favorite).The only album from Big Boi’s list that isn’t on Spotify—and thus not included here—is Dr. Dre’s The Chronic. In its place, I’ve included “Kill Jill,” the Killer Mike and Young Jeezy-assisted single from Boomiverse. If Big Boi were compiling this list today, I can only assume his new album would’ve knocked one of these off the list.

These songs will take you from zero to 100. The perfect group of tracks to listen to while you get ready to go out to the club.

“Fast Rap” is a useful term that didn’t exist until record collectors made it up. (The first time I heard it was through Edan’s 2001 mixtape Fast Rap.) When Big Daddy Kane rhymed boiling hot over ‘80s turntable gold like “Raw” and “Warm It Up Kane,” he simply employed a method to match the speed of his delivery with the furiously funky beats underneath him. He represented an era when producers like Marley Marl, the Bomb Squad, and Large Professor arranged soul and jazz samples into swinging, ever-quickening tempos, and East Coast rappers worked hard to keep up. From Main Source’s “Live at the BBQ” to A Tribe Called Quest’s “The Scenario,” these songs mark an era when demonstrating mic skills meant rapping with lung collapsing agility. - Mosi Reeves

Click here to subscribe to the Spotify playlist.In 1995, the Dangerous Minds soundtrack yielded the smash hit "Gangstas Paradise" by Coolio and LV. The rest of soundtrack featured respected West Coast acts like Rappin 4-Tay and Big Mike flanked by Aaron Hall, Immature, and DeVante Swing of Jodeci. It was a winning formula: R&B + credible rappers + covers of 70s song. The album went triple platinum.A year later, Atlantic/Big Beat would try their hardest to copy the Dangerous Minds formula, ironically with the High School High soundtrack. The film itself, starring Jon Lovitz, Tia Carrere, and Mekhi Phifer, was a modest hit, spoofing the Michelle Pfeiffer-in-a-leather-jacket approach to reaching the "urban" youth in school, a formula already spun in films like The Substitute, Lean on Me, and Stand and Deliver. The soundtrack was designed for crossover success, largely off the inclusion of Quad City DJs breakout dance hit "The Train (Come On Ride It).” "The Train" went platinum, hitting No. 3 on the charts. Atlantic/Big Beat also double downed on The Braids, a Canadian art rock band, and their slick R&B cover of Queens "Bohemian Rhapsody," produced by Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind. It failed to catch on like "Gangstas Paradise,” peaking at No. 42 on Billboard.Unknowingly, the High School High soundtrack was a trojan horse for the last remaining non-jiggy major label rap acts to get one last check. The year was 1996, or in terms of Jiggy vs. Real Hip Hop, Year Two post-Bad Boy. Acts like KRS-One, Grand Puba, Pete Rock, A Tribe Called Quest, and De La Soul, all on major labels for close to a decade by 1996, were slowly being erased from the charts in favor of Puffy and Biggies Steven Soderbergh approach to the game: one for you, one for me. In their case, it was one song for the ladies and the clubs, one song for the streets: "One More Chance Remix" and "The What”; "Big Poppa" and "Warning”; "Juicy" and "Unbelievable.” The graduating class of Raps Golden Age had two choices: adapt or die. The lineup on the High School High soundtrack chose the latter. Whereas acts like Mic Geronimo switched their entire sound in the Post-Bad Boy wave, from boom-bap poet on 1995s The Natural to jiggy thug on 1997s Vendetta, Artifacts, Wu-Tang, and The Roots made the kind of songs that got them signed in the first place, years before Christopher Wallace changed the landscape. When you remove forgettable R&B cuts from The Braxtons, Changing Faces, and Faith Evans from the tracklisting, and toss Quad City DJs and The Braids onto your random gym mix, what you have left is an uncontaminated collection of rap songs that were radioactive on major label releases by 1997. Even Lil Kims contribution, "Queen Bitch," ghostwritten by Biggie, still garners her respect 20 years later from the headz for being so raw — Kim bragged about being a "disease free bitch.” Wu-Tangs "Wu Wear: A Garment Renaissance" was a strategic audible billboard for their new clothing line by RZAs brother/Wu Wear CEO Power, and it peaked at No. 6 on the rap charts. Pete Rock & Large Professors "The Rap World" was a favorite of Biggie himself; he hummed the chorus to Pete on a chance meeting a year later. The Roots carried on their gloomy slanged-out paranoia from illadelph halflife on "The Good, The Bad and the Desolate.” And "Semi-Automatic: Full Rap Metal Jacket" proved why Wu-Tang slipped up not by releasing an Inspectah Deck solo album immediately after Wu-Tang Forever.The new tracklisting of High School High is a snapshot of rap before lines in the sand were drawn between Real vs. Commercial. All the rappers on the album were indeed commercial acts, but their sound wasnt indebted to Diana Ross records. Almost every rapper involved would go on to make statements against commercial rap (or even at Biggie and Puffy, directly or subliminally). The reaction to the Anti-Puffy Movement would later inspire classic albums from Company Flow, Lootpack, and Freddie Foxxx on an indie level and the beginning of the Ruff Ryders sound — both sects deliberately made unpretty rap in defiance. But for a brief time, on a soundtrack to a movie few still remember, rappers werent in opposition to anyone, they were only trying to further their own cause. -- Zilla Rocca