13 Rap Songs That Should Have Blown Up in 2013

The rap songs that didn't blow up OR go pop...even though they should have.

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Image via Complex Original
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It was a big, blockbuster year for hip-hop. 2013 gave rap fans brand new albums from some of the biggest names in music: Kanye West, Jay Z, Beyoncé, Drake, and Eminem. Macklemore became one of the year's biggest rookie success stories. J. Cole went up against Kanye and came away with substantial sales. 

But once you move past the top tier, things looked a bit more dire. 2 Chainz new album—despite being an unexpectedly creative, accomplished record—was initially a commercial disappointment. Although Big Sean's record wasn't quite the flop the rumors would have you believe, the rapper's sales did drop slightly from his debut. And even Mac Miller, arguably one of the year's most-improved artists from a creative standpoint, witnessed a not-insubstantial sales drop compared to his last album.

There is a hollowing-out of the industry: top tier artists can afford to blanket the airwaves. And a few artists—like Rich Homie Quan ("Type of Way") and Ace Hood ("Bugatti") can use the clubs as a lever to get more attention, vaulting themselves onto the charts. (Sage the Gemini, meanwhile, pivoted from Vine to iTunes sales.) But even with all the momentum rap music has gained in 2013, there are a few tracks that didn't end up with the following they deserved.

Until the industry figures out how to get this kind of stuff on your local radio station, this list will have to do. From names as popular as 2 Chainz and those on the come up like Grip Plyaz, here are Rap Songs That Should Have Blown Up in 2013. 

 Written by Justin Davis (@OGJOHNNY5), David Drake (@somanyshrimp), Dharmic X (@dharmicx), Claire Lobenfeld (@clairevlo), and Jordan Sargent (@jordansarge).

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Travis Porter f/ Jeremih "Err Damn Day"

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Album: Mr. Porter

This year Travis Porter saw their niche in the hip-hop marketplace completely subsumed. On the one side there were Migos, another Atlanta trio whose chanting hooks and playground-friendly enthusiasm are an outgrowth of Travis Porter's rap style. On the other, there was the continued rise of DJ Mustard's "ratchet" sound, the West's spin on the group's post-snap booty music, which staged a near total invasion of the clubs in 2013.

But Ali, Quez and Strap didn't stop making good music. Their March mixtape Mr. Porter was more R&B-heavy than their previous releases, but as accomplished songwriters, Travis Porter had no trouble crafting a very solid full-length, even if it's not going to change much. The absolute standout is "Err Damn Day," an unofficial sequel to their underrated Jeremih collaboration "Ride Like That."

Produced by The Fr3shmen, "Err Damn Day" is a crawling summer anthem built around an organ riff that drips like sweat down your forehead. But it's the globetrotting chorus that is the show-stopper here, a melodic, multi-layered hook that is more complicated than what you expect out of a mixtape track. As the three members mumble-sing about puffing joints, a spaced-out Jeremih harmonizes with himself like an even further-blown version of Ty Dolla $ign: "I swear I'm gooooooooooooone." —Jordan Sargent

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Alley Boy f/ Ty Dolla $ign "R.N.G.M."

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Album: War Cry

Ty Dolla $ign's 2013 was productive on the business side; his audience grew considerably with the release of Beach House 2, especially after he scored a genuine club smash in "Paranoid." From a creative perspective, though, it was a little bit choppy. Interspersed with the lush, intricate compositions, catchy hooks, and funny, punchline-oriented R&B were a bevy of less beguiling guest artists.

Even more inexplicable was that Ty's best song this year didn't even make the tape. "R.N.G.M." ("Real Niggas Get Money") has everything you could want from a hit song: the swirling beat adapts the soft-focus sonics pioneered by The Weeknd but gives them a hooky purposefulness. The lyrics are funny without drawing too much attention to themselves, and the chorus is sublime. Even Ty's usual 2013 Achilles heel—the guest star—serves only to provide a counterpoint to Ty's wry humor. Alley Boy's blunt alpha gangster isn't new to muscular flexing on the microphone; it's his main form of expression. So why not change the backdrop? With the right Hennessy-infused R&B framework, the contrast is striking. —David Drake

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Rockie Fresh "What Ya Used To"

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Album: Self Made 3

With even New York's biggest homegrown tracks sounding Southern, there was little in 2013 that resembled Hit-Boy's beat on "What Ya Used To," a shoulda-been single off MMG's Self Made 3. In resurrecting Puffy's moneyed glitz, Hit-Boy can't even begin to keep a straight face: "What Ya Used To" opens immediately with a little poke-and-stick synth riff that perfectly mimics "It's All About the Benjamins"'s slowed-down Love Unlimited sample. From there he drops in dive-bombing keyboards that sound like a string quartet playing in reverse, and the kind of steady head-bop snare drum that has fallen out of favor in the era of Wiz and Drake's keyboard fog.

So, the beat is insane, yes. But this is equally a showcase for Rockie Fresh, the swagged out Chicago MC still looking for a true breakout hit. Normally, his sleepy drawl can make it seem like he's perpetually going through the motions, but here it totally works. The disinterest is almost palpable, as he places the listener in the position of being introduced to luxury—"Shorty say she wanna take a trip/Got a pool, take a dip/Like this ain't what you used to"—as if things the rest of us would marvel at are completely and utterly mundane. Rockie never sounded like a rap star until then. —Jordan Sargent

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Grip Plyaz "Ray Lewis"

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Album: None

It hasn't even been a year since he retired, but there's already a song named after Super Bowl champion and future Hall of Famer Ray Lewis.

Atlanta's Grip Plyaz took inspiration from the ferocious dance the linebacker did every time he stepped onto the field, converting it to an easy two-step that works in the club or at a house party. The song itself is even simpler, yet somehow more unique than most. Grip Plyaz forgoes the conventions of chorus-verse-chorus, getting rid of a formal verse altogether. As a result, "Ray Lewis" sounds like an extra long chorus repeated for three minutes. The Atlanta native periodically changes up lines throughout the song just enough to prevent the song from being too too too repetitive. These minor variations are enhanced by The Flush's beat, which changes up synth patterns a few times without losing that consistent knock.

In a sense, "Ray Lewis" descends from Atlanta's '06-'08 ringtone rap era. However, Grip Plyaz is able to build on the formula passed down from songs like "Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It" or "Crank Dat" by honing in on its chorus. No doubt some hardcore rap fans who listen to "Ray Lewis" for the first time might feel like puking afterwards. The week it came out, I played it for three of my friends. Initially repulsed by the song's repetition and lack of substantive content, they all had the chorus stuck in their heads minutes later. —Dharmic X

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Stunt Taylor "Fe Fe On The Block"

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Album: None

Chicago's West Side bop scene was one of the more underappreciated movements in hip-hop this year. While the city's bigger new stars, like Vic Mensa and Chance The Rapper, charmed the wider world, a dance-oriented phenomenon was gripping the city, as captured in this extensive article by Chicago scribe Leor Galil. The scene is singles-oriented—or to be more specific, YouTube-oriented. It's also developed in some real-world social spaces, and is not solely delimited by the internet. Its parties ("fiestas" or "fe fes") are driven by uptempo, melodic sounds, like Atlanta's swag rap mutated to a higher frequency.

The biggest songs on this scene in 2013 were...well, they were pretty damn unique. The most widely recognized anthem was probably Sicko Mobb's "Fiesta," with its delirious, disorienting sing-song melody. One of the scene's most distinctive songs was "Flee," by The Guys, which split the difference between rap and house, likely the best single to rock kettle drums since "Crank Dat."

In contrast to those songs, "Fe Fe On the Block" is more traditional, and wouldn't sound out of place if it'd come from Atlanta—at least, were it not for the heavy use of Chicago slang. But the song's got a sentimental wistfulness that can't be denied, as it captures a truly organic cultural movement in full bloom while reminding us of its temporal nature all at once. —David Drake

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Rich Homie Quan "Party"

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Album: Still Goin In Reloaded

"'Type Of Way' shattered 'Party,'" Quan told Complex back in July. "But I feel like when 'Type Of Way' dies, it’s gonna make 'Party' bigger than life. 'Party' was the one we thought would blow up at first."

Whether or not "Party" ever rises again, it definitely deserved to. Of all the songs on Quan's Still Goin In Reloaded, "Party" has the most immediate hook, the most relatable concept, and a beat that continually chugs in ascending circles, ratcheting up the tension until the chorus's eventual release. The song also has an unconventional structure, which may explain why it has taken so much time to attract attention. It's almost a full two minutes until the song's urgent build gets a release from the hook, and that hook only enters again one more time towards the song's conclusion.

Nonetheless, "Party" was one of 2013's finest slept-on singles from one of the year's breakout artists. For such a universally beloved concept, the song has a surfeit of tense anxiety. That is, until Quan's shouted chorus offers a chance to chant and holler along in cathartic release, the presence of swishers suddenly a religious experience. —David Drake

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Killa Kyleon f/ Slim Thug and Kirko Bangz "My City"

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Album: Lean On Me: The Adventures of Joe Clark

While Texas's history remains a major part of contemporary hip-hop's textural palette, most current Texas rap artists remain under the radar. Killa Kyleon remains one of Houston hip-hop's nicest on the mic (and he has been since the scene was hot in the mid-00s), but with little of the respect granted rappers on the right and left coasts. His recent tape, Lean On Me, is a strong record front-to-back. An example: its best song, the Mouse On The Track-produced "Cadillac," is must-hear for Mouse's finely-constructed beat of interlocking organs, whistles, and synth washes.

But "My City" should have been the smash. With a titanic track by GL Productions, the song has the airy crystalline expansiveness of '80s R&B. Kyleon's bars are all double-time, delivered with a high-pitched urgency. Slim Thug takes the opportunity to drop a few fire lines about stealing your girl among the standard candy paint/turning lane bars ("I'm with your bitch, she's lookin' nice, got these niggas lookin' twice/I bust her down, bust a nut and gave her relationship advice"). And although Kirko Bangz—the only major artist from Houston to pop in recent times—is primarily offering hook duty, he may end up with the song's best signal-to-cliche ratio on the track by talking about breaking with H-Town tradition: "Man shout out to the vets but nigga I'm me." —David Drake

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Joe Moses f/ T-Lanez "Fresh Out"

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Album: From Nothing To Something II

One of 2013's great injustices was the demotion of Joe Moses with the sudden success of Ty Dolla $ign's great "Paranoid" single. His verse was replaced by B.o.B. for the radio version, and while your average Joe Shmoe Shazaaming "Paranoid" at the club might not have noticed, Complex did

Fortunately, another single came on—produced by Ty, no less—that gave him a chance to shine. Unfortunately, "Fresh Out" remains a slept-on mixtape cut from Moses's From Nothing To Something II, despite production that sounds like the aural equivalent of this:

Yes: it's a tropical sunset in song form, with T-Lanez most amorously sincere performance a perfect balance for Joe's similarly sincere regular-guy tale of gradually growing to love someone he grew up with. Its heartfelt earnestness is really what makes the track so compelling. That's the only way they are able to pull off the song's concept, which is about how he's going to fuck her like he's fresh out of prison. —David Drake

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P Rico "Hang Wit Me"

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Album: Welcome to Puerto Rico

By YouTube view count standards—surely the most objective way to measure popularity in 2013*—P. Rico's regional smash "Hang Wit Me" definitely "blew up." Of course, if you lived outside of Chicago and didn't read the online regional rap tea leaves (blogs, "related" YouTube links) in 2013, then you most likely missed it. But its success at a local level suggested that with the right exposure, "Hang Wit Me" could have been a national song.

"Hang Wit Me"'s headbanging intensity and bludgeoning repetition is initially jarring. Rap's lyrical rules would contend that repetition is a sign of laziness. When we say a great rapper has "bars," it's not just because they pack each line with meaning; there's also a performance of variety, mixing rhythmic predictability with unexpected moments. "Hang Wit Me" inverts the ratio, making every single line in that same insistent pattern, a cacophonous rejection of the existing order. Through obedience to the groove, it is rebellious, an attempt to lose oneself fully into the hypnotic, mantra-like energy of the percussive onslaught. —David Drake

*Yes, it's a joke.

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PartyNextDoor "Over Here"

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Album: PartyNextDoor

Hailing from Missasauga, Ontario, Drake's first OVO Sound signee PartyNextDoor spent most of the year in relative seclusion. In a move that is not unlike the 'other' crooner that Drake was affiliated with, Party released his first, self-titled tape out of nowhere last summer.

Unsurprisingly, a song featuring Drake, "Over Here" is one of the standouts, a brisk (less than-two-minutes-long) song that is enjoyable both as an R&B song, and as a great introduction to Party as an artist. PartyNextDoor's relation to The Weeknd is, musically, much further apart than one would expect. Instead of making music that makes you feel guilty and sad, Party elects to go for a more hybrid sound, combining traditional R&B tropes with radio friendly production.

"Over Here" is celebratory, like Party's namesake would suggest—a stunt anthem that raises the stakes when Drake arrives a minute in, boasting about his vicegrip on Rap and in his city of Toronto. The reason "Over Here" should have blown up is simple—it is easy to listen to, and as a result, could easily fit into the "rhythmic" radio rotation format, crossing over from R&B radio to pop. But alas, this one ended up being one of 2013's most slept-on tunes. —Justin Davis

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Azealia Banks "Yung Rapunxel"

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2 Chainz f/ IamSu "Livin"

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Album: B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time

2013 served as a cool-down period for 2 Chainz, who enjoyed a incredibly lucrative previous year. His second album was released only 11 months after his debut, and although it was a stronger effort, artistically, far more consistant, it was no home run, sales-wise. 

Which is shame, if only because more people should have heard songs like "Livin." Stored away as a bonus track on an album bogged-down by its only marginally successful singles, "Livin" finds 2 Chainz playing with his flow, borrowing a bit from his guest artist IamSu. IamSu's verse, meanwhile, is a true standout. With production firmly within his style, he introduces himself with a dizzying display of swagger. But the strongest part of the song is how its infectious chorus is layered over the beat.

"Livin" could have been a contender, or at least a great mixshow record on radio—giving 2 Chainz another song in rotation and properly introducing the world to IamSu. This was, of course, not to be, and the song will just languish at the tail end of one of 2013's most underappreciated albums. —Justin Davis

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Uncle Murda f/ Rocko "Wu Wuu Wuuu"

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Album: None

Rocko has made a killing off of bizarre song titles. Just look at his big single from earlier this year, "UOENO." So of course, he was a natural selection to join New York's Uncle Murda on a song called "Wu Wuu Wuuu." As if the title wasn't enough, the song uses a simple rhyming pattern that gets stuck in your head instantly and is built atop one of Jahlil Beats' best beats of 2013. Unfortunately, much like Uncle Murda's entire career, the song hasn't yet to get off the ground. That doesn't change the fact that it bangs, though. —Dharmic X

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