The Best Rap Verses of 2016

It's been well documented that 2016 was a good year for rap. Damn near every major star in the game dropped a project, newcomers burst onto the scene en masse, and much of the output was excellent in quality. Hip-hop was vibrant, which means one simple thing: there was some really, really good rapping. We kept track of the best verses of every month, and now it's time to look back at what lasted. These are the best verses of 2016. 

Verse: 1

Best Line: I'm like Kubrick, with two bricks, and hoes on the strip/Off a two piece a toothpick I flick, and I preach"

This song is unsettling. The beat is constructed, junkyard-style, from pieces that simply don't match—the samples are queazy, the drums muted—it's a marvel that anyone can rap to this at all. But that's what Danny Brown does: he finds his pocket in the most inhospitable environments, and makes them his own. He's not easy to listen to, but you're always glad you did. —Brendan Klinkenberg

Verse: 2

Best Line: "My heart's getting colder/When I hug your mom and look over her shoulder/You notice I got the blank face"

With 2016 almost over, I feel confident in saying that “Groovy Tony” is the gnarliest, most heartless major rap single of 2016. NYC veteran Jadakiss deserves the lion’s share of the credit. Q told Complex that when he heard Jada’s verse he knew he had to record “Eddie Kane” to wrestle back control of the track. “When I hug your mom and look over her shoulder/You notice I got the blank face,” Jada raps. That’s the kind of line that keeps you up at night. —Ross Scarano

Verse: 3

Best Line: "Might blow the whole no whammy on Soul/Might tell Obama to be more like Punch"

Kendrick can do this in his sleep. A standout from his loosie collection untitled unmastered, this track finds him in an experimental mood, spending the first section hauntingly crooning, before snapping into focus and rapping, in a few different cadences, so well that he makes it look easy. It's essentially an ode to the TDE crew, but, like everything else Kendrick Lamar, he makes it knottier, more complicated, deeper. It's what he does. —Brendan Klinkenberg

Verse: 1

Best Line: "The one thing I appreciate, you and I, we never pretended/Rhymes we would write it out, hard times fight it out/Gave grace face to face, made it right/And now you riding out, out, out, out, damn"

While the competition for best verse is tight, Q-Tip walks away with the most heartfelt with no challengers. His verse is a eulogy, telling the life story of Phife Dawg, from his parents' meeting, to the end of his life. It's a fitting, touching tribute, something that could be maudlin or saccharine in less practiced hands than Tip's, but doesn't shy away from nuance and, in its own way, becomes celebratory. It's a perfect goodbye. —Brendan Klinkenberg

Verse: 2

Best Line: "When I wear this fucking burden on my back like a motherfucking cap and gown/Then I walk up in the bank, pants sagging down/And I laugh at frowns, what they mad about?"

This verse makes a lukewarm Wayne fan such as myself yearn for Carter 5. He opens up with a vulnerability seldom heard from the rap veteran. He exorcized his demons and put his recent struggles in a 16 for us to vibe and relate to. We often forget that Weezy has been in the game for nearly two decades since winning our hearts as little bro of the Cash Money crew. If 2016 has taught us anything, it's to give our idols flowers while they're still here. —Angel Diaz