50 Free Songs You Should Download Right Now

Reworking Rihanna and Mikky Ekko's "Stay," Branchez's bootleg is an addicting and beautiful new take on Ri-Ri's hit.

Laurel's "Fire Breather" is a sensual, dim offering for fans of Banks and that modern smoothness in pop.

Bay Area collective HBK Gang's Gone Forever is full of fun, lighthearted, West Coast hip-hop, and they mastered the formula throughout the mixtape, but they really hit their stride perfectly with the last track on the project, "Never Goin' Broke," featuring Iamsu!, P-Lo, Kool John, Jay Ant, Skipper, and Kehlani. Download Gone Forever in its entirety here.

In an unexpected turn of events, James Blake jumped on the remix (or, crafts his own "version") of Drake's "Come Thru."

Don't let the single art fool you; Smallpools' sound is anything but frightening. "Dreaming" is a relentless piece of bright, spastic pop that recalls Passion Pit's early days.

Mark Ronson and Riton, known together as BCK2BCK, flip Black Rob's "Whoa" by adding some skittering electronic percussion and heavy bass. Wait until 1:13 for that "whoa" moment.

Sex. There. There's really no other way of describing this song. Cashmere Cat owns his remix of Miguel's "Do You..."

Joey Bada$$ has been on that New York City flow from day one, so it's only right that he joined forces with DJ Premier. On "Unorthodox" the young rapper and veteran producer linked up, and it didn't disappoint.

Sivu and Marika Hackman linked up for "I Hold," a creeping duet with a modern twist.

MARIKA HACKMAN INTERVIEW

This remix of Danny Brown’s "Blunt After Blunt" is like blunt after blunt after blunt after blunt after blunt after blunt.

Hozier represents a different breed of blues, forgoing the traditional Deep South sound, for a softer, more emotive version that highlights his incredibly powerful voice. Stream and download his Take Me To Church EP (name your own price with no minimum) over at his Bandcamp.

Cities Aviv balances grittiness with soul on the production on this cut off Antwon's mixtape, In Dark Denim.

Swedish duo jj hadn't released very much since their High Summer EP, but "Fågelsången" has been able to keep fans' attention.

Waka Flocka's been keeping busy on the mixtape grind, and he hasn't lost any of that intensity we've come to expect from him. Here's "Can't Do Golds" off his DuFlocka Rant 2 tape. Download the entire thing over at Datpiff.

Bonus because this list feels fucked without any Young Thug, here's Waka's "Come Around" with Thug:

A standout from Kilo Kish’s K+, this one highlights Earl Sweatshirt's production skills. This one is a headfuck of a beat, and it laces Kilo Kish's dreamy flow with an ominous vibe. Download Kilo Kish's K+ tape here.

Do you have a disco ball? If you do, you should probably hang it up. Here's CHVRCHES' "The Mother We Share," as remixed by Moon Boots.

Tei Shi's beautifully off-kilter offering, "M&Ms," is now available for download on SoundCloud here. If you've not seen it yet, check out the video for the single here, which was directed by Grimes' brother.

Gucci Mane together's year was full of ups and downs, but "Darker" with Chief Keef was a highlight and proof that Gucci's still got it, despite all the drama outside of music.

Busta Rhymes and Q-Tip, two of hip-hop's OG MVPs, came together again. A combination like this is always worth respecting, but not always something to get excited for. For their new mixtape, The Abstract and The Dragon, Busta and Tip don't just command respect, they make us genuinely happy to be hearing from them again. They sound great, and hearing the old and the new makes this mixtape one of the most fun listens of 2013, especially if you grew up on that A Tribe Called Quest shit.

A playground melody mixed with electronic energy and a psychedelic charge makes up Washington, D.C. group Misun’s "Goodbye Sasha." It's a little like a less chaotic M.I.A., which means it's still pretty chaotic, thankfully.

"Take a shower and a shit—that's life," YG explains over a hypnotic DJ Mustard beat. "That's Life" appears on Fat Trel's latest mixtape, SDMG, which you can download here.

One of the best songs of 2013, and one of the songs that made us realize just how special Chance The Rapper is.

“My family pitched in to get me a Gibson 335 last year for Christmas. I didn’t quite find the sound I was looking for until I started playing electric,” Torres told us in an interview at the beginning of the year. It’s surprising that a talented songwriter like 22-year-old Mackenzie Scott, aka Torres, needed a plug in her guitar in order to get the sound she was completely happy with, but it worked. Without it, this music might be a little harder to jump into and a little easier to lump in with so much of the soft singer/songwriter acoustic music that so many artists can never break free from.

Good thing she got that electric guitar.

"Versace" was definitely one of Drake's highlights despite his solid year, and an indicator that even though he can dish out pop songs and radio-ready hits, he can also still rap with the best of them.

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2013

So, Beyoncé kinda killed 2013, huh? Here's the "I Been On" remix, featuring six of Houston's finest rappers. 

Young Bishop Nehru continued to impress in 2013, and with DOOM on his side, it will be interesting what happens (and what remains as rumor and speculation) in 2014.

Tough production courtesy of Rashad on this standout from Stalley's new Honest Cowboy mixtape.

Backed by some intriguiging production, Kelela's talent and unique voice shine in her new mixtape, CUT 4 ME. Listen to the title track below, and download the project here.

This year, indie hip-hop vet Aesop Rock dropped an old track from the early 2000s. It features Blockhead production and wouldn't sound out of place on Float.

THE 30 BEST UNDERGROUND HIP-HOP ALBUMS

As one of our best songs of 2013, Shlohmo and Jeremih's sensual and seductive "Bo Beep (Do U Right)" definitely cannot be missed.

Bitches is Crazy's "Yo Soy Widdit" is so catchy that it will have you singing in half-Spanish.

Employee Of The Year have got love for SOHN's "The Wheel," so they decided to take it and flip it for a beautiful but mildly sinister result.

The dynamic duo is back, and Blue Chips 2 does not disappoint. Check out a highlight off Action Bronson and Party Supplies' mixtape below, and download it in its entirety here.

"God Magic" is the first cut off of MeLo-X's GOD:LoFi EP, an introspective jam backed by solid production.

It's clear that Ryan Hemsworth loves his video games if you've spent even just a few seconds with his music, so it was definitely fitting for him to be contributing to a forthcoming compilation that paid tribute to video game score composer, Yasunori Mitsuda.

Drake had a strong 2013, releasing new single after new single after a full album. Here's the Sampha-featuring single, "The Motion," that didn't make it on Nothing Was The Same.

Ta-ku flipped Flume and Chet Faker's "Left Alone" and amped up the tinge of aggression present in the original for an arresting result.

Sultry R&B by Tinashe meets its match with an animated delivery from Chance The Rapper.

Drake knows what women like.

RAC offers up a smooth, funky remix of Phoenix's "Trying To Be Cool," without trying, you know, too hard to be cool.

17-year-old Memphis rapper/singer Jon Waltz is the product of a little Drake, a little Kendrick, and a song that represents the wave of young rappers who didn't grow up on the old school.

Twin sisters Say Lou Lou deliver a stunning and ethereal cover of Tame Impala's fantastic single, "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards."

Flosstradamus released "Assquake" in celebration of reaching 100,000 likes on Facebook. You may also see this as a PSA, asking citizens to use the word "assquake" more often.

Run The Jewels, aka Killer Mike and El-P, had the internet up in arms when they released the Big Boi-featuring "Banana Clipper." Now we patiently wait for Run The Jewels 2.

If you're looking for new material for your baby-making playlist, this song from French producer Stwo is exactly what you need.

This Snakehips remix will quickly make it onto your summertime playlist with warm, glistening textures and gliding production that highlight Banks' seductive vocals.

The latest from Fryars is an undeniably poppy serving that will feel much like a guilty pleasure when you notice yourself enjoying it.

With his mixtape Cozmik, New York's Dillon Cooper started building momentum. Look out for him in 2014, and download standout "State of Elevation" below.

Memphis rapper/producer Cities Aviv’s new album Come To Life is coming in January of 2014, so if you're not familiar yet, check out "URL IRL." His DIY, experimental sound isn't the most accessible music on the market, but with shit like Yeezus and Death Grips making noise, Cities Aviv's style is in good position to grab attention of people looking for hip-hop that offers a challenge.

Some smooth, throwback, Outkast-sounding hip-hop from After The Smoke's 2013 mixtape Microwaves. Get the whole mixtape here.