The Best Hip Hop Songs of 2016
A comprehensive list of the best hip hop songs of 2016.
Best Hip Hop Songs of 2016
The best hip hop songs of 2016 include hits from Chance the Rapper, Kendrick Lamar, and A Tribe Called Quest. These artists are responsible for some of the biggest hip hop songs of the year.
“All the Way Up” – Fat Joe and Remy Ma ft. French Montana
“All the Way Up” is a song by American hip hop recording artists Fat Joe and Remy Ma, featuring French Montana. It was released on March 2, 2016, by Terror Squad Entertainment, Empire Distribution and Atlantic Records as the first single from their collaborative album Plata O Plomo. The song peaked at number 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
“No Problem” – Chance the Rapper ft. Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz
“No Problem” is a song by American rapper Chance the Rapper featuring American rappers Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz. It was released on May 27, 2016, by Apple Music as the third single from his mixtape Coloring Book (2016). The song peaked at number 58 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
“Panda” – Desiigner
“Panda” is a single by American hip hop recording artist Desiigner. The song was released on December 15, 2015, through GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings, as his commercial debut single. A viral success, “Panda” peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and has also peaked at number one in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. The song’s success helped Desiigner’s EP (mixtape) Times Infinity Volume 1 to debut on the US Billboard 200 chart.
“Famous” – Kanye West ft. Rihanna
“Famous” is a song by American rapper Kanye West, released as the lead single from his seventh studio album, The Life of Pablo. The song features vocals from Rihanna and was produced by West, Sharp, and Mike Dean. The song was first debuted on February 11th during Yeezy Season 3 and officially released on February 14th, 2016. “Famous” peaked at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“One Dance” – Drake ft. Wizkid and Kyla
“One Dance” is a song by Canadian rapper Drake from his fourth studio album Views (2016). The song features guest vocals by Wizkid and Kyla. It was released to rhythmic and contemporary hit radio on April 5, 2016, as the lead single from the album. “One Dance” peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Drake’s first number-one single in the United States and Canada, and Wizkid’s first number-one single in both countries. In the latter country, it became Drake’s longest-running number-one single, spending 15 weeks atop the chart. It also broke several records in both countries; it replaced Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” at number one in Canada after fourteen consecutive weeks, making it both Drake and Wizkid’s longest run atop their nation’s charts. In the US, “One Dance” made history as one of only 25 songs to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100; additionally it became both Drake and Wizkid’s first Hot 100 number one singles as lead artists. The song is also notable for being Kyla’s second consecutive appearance on a Drake album after appearing on If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late (2015).
Hip hop – “One Dance” is a hip hop song.
2016 – The song was released in 2016.
Honorable Mentions
There were so many great hip hop songs released in 2016, it was hard to narrow it down to just 10. So, in this article, we’ll also be including a few honorable mentions. These are the hip hop songs that didn’t quite make our top 10, but are still definitely worth a listen.
“Work” – Rihanna ft. Drake
“Work” is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her eighth studio album, Anti (2016). The song was released as the lead single from the album on January 27, 2016. “Work” is a dancehall and R&B track that features Jamaican rapper Drake and incorporates elements of hip hop, jungle and Talk Talk. Lyrically, the song is about having fun during the working week. Upon its release, “Work” received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised its musical direction and Rihanna’s vocal performance. It peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Canadian Hot 100. “Work” also became Rihanna’s 14th number-one on the US Billboard dance club songs chart &mdash making her tied with Madonna for the most number-one songs on that chart &mdash and topped both the Rhythmic Songs and Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop airplay charts in the United States.
“Work” was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) denoting four million sales in 2016. It also entered the top ten in several other countries including Australia, France, Germany, New Zealand and Switzerland. The song won an iHeartRadio Music Award for Hip Hop Song of the Year in 2017. The accompanying music video for “Work” was shot in Toronto by Director X and features cameos from Drake as well as appearances from models Winnie Harlow, Jasmine Sanders and Rose Bertram; it won Video of the Year at BET Awards 2016. To further promote Anti, Rihanna embarked on her fifth concert tour entitled The Anti World Tour which started in March 2016 and concluded in November that same year.”
“Work” is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her eighth studio album, Anti (2016). The song was released as the lead single from the album on January 27, 2016. “Work” is a dancehall and R&B track that features Jamaican rapper Drake and incorporates elements of hip hop, jungle and Talk Talk. Lyrically, the song is about having fun during the working week. Upon its release, “Work” received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised its musical direction and Rihanna’s vocal performance. It peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Canadian Hot 100. “Work” also became Rihanna’s 14th number-one on the US Billboard dance club songs chart—making her tied with Madonna for the most number-one songs on that chart—and topped both
“Never Really Over” – Katy Perry
“Never Really Over” is a song by Katy Perry. It was released as a single on May 31, 2019. The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and received positive reviews from critics.
Honorable Mentions:
– “Hotline Bling” – Drake
– “Can’t Feel My Face” – The Weeknd
– “Trap Queen” – Fetty Wap
– “Alright” – Kendrick Lamar
“Hotline Bling” – Drake
“Hotline Bling” is a song recorded by Canadian rapper Drake, which serves as the lead single from his fourth studio album Views (2016). The song samples R&B artist D.R.A.M.’s “Cha Cha”, and contains a reference to the late rapper Tupac Shakur. It was released to radio on October 19, 2015, and to streaming services on October 20, 2015. “Hotline Bling” peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped the charts in several other countries, including Canada, Denmark, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The music video was released on October 19, 2015 and garnered over 506 million views on YouTube as of March 2020.
“Sorry” – Justin Bieber
“Sorry” is a song recorded by Canadian singer Justin Bieber for his fourth studio album, Purpose (2015). The song was released as the second single from the album on October 23, 2015. It was written by Bieber, Julia Michaels, Justin Tranter, Sonny Moore, & Michael Tucker and produced by Skrillex & Blood. “Sorry” is a synthpop and tropical house song. The critics’ consensus for the song was generally positive; some praised it for being a classy apology while others found it insincere and filled with narcissism.
In an interview with iHeartRadio, Bieber stated that “Sorry” is “definitely about my ex-girlfriend,” but declined to name her. ion the day of its release, he tweeted: “People are gonna hate no matter what. Might as well make them hate for something they love.”
The music video for “Sorry” was released on October 22, 2015 on Vevo and YouTube. It was directed by Brad Furman and features a dance crew called The Maddie Ziegler Dance Company dancing in a club while Bieber sings the song in front of them. The video received mixed reviews from critics; some complimented its artistic direction while others criticized it as “lame” and “derivative”.
