***The Top 5 Rap Verses of 2021***
The Pundit’s Picks For the ”BEST” (a.k.a. MY Favorite) Rap Verses, From a Year Filled with Great Rap Verses...
In a year filled with “I gotta rewind that!” rap verses from some of the best to ever a hold a microphone, how do you even manage to pick “the best” verses?
The answer will always be some combination of how tightly the verse was written, the quotability, conviction of the MC, content (especially as it ties to a specific moment in time), wordplay, flow, delivery - and of course, personal tastes.
So in a year filled with stand-out verses from Lil Wayne, billy woods & E L U C I D (either solo or together as Armand Hammer), MIKE, Mavi, Skyzoo, Ransom, AZ, Your Old Droog, Willie The Kid, Conway The Machine, Earl Sweatshirt, Boldy James, Maxo Kream, Lil Durk, Roc Marciano, Little Simz, Peezy, 42 Dugg, Che Noir, Wiki, Fivio Foreign, Benny The Butcher, Lil Baby, Westside Gunn, Rio Da Young OG, EST Gee, Navy Blue, Stove God Cook$, Babytron, Jay NiCE, LAURYN FREAKIN’ HILL (!?), Mach-Hommy, Nicki Minaj, Polo G, Sleep Sinatra, Evidence, SHIRT, Raz Fresco, Jay Electronica, Jadakiss, P4K, Curren$y, Lute, Babyface Ray, Monday Night, The Opioid Era, Rigz, Semiratruth, Peezy, every damn member of Bruiser Brigade, Freddie Gibbs, Stik Figa, Fly Anakin, Tyler the Creator, Sauce Walka, Teller Bank$, Pros Ap, Namir Blade, Bizzy Banks, Valee, Nappy Nina, Lord Apex, Lloyd Banks, Sideshow, AKAI SOLO, BandGang Lonnie Bands, Defcee, Breeze Brewin, maassai, Ty Farris, Kipp Stone and Dark Lo....how can anyone choose just 5???
The answer: you remember this is ultimately a meaningless list, I’m a busy man with a family, and at the end of the day this is just an excuse to celebrate a mere glimpse at my favorite music of 2021!
These five songs came to mind because they each possess some form of “ex-factor”. Amidst the weekly tidal waves of new music over the course of the year, these five songs featured not just great artists rapping on a great song with great lyricism, but they each hit me with a bar - or even series of bars - that changed my course of thought for the day. This is not at all about the funniest punchlines or most clever metaphors, it’s deeper than that...it’s what separates a MC that happens to be an above average skilled rapper or writer, from a flat-out ARTIST.
With that all being said, here are my choices for the Best Rap Verses of 2021...
5. “Sunbeam” by Chester Watson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlxvoTNpPFI
(1997 was quietly one of the best projects of 2021, thanks to the quiet brilliance of Chester Watson. You wouldn’t be able to guess that he is primarily based in an uptempo party town like Miami when listening to 1997′s gentle and gorgeous opening song, “Sunbeam”. The poetic skills he showcases within this verse elevates the song to ear-grasping levels...and the sad honesty behind quotes like “once uttered words can run faster than horses,” should firmly place “Sunbeam” into song of the year conversations.)
Sunbeams create rainbows in the smoke I was up early, outside, it was cold And these last few days been rainy with a cloak of clouds When overhead, make the city seem remote Gold in the flesh, so I'm so picturesque Ballerina, it control pirouettes Feel the dosage effects, see my soul silhouette in the distance See my soul silhouette If you listen, then you just might grow and progress I just do it, asked Nike can they cut the cheque 'Cause cuz' fluent, feel the sunbeams on my chest Either that, or it's just steam from the fresh pre-roll That I tucked somewhere in the vest MM...FOOD, I feel like I eat beats for breakfast Move smart, a negative plus a negative's negative Can't be reckless, we all know the streets is treacherous People gon' switch up, that's to be expected Yeah, that's to be expected I don't need the friendships just to be respected Yeah, disrespect is out of the question Always take precautions, no second guessin' I Love Ugly garms are to guard the chains on my neck with Lose for wisdom, I cannot make exception Vibin' under sunbeams and reflection Wavy when your wife is your best friend Visualize, like, that's the life I could mesh with And remember to always tell her she's gorgeous Once uttered words can run faster than horses Yeah, so you can't be indifferent Two Balancias is good as he is wicked Smokin' spliffs on the edge of existence Watch the smoke spin in the air like a kick-flip People look at my hair, it's addictive Then they say I don't belong there, I'm a misfit Brown skin is just a characteristic A racist's heart blacker than me and all of my kin mixed Some friends stayed, some friends went Some things changed, some things didn't Still get compared to The Weeknd Felt like a Starboy when that sunbeam hit.
4. “Let It Roll Interlude” by IAMNOBODI feat. Phonte & BeMyFiasco [Phonte’s verse]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcG-NAR9KTk
(If anyone has the lyrics to this verse, please feel free to share! Full disclosure, I know less than nothing about IAMNOBODI or BeMyFiasco, but maaaaaan who is better than Phonte at cramming content into a short verse? From old school MC braggadocio to tackling middle-aged life during a quarantine to the Little Brother reunion, Phonte is able to tastefully add color to a background without blinding you with the details. Like any gifted artist, he knows that the music goes farther without having to be too on-the-nose with every rhyme. He always says just enough, and with just enough flare, to let you know exactly what his message is and that not many can match him as a MC or a song writer. While I would bet money that this verse will not getting any end of year recognition on any other site, it doesn’t make it any less special to me....I mean, “they spit with ‘Karen’ struggle, I spit with Sheila E’s(ease)”, that’s incredible!)
3. “Fuck You Know About Me” by DJ Muggs & Rome Streetz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa8E8DVi-Tc
(Like many of the artists on this list, you can choose just about any one of their verses from 2021 and crown it the best verse of the year. Straight up, Rome Streetz is my favorite MC at the moment and has the largest amount of *great* verses in 2021, and it is NOT close. As a feature artist he is one of the hardest working and most potent, but he is equally skilled at pulling off great full length albums. This joint off of Rome and Muggs’ fantastic Death And The Magician really nails exactly what makes him a generational MC. Rome’s style is a perfect blend old & new school because his content could neatly fit into the early or mid-90′s New York scene, but his writing skills are so clearly of this era. A writer’s writer trapped inside a true knuckled-up New York shit talker, on first listen his aggressive demeanor can mislead you into thinking that he’s just another throwback MC, but once you realize that he doesn’t even need a full bar to be a true standout in this game, you can really begin to appreciate how special he is. “Live from where they give a dealer more time than a rapist” and “it’s hard when you learn a real lesson from a fake friend” both sound like they could be credited to legendary quotes from Biggie, JAY-Z, or Nas, and while it may not be fair to compare them, as far as I’m concerned we have not seen the ceiling for Rome Streetz yet and he has first ballot hall of famer written all over him.)
I really only want the 'fetti, fuck being famous Too many worried 'bout what another n*gga's name is My main concern is freein' my dogs out the cages Live from where they give a dealer more time than a rapist The system racist, that ain't no new revelation Crazy how mistakes gave me the best education From the start, lots of ends was the destination Road to riches, need a Rolls Royce and a 'rari racin A pocket with a dead face paper placed in It's hard when you learn a real lesson from a fake friend Watch the reptiles, they blend with the same skin Only so long a coward can front like a brave man Stupid n*ggas gonna spend eleven if they make ten Try to block the god, I'm a home invader, I break in No brake, all gas pedal, ping pongin' memories of how I made a big boulder out my last pebble Rebel, foldin' bread like a pretzel Can't skip steps, scrap, I excelled at every level Send a coin, get the tracking and hope the package get through Everything you do in your life is a chess move.
2. “With All My Heart” by Ka
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-jihUW-hvg
(Ka’s name will be dropped into these conversations virtually in any year that he drops a new album. A Martyr’s Reward is another diamond in the crown of his elite discography, that can somehow managed to go relatively unnoticed by many, while being worshipped as royalty by a fanbase that continues to grow with each release. Honestly, you can pick any one of his verses off of A Martyr’s Reward and dub it one of the best verses of the year, because Ka’s pen remains unparalleled. He manages to weave double-entendres together in a way that never feels forced, so even if you don’t pick up on it, the rhyme still makes perfect sense within the theme of the song - and that may not sound all that impressive, but I assure you that it makes him a unicorn in rap music, very few ever achieve that level of nuanced editing without sounding corny or redundant. I had to select “With All My Heart” as my pick for best verse off of the album....because if you know anything about Ka’s firefighter background - and the petty backlash from a certain NYC-based garbage rag that tried to frame Ka as a hypocrite - it makes the 9/11 reference at the end of his verse unique, and historically powerful...)
Gruеsome me; used to bе if we had rift, you felt the wrath Now I'm too sophist', still don't miss with shooting gift to help your path On your road to triumph, you know the science, I dealt in math These God sessions answer hard lessons; brethren seldom ask My misses gave butterfly kisses, she know I felt the lash The land is tense, I stand for sense, never knelt for cash Solid vow, I got it now, bow to who held it last Was done well and young fell if he dispel the past They tried to hush me cause gave dusty a smarter new glisten From a priceless mold, I might be old but I harvest nutrition You know the beast controls, so peace to those Gods that do listen If you scout them, each album imparts a new mission From child was already handling, images very damaging On corners politicking, police break us up like gerrymandering Once learned the land was never ran, never ran again No lessons clandestine all these ancestors I'm channeling Billion good deeds, eclipsed by a moment of weakness Got my yield in the field, you was at home in the bleachers From a savage site, had to fight just for owning some sneakers Where every link is grim its sink or swim, we got thrown to the deepest You ain't living premier if you living in fear No verdicts, not guilty since block filthy, no innocence here Since seared by sin, all I ever been is sincere If you hear I'm on the premises, every premise severe Though my rank capped at captain, I did it admirably Cause of my race, took hits from the start, it never staggered me Knew I was black back then, so at ten I had tenacity No tracks are vacuous, my pact is to do it masterfully When them planes crashed, Ka did his task in the catastrophe I dug and I held when them towers fell, how dare you try to hassle me?
1. “Life Of The Party” by Kanye West feat. Andre 3000 [Andre’s verse]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YNL5DCRNec
(Too easy of a pick for #1? Far from a simple verse but the second we all heard Andre 3000′s - unofficial, at the time - verse off of Kanye West’s DONDA album, clearly this was destined to hit the best verse of the year lists on most mainstream sites. Yes, it’s a slam dunk to slurp up any new material from the elusive, magical flute toting Outkast member...but I’m really not that guy, I have all the respect in the world for Outkast but personally I don’t keep their stuff in my regular rotation, I’m sorry but it’s just not my typical vibe! Managing to overshadow the whiny “beef” that was Ye vs. Drake in 2021, as well as the out of control media freight train that is Kanye West in general, Dre’s verse on “Life Of The Party” is not just one of the best verses of 2021, I think it is one of the greatest rap verses that I have ever heard.
Seriously. Forget you know anything about Andre 3000, and just focus on the messages in this verse, the performance, and the poetry he wields on this joint...he manages to turn an ode to someone else’s mother into a deep AF, personal exploration of his relationship with his own deceased mother and father, his childhood and his flaws, his changing perspectives as a young man that is rapidly getting older, someone that has all the fame and riches in the world but can still say something like “Miss Donda, you see my mama, tell her I’m lost” - and Andre aside, don’ even get me started on the section with DMX and his daughter closing out the song - and NO SHUT UP I’M NOT CRYING YOU’RE CRYING. In my opinion, Andre gave us audio gold with this one, and it’s a no-brainer selection for the best rap verse of 2021.)
You run into my mama, please tell her I said, "Say something" I'm startin' to believe ain't no such thing as Heaven's trumpets No after-over, this is it, done If there's a Heaven, you would think they'd let ya speak to your son Maybe she has in the form of a baby's laugh I heard passing by in a stroller remindin' me, "Hey, keep rolling" I don't know, maybe she has with a prick of a blade of grass I've been layin' on way too long, got me itchy Got up and roamed a lil' more Miss Donda, you see my mama, tell her I'm lost You see, she'd always light a cigarette, we talk, I would cough Exaggeratin' a lil' bit so she get the point Tryna get her to stop smokin', I would leave and fire up a ***** 'Til I quit, started back up again, twenty years later All that time, y'all thought a ***** was high, thought I was crazy My mom, she ain't cut no corners Got me back on track, I don't miss her overstepping But do miss her showin' Seven civilian life **** Ah, Miss Donda, you see my mama, whisper her this: The real reason I was geeked to go to church Must confess, when y'all grown-ups would be in Bible study That girl helping me with my homework? Her and I were **** So pure and ****, so spirit spinning and dirty So on, so on, and so on, we hoped that no one heard us Sh-sh, ah, ah And to this day, I think her mama knew but let us explore Miss Donda, you see my father, please, ask him why he never married Always smiled, but was he happy inside? Because I carried my mother's name, did he carry shame with him? I'm sure she did it out of spite, 'twas her decision at birth Shit, she probably was hurt, ah, poor baby Two young people with different views, a lot for a young lady No coincidence, they both passed away from heart conditions There's a dissidence at play, dad and mom do hard division Three Thou', poster child for big d*ck n*ggas raised by their mothers I'm supposed to smile as if God knew that I would be troubled Keeps me around, for what? I don't know But I do know that it's crucial, that we do so, pronto I don't know how much long though...
As always, thank you for checking out my stuff. 🙏
Next stop: my picks for the best rap albums of 2021...stay tuned!