Drums are to a rap song what shoes are to an outfit. Even the flyest of threads are rendered whack if paired with white Asics. Conversely, a tuxedo T-shirt and basketball shorts has great potential, if paired with Griffey high tops.
Rappers need producers to make their rhymes sizzle, their flow pulsate, their ad-libs pop. The best producers make nuanced beats that are easy on the ears. They make you want to become a rapper, so that you can participate in their beats' greatness. They make you want to dance, to love, to live.
With that in mind, here are our picks for the 15 hottest beats of 2015.
Kendrick Lamar | The Blacker The Berry
Producers: Boi-1da, KOZ, Terrace Martin
This song is the type of shit the Haradrim, perched atop their trusty Mumakil, probably bumped as they marched into battle in the fields outside Minas Tirith. That, or the sort of “entrance music” a legion of bats would pick for its nightly flight from its cave, out into the hunt. This is a beat that portends doom. DOOM.
Tory Lanez | In For It
Producer: RL Grime
“In For It” is Exhibit A for those arguing that rappers should collaborate more frequently with producers who dabble other genres. These guys know how to make bangers. The “In For It” beat sounds like something from "House of Balloons"-era Weeknd -- dancing, atmospheric, occasionally reversed high-end synths, and punishing bass. The way RL accelerates his hi-hats runs sends the listener careening off mini-ramps into the heart of the sonic abyss he has created.
Future | March Madness
Producer: Tarentino of 808 Mafia
Rarely has a beat captured the essence of what the rapper is trying to say as it does on “March Madness.” Tarentino’s loping synth and swerving drums perfectly convey the image of Future fleeing Magic City on a Monday, “driving the foreign like it was a Chevy,” going nowhere at 110 MPH. Soon to recreate Grant Wood's 1936 painting “Death on Ridge Road.”
Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment | Sunday Candy
Producer: Donnie Trumpet, Chance The Rapper, Peter Cottontale, Nate Fox, Stix, & Franco Davis
The sunniest beat of 2015. This the type of shit that inspires the chill morning lovemaking session, followed by a romantic lunchtime picnic in the park with your girl, followed by a swim in the lake, then some barbecue ribs, and then maybe some star-gazing. The perfect day. Glory.
Drake | Back to Back
Producer: Daxz
One could argue that the true MVP of “Back to Back” was not Drake but 20-year-old Toronto producer Daxz. Noah "40" Shebib hand-crafted that chill artisanal ambient “Charged Up” beat and served it to Drake on a silver platter, but Drake couldn’t deliver the knockout blow. #TheBoy needed a more fuego canvas to sufficiently cripple Meek Mill’s career. Young Daxz sent 40 the "Back to Back" beat and the rest was history. Panned hi-hat game in a hundred billion trillion.
Dr. Dre | Genocide
Producer: Dem Jointz & Dr. Dre
“Genocide” is modern rider music -- the marriage of this track’s diverse drum textures in the name of the almighty groove is a testament to Dr. Dre’s famous perfectionism. The best car song of 2015.
Boogie | Oh My
Producer: Jahlil Beats
Jahlil Beats has the most epic beats damn near every year. In 2011 it was “I’mma Boss.” In 2012 it was “Burn." In 2014 it was “Hot Nigga.” And “Oh My” blows all of those beats out of the water. And by the good graces of Yahweh the beat found its way into the hands of a hard-nosed young rapper with something to prove. from Los Angeles named Boogie. The result is straight pyrotechnics.
Future | I Serve The Base
Producer: Metro Boomin
Metro Boomin is apparently an expert practitioner of voodoo, because it sounds like the entire Haitian pantheon came through for this “I Serve the Base” beat.
Young Thug | Paradise
Producer: Allen Ritter
HNHH users joined forces to give this song a 42% rating, which probably had less to do with the beat and more to do with Thugger doing his best Good Charlotte impersonation on the chorus. Allen Ritter’s nuanced production -- heavy flanger usage, snare rolls, subtle harmonies -- gets better with every listen. What “Paradise” needs is a Travi$ Scott remix.
Drake & Future | Jumpman
Producer: Metro Boomin
In 2015, a year of countless Metro Boomin bangers, what separated “Jumpman?” Answer: Drake’s infectious “Jumpman” chant, roiling 808s, and the ominous “caw” of the crow circling above.
Action Bronson | Easy Rider
Producer: Party Supplies
For “Easy Rider,” frequent Bronson collaborator/muse Party Supplies unearthed an absolute gem of a sample from a 1974 song by Turkish rock band Mazhar-Fuat-Özkan. This beat really makes you want to hop on a chopper and ride west. “Easy Rider” can safely be slotted in as the second most epic Wild West song ever, behind Ennio Morricone’s “The Ecstasy of Gold” from the “The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly.
Vince Staples | Norf Norf
Producer: Clams Casino
With a hat tip to the “Senorita” instrumental, in which Christian Rich flex their Babe Ruth-esque production muscle, here we celebrate the beat of another Summertime ‘06 single, “Norf Norf.”
The slurred, haunted instrument that serves as the meat and potatoes of this Clams Casino masterpiece sounds like a chopped ‘n screwed police siren, a perfect compliment to Staples’ bold refrain: “I ain’t ran from nothing but the police.”
Towkio | Heaven Only Knows
Producers: Lido, Towkio
This song that basically single-handedly put Towkio on the map, “Heaven Only Knows” owes much of its greatness to Lido, the 23-year old Norwegian prodigy and Scandinavia’s answer to Metro Boomin. Lido’s capacity for contrast is near-infinite, as seen in the sudden rise from the shy organ and handsnaps of the first verse up to the towering synths and chipmunk’d vocals of the chorus. Kind of reminds you of Murakami’s benign monster shooting Kanye West’s starry-eyed bear into the stratosphere on the cover of Graduation.
Travis Scott | 3500
Producers: Metro Boomin, Mike Dean, Million $ Mano, Zaytoven, Allen Ritter
The reverb’d snare vamp that drops after La Flame raps “Only trill niggas I know” on the chorus is probably the coldest drum entrance of 2015. These producers pool their talents -- Zaytoven’s organ, Mike Dean’s distorted bass & guitar, Metro Boomin’s quintessence -- to paint a rich hellish soundscape that takes several macabre twists and turns over the course of the song’s 7 minutes, 41 seconds.
Ty Dolla $ign - Blasé
Producer: DJ Spinz
Cut it uuuuupp!!! With these words, DJ Spinz unleashes the thundering monotone 808s of “Blasé,” the sonic equivalent of the herd of wildebeests racing into the canyon en route to trampling Mufasa. Meanwhile, in the higher register, Spinz’ synth line intoxicates the listener with the sonic equivalent of a double shot of Jose Cuervo. “Blasé” may well be the hottest track to hit the clubs since Lil Jon’s fateful crunk anthem “Get Low.”