One month into 2016, and a whole lot of crazy shit has taken place in the hip-hop world.
Just this past weekend, fans experienced another absurd -- yet highly entertaining episode -- in the Drake and Meek Mill saga, which appears to be far from over. Drizzy dropped one of the biggest tracks in site history on OVO Sound Radio, and Meek, to his credit, released a new EP minutes later -- one that contained a diss track that happened to anticipate some of the lyrics heard on "Summer Sixteen." We haven't gotten the full story on what the hell went down, though Meek seemed to suggest that a ghostwriter within the OVO camp gave him the tip on Drake's new single. We're looking at you, Quentin. Or is Miller one of many faceless songwriters in the OVO hitmaking factory?
If that wasn't enough, last week saw fantastic new projects from Rihanna, 2 Chainz, and Kevin Gates, and many quality tracks were able to grace our Hot 100 whilst sensationalist headlines dominated the news cycle.
Elsewhere on the chart, Tory Lanez dropped a new single (#15), Trae tha Truth called upon Young Thug for one of his best efforts of late (#26), and Freddie Gibbs proved his mastery of Madlib production by remixing Kanye's "No More Parties in L.A." (#36).
Find the top 10 tracks of the week, as decided by the entire HNHH audience, below.
10. Young Thug Feat. Quavo - Fuck Cancer (Prod. by Mike Will Made-It)
Though Mike Will pushed back Ransom 2, he's forgiven for helping out on this crazy banger featuring the animated talents of Thug and Quavo. Though the track is something of a tribute to Boosie -- and we can all agree with the title -- it hardly deals with cancer at all. It is the sound of pure victory, though, perhaps motivated by Boosie's triumph over the deadly disease.
9. Jhene Aiko - B's & H's (Prod. by The Fisticuffs)
Jhené Aiko used Sango's Soulection radio show on Beats 1 as the platform to share her latest single, produced by her longtime collaborators The Fisticuffs. The targets of the track are unfaithful grown men, whom still have much growing up to do, as well as the "B's & H's" who indulge them without realizing who really pays the bills for their sleazy suitors. She strike any nerves out there?
8. 2 Chainz Feat. Lil Wayne - Back On the Bullshyt (Prod. by Cardo)
Among the best of last week's surprise releases was 2 Chainz' Felt Like Cappin mixtape. The 6-track release is front-to-back throwback trap excellence. A highlight off the tape was a Cardo-produced collab with Lil Wayne, "Back On the Bullshyt," which serves as a preview of Tity and Weezy's upcoming joint tape, ColleGrove.
Next, you gotta experience the simmering Georgia funk heard on "MF'N Right," produced by the veteran team of Mike Will and Zay Tiggy.
7. Travi$ Scott - Tourist
Travi$ Scott continues to be a fixture in Top Tracks. This leak of a demo track, produced by Key Wane, that was likely recorded during the sessions for Rihanna's new album, ANTI, reaches No. 7 on its first week on the chart, despite the stream being taken down due to a DMCA complaint. It's unfortunate, because the early preview sounded like a hit record, though La Flame fans will be glad to see their man on the next two tracks in our list.
6. Miguel Feat. Travi$ Scott - Waves (Remix)
Miguel pulled a sly one and dropped the remix to one of the standout tracks off Wildheart right after Kanye changed his album title, thus causing a sensational riff between him and Wiz Khalifa. Miguel already had a song called "Waves" before Kanye used the buzzword to title his upcoming album, and that track just got a little wavier with the added contributions of Travi$ Scott.
5. Wiz Khalifa Feat. Travi$ Scott - Bake Sale
And here's another La Flame appearance, for the third track in a row. Khalifa is another rapper who recently pushed back the release of his upcoming project, though "Bake Sale" has stayed hot enough -- moving down to No. 5 after reaching No. 2 last week -- to ensure there will be plenty of hype surrounding Khalifa on the new release date of February 5.
4. Lil Wayne - Cry Out (Amen) (Prod. by StreetRunner)
So one of the best -- and highest-charting -- tracks of last week was recorded in 2006. Though is that really any surprise, considering our subject? Mid-'00s Wayne is some of the best Weezy there is, and we gotta thank StreetRunner, the producer of "Cry Out (Amen)," for dropping off the CDQ of the track, one that devoted Wayne fans had heard, no doubt, but never in its fully realized quality.
3. J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League Feat. Rick Ross & Drake - Empire
J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, who have been crafting hits for the game's top artists for over a decade, dropped off a surprise album last week featuring 13 unreleased tracks, with a few elite rappers guesting on almost every one. "Empire," featuring Rick Ross and Drake, was a likely candidate to storm the chart, making it to No. 3 in its first week.
2. Drake - Summer Sixteen
Drake caused a melee upon dropping his new single on OVO Sound Radio, playing it 6 times in a row for good measure. The track was shared just before 7PM on Saturday evening, and since then, it has amassed over 2.2 million plays on the site. That's gotta be a record.
The only reason "Summer Sixteen" isn't No. 1 is because it dropped three days after the winner -- and the song was also recently taken down due to a copyright filing. Head to iTunes to relive the "reveeeeeenge," and tell Obama to watch out next time he decides to provide commentary on the rap game.
1. Rihanna Feat. Drake - Work
Two days after dropping her album, which experienced one of the more confusing release rollouts in recent memory, Rihanna's ANTI was declared platinum by the RIAA. Whether or not you take the certification to be legit, the album was a huge success, and part of that is because the release of ANTI was immediately preceded by the album's only single: an undeniable smash and soon-to-be No. 1 record featuring Drake.
"Work" finds the pair reliving the chemistry heard on "Take Care," with even more dancehall influence, ripening the track for the summer -- too bad Drake had to claim "Summer Sixteen" for himself. ANTI might be the deepest, most emotionally realized project Rihanna has put out. "Work," however, is about as fun as pop music can get.