Last year, Drake's "One Dance" ran away with the coveted, media-created title of Song Of The Summer. This year, several songs are contending, and it's anyone's guess which will emerge as the most essential theme song to summer 2017.
We've put together a list of the 10 rap songs most likely to go down as the Song Of The Summer. Our list eschews pop songs like Zedd and Alessia Cara's "Stay," Selena Gomez's Talking Heads-inspired "Bad Liar," Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito," Bruno Mars' "That's What I Like," Lorde's "Green Light," and Carly Rae Jepsen's "Cut to the Feeling."
Click through the gallery to read on.
Playboi Carti: "Magnolia"
Peak chart position: 29
Current chart position: 29
Boasting the hottest opening line since Moby Dick and the hottest producer tag of all time, "Magnolia" has soared to the upper reaches of the Billboard Hot 100, and into the hearts of millions of Americans. The relative impotence of copycat beats cooked up at the service of unsanctioned "Magnolia" freestyles by Tory Lanez and scores of other rappers testifies to the power of Pi'erre Bourne's production wizardry.
Calvin Harris: "Slide" feat. Frank Ocean & Migos
Peak chart position: 25
Current chart position: 49
Harris first previewed "Slide," fittingly, while cruising through the streets of LA in January. The song was the first ~Song of the Summer~ of 2017, its frictionless aesthetic a perfect musical analog for driving with nothing but open road ahead.
Lil Uzi Vert: "XO TOUR Llif3"
Peak chart position: 7
Current chart position: 12
With over 200 million YouTube views in three and half months, "XO Tour Llif3" has solidified Lil Uzi's status as a bonafide hip hop star. Though the song comes with a wintry air of tragedy, its incredible popularity and subtly danceable TM88 beat make it an undeniable contender for Song of the Summer.
Kendrick Lamar: "HUMBLE."
Peak chart position: 1
Current chart position: 6
If the determining metric for SOTS crown is the number of cars from which a song blasts in New York City, we should go ahead and coronate "HUMBLE." already. It goes hard in the whip.
DJ Khaled: "I'm the One" feat. Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, & Lil Wayne
Peak chart position: 1
Current chart position: 2
Justin Bieber is currently featured on the top two songs in the United States: "Despacito" and "I'm the One". While Bieber has come under fire for singing "Dorito burrito" in place of the song's Spanish lyrics while drunk at the club, there's no denying that he nailed the hook on the resplendent "I'm the One."
French Montana: "Unforgettable" feat. Swae Lee
Peak chart position: 16
Current chart position: 16
One might draw parallels between the music videos for "Unforgettable" and "Lockjaw": Montana sojourns to a third-world country with young rap sidekick in tow. Though "Unforgettable" lacks the magic of French and Kodak's coke game Batman and Robin routine, its risk-averse, dance floor-friendly approach has helped it outperform "Lockjaw," which peaked at the #73 on the charts. "Unforgettable" is #16 and still rising.
Future: "Mask Off"
Peak chart position: 5
Current chart position: 7
A viral dance challenge, an immaculate Metro Boomin flute sample, and Russell Westbrook have helped make "Mask Off" Future's highest-charting single ever.
Kyle: "iSpy" feat. Lil Yachty
Peak chart position: 4
Current chart position: 26
Released as a token for fans to enjoy, "iSpy," unexpectedly gained traction and vaulted Kyle to the gooey center of the rap zeitgeist. In his XXL freshman interview, he called "iSpy" the "most unexpected event in my entire career." It's shaping up to be the "Broccoli" of 2017.
Tee Grizzley: "First Day Out"
Peak chart position: 52
Current chart position: 52
Tee Grizzley's relentless "First Day Out" had already garnered tens of millions of listens before LeBron James single-handedly tripled its sales with his savage, bald-headed weight room karaoke performance.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM! yea Hit the Rollie store with the ROLLIE ON *hammer fist*... Jag Portfolio -
Future: "PIE" feat. Chris Brown
Peak chart position: N/A
Current chart position: N/A
It's weird that "Incredible," "Fresh Air," "Selfish," nor any other song off HNDRXX emerged as a radio hit. Yesterday, Future appended one more song to the HNDRXX tracklist: his new release "PIE" feat. Chris Brown. It has summer smash written all over it. Let's see if the Song Of The Summer gods let it have its time in the sun.