The 10 Best Beats of 2019
How We Decided
Old people usually have more than one observation about hip hop, but the comment we hear most often when someone over the age of 50 is talking about the music of our generation is “I can’t understand what they’re saying”. Which is reductive, of course, and usually put in an extremely asinine tone, but it isn’t entirely off-base. The reason that the popular lyrics website Genius started as Rap Genius (and, much like the Los Angeles Chargers, Willis Tower, and Ron Artest, is still referred to by their former moniker) was that people really wanted a reliable source for what exactly rappers were saying, which, it stands to reason, is because they could not understand what the rappers were saying. It’s a phenomenon that is not exclusive to the proverbial suburban white kid who listens to gangster rap. There’s a variety of factors that go into that, including that hip hop artists (being predominantly black) often speak in AAVE, the speed of many tracks, and perhaps most importantly, the fact that the rhythm of conversational language, not musical language, is our default. So how is it that people love music they can’t (fully) understand? A lot of the credit has to go to producers.
The balance between music and lyrics goes to the heart of analyzing and criticizing in all genres, but hip hop is perhaps unique in how important a solid beat is to the success of a track. The story goes back to its origin, when MC’s were the second fiddle to their DJ’s, slowly going from hype man to star of the show. Nowadays, only handful of producers and DJ’s are famous, and the casual fan is generally uninterested in the identity of the person who made the beat. Nevertheless, there’s a reason that an upper echelon of producers on the scene exists, and that the best rappers develop close relationships with their frequent collaborators, even occasionally choosing to have one beatmaker direct the music on a whole album.
There’s no formula for judging the strength of a beat. Like any original artistic creation, credit should be given for innovation, musicality, and texture. There’s also an x-factor here, which is recognizable in the way that people talk about songs they like. If it’s good, it slaps. If it’s really good, it knocks. Those words immediately trigger the sounds of 808s and drum machines in the back of your head, the tools of the producer’s trade. You can only dissect and theorize to a certain extent. At the end of the day, it either rides or it doesn’t.
We looked for beats that were memorable, beats that sampled in interesting ways, beats that made us want to get up and move, and beats that evoked different moods for the songs they backed. These are a list of what we considered to be the best, with all of our biases and prejudices. It is by no means authoritative, and like any good top ten, we hope it leads to debate.
There is so much goddamn hip hop music professionally made in a calendar year that we couldn’t possibly hope to listen to it all. Then when you consider all of the fantastic hip hop music made by amateurs that gets uploaded onto Soundcloud and Bandcamp, it makes this whole thing seem a little silly. But we had fun making it, and we hope you enjoy it. We gave the top three Olympic style medals, and listed the remaining seven in no particular order.
If you haven’t heard some of the songs on the list, let us know what you thought in the comments. I assume if you disagree, or feel there was an omission, you’re going to comment regardless of what I say.
So without further ado, Unculture presents, the top ten beats of 2019.
Gold
Half Manne Half Cocaine
— Produced by Madlib, on the album Bandana (Freddie Gibbs and Madlib)
Madlib did some of his best work on this, his second collaboration with Indiana rapper Freddie Gibbs. There were a lot of great beats to choose from, and we actually ended up including three (3!) different songs from the album in the seventeen tracks we decided to give recognition to. Half Manne Half Cocaine, for us, was the best not only on the album, but in all of hip hop music in 2019. The trap drums, the haunting violin, and one of the filthiest beat switches we’ve ever heard all made it stand out on an album that cements Madlib as the baddest mad genius producing music today.
Silver
Cokewhite
— Produced by FWDSLXSH, MD$, Kurtis McKenzie, P2J & Sean Momberger, on the album Diaspora (GoldLink)
Diaspora was an incredible exploration of Afrobeats, introducing the uninitiated to the mesmerizing sounds of West Africa. Cokewhite starts with a sustain-pedaled beat that is perfect for Pusha to waltz over with his elite drug rap toolbox and then switches into a scary trap backtrack for GoldLink to ride on. The switch develops more smoothly than the one on Half Manne Half Cocaine, and the only thing that is inferior about it is a slight lack of complexity. There are these devilish distorted sounds on the drum break, a nice detail on an already very sinister palette.
Bronze
Purple Emoji ft. J. Cole
— Produced by MXXWLL, released as a single (Ty Dolla $ign)
MXXWLL samples Take 6’s More Than Ever on this one, and the flip is just impeccable. The transition from the chopped original audio to the track is… so goddamn smooth. Adding in snappy drums, a hint of electric guitar, and an 808 that manages not to encroach on the essential groove of the song, creates a gorgeous piece of music, perfect for Ty Dolla’s refined sound.
EARFQUAKE
— Produced by Tyler, The Creator, on the album IGOR (Tyler, The Creator)
Big Boy Talk
— Produced by DJ Khaled, 808-Ray & Cool & Dre, on the album Father of Asahd (DJ Khaled)
GRoCERIES
— Produced by Felix Leone and Murda Beatz, released as a single (Chance the Rapper)
Fake Names
— Produced by Madlib, on the album Bandana (Freddie Gibbs and Madlib)
AUTOMATIC
— Produced by Tay Keith, on the album ZUU (Denzel Curry)
Drunk
— Produced by Bēkon, Sounwave & DJ Dahi, on the album CrasH Talk (ScHoolboy Q)
Down Bad
— Produced by Pluss, on the album Revenge of the Dreamers III (Dreamville)
Honorable Mentions
Threat 2 Society
— Produced by 9th Wonder, on the album Rap or Go to the League (2 Chainz)
CrasH
— Produced by Boi-1da, on the album CrasH Talk (ScHoolboy Q)
MIDDLE CHILD
— Produced by J.Cole & T-Minus, on the album Revenge of the Dreamers III (Dreamville)
Speedboat
— Produced by Rugah Rajh, on the album Zuu (Denzel Curry)
Under the Sun
— Produced by Pluss, Christo & Nice Rec, on the album Revenge of the Dreamers III (Dreamville)
Crime Pays
— Produced by Madlib, on the album Bandana (Freddie Gibbs and Madlib)
Goin Baby
— Produced by Eddie Priest, JetsonMade & OJ Finessey, on the album Baby on Baby (DaBaby)
If you enjoyed reading this piece, please consider subscribing to our Substack newsletter. You’ll get to read our stuff, hot off the presses, each time we publish.
