“Mobbin’…Stealin’…Grindin’…Hustlin’…This is how gonna make something outta nothing”
This is the gutter anthem from the team known as Murderers’ Row backed by the hard hitting production you have come to expect from the Snowgoons. Outerspace, Reef The Lost Cause, and King Syze. This joint is tough as is the whole project, so if you haven’t picked that up, make sure you support and play to your heart’s content.
Here are some of my favorites songs from 2024 in independent hip hop. Again…not cumulative. I know your tastes my vary but maybe you will see something on the list you didn’t hear and enjoy. Click the song link to be taken to a youtube offering of that track. And as always…support the artist! Off to 2025!
| Song | Artist | Note |
| #1 T.I.M.E. | K-Salaam, JdotL, Wrekonize, & Jae Skeese (ft. D.Lylez) | This is the perfect song. The production is a vibe. The lyricism is fantastic. And the hook bridges perfectly! |
| #2 Oppenheimer | Vega7 The Ronin & Ferris Blusa (prod. by Kalos Beats) | Sometimes you just need a song to slap you in the face…this my friends is that slap. This joint is tough!!! |
| #3 Act Of God | Ed OG (prod. by Tone Spliff) | Our emcee has been doing this a long time…and he still knows how to craft GREAT music. |
| #4 Dangerous | Bobby J From Rockaway & Dom Dirtee | This joint not only knocks but can easily get caught in your head. Infectious. |
| #5 The Magnum | Dan Johns (ft. Amen) | I’ve talked about this song at length. Trust me. Lyrics. Production. This is top notch. |
| #6 Fuck It | Grieves & Mouse Powell | Another anthem for when you can’t care. Exceptional musically and love the horns on this track. |
| #7 Flinch | Locksmith (ft. Ekoh) | If you are feeling like you are on the brink. Don’t give your enemies the satisfaction. Don’t Flinch. |
| #8 Spare Change | J. Lately (ft. Ian Kelly) | The guitar licks. The vibe. And the style make this song play on in your head for days on end. |
| #9 Stupid. Dumb. Illiterate. | Heems (prod. by Lapgan) | This song has so much finesse and a great sound. The production and flow of the track is remarkable. |
| #10 Two Kids | maticulous (ft. Elzhi) | The art of storytelling is not lost in hip hop. Check out this case in point from 2024. |
| #11 OHLawd | J57 (ft. H3RO) | This again is just beautiful music. I love this production , the chorus, and the lyricsm on display here. |
| #12 The Way | Spit Gemz (prod. by Nickel Plated) | Some music gives way to thought and makes you think with another light. This is that! |
| #13 Cadillac | Brother Ali | HipHop is primed to speak on social injustice and Brother Ali does that through his own story. |
| #14 Defiance | Izrell & Dead Perry | Sometimes you just need something epic…dark and epic. |
| #15 Roc Nation Brunch | Marv Won (ft. Freeway) | Great concept, and creating a fun visual through words. Inventive. |
| #16 Delusions Of Grandeur | K.A.A.N. & DJ Hoppa | This is one of the best pairings of the year and you can hear exactly why on this track! |
| #17 Raised On | Mic Bles & Level 13 (ft. ethemadassassin) | I’ve talked about THIS track at length too. But this that authentic hip hop flavor! |
| #18 Close | M-Dot (ft. Kore) | No one does that “life music” better than M-Dot. He speaks like you are in his shoes. You too are “close”. |
| #19 Crownsville | Rock & Ruste Juxx | The tandem takes you into the streets of Crownsville in the illest way possible. |
| #20 Broken Mirrors | Jae Skeese & Superior | Skeese speaks to me on this one. Wow. Music that makes you feel something is invaluable. |
| #21 My Nephew and I | Nef & Bobby J from Rockaway | This beat from Nef! One of the best, and wow, Bobby J just continues to impress. Sure shot! |
| #22 Courtleigh Chemist | Daniel Son & Finn | Here you have a producer and emcee in perfect step delivering that head nodder. |
| #23 Budda Palm | ZaZa God | “I’m Big Anubis…The Ra Royal!” This track just goes incredibly hard. |
| #24 What I’m Asking | Pro Dillinger | Is your relationship stressing you to the limits? Dillinger taps in. You know you’ve been there. |
| #25 Home | Waterr & Wavy Da Ghawd (ft. Spoda) | One of the hardest working emcees in 2024 delivered many great moments but this is among my favorites. |
| #26 Sins Of The Father | Supreme Cerebral (ft. Eloh Kush and O The Great) (prod. by Swab) | Swab laces a beautiful canvas and these emcees put it to work. One of the best posse cuts this year. |
| #27 Lunar Stroll | CG The Producer (ft. Revalation x MKDel x Lateb) | Let your mind drift as though it was on a space walk. This song will help you. Great song. |
| #28 A Different Kind Of Payne | RJ Payne & BP | Payne gets deep and personal over some eloquent BP production. Hear the inner pain. |
| #29 Lessons | Willie The Kid & VDon (ft. Eto and Rome Streetz) | Another one of the best combos in the game unleashed excellence this year. And this is among the best. |
| #30 Symbiote Suits | Daniel Son & Futurewave | Vicious. This joint is just vicious. If the phantom of the opera hit the streets, this is the epic it will tell. |
| #31 Illuminati Money | Planet Asia & 38 Spesh (ft. Klass Murda and Tristate) | Spesh and Asia win again combining all their superlatives for another banger. This beat and these lyrical skills…wow. |
| #32 Korean Kimchi | Jay Royale (ft. Vega7 The Ronin) | Jay Royale is vastly underrated. Such a talent! Here you can listen to him deliver alongside Vega7 over a really dope production. Love the vocal sample. |
| #33 LoFi | Guttr (Havoc x RJ Payne x Ras Kass) | Hip Hop supergroup put the industry back in it’s place with this one. Lyrical swordplay over some glorious production from Havoc. |
| #34 We Never Believe Anybody | Double Life (L*Roneous x Gennessee) | Two emcees with distinctly different styles that unite to do something so dope…time and time again…favorite song off this year’s project. |
| #35 Green Screen | Copywrite (prod. by Evidence) | Lyricism you are accustomed to from Copy over the years and doing so over the freshest of beats from Ev. |
| #36 The Iron I Toss | The Bad Seed (ft. MIMS x Honey Dinero x Nam Nitty) (prod. by JR Swiftz) | You want a dope posse cut? I got you. 6th Man shit! JR Swiftz laces the production as each emcee shows and proves. |
| #37 Hour After Hour | Tek & Stu Bangas | “No success without sacrifice…life without music” Tek and Stu Bangas created something memorable in 2024 |
| #38 Gucci Gambinos | Mickey Diamond (ft. Pro Dillinger) | Umbrella over everything! Diamond and Dillinger over Big Ghost…you know it’s godly. Super tough. |
| #39 Mask On, Mask Off | Maze Overlay & Swab | Best song off of a great album from 2024. Maze and Swab give you some dope hip hop that knocks. |
| #40 Born Alone, Die Alone | Snak The Ripper | You want to hear the rock bottom of unhinged? Here we go! Snak delivers the darkness in the dopest way possible. |
| #41 Esoteric | Skyzoo | I said it before and I will say it again, Skyzoo is a PROFESSIONAL emcee. You can hear that on this excellent cut! |
| #42 Los Angeles | Blu & Evidence | From their city to yours! Blu and Ev bring a piece of California to your eardrums with their superlative tradecraft. |
| #43 Master Seminar | Eyeree Beats (ft. Jay Royale, Snotty, and Supreme Cerebral) | Producers getting their due on HHD. Beautiful production with right emcees to do the job! |
| #44 OMG | Philmore Green | One of the best albums of the year also has one of the best songs. Great lyricism, production, and scratches. |
| #45 Heat Wave | Murderers Row (Outerspace x King Syze x Reef The Lost Cause) | Really looking forward to this full project. So great to hear these guys deliver such heat on the same song. |
| #46 Money On The Line | Chuck N Lock (prod. by Oppenheimer) | The tandem never fails to deliver bars that make you rewind profusely. A style unto themslves. Genius. |
| #47 So Long | Paradime | Paradime can make some great songs! This one has you reminiscing and singing that chorus alongside him. |
| #48 Listen | V-Styles | Introspective and thought provoking music that will get you to do exactly that…Listen! |
| #49 Blood In, Blood Out | Bozack Morris (ft. Asun Eastwood x Lex Tallonis) | Some songs on this list are just filthy. This song fits that category. Morris unleashes the sinister on this one! |
| #50 The Summit | Kail Problems & DJ Hoppa | Another fiya beat from DJ Hoppa lends itself to another win with Kail Problems delivering bar after dope bar. |
Reef The Lost Cauze is back and bearing his teeth on this venomous new banger, produced by Caliph-NOW, Umar’s Revenge. This serves as the lead single for the new project, The Triumphant. That will be dropping on February 2nd.
You can hear the ominous tones with the creeping bass line, and those bells echoing in the background. And then you hear Reef’s voice cut through that tension clearly asserting:
…You’ll never find a flow as cold as mine / And you fear not of the flesh when you can control the mind
Here is the first video single from Reef The Lost Cause’s next album, The Majestic. Stay Golden offers what you have come to expect from Reef over the years. He’s got those sharp bars and a knack for formulating them into some ill verses. He does just that over some production from Caliph-NOW.
Oh these guys are dropping it heavy! Reef, Planet Asia, and Skrewtape are firing off heat rocks that your iTunes may not be able to handle. These flows are intense with both delivery and content and the beat from Bear One is just a little vicious. Enjoy this!
Artist: William Cooper
Album: God’s Will
Tracklisting:
01. Yesterday (God Frequency)
02. God’s Will (feat. Pace Won)
03. Something Ain’t Right (feat. Nature)
04. Grym Reaper
05. Never Fall
06. Blue Dreaming
07. True-n-Livin’ Nightmares (feat. Reef The Lost Cauze & Sticky Fingaz)
08. Stairway to the Matrix
9. Morpheus Prophecies (feat. Planet Asia)
10. Verbal Checkmate (feat. Killah Priest)
11. Holy Mountain (feat. Sean Price & Stoneface)
12. Secrets of Oz
13. The Cycle (feat. Ill Bill & Trife Diesel)
14. Volcanic Winter (feat. 9th Prince)
15. 7th Odyssey (feat. Timbo King & Killah Priest)
16. Channel Z
17. Zombieland (feat. Diabolic)
18. Marvelous Minds (feat. Big Twins & Big Noyd)
19. Closer to God (feat. Rah Digga)
20. MC Supremacy
21. Second Chance (feat. Stoneface)
22. Tomorrow
23. The Sequel
24. My Brother’s Keeper (feat. Stoneface)
25. Ultimate Spit (feat. Young Zee)
26. Illustrious Vision
Note:
I can’t think of an album in recent memory that was this long that maintained this much consistency as does God’s Will from William Cooper. When listening to this album you will notice a cohesiveness you typically don’t associate with a project of this length. In my mind that’s just one of the things that makes this album special. There are so many individual components that contribute to making this album a must listen so let’s take a look at some of those finer points.
William Cooper unleashes the first single for his upcoming album, God’s Will, which drops on May 5th. On this track, Cooper, Reef The Lost Cauze, and Sticky Fingaz deliver bars of stark realism to dash your day dreams over a powerful beat by BP.
Artist: King Syze
Album – Union Terminology
Tracklisting:
1. Intro
2. Boilerplate Language
3. Injunction
4. Union Goons (feat Lawrence Arnell)
5. Due Process
6. Grievances
7. Fruit Of Labor (feat Reef The Lost Cauze)
8. Mediation
9. Business Agents (feat Planetary and Lawrence Arnell)
10. Last Chance Agreement
11. Work Stoppage
Note:
This is not a review. There is simply no time. I just wanted to make you guys aware that this joint dropped. I have King Syze’s entire discography and every album is completely dope. It’s authentic material and I encourage you all to cop this.
Artist: Matt Maddox
Album: Righteous Fury (Amazon, iTunes)
Tracklisting:
1. No Country For Old Men produced by Engineer
2. Interlude produced by Sultan Mir
3. Sick & Tired cuts by TMB produced by Sultan Mir
4. BARbarians ft Godilla, UG & Born Unique produced by Hellzwind
5. Work ft Mina Fedora produced by Skammadix
6. El Mariachi produced by Nemesis
7. The Get Back ft King Magnetic produced by Skammadix
8. Comedy Pt 1 produced by Skammadix
9. Murder Weapons ft Swann Cuts by TMB produced by C Lance (of Jedi Mind Tricks)
10. Spider Man ft Adlib & Reef The Lost Cauze produced by Vanderslice
11. Mjolnir ft Burke the Jurke Cuts by TMB produced by C Lance (of Jedi Mind Tricks)
12. King Killer produced by Sicknature (of Germany’s Snowgoons)
13. Olympus Has Fallen Cuts by TMB produced by Hellzwind
14. Upon A Pale Horse ft Edd Bundy Cuts by TMB produced by the UK’s Edd Bundy
15. Comedy Pt 2 produced by Skammadix
16. A Time To Kill Cuts by TMB produced by Hellzwind
17. Street Art ft Tragedy Khadafi Cuts by TMB produced by Skammadix
18. Reality’s a Bitch produced by Skammadix
19. Show Must Go On produced by Nemesis
Note:
Some albums ease a listener into the moment, while others grab you by the throat and demand your attention. Righteous Fury, the most recent album from Matt Maddox, is going to fall in the latter category. From the instant you hear the first cut. you are both engaged and threatened by what you hear. You are threatened because, from the jump, you find out that Maddox is not going to be mincing words and he will name names of those siting on the pedestals. He has thrown ‘today’s hip hop’ on it’s head and as a listener you can not remove the headphones, you become obligated to listen to this release from start to finish.
Reef The Lost Cauze collabs with Masta Ace and Jaysaun for the banger Power Moves. I am not sure what project this joint is destined for but it certainly bangs. Any time I see Jaysaun providing guest bars, I know the joint is about to get bodied. The man has no soft verses. Psych Major on the beat. Enjoy!
Hip Hop Dependency 