By Joseph ‘JP’ Patterson, James Keith, Cee Valentina
If the album charts were dominated by legends releasing their greatest works to date, our Best Songs list is a little harder to pin down.
There were plenty of gems from the old guard, but a quick scan of this year’s list suggests the real magic came from the young guns. Chy Cartier, a rising star who had already clocked up more than her share of bangers, hit a career high with “YO!” (later getting a second bite of the cherry with a Headie One remix).
Elsewhere, newcomer Pozer enjoyed an almost statistically impossible run with six stone-cold anthems, packing more success into his first year than most artists will see in a lifetime. And then there’s Charli XCX, who struck intercontinental gold with “360” and the Brat album, creating an entire cultural phenomenon in one green swoop.
Another treat this year was the glut of god-tier grime we were spoiled with. We’ve been saying for some time that we’ve moved beyond grime waves and that’s reflected in this year’s best tracks—not least Chip’s all-star “Grime Scene Saviours” tour de force. In fact, there’s no one dominating genre anymore. UK rap’s supremacy isn’t what it was—at least in the charts—instead, we’ve got a varied music scene thriving in its own ecosystem; R&B, Jersey-drill, rap, grime and UK garage are all simmering away nicely, cross-pollenating and pushing each other forward.
Check out the songs we were bumping the most this year below, and to read more or see the official videos just click through the links. The full playlist can be streamed on the flip.
50. Tyrique Hyde — “Painhub”
49. Milli Major & Allstars – “Skeem Set Pt. 2”
48. Twyce f/ Blanco — “On Me”
47. SamRecks — “Relapse”
46. Rushy — “Hooligan”
45. Zino Vinci — “Stressed Days”
44. Ragz Originale f/ Karen Nyame KG & Bambii — “Sho Me”
43. CASISDEAD — “Steptronic (Conducta Remix)”
42. Wilfy D — “IDKW”
41. NDOTZ — “Embrace It”
40. Kruz Leone — “Numbers Game”
39. Ruff Sqwad — “Bigga Meat”
38. £MONZO f/ Jme & Lamsi — “S.I.T PT. 2”
37. Scorcher — “Members Only”
36. Shakes f/ TS Lagga — “Like Us”
35. Duppy — “Over The Wall”
34. Kwengface f/ Digga D, Booter Bee & PS Hitsquad — “Quincy Promes”
33. Stepz — “Rock”
32. LeoStayTrill & Mr Reload It — “Pink Lemonade (Str8 Reload)”
31. Jim Legxacy — “Aggressive”
30. Charli XCX — “360”
29. Ceechynaa — “Peggy”
28. YT f/ Lancey Foux — “Black & Tan”
27. Nines — “Tony Soprano 3”
26. Ghetts f/ Kano & Wretch 32 — “Mount Rushmore”
25. Lancey Foux, Len & Fimiguerrero — “Osbatt”
24. Major League DJz f/ Tion Wayne — “One Of Them”
23. Knucks & K-Trap — “Cautionary Tales”
22. Headie One — “I’m Thankful”
21. Nemzzz f/ Luciano — “ETA”
20. Odeal f/ Summer Walker — “You’re Stuck”
19. Ghetts f/ Sampha — “Double Standards”
18. Skepta — “Gas Me Up (Diligent)”
17. Wretch 32 f/ Little Simz & Benjamin AD — “Black & British”
16. Pozer — “Kitchen Stove”
15. Marlow P — “Alone In The Streets”
14. Potter Payper — “My City’s Not Safe”
13. K-Trap — “Whistle”
12. Pa Salieu — “Belly”
11. Pozer — “Puppies”
10. Nia Smith f/ Popcaan — “Personal”
9. FLO f/ GloRilla — “In My Bag”
8. Sasha Keable — “Hold Up”
7. Bashy f/ Skrapz & Haile — “Blessed”
6. Chip & Allstars — “Grime Scene Saviours”
5. Cleo Sol — “Fear When You Fly”
4. Tems — “Burning”
3. Asake f/ Wizkid — “MMS”
2. Central Cee f/ Lil Baby — “BAND4BAND”
1. Chy Cartier — “YO!”
