When it comes to the rap genre in recent years, one of the major dramas that happened was the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar beef. With the rivalry came the emergence of a so-called “big three” of the genre: Kendrick, Drake, and J. Cole; but I think it’s completely wrong. I think the current top three are Drake, Travis Scott and Tyler, the Creator. Drake was in the original big three, as he draws in almost 90 million monthly listeners on Spotify alone, and he’s always one of the most talked-about artists. Travis released “Utopia” a couple of years back, which was a huge release. Tyler has been on a roll recently, with the release of “Chromakopia” and “Don’t Tap the Glass”, and he’s been touring and selling out shows left and right. J. Cole also released an album recently, but Tyler has definitely been more relevant in recent years.
My personal big three would be Drake, A$AP Rocky and Childish Gambino. Drake still makes it, definitely not because of his newer releases, but because his older albums have some of my most played and favorite rap songs of all time. When I think of my top Drake songs, or rap songs in general, it’s hard to make a list without including songs like “Houstatlantavegas” or “Uptown off” or “So Far Gone”.
Finally, I can’t forget about songs like “Club Paradise”, “Trust Issues” or “Care Package”, which are more emotional and deep. And that’s not even diving into his unreleased music, with songs like “Vital, Zodiac Sign” and “Wu-Tang Forever” being some of his best work. When I finally switched from my old music app to Spotify Premium, Drake was immediately in my top five most listened to artists. Right now, he has my most listened to track since switching, with “Fancy” racking up almost 500 minutes in four months. He’s also currently sitting at 2,250 minutes listened to.
Next is A$AP Rocky, who is my second most listened to artist currently, accumulating 1,800 minutes in the four months since I switched platforms. His work with Clams Casino and Imogen Heap includes some of my favorite rap songs of all time, including “I Smoked Away My Brain”, which I played 92 times in one month alone. In addition, some of A$AP’s strongest moments include songs like “Sandman”, “Houston Old Head”, “PMW”, and “Pharsyde”; all of which have amazing production. He has some of my favorite beats of all time, and that’s without considering his unreleased work.
Childish Gambino is the last to make my prestigious top three. As my current third most listened to artist, with 1,600 minutes in four months, he just barely beats out artists like Kanye West, Travis Scott and Mac Miller. Childish Gambino has some of my most listened to songs with “Les”, “Me and Your Mama” and “Heartbeat”. Other great Gambino songs include “Feels Like Summer”, “Redbone” and “Letter Home”. Each song has great production, amazing instrumentals, and outstanding songwriting. And those are just a few. He also has a great unreleased catalog.
