Hip Hop Time Machine: My Top 15 Favourite Songs of 2013

Forget about the Hot Tub Time Machine. Let's get into the Hip Hop Time Machine as I try to compile a list of my favourite tracks of 2013. This should be interesting.

15. Black Milk - Sunday's Best

I just love the way Black Milk chopped up this sample.

14. Ugly Heroes - Hero's Theme

Apollo Brown combines a great piano sample with some hard-hitting drums to great effect.

13. The Demigodz - Captain Caveman (feat. R.A. the Rugged Man)

R.A. the Rugged Man steals the show on this one. I mean what can you say about a guy who "fucked a monkey and started the AIDS virus."

12. L'Orange & Stik Figa - Decorated Silence (feat. Open Mike Eagle & MindsOne)

How do you turn a classical jazz sample from what sounds like the 1940's into a banging hip hop tune? I guess only L'Orange knows.

11. Kanye West - Blood On The Leaves

I wasn't a big fan of Kanye West's Yeezus album. I felt like it was too much of a departure from his previous work that I loved so much. Having said that, there were two songs that really stood out to me on this album. I really enjoyed "Bound 2" for its throwback sound to the days of College Dropout and Late Registration, but "Blood On The Leaves" turned out to be a track that was true to the sound of Yeezus while also being an absolute banger. The moment the beat drops, shit gets real.

10. Drake - Pound Cake (feat. Jay-Z)

If this track was only an instrumental, it would still make the list. Boi-1da's beat is beautiful. "5AM In Toronto" was close to making this list too.

9. R.A. the Rugged Man - Definition of a Rap Flow (feat. Amalie Bruun)

Such an appropriate song title. R.A.'s flow on this track is out of this world.

8. A$AP Mob - Trillmatic (feat. A$AP Nast & Method Man)

This track has that classic New York hip hop feel to it. Method Man's verse is just the icing on the cake.

7. Action Bronson - Rolling Thunder

Killa Cam was meant to be the special guest feature on this joint, but that ultimately fell through, so Action just rocked the whole joint by himself, and I'm not complaining! Party Supplies and Action Bronson go together like salt and pepper, like cheese and cheddar, like jeans and sweater .....

6. Chance The Rapper - Favorite Song (feat. Childish Gambino)

This song just makes me feel good. There's no better reason to put it on my list. "Acid Rain" could have easily made my list too.

5. Tha Dogg Pound - L.A. Here's 2 U (feat. Snoop Dogg)

It just doesn't get much smoother than this.

4. Ghostface Killah - Revenge Is Sweet (feat. Masta Killa & Killa Sin)

I prefer Apollo Brown's version of this album over Adrian Younge's, but the main reason I love this song is for Killa Sin's killer verse.

3. Flatbush ZOMBiES - Regular and Complex (GNB)

BetterOffDEAD was my favourite project of 2013, and Regular and Complex (GNB) is arguably the best track on there, although I could make a case for "MRAZ" as well. Meechy Darko's verse on this track is simply mesmerizing though. "If rap was illegal, you bitch niggas wouldn't even write a bar. Shit, I'd probably be behind bars, raisin' the bar through these bars!"

2. Big Sean - Control (feat. Kendrick Lamar & Jay Electronica)

Do I even have to explain this choice? The entire Hip Hop world was in shell shock for an entire MONTH after Kendrick dropped "a bomb on this shit".

1. A$SAP Rocky - 1 Train (feat. Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, Yelawolf, Danny Brown, Action Bronson & Big K.R.I.T.)

What a line-up. This song is epic. Best verse goes to Big K.R.I.T., but everyone did their thing on here. Funniest line goes to Danny Brown for "bitch's pussy smells like a penguin, wouldn't hit that shit with my worst enemy's penis."