It’s been a huge year in hip-hop. Releases from Kanye West, Drake, Travis Scott, Lil Wayne, Cardi B and Eminem have all been huge in 2018 in their own ways. That’s not to mention songs by the like of XXXTentacion, Lil Pump, Kodak Black, Migos and their respective solo projects.
But who’s had some of the wittiest bars of 2018? Take a look below to find out what we wish we’d thought of ourselves.
Your boyfriend is a dork, McLovin - I Love It, Lil Pump
Lil Pump isn’t exactly this generation’s Shakespeare, but he is set to become one of the out-and-out stars of hip hop, if he isn’t already. His collaboration with Kanye West, I Love It, quickly became one of the biggest, as well as one of the strangest, songs of the year. However, no matter where you stand on the music video, which features Kanye and Pump in some of the oddest costumes ever to be featured in a music video, you can’t deny how catchy the song is, and Lil Pump’s ability to make any verse a winner.
I'm a project baby, now I stay in Calabasas - Zeze, Kodak Black
You don’t get to the top without a bit of self-promotion. No-one knows that better than Kodak Black, on his hit ZEZE. While he’s proud of where he’s come from, going from the projects to chilling in California, he’s still keen for people to check out the music that’s gotten him to that point. After all, ZEZE has been a huge hit in 2018, so it might be many people’s first experience of listening to Kodak Black. His advice? Go check out his Project series of mixtapes. We all could learn a thing or two about hustling, even when we succeed, from Kodak Black.
Y'all must thought that I was gon' whisper the whole time - Don't Come Out The House, 21 Savage
Ok, so maybe these aren’t the best lyrics of the year, but the execution makes them sound like they’d been handed down through generations. Producer Metro Boomin recently dropped his debut album, Not All Heroes Wear Capes, and if there’s one hero on the album that stands above the rest, it's 21 Savage. Transitioning between whispering and rapping, 21 Savage proves that not only is he a visionary, but that even amongst heavyweights like Travis Scott, Gunna and Swae Lee, he doesn’t just hold his own, he excels. 21 Savage forever.
You even got me trippin', you got me lookin' in the mirror different/Thinkin' I'm flawed because you inconsistent - Be Careful, Cardi B
Is there anything Cardi B can’t do? From dropping Invasion Of Privacy, to beefing with Nicki Minaj, she has established herself to heir to the throne of Queen of Rap, if she isn’t already. However, even Cardi gets insecure sometimes. Be Careful is targeted at anyone that dares to cross her, because you know it won’t be pretty. Don’t fret though, Cardi went on to clarify that she’s still as confident as ever. Speaking to Cosmopolitan, Cardi said “It’s like everybody is coming down my neck like, ‘Why are you not leaving him? You have low self-esteem.’ I don’t have low self-esteem. Bitch, I know I look good. I know I’m rich, I know I’m talented. I know I could get any man I want—any basketball player, football player. But I want to work out my shit with my man, and I don’t got to explain why. I’m not your property. This is my life.” As the song says, it’s a threat, not a warning.
OVO 40, hunched over like he 80—tick, tick, tick/How much time he got? That man is sick, sick, sick - The Story Of Adidon, Pusha T
When Pusha T dropped The Story of Adidon, Drake looked for the first time like a mere mortal. After having easily taken care of Meek Mill in a beef that was really over before it begun, many assumed that Drake would be able to take care of Pusha T. After all, Pusha T may be a veteran, but Drake is Drake, right? Wrong. The song, which revealed that Drake has a son, as well as pretty much every other secret Drake has ever had, contains some of the most vicious bars to be recorded – but the diss on Drake’s long-time collaborator 40 is as brutal as it is genius. There’s a reason that Pusha T unanimously won this beef, and with the release of DAYTONA, well and truly put himself back on the hip hop map.
