The top 33 rap singles of 2010

This is liable to change given that we still have 29 days of the december to go, but tonight feels like an appropriate oppurtunity to get the obligatory "these are my favourite rap singles of the year, fellas!!" self-indulgent list post outta the way since other blogs have already started dropping theirs. I originally intended on ranking these into some sort of hierarchy but there were so many great singles this year that it's impossible to collate them into order of preferance yet, and Im not sure I'll ever bother since it just seems a futile exercise to assess whether you like Hard In Da Point more than Canal Street and Top To The Bottom, or Earl more than Teach Me How To Dougie and Ric Flair when they're all equally brilliant but just happen to serve different purposes.

The criteria : in an age when the actual physical format of the single is obsolete I'm defining the term ‘single’ as songs which were afforded promo videos, and there's a one-single-per-artist rule, which I haven't flaunted by including something by Curren$y AND something by Curren$y & Fiend since the latter's entry on the list comes from the forthcoming mixtape they're doing as a duo, so it counts as a seperate entity to my Curren$y solo single choice.

No Ready, Set, Go by Killer Mike & T.I because it only came out the other day, nothing by French Montana because I'm not listening to thug-talk by a dude who looks like a cartoon lesbian version of Psycho Les, no B.M.F because Rawse reminds me more of Ahmed Johnson than Albert Johnson, zilch by Freddie Gibbs because he has the personality of Ahmed Johnson's two-by-four, no Power because it just inspires me to listen to King Crimson's 21st Century Schizoid Man instead, nada by blog darlings like Big K.R.I.T, and Roach Gigz because I've yet to really investigate them beyond cursory listenings, no Pretty Boy Swag 'cause I prefer the remix with Gucci Mane which isn't a proper single, and no My Middle Name Is Crime because there simply isn't enough room.

Please believe there's ample space for Code Name by White, though, since it spoke directly to my saltine-soul like no other song this year, and although I'm not a fan of Vado as anything other than a preferable post-Dipset weed carrier alternative to that Penz kid who stunk up Glitter, I really like the Polo remix. What can I say? I'm shallow and easily swayed so I appreciate the fact he's gone from being the dude who looks like Shyne to resembling a young Grand Puba in the remix's video for maximum Polo points, and Dro's presence on the song obviously doesn't hurt, either.

So, without further ado...

Lil B - Good Morning
Raekwon - Canal Street
Lil' Boosie - Top To The Bottom
E-40 - Undastandz Me
Cousin Fik ft. E-40 - Bay Area 51
Cam'Ron & Vado - Ric Flair
Vado ft. Young Dro - Polo remix
Max B - Where Do I Go?
Yelawolf - Pop The Trunk
CNN ft. Imam Thug & MussoliNY - Planet Thug
Gucci Mane - Normal
Waka Flocka Flame - Hard In Da Paint
AZ - Feel My Pain
Earl Sweatshirt - EARL
Big Boi ft. Cutty - Shutterbugg
NhT Boyz - Slidin'
B.o.B ft. T.I & Playboy Tre - Bet I Bust
Elzhi - Deep
Danny Brown - Re-Up
Eddi Projex & Beeda Weeda - Gettin' G's
White - Code Name
Lil' Blood ft. J-Stalin - Sell My Coke
Sean Price - Figure Four
Curren$y - Life Under The Scope
Curren$y & Fiend - Flying Iron
Red Cafe ft. Pete Rock - Heart And Soul
Fabolous - I'm Raw
$tarlito - What Was I Thinking?
L.E.P Bogus Boyz - Goin' In For The Kill
Zed Zilla - I'm Da Boss
Yo Gotti - Look In The Mirror
Young Jeezy ft. Yo Gotti - All White Everything remix
Cali Swag District - Teach Me How To Dougie

Ah, but it ain't over, mawfucker : because a list of singles doesn't even begin to do justice to the story of rap in 2010 given how fractured and chaotic the game is nowadays, here's another 30=something of my favourite rap songs from this year which weren't singles :

J-Stalin ft. The Jacka - Red And Blue Lights
Roc Marciano - Ridin' Around
$tarlito - Alright
KanYe West ft. Kid Cudi & Raekwon - Gorgeous
Killa Kyleon ft. Z-Ro - Swang Real Wide
Big Boi - Daddy Fat Sax
NhT Boyz ft. The Jacka - Big Money
Big Noyd - Queens Chronicle intro
E-40 ft. Marty James - Rick Rock Horns
Cousin Fik - No Gravity
Lil' Boosie ft. Webbie & Big Head - Bank Roll 2
Webbie ft. Lil' Phat & Birdman - Do It Bigger
Max B - Lonely
Cam'Ron ft. Vado - Fuck A Freestyle
DB Tha General - Murda
Tyler The Creator - Bastard
Waka Flocka Flame ft. Kebo Gotti - Grove St. Party
AZ - The Calm
DJ Kayslay ft. AZ, Raekwon & Ghostface - See The Light
Yelawolf - F.U
Beeda Weeda - Baserock Babies
Freeway ft. Peedi Crakk - Snappa Pow
Z-Ro - Blast Myself
Suga Free - Nobody
Young L - Martian Clap
Lil B - New York Subway
The Pack - Hella Bass remix III
Thug Lordz ft. Tha Realest - Mean Muggin'
Curren$y - Airborne Aquarium
Curren$y & Fiend - Executive Brass
Soulja Boy ft. Gucci Mane - Pretty Boy Swag remix
Young Dro - Freeze Me
Danny Brown - Guitar Solo
Ski Beatz ft. Camp Lo - Back Uptown
Yo' Gotti ft. Gucci Mane & Zed Zilla - Bang Bang
Black Rob - Up North
Keak Da Sneak - Maxi Pads
Styles P ft. Sheek Louch - Double Trouble
Husalah - You Neva Knew
The Jacka & Ampachino ft. T-Nutty & Husalah - Hustle In The Rain

All in all, a very enjoyable year in rap, and since it really is a Daily Operation (R.I.P Guru - why couldn't one of your Baldhead Slick & Da Click weed carriers like Mendoughza or Don Parmazhane have died instead??) to stay on top of everything coming out you can't help but find yourself totally immersed in the music.