DIFFERENT KITCHEN’S FAVORITE SONGS OF 2017

Let’s face it, in 2017 it was Cardi‘s world (salute, Belcalis), we were just living in it. I was late on it (thanks, C and Ice for the heads up) but I still ended up being the only Hype Machine blog on “Bodak Yellow”, a song that ended up being the biggest one of the year by a country mile. What does that say about the state of blogging in 2017??! I can’t call it except to say that’s what we do and have done for 15 years now here at The Kitchen: champion the music we think is fiya and deserves acclaim regardless of where it comes from and who releases it, indie, regional, major label, hard rock street or candy pop commercial, if we f-cks with it, we f-cks with it and want to tell the world how we feel. And while “Bodak Yellow” was the best song in our (and many others’) estimation, there were lots of other great songs. Our favorites are all listed below but the rest of the tracks we loved the most in 2017 that we couldn’t put on our Pazz and Jop ballot* are in the Spotify playlist embedded below. Here go….

THE BEST:
Cardi B – Bodak Yellow
Big Shaq – Man’s Not Hot
The Roots feat. Bilal – It Ain’t Fair
Black Thought – Hot 97 Funk Flex Freestyle
Tee Grizzley – First Day Out
Li Uzi Vert – The Way Life Goes feat. Nicki Minaj and Oh Wonder
Killy – Forecast
Neisha Ne’Shae – White Sticks
Stefflon Don – Real Ting
Creek Boyz – With My Team
Keys N Krates – Glitter feat. Ambre Perkins

But that’s not all! Most of what we loved we posted here on the blog and you can hear streaming on the Hype Machine feed of our posts or on the archive Spotify playlists linked below. And to keep up to date on the latest hottest music were rockin’ to here at The Kitchen, follow our FRESH PICKS Spotify Playlist weekly HERE.

FRESH PICKS – Vol. 1
FRESH PICKS – Vol. 2
FRESH PICKS – Vol. 3
FRESH PICKS – Vol. 4
FRESH PICKS – Vol. 5
FRESH PICKS – Vol. 6
FRESH PICKS – Nov.-Dec.

Previously on The Kitchen:

DIFFERENT KITCHEN’S FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2017

DIFFERENT KITCHEN’S FAVORITE SONGS OF 2016

DIFFERENT KITCHEN’S FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2016

DIFFERENT KITCHEN’S FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2017

As we always say, not the best, just our favorites. Not much else to say about last year in music except, there wasn’t a stand-out-from-the-pack album for us in 2017 as there was in 2016 but we were very partial to and impressed by many of the albums on our Top 10 and we want to say a massive big up to our home country of Canada and the incredible amount of amazing music that dropped from there this year. We almost by default already are, but if The Kitchen decided to become a blog focused solely on Canadian music, there would be no negligible drop in the quality as most of the best music we’ve supported this year, especially in the latter half, came from within these borders already.

Thanks to everyone who has supported The Kitchen here on the blog or the Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or the new FRESH PICKS Spotify playlist with follows, views, shares, likes and comments. 2018 will mark the 15th year we’ve been doing this and we have some exciting plans we’re hoping to execute on for later this year to celebrate that. Stay tuned for more as the year progresses and we wish everyone an amazing year ahead. Here’s to more great music in it!

THE BEST (in no particular order):
Rapsody – Laila’s Wisdom
Allie – Nightshade
Daniel Caesar – Freudian
Tyler, The Creator – Flower Boy
Vic Mensa – The Autobiography
Father John Misty – Pure Comedy
Gucci Mane – Mr. Davis
Clairmont the Second – Lil Mont From The Ave.
Drake – More Life

THE REST (in alphabetical order):
2 Chainz – Pretty Girls Like Trap
88Glam – 88Glam
Joey Badass – All-Amerikkkan Badass
Big KRIT – 4eva Is A Mighty Long Time
Big Sean – I Decided
CyHi The Prynce – No Dope On Sundays
Dave East – Paranoia: A True Story
MC Eiht – Which Way Iz West
Future & Young Thug – Super Slimey
Jay-Z – 4:44
Jeezy – Precious
Kendrick Lamar – DAMN.
Le Couleur – P.O.P.
Steve Lacy – Steve Lacy’s Demo
Meek Mills – Wins & Losses
N*E*R*D – No One Ever Really Dies
Sean Price – Imperius Rex
Dizze Rascal – Raskit
Rick Ross – Rather You Than Me
Smokepurpp – Deadstar
Snotty Nosed Rez Kids – Average Savage
Vince Staples – Big Fish Theory
Syd – Fin
SZA – Ctrl
Maylee Todd – Acts of Love

Previously on The Kitchen:
DIFFERENT KITCHEN’S FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2016

DIFFERENT KITCHEN’S FAVORITE SONGS OF 2016

[Announcement] Follow the New Different Kitchen – Fresh Picks Spotify Playlist

Welcome to a new feature introduced to take into account the changing nature of how listeners are now discovering and consuming music. Fresh Picks will be a playlist featuring music from the blog, scheduled to be featured on the blog and even music that we may never get on the site plus, possibly, a few other treats and goodies along the way. Think of it as an easy way to catch up on (most of) what’s happening here at The Kitchen though.

We will try to operate Fresh Picks the same way the big playlists in the game like Rap Caviar that update on a rolling basis, discarding older tracks as new ones are added. Unlike many of those though, we hope to do some kind of archiving of the older music featured as we are still a little old school in our thinking that we don’t believe in the microwave, disposable mindset that has pervaded (even more than in the past) the modern music industry.

Expect to hear music on Fresh Picks that runs the gamut of what we post here on the blog: (mostly) hip-hop, jazzy/R&B/soul, ‘urban alternative’, electronic, dance & bass music and some indie & pop music if it’s to our liking and fits The Kitchen aesthetic. Right now you can hear bangers from local heroes, Roy Woods, Tory Lanez, Prime Boys, Baka Not Nice, 88 Glam, CMDWN & Lil Yachty, Jazz Cartier, DillanPonders, ShaqisDope, Charlotte Day Wilson, Jessie Reyez, Keys N Krates, K. Forest, Wasiu & Kaytranada, Beatchild, Tasha the Amazon, 11:11, Kennedy Rd., Omar LinX + Zeds Dead plus Grand Analog with Pos from De La Soul, CyHi The Prince & Kanye West and much, much more….

[Full Length Documentary] 6IX RISING: Toronto’s Rap Ascendence

Misspelling in the title aside (!), this is long overdue project:

It’s no secret Toronto has recently placed itself amongst North America’s most buzzworthy music cities due to the blockbuster ascents of Drake and the Weeknd. But that attention has also turned the city’s local rap scene into a hyper-competitive, prolific, and highly creative environment where young artists are fighting for attention on the world stage. Noisey’s latest documentary feature is set in the middle of this vibrant scene, to profile some of its most exciting artists who are potentially on the cusp of international success. Featuring Big Lean, CMDWN, Friyie, Jazz Cartier, Pressa and Prime Boys.

[Photo Recap & Album Stream] Ibeyi Live at The Phoenix in Toronto, ON

ICYMI: check out the amazing pics, #shotbynadream70, The Kitchen‘s staff photographer at the recent Ibeyi Toronto show above. Show was AMAZING! They are 10x better live than their albums, the most recent of which is pretty decent! Missed it? Preview that above too.