TOP TRACKS

Summer '16 seemed to come and go without a good, entertaining beef, but in the week before the official Fall equinox, one has emerged. You could definitely deem the new Meek Mill Vs.

We finally got to breathe a sigh of relief last week after the absolute onslaught of must-listen projects that arrived in the month prior.

The week before Labor Day brought us some nice late summer treats in the form of Travis Scott's Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight, Isaiah Rashad's The Sun's Tirade, and Fabolous' Summertime Shootout 2.

Can we finally breathe a sign of relief after what's proven to be a crazy August?

Last week was a funny one for album delays.

In terms of the calendar, summer is winding down, but someone forgot to tell that to the rap game.

The next two weeks will see new albums from two guys vying to be the third most popular rap/R&B artist out of Toronto, PartyNextDoor and Tory Lanez (Drake and The Weeknd are one and two, respectively).

It's officially August, which means there's pretty much only one month of summer left.

Last week, Chance The Rapper, Big Sean, Future, and Mike Will Made It all found themselves victims of unauthorized leaks, and subsequently spoke out about the all-too-common occurrence in the music industry.

I'm not going to take the time to crunch all of the numbers for the 28 weeks of 2016 we've experienced thus far, but in terms of artists who show up most often in our weekly top ten tracks list, it's not even close.

Even on the very rare occasion that Drake doesn't show up in our top ten tracks of the week, his presence is still felt. In this case, he's directly responsible for three separate tracks in the top ten, whether that entails remixes or disses aimed at him.

As opposed to a winter and spring that found a lot of repeat appearances in our Top Tracks list, summer's been more of a free-for-all, with quick week-to-week turnover as everyone seeks to land a summer anthem.

Summer officially began this past week, and with it came a whole bevy of huge tracks, most of the biggest ones being collabs. There's something decidedly warm weather about the low-stakes posse cut, and that's mainly what our list consists of this week.

For ten out of the 24 weeks of 2016 we've experienced thus far, Drake has held the top spot in our Top 100 tracks list.

Let's face it, as far as high-profile tracks go, there's no way this week (or any week really) could have lived up to the seven days that preceded it.

Do you ever get the feeling that hip hop's current class of elites is more of a group of superfriends than ever before? Let's play six degrees of separation with this week's top ten tracks-- the most momentous batch in recent memory.

Happy Memorial Day. The past week has been a wild one, what with the chaos at T.I.’s NYC show, Gucci Mane’s release from prison, and a new Kevin Gates tape.

This past week, we were finally able to take a deep breath and reflect on all of the major projects we've heard in the past month -- A$AP Ferg, Bankroll Mafia, Beyoncé, Drake, Skepta, Rittz, Chance The Rapper, and Post Malone have all dropped full-lengt

In contrast with the first few months of 2015, when it seemed like our Top Tracks lists were just the same Kanye and Drake tracks rising and falling with each ensuing week, the past few editions have been utter chaos, with the #1 spot changing every week.

With VIEWS out in the world and disappointing the majority of those who heard it, there's now a new music void that many rushed to fill this past week as summer rapidly approaches.

We've officially entered the whirlwind release period of 2016, with hip hop's (arguably) biggest current male and female stars, Drake and Beyoncé, both dropping projects in the past ten days.

What a tumultuous last few days it's been. Reports of Prince's sudden passing rocked us on Thursday, but then hours later we got a new A$AP Ferg album.

Is it just me, or have the past few weeks felt like the calm before the storm?

On last week's edition of Top Tracks, Drake locked down the highest two spots with new leaks, and appeared once more as a guest on PartyNextDoor's "Come And See Me," which landed at number eight.

Although they haven't rapped on a track with each other since 2009's "Forever," Drake and Kanye West are usually placed side-by-side in the upper echelon of hip hop's current stars, the ones who have the potential to "break the internet" when they drop surpris

The top tracks lists of the last few weeks got a little stale, with some songs (Drake's "Summer Sixteen," Travi$ Scott's "Uber Everywhere" remix, Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz's "Gotta Lotta") appearing week after week without much in the way of competition showing

Last week was definitely dominated by SXSW, with most of the rap world seeming like they were down in Austin either to perform, kick it with some of their equals in the game, or announce mixtapes in creative ways.

After the excitement of new projects from Kevin Gates, Future, Young Thug, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, French Montana, and Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz, we seem to have hit a bit of a lull three months into 2016. Views From The 6 is (hopefully) in sight