10 Songs You Need From Chris Brown's Massive "Before The Party" Mixtape

Chris Brown joined the impressive list of artists releasing new music this past holiday weekend with his surprise mixtape, Before the Party.

If you were like me on Black Friday, you were still near-comatose with a Thanksgiving Hangover, your stomach pushed to its limit with eating. No matter how stuffed I was, though, I wasn't nearly as full as Chris Brown's surprise 34-track-long Before the Party mixtape.

With the mixtape boasting almost two albums-worth of material, it may be difficult to wade through, especially when you've got mixtapes from Weezy, Fabo, Lil Bibby and Trey Songz on deck too. So whether you're just not motivated to listen to all 34 songs, or you're busy diving into another project, you need not worry. We've weeded out the essential-listening from Before the Party. Here are 10 songs to hit the download button on. To head directly to the song, hit the song title on each gallery.

Holy Angel

After kicking off the mixtape with the feature-heavy "Counterfeit," the credited features seem sparse from there. However, when you get to the dark, piano ballad "Holy Angel," you'll be surprised to find a nice Pusha T verse-- because, what Pusha T verse isn't nice? King Push goes well with the ominous vibe of the record, his poignant flow juxtaposed with a sharp drum roll. Before we even get to Push, Breezy himself spits some bars about his legal problems. Not too shabby.

Play Me

This one is vintage Chris Brown, with a scorned Breezy lamenting over a slowly crescendoing orchestral sound and a hypnotic drum beat. The production on this track is top notch.

Brown, too, does a good job conveying the idea that limelight and a party atmosphere isn't always the best medicine for a broken heart.  Sure, he might be the most sought-after man in the industry ("When I do my thing, women in my range, I'mma need me a bounty hunt"), but Breezy is sad ("They can never take your mistakes back, even if I take every sip of this bottle/Ain't a damn thing can erase that, the shit you did way hard to swallow").

Desperado

The spiraling strings sampled on "Desperado" become the perfect musical embodiment to the song's narrator's feeling of never-ending betrayal. The heartbreak is inescapable, just like how your vibing with this track inescapable. If found among the rest of its 33 companion tracks, "Desperado" has a chance to wind up in any player's (top secret I'm-totally-not-sad-about-it breakup playlist). It's short, sweet, and we've all been long-conned by the "cold desperado."

Gotta Get Up

With drums that kick similarly to a latter Michael Jackson track, accompanied by a silky synth once the drop hits, this track is an undeniable mood-setter. It's one of the more minimal balladic tracks on Before The Party, but is still a totally nutritional addition to the tape. On a project so stuffed with content, this lite listener is a welcome inclusion.

Text Message

Tyga may steal the show as far as Before the Party rapper cameos go. His quality verse drops simultaneously with what can be argued as the best beat on the record. The result is a sultry, smoky ode to the evolution of the booty call, which doesn't require a phone call at all these days. Now all that's needed is an "LOL, smiley face, the emoji with the tongue out."

Coming Home Tonight

A funky bass line that can't be denied works perfectly as the soundtrack to Chris Brown acting as his own chorus of background singers. Lyrically and contextually, "Coming Home Tonight" is pretty much your run of the mill standard fare. However, Breezy is famous for his ability to truly double down and commit to your standard love song, which is on display here. Production is tight and layers out the multiple Chris' harmonies with expert dexterity, making "Coming Home Tonight" a super fun and relistenable bit of romantic song making.

Lipstick on the Glass

The whirring instrumental hums like audio Ambien before its bass drums clang you into awareness, to yet another ear worm of a love song. This love song stands out among others on Before the Party as one of the few that feels wholly of this era, whereas many (no complaints, mind you) bang with shades of Disco and 80's R&B.

Swallow Me Down

Chris Brown has the uncanny ability to make perverse lyrical content still sound romantic as all hell. The title is pretty self-explanatory for any non-virginal mind, and yet the hook is catchy enough that you can easily see it sung by lovers on the club's dance floor. Apart from the song's content, you'll receive another uncredited feature, this time from French Montana.

Hell of a Night

You're not going to want to miss out on this track strictly for its featuring Fetty Wap and French Montana. What's more, though, is that it delivers on all fronts. The combination of Fetty and Breezy and their respective trademarks of auto-tunes gargle-howls and shimmering tenor chorus work together masterfully. You can truly hear the fun had in making "Hell of a Night," particularly in the gang vocals that leads into French Montana's verse.

FAN (Freak at Night)

Unlike "Scared to Love You," which also employs electric guitar riffs for the base sample to mega-corny results, "FAN (Freak at Night)" is an absolute home-run. These types of samples are bound to divide listeners, but you'll know right away which side you fall on. On one hand, you might immediately begin head-banging to the hard rock guitar riff that rockets "Scared to Love You" and "Freak at Night" into life. On the other hand, you might find yourself irritated by the punk choice. Only on "FAN" will your endurance through the debatably-cheesy guitar be rewarded, with its dub-y drop successfully melting faces. There's not one song on this tape that sounds remotely like this. Give it a listen-to, because it's either your favorite or least favorite song on Before the Party.