Things were just beginning to slow down, as we had spent enough time arguing over the year's best music with a series of year-end lists and were ready to start thinking about what's in store for 2016. As we approached the holidays, though, some of our favorite artists were feeling particularly generous and gifted us with a wealth of new material. In Toronto, Tory Lanez dropped off two new mixtapes on Christmas, and though not quite as impressive, The Weekend surprised fans with two new songs, including a collab with his kindred spirit in the trap world that's already a surefire hit.
Elsewhere in our Top 100, virtuoso producer Terrace Martin jazzed up K-Dot's "Alright" to another level, landing at No. 16, and GuWop decided to steal Christmas with a mixtape that included one of the year's strangest collaboration lineups (#15). Tell us your favorite tracks that made it onto the chart, and peep the Top 10 tracks of the week below.
10. Snoop Dogg - I'm From Long Beach
Snoop continues to put on for his hometown. After using his Beach City mixtape to help promote some of the LBC's top young talent, Snoop dropped off a smooth-riding joint that provides a nice change of pace from the mostly Compton-inspired sound that's been popping out of So. Cal.
9. Waka Flocka - Down in the DM (Remix)
Waka Flocka is the latest artist to take on Yo Gotti's surprise smash. The appearance of the remix in the Top 10 is surprising considering its brevity, but there's no doubt it packs a lot of club-tearing potential.
8. Tory Lanez - Traphouse
Tory Lanez' smooth trap-'n'-b cut moves up 2 spots from last week to land at No. 8. The Play Picasso & Sergio R-produced jam landed on The New Toronto, one of TWO surprise mixtapes Fargo dropped on Christmas.
7. The Weeknd - Pass Dat (Remix)
"Pass Dat" is arguably the best track off Jeremih's long-awaited Late Nights album, and it's about to get a lot more exposure thanks to The Weeknd's new remix. Though Abel's vocals can't meander quite as effortlessly as those of Jeremih over the minimal synth production, it's nice to see the XO singer explore the lighter, more innocent side of a drug-fueled night on the town.
6. Migos & Young Thug Feat. Skippa da Flippa - Crime Stoppers (Prod. by London on da Track)
God dammit, Migos and Thugger let us down again, as Christmas gifted us with a number of great releases, but no Migos Thuggin. And our hopes wouldn't have been so crushed were it not for the sheer brilliance of the London-produced "Crime Stoppers." To make matters worse, the track has been taken down, making us think it was so good that the parent labels of YRN and YSL (Atlantic and 300) might've tried to get their hands on the collab tape.
5. Kid Ink Feat. Fetty Wap - Promise (Prod. by DJ Mustard)
DJ Mustard laid the foundation, and two of hip-hop's premier crossover stars came through to deliver a romantic club jam that will likely be Ink's next big hit. Make sure to check out "Bunny Ranch," too, for another infectious Mustard-produced gem off Ink's recent surprise album, Summer in the Winter.
4. A$AP Ferg Feat. Future - New Level (Prod. by Honorable C-Note)
Ferg really couldn't have come back harder than he did on "New Level," his anthemic turn-up collab with Future and Atlanta hitmaker Honorable C-Note. Somewhat in the vein of "Shabba Ranks," "New Level" will likely be the preeminent banger on Always Strive and Prosper, on which Ferg will delve deep into tough subject matter, including the death of A$AP Yams.
3. Chance the Rapper Feat. Jeremih & R. Kelly - Somewhere in Paradise
Chance the Rapper's beaming Chi-town collab with two of the city's top R&B talents continues to shine, moving up one spot to No. 3. Paradise is often a fleeting image in one's imagination, especially in inner-city Chicago, but Chance was able to will that same feeling to his listeners using his undying creative energy.
2. Pusha T Feat. Kanye West, A$AP Rocky & The-Dream - M.P.A. (Prod. by J. Cole)
Though King Push's latest album, Darkest Before Dawn, performed modestly on the charts, his all-star collab with four of the game's most revered icons stays close to the top, relinquishing the top spot to land at No. 2. All five of the track's collaborators are well-aware of the warring pleasures and evils that come with hip-hop's three central vices.
1. The Weeknd Feat. Future - Low Life (Prod. by Metro Boomin & Ben Billions)
No surprise here. Arguably the year's two biggest stars combine for a banger that immerses itself in the wormhole of darkness that has caused the both of them to be such tragic heroes. No matter how high they rise, they'll continue to stay repping for the "low life," turning 5-star hotels back into the traphouses where it all started.
