Thanksgiving season is here, meaning we have made it through eleven months of the year. Time flies and headlines have been made throughout the year, which gave us plenty to talk about. So before we take the time to make our plates and enjoy family, food and friends, let’s take a look back at 12 things we are thankful for so far in 2016.
Music Streaming Wars
Are you listening through Apple Music? Did you ride the Tidal wave? Or did you stick with Spotify? Doesn’t matter the choice we all won with endless amounts of music and exclusives to steal your attention.
New Releases and Voices in Music
2016 has showed us the genre will be in good hands. Artists like Chance The Rapper, Solange, Rae Sremmurd and more emerged with quality projects, while veterans like Usher, Alicia Keys, and DJ Khaled have proved they still pack a punch.
Return of Rap Beef
Drake and Meek Mill is probably the most talked about subject of last year’s beed but hip-hop has had its fair share of verbal sparring this year. Drake and Kanye West, the reigniting of 50 Cent and Ja Rule and more. Hip-hop has always been a competitive genre and the battles have returned.
Musician’s Political Response
2016 has been a time were there has be numerous cases of racial injustice, however, with each scenario artists have offered support on social media or their music. Take YG or Vic Mensa for example.
When A Tribe Called Quest revived true Hip-Hop
Knowledgeable rap fans can agree that A Tribe Called Quest is one of the most instrumental and innovative Hip-Hop groups in the history of music. As pillars of the golden age, the Queens-bred crew weren’t afraid to pull inspiration from funk, jazz and afro beat. Their legacy in music was hard-earned thanks to classic 1990s albums like People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, The Low End Theory and many more.
When original member Phife Dawg passed away earlier this year, the hip-hop community past and present mourned the loss, but it seemed to set a fire under the remaining members of the crew.
However, Q-Tip shared the name and release date of the final Tribe album (their first album since 1998) on Instagram, and a few weeks after, the crew unveiled the highly anticipated project.
Music’s Influence on Fashion
Is there a shoe hotter than the Adidas Yeezy? Rihanna has rolled out her own collection with Puma, Fabolous and Teyana Taylor collaborated with Ewing and can any of us forget about the Drake efforts of collaborating with Mitchell and Ness and Jordan Brand. Hip-Hop still runs fashion.
Gucci Mane Forever
The Atlanta rapper made a mark in the industry for his raw, distinctive lyrics and personal catch phrases, and in early 2016, Gucci Mane was released from jail. His homecoming to his hometown and the Hip-Hop was exactly what fans needed.
Quality Albums
If 2015 was a desert in releases, 2016 was the rain that lasted 40 days and 40 nights. We received Chance The Rapper’s The Coloring Book, Kendrick Lamar’s Untitled Unmastered, Common’s Black America Again, YG’s Still Brazy, Anderson Paak’s Malibu, Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo, and many more.
New Wave of Producers
New talent is always welcomed and the likes of Metro Boomin’, London on da Track and more show that the producers that have been holding residency in the game have to make room for some young talent that is making waves.
A Nice Tall Glass of Lemonade, Beyonce’s LEMONADE
Who else could make you stay home on a Saturday night just to watch their album? Who else could make you watchtheir album in the first place? Indeed, as she did three years ago with her paradigm-shifting self-titled album, Beyoncé made the world stop again in April with her second visual album, Lemonade. This time, though, she did so by baring her soul.
Summer Sixteen of Champaigne Papi
It’s safe to say that Drake’s dominance in the music world still continues. His most recent album, Views top the Hip-Hop charts for weeks, he took over the Summer, and even brought out the GOAT of Hip-Hop, Eminem.
DJ Khaled’s Snpachat Superstardom
Here I was, certain that his 2007 hit “We Takin’ Over” was D.J. Khaled’s most valuable contribution, until 2016 came along and the Snapchat King took over blessing us with gems left and right on the social media app. Have a bad day, need some suggestions, just flip through your Snap and follow the Miami hit maker. That’s MAJOR KEY!