2012 in Review: Favorite Songs

Every year I do a Year in Review series so here's my pick for my favorite songs of the year that I listened to.

Hands on the Wheel – Schoolboy Q and ASAP Rocky had one of the year's first hits. I'm in no way advocating the message of it but it went hard. Hypnotic beat, dark hook and my first sign that TDE was more than just Kendrick Lamar.

Schoolboy Q reminds me of a harder Game and this might have been the hardest song I heard get radio play (which I still don't understand considering it was pretty profane). But either way, it definitely stayed in my head and as I've learned, big hooks hit you harder than almost anything.

The Morning Jones - One Year Gone, Never Forgotten

It’s been a year since The Morning Jones left the airwaves of The Score on August 30, 2011. A year since the show that changed how I forever listened to sports and talk radio was done.

A year later, it still looms large because of the people who made that show possible. Not just the host Bomani Jones or producers Corey Erdman and Sacha Kargl, but the listeners who added to the vibe as much as the three of them. But TMJ starts and ends with those three, mainly Bomani and his vision in a place where few other Black media figures have been.

Electric Relaxation: Virgo's Jukebox (April-June Pt. 1)

It's been a long time but I figure I'd give you a glimpse of what I've been listening to the last 3 months. So like Mos Def said, enough talk, let's move.

I had high hopes for this album because over the past six years, few MC's have grown as much. He's become the modern Ice Cube for his booming voice, political content and flag bearer for real hip hop. I'm a fan of his Grind Time mixtapes but after hearing he'd be having El-P produce this album, I got even more excited to hear how they'd inspire each other.

I didn't like "Big Beast" at first when I heard it in February but when I heard the whole album, it was powerful. It was like Killer Mike channeled his anger and passionate delivery and made an album to stand for mature hip hop that was still enjoyable. None stood out more than "Reagan", a song targeting hip hop's favorite Presidential punching bag with the same anger that Chuck D brought out 25 years ago.