Top Tracks 2018 Part I 100 – 91

100. Childish Gambino – This Is America

There is a scene in Atlanta´s second season that has rapper Paperboi walking through his neighborhood until he gets stopped by a few young men that recognize him and approach him in the unusual sight of a known rapper taking a walk. In a matter of seconds, a comical scene turns uncanny, silences are traded, glances turn menacing and with the shove off a drink the men start beating on Paperboi and after a (still somehow comical) exchange of jabs our protagonist runs off into the woods for a surreal and anxiety filled “lost in the woods” psychosis. In the same way, Murai and Glover created this scene brimming with stark reality and a keen eye for cramming fame, violence and vulgarity into one, Childish Gambino graced us with “This Is America” before the start of summer. The song is as much a visual essay as it is a collection of sonic cultures that represent as a snap-shot of current politics and discussions. And it is all done by the weirdness that perpetuates Atlanta and the world of Murai and Donald Glover. As we jingle from the happy folk song by a non-threatening man, an equally sympathetic Gambino starts moving in cartoonish ways until he casually pulls out a gun and shoots the guitarist. The happy go lucky mood of the song switches to a dark manifestation of trap that cycles the line “this is America” with ad-libs and statements on guns and money – the perfect stereotypical gangster tropes culminate as Glover powers through recent viral dances with a group of school kids in uniform. The switches occur throughout, a worshipping choir being murdered by an AK, the children becoming spectators, unfeeling documentarians and accomplices in Glover's antics turned violent crimes. With so much written on this song and video, this presentation of America and our relationship to music and blackness is the one point that deserves to be the first track of this list. The contrasts of black musicians entertaining us with happy songs while striving for money and fame with those that are the aggressors of a style of music that cherishes glocks and straps are simply non-existent, just as there is no division between police brutality and racist violence. The last lines sung by Young Thug reference the black man as a dog, as a barcode and in confinement, a simple declaration of dependence on commercialism and a culture that does not recognize a group of people as equals even if they sing and dance to entertain. As we bop our heads to catchy ad-lips of trap realness, entertain ourselves with Bruno Mars and watch the news, the cycle turns and reality becomes a song of two sections, indiscernibly switching while shoot dancing on youtube.

99. Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement – Shield Ferns Brown Pine Magic (Red Ants Genesis)

Red Ants Genesis sees the collection of edits and mixes of Dominick Fernows recordings session in collaboration with Low Jack and members of Equiknoxx. While the collaborative effort is most present in the closing Equiknoxx remix of the LP, Red Ants mostly plays as a more visceral and ambient rendering of the usually graphic and dreadful palette Fernow has developed over his various RSE releases. One standout that trades the elongated drones for a distinct dub feeling is “Shield Ferns Brown Pine Magic”. Here a trademark pumping percussive vibe of Rainforest gains an almost upliftingly “fast” pace, carrying the synths and field recordings along for something that feels as asphyxiating as it is celestial.

98. Zuli feat. MSYLMA – Kollu I-Jolloud (Terminal)

At times I still marvel at the vast array of sounds and cross-pollination that have not made a vast appearance when listening to something that sounds like it just had to happen. Zuli, as a producer, transgresses many of these borders that have become as useless as ideas of nation and national identity. With “Kollu I-Jolloud” Arabic singing that would fit a sense of tradition well and might even be conceived as an unearthed sample of yesteryear is paired enticingly with a slow-moving deconstructed dnb track. MSYLMA´s voice delivers deep contemplation and synthesizes with the small glitches and bass sparkles; something that sounds incredibly “now” while grappling with musical histories and sources that many still find miles apart, and yet are only clicks away.

97. 6LACK – Switch (East Atlanta Love Letter)

The reference of “a Yamaha” transported me to the work of The Dream and his Love King. Yet, it is not the only similarity between Switch and the introspective “weight of the world” feeling of some of the best songwriting by Terius Nash. 6LACK plays his own version of “Walking in My Shoes”, with people changing on you with your success and relationships turning ugly with threats of violence and searching for blame. Introspection suits 6LACK´s music very well as an artist bound to reflect on his work while making it. The difference between him and other trap-autotune rappers is the sincere mood and vexation in his self-pity. The driving instrumental serves the spite and being at loss with the situation in the same way.

96. Marie Davidson – Work It (Working Class Women)

The cool spoken word of Marie Davidson can turn self-reflective and self-searching. A point Davidson more than proves on her psychological venture Working Class Woman, an account of a songstress with the right to make banger tracks and lives a life embedded in a scene that might still be fraught with issues of acknowledgment and stereotypization. Almost apart from these themes, or in a very smart move of making a point about the bread and butter of here work-life ethic, “Work It”toes the line between disco, 80s gymnastic instruction-video, and spontaneous live show antics. Davidson commands her audience to “sweat and work to be a winner” and demands movement until movement becomes fragrant. A mission statement unlike any other.

95. JPEGMAFIA – Baby I´m Bleeding (Veteran)

JPEGMAFIA´s Veteran is full of gems to unpack, lyrical highlights and references to cherish. Positioning himself left of most recent movements of rap music, “Baby I´m Bleeding” is the frantic, eerie and exhausting burst of energy and weirdo swag. Sitting on top of any beat, to begin with, a small vocal snippet or sample serves to piss off the average listener, but it opens up the velocity and abrasive nature of JPEG´s delivery to a point of sonic harakiri ending with a slick Mortal Kombat reference.

94. boygenius - Stay Down (boygenius EP)

While “Stay Down” is closer to a Julien Baker track with backing vocals by Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers, it still is a high point of the very promising boygenius EP and the project in general. Not only do the slight vocal flourishes benefit Baker´s voice, but the fuller band set up also elevates the crescendo of the track in a still unheard way on her solo work.

93. DJ Lilocox – Vozes Ricas (Paz & Amor)

One of the most exciting and genre-pushing labels of this year must be Lisbon's Principe. Every release ushered in a new bend on styles like batida and kudoro while allowing wider influences and known genres to profuse into these tracks. It feels like there is a new vanguard taking over and bringing with them a will to experiment and implement their own styles of music for a wider audience and world to hear. “Vozes Ricas” by DJ Lilocox stands as a bright example of a vivid and dynamic drum section syncopating and mutating under altered vocal samples and a distinct ghostly vibe. The ritualistic aura is driven to the dancefloor and the dancefloor bears the burden of ritual in all its brilliant and somber hues.

92. Charli XCX - Out of My Head (Pop 2)

Released late in 2017, Out of My Head was just one of the many superb songs on Pop 2. When Charli XCX and the production of PC Music collide, more often than not, the results stand as some of the best pop music happening. Out of My Head is as catchy and glitzy as any pop song of the 90s or early 2000 would have sounded. Yet, the performances of ALMA, Tove Lo and XCX respectively couple with the over the top futurism that could as well be the demon child of Max Martin and Oneohtrix in Cook´s and SOPHIE´s production. The druggy synths, the banging bass, and the mournful delivery make this a passionate party-anthem and as advertised, an earworm worth having.

91. Gabor Lazar - Squeeze (Unfold)

I encountered Gabor Lazar with his mind-bending Crisis Of Representation outing in 2017. An album that tinkered on the fringes of barely qualifying as noise and pure art of installations. With Unfold and tracks like “Squeeze” Gabor Lazar puts his understanding of the highly artificial and thickly synthesized into good use. Here the catchy dnb inspired beat gratifies usual purposes of listening in repetition and variation while Lazars usual repertoire of laser beam like shots of synths and effects provide a futuristic and melodious touch. In a way, this tracks plays like a slowed down remix of any of the ponderings on Crisis of Representation and makes the aural world of Lazar wildly entertaining and accessible.