Hip-Hop’s Best Young Hook Singers Posted by Lucas G. on 11/06/13 | Filed under Opinion, Future, Jhene Aiko, BJ the Chicago Kid

The other day, when perusing the vaults of RefinedHype, I came across a question that I just couldn’t get out of my brain, What’s the Greatest Rap Hook of All-Time?; it got me thinking all about hooks. I consider myself more of a production-oriented listener - if the beat is dope I can fuck with it, but if not I’ll probably turn it off - but I guess I am also a pretty big hook guy. If the hook is lame, you can get over it by focusing on the verses, but when a song has a really good hook, that is often what ends up making a song. Anyhow, it got me thinking about how some of the guest hook-makers are in the game today.

Before we get into the nominees, let's point out some of the parameters. First, it is important to understand this isn’t just a, “who makes the best hooks?” question, it is much more specific. First, we're only concerned with guest hooks here. Drake might just be the best hook singer in hip-hop right now, but 90% of his sung hooks are for his own songs. They also have to be under 30, you know, for that whole “young” part of the equation; otherwise the big dogs like Mary J. Blige, John Legend, and Ne-Yo would take home the prize. Other than those two main factors being under 30 and only considering guest spots—anything else is fair game. I’m sure you all have your nominees, but mine are:

Future:

Though you might not be down with his flanged, auto-tuned style, you can’t deny that his unique, catchy flavor is perfect for a hook. Hence why Future has been killing it in 2013 as a feature artist. Though he hasn’t released an album (Honest was delayed until 2014) this year, Future has appeared on some of the biggest projects of 2013 like: My Name Is My Name, Dreamchasers 3, King Remembered In Time, I Am Not a Human Being II,  and Dedication 5. He has had spots on four charting singles and one, “Bugatti” (easily one of the top five hooks of the year), went gold. With those four, plus the one's he's written, Future had as many charting guest spots as lead artist releases in 2013.

BJ The Chicago Kid:

BJ is a little different because a lot of his features are provide melodies or backup vocals. While it might not be a hook, per say, his subtle, understated style really adds an unique element to the songs. You might not hear them listening casually, but if you really listen, you can hear how imperative his vocals are to the vibe of the song. As for 2013, BJ has been quiet on the solo front, releasing only a few singles, but he has been as busy as ever helping out some of his fellow Chicagoans. He appeared on Chance’s Acid Rap not once but twice and had a spot on Vic Mensa’s “Holy Holy” from INNANETAPE. It ain’t just Chicago either. This year he has worked with the likes of K.R.I.T and Freddie Gibbs; their “Smoking and Driving” collab was featured in GTA V.add that to an already impressive list of TDE spots (though none in 2013) and you have yourself a worthy nominee. 

 

Jhene Aiko:

For someone who only has one project under their belt (from 2011 too) Jhene has been out kicking her coverage on the feature tip. Its amazing that with a small library, she was able to pull spots on two of the biggest albums from to of the biggest artists of the year (Drake and J.Cole. Just a tier below, she also appeared on Big Sean’s album. Lets not forget she was also a big part of  Logic’s "Break It Down" from his  breakout, Young Sinatra: Welcome To Forever tape . She may not have the amount of spots that Future has, but she has this special quality about her that makes her work so effective. Her vocals make each song she is on, no matter how big or small her role.

And my winner is…

Jhene Aiko. I know Future should be the winner, but I can’t go quantity of quality so Jhene gets the award. Future definitely has more spots under his belt, but Jhene’s features are so much better. “From Time”, off of Nothing Was The Same is sneakily one of my favorite songs of the year and it is all because of Jhene. Hate on Drake as much as you want but rarely does he get shown up, and on “From Time” Jhene shows him up. The beat sounds so much better for her than for Drake and she makes it seem like Drake is the feature artist. Rarely does a singer take the spotlight from the rapper, but Aiko owns “From Time”. The fact that she really doesn’t have much solo material, but is a go-to feature shows just how powerful her guest tip is. A lot of times a feature is a big name designed only to get more people to listen, but with Aiko it's the opposite. She doesn’t have the reach and brand name like Future, Akon, or Lil Wayne, but she gets called upon because her voice is perfect for a guest spot.

With an EP coming soon and an album coming in January, I fully expect Ms. Aiko to blow up in the coming months. She has really used the hook game to her advantage by getting her name out there and her execution has created quite a bit of buzz. Only time will tell how big she can get...