Kendrick Lamar Is The Rapper Of The Year (2013 RefinedHype Awards) Posted by Lucas G. on 12/18/13 | Filed under Opinion, Debates, RefinedHype Awards

It's that time of the year when everyone does their "Best of the Year" lists, but how many of those can you really read? So around these parts we do things a little different. Ladies and gentlemen and intelligent animals with the ability to read things on the interwebs, welcome to the 2013 RefinedHype Awards!  Here are the rules. First, this isn't a democracy, it's more like a benevolent dictatorship. I chose the nominees after careful consideration drinking. But instead of whining that your favorite rapper/song/whatever didn't make it in, I'm allowing write in votes. Whoever gets the most votes wins that category, even if y'all override my nominations with a write-in vote. Period. I'll announce all the winners on Wednesday, December 18. And I'll be explaining the criteria and nominees for each category every time. Got it? Good.  

It all comes down to this folks, you have voted for fails, booty, and punch-a-kitten bangers, but now it's time for the granddaddy of them all; Rapper of the Year! Before we start let’s make it clear, this is not a who is the best rapper discussion. I repeat THIS IS NOT A BEST RAPPER DISCUSSION!! (I thought if Beyonce told you, you might listen). Just because an emcee had a highly successful year or a popular successful album does not make them the best. Sure, making good music is definitely part of the equation, but each of these emcees has shown they can make quality music, whether or not it falls in line with your tastes. They wouldn’t be in this discussion if they weren’t among the elite. As always, we're factoring in a combination of inherent dopeness and impact. Let's go...

UPDATE: The voting is now closed. Scroll to the bottom for the winner. 

Chance The Rapper

No fucking duh. If he isn’t a top choice for best emcee of the year, I don’t know what an emcee is. Nobody had a bigger year than Chance when you consider where they started. In just a matter of months he went from relatively obscure Windy City emcee to the future of the rap game. I don’t think any rapper in the history of rapperdom has risen as far and as fast as Chance did. Just months after Acid Rap dropped, Chance was hopping on cuts with Lil Wayne, K.R.I.T and Rapsody and headlining festivals. Lil Wayne delayed the release of his mixtape so Chance could be a guest. Wayne waiting on an unsigned rookie; how amazing is that?! He also single-handedly turned the world onto Savemoney. Vic’s tape was really good and was successful on its own, but if you think it would have the same audience without Chance leading the way you are crazy. With no label support, indie or major, Chance definitely give the big dogs a run for their money and that is saying something. And he did it all with one of the more unique and creative styles in hip-hop. 

Kendrick Lamar

It might seem crazy to nominate an artist who didn’t drop a project and barely had any solo stuff, but that just speaks to the power of Kendrick. Through some massive guest spots, including the notorious “Control”, Kendrick still left his fingerprints all over 2013.  Not only did he rack up over 20 guest features, but he has been nominated for seven Grammys, was named rapper of the year by GQ magazine (which didn't go well, but still), headlined Bonnaroo and "GKMC" went platinum; that’s a helluva year. Even without an album, if you got 100 rap fans in a room and asked them the Top 5 rappers alive, 99% of them would name Kendrick. He is red hot right now and it doesn’t seem like he is going to cool off anytime soon.

Drake

You can call us dickriders, teenage girls, or whatever else you want, but nothing will change the fact that currently Drake is one of the best emcees of 2013. To give you an example of just how big he is, "The Nothing Was The Same" album leak, not only set the record for mast pageviews in one day but is still one of the busiest posts on this whole site. He is doing pretty well outside of RefinedHype world too. He has one of the most diverse, expansive fan bases and is one of those elite artists who can shut down the internet. Nothing Was The Same is already platinum, he had had hit after hit this year (“Started From The Bottom”, “Hold On We’re Going Home”, “Girls Love Beyonce”, and “Worst Behavior” just to name a few) and was very busy on the guest tip as will. With endorsements, Grammy nominations, number one hits, and a pretty fucking solid album, Drizzy just might have taken 2013. He might not have the creative and groundbreaking energy of a Chance or Kendrick, but his impact is off the charts. 

Eminem

This one might be a little controversial but you have to consider him. I know numbers aren’t everything, but they are also pretty fucking important, and Em has the numbers. The "MMLP2" had the second best debut of 2013 behind only Justin Timberlake and had the sixth best sales week of the last five years. With songs like “Rap God” Em also showed that he's still one of the best, of not the best, technical rappers alive. Will he ever recapture the magic of the original? Probably not, but from a technical standpoint, Em is still one of the greats and is capable of taking over at anytime. We didn’t hear from him for a few years and then all of the sudden he has a highly successful album, that my friends is power. Full diclosure, we didn't think "MMLP2" was an elite album as a whole, but that was primarily because of songwriting and production. On a pure rap level, Eminem's still the elite of the elite. 

J. Cole

Coming into 2013, J Cole had a lot to prove. After two heralded mixtapes his debut album, "Cole World: The Sideline Story", was a disappointment and I think he would be the first to tell you that. (Sidenote, gotta respect his honesty and openness when rapping about his career). We’ve seen a lot of rappers come and go and Cole was a bad album away from becoming one. Luckily, "Born Sinner" was a great success and Cole proved to a lot of people that he has staying power; he went head to head with Kanye and really held is own. Cole had one of the strongest singles of the year in “Power Trip” not to mention two short, but dope  EP’s in the "Truly Yours" series ( especially "Truly Yours 2"); don’t forget “Cole Summer” either. “Crooked Smile” was a late bloomer, but people came to really like that one too. Initially we weren’t going to include him, but it just didn’t feel right leaving him off. Oh and he inspired Nas to make a song. Who else can say that?

Well this should be good, lots of worthy candidates but there can only be one (for those that don’t know, that’s a Highlander reference…it won the academy award for best movie ever made). So let your voice be heard! Voting is now closed. 

And The Winner Is.....Kendrick Lamar

Chance has done some pretty amazing things this year, but still, it wasn't enough to tackle the hottest emcee in the game, Mr. Kendrick Lamar. With 87 votes, K Dot just edged out Chance (who got 78) to take home the crown of Rapper of the Year, and that is without a solo project of his own. From the "BDKMV" remix to "Control" and everything in between, Kendrick was at the top of his game; there was just no stopping him this year. It's no surprise he won and I fully expect to see him back here next year. By the way, that "Next To Me" remix is sooooo slept on.

Other Categories:

Booty of the Year
Non Hip-Hop Song of the Year
General Awesomeness of the Year
Producer Of The Year
Crew of the Year
Banger of the Year
Song of the Year
Rapper of the Year
Album of the Year

*Word to Krispy Kreme/Froggy Fresh on the art work for this year's RefinedHype Awards. Why is James cryin?