Road Trippin: A 12-Hour Road Trip Playlist Posted by Lucas Garrison on 07/09/13 | Filed under Playlist, Road Trip

I f**king hate traveling, like everything about it, from the packing to the actual driving it is all a nightmare to me. Up until this summer, my longest car trip where I did the driving was the hour and a half trip from my college to home. Well, all that changed this past week when I went to visit my parents in Maine for the holiday week. Being in D.C, the 12-hour trip was not something I was looking forward to, especially when you consider the amount of traffic I would be facing, I coped with the only way I knew how...with music. For the awful car trip crafted a 12-hour playlist that included some classics, some personal favorites some new albums, and some stuff I have been meaning to sit down and wrestle with. I am happy to report, my playlist got me through the brutal drive so I figured, might as well share it with you. I tried to pick some stuff I knew I wouldn’t skip because nothing screams fender bender like picking what to listen to next. I tried to listen to all of it in order, but would occasionally skip around when I was feeling restless. I also tried to add some stuff outside of hip-hop for a change of pace. So lets take it screen cap by screen cap.



First, I chose My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy because recently it has come up a lot in the discussion boards. Admittedly I had never really given it a comprehensive, thorough listen. I have seen a fair amount of y’all say it is Kanye’s best album, but to me College Dropout and Late Registration still reign supreme. I am however going to but it one step ahead of Graduation. The production is superb and the fact that Kanye is able to make me like Rick Ross, my least favorite rapper ever, is a notable achievement. “Devil In A New Dress” and “Runaway” were my favorites. Cole’s album seems to be very highly regarded by some and my initial reactions were that it was good, but not great. After setting the album aside for a week or two, I had the same feelings. I liked it, but it wasn’t as mind-blowing or groundbreaking as some claimed. MY favorite cuts were “Let Nas Down”, “Villuminati”, and “Chaining Day”.



This Ugly Heroes album is the best new release you haven’t heard. The Mello Music Group trio (Apollo Brown, Verbal Kent, and Red Pill) ooze authentic, quality hip-hop, making their self-titled album a must have for any underground fan. This is one of the better-put together albums I have heard in a minute. It’s hard to pick a favorite track because each one just fits so nicely with the others; this is a true album. Gun to my head I’ll take “Graves” and “God’s Day Off”. This was perfect for the heavy volume slow moving traffic; I really got in a nice groove when listening. The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s are one of my favorite non-hip-hop groups; I am a sucker for female vocalists and Karen O is one of the best. Their stuff regularly gets sampled by some of hip-hop’s best too. Mosquito isn’t my favorite by them (It’s Blitz gets that honor) but I was diggin’ it nonetheless; they have such a unique instrumental arrangement. Check out “Sacrilege”, I promise you won’t be disappointed.



I have been gushing over Donnie Trumpet A.K.A Nico Segal for a minute and there is no end in sight. I can’t get enough of him and his unique style. Donnie Trumpet is only seven songs long, but there is so much depth and quality. His arrangement is wonderful and the vocals (a lot come from Vic Mensa) are great. Donnie is currently touring with Frank Ocean and its clear to see why; I hear a lot of Frank-esque stuff on this project. “Pasadena” and “Players Holiday” are great summer cuts and make sitting in traffic much easier. I will try again, but I just couldn’t get into Wale’s album. There are some good cuts and I love his energy, but I just wasn’t feeling it when driving. I did think it was an improvement on his club style, but it feels kind of all over the place. “Gullible” is crazy catchy (in a good way) and I also likes “88”.



Magna Carta Holy Grail was on heavy repeat for the trip back. I am not in love with it, but it’s a good album. The fact that Hov, at his age, can still make quality stuff and stay relevant is really impressive. The vocals/lyrics weren’t mind-blowing, but this album has some insane production. “Picasso Baby” is my jam right now; I can’t get enough. I don’t know why, but for some reason, I stumbled across Joell Ortiz’s “Call Me” and forgot how much I loved it. It’s a great storytelling cut with an Al Green sample; how can you go wrong? I think Channel Orange might be one of my favorite albums ever; including GKMC, Channel Orange is my favorite album of 2012. Since its release, it has been in heavy rotation and I don’t think I have gone a week without listening to it. It is perfect for any occasion and is just so damn smooth. I literally listened to it on repeat 3 times before continuing on to the rest of the playlist. Whenever I hit traffic and started to lose my cool, I would bump this and all would be well. If I had to pick a favorite song, I’d go with “Sweet Life” or “Super Rich Kids” but every song is magnificent.



Rapsody is quickly becoming one of my favorite emcees. Every time I listen to this album I get more out of it; there are some Incredible 9th beats, substantive lyrics and I actually feel smarter after each listen. Her flow is stellar too. At times I’d really like her to rip cuts with a ferocious flow, but I am just nit picking now. Her verse on “Non-fiction” is untouchable and “Good Good Love” is so soulful; the two are easily my two favorite songs on The Idea Of Beautiful. Tor’s mixtape, Illinoize is genius. He takes some classics from the likes of Brother Ali, Outkast, and Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth and mashes them up with some Sufjan Stevens cuts. He makes some classics feel like his own, original cuts not an easy task. Check out “Night Zombies / Talkin My Shit (f. Brother Ali)”



As stated earlier, you gotta have some other stuff as a change of pace. It goes without saying Frank Sinatra is a classic. “My Way” and “That’s Life” are great for singing along to. After all what’s a road trip with out belting out a few of your own renditions? Cake is a criminally underrated band. Listen to some of their baselines like the one on “Never, Never Gonna Give You Up” and you will see what I am talking about. They also do a dope cover of “I will Survive”. Bad Rabbits Stick Up Kids EP is a great pick-me up for when I was feeling drowsy or had a case of highway hypnosis; one of my favorite albums to go H.A.M to thanks to “Stick Up Kids” and “Neverland”. Charles Bradley is awesome too; his throwback style is refreshing and so much fun to listen to because he has so much passion. “The Telephone Song” (sampled by Kendrick on “Faith”) is so good.



What road trip playlist would be complete with out some Outkast? I don’t even need to explain why they are on there. “Hey Ya” is the best sitting in traffic song because you can do the spirit finger move without worrying about staying on the road. It’s been a long time since I had a Tupac listening session so I am really glad I put a few of my favorites on here. “Picture Me Rollin” is a classic in every since of the word. Oh and I don’t even want to tell you how many times I replayed “Do For Love”

Well there you have it, my survival guide for a 12-hour car trip. It’s amazing how music can turn something so awful and painful into an enjoyable experience. There aren’t to many occasions where you cans sit down and really chew on an album, so when one comes up, you have to make the most of it.

See Also:  From Kendrick Lamar To Sugarhill Gang, Four Of The Most Road Trip-Worthy Rap Songs