Chance the Rapper’s “Juice” is the Hip-Hop Song of the Year (2013 RefinedHype Awards) Posted by Lucas G. on 12/18/13 | Filed under Top Stories, 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

We are winding down the awards, which means that the conversations and debates are really going to start to heat up. Along with "Album of the Year", I am most excited for this one. I can’t wait to see what ReginedHype Nation picks as the years best song, and even more pumped for the discussion; I have comment section erection just thinking about it. There isn’t much to this one, just the best song from the year. Radio or underground, trap or boom-bap it doesn’t matter; all that matters is that it was released in 2013 and it had both inherent dopeness and impact. So let's quit talking about the best song and start listening. Ready…begin!

UPDATE: The voting is now closed. The winner is below. 

Chance The Rapper- “Juice”

It wouldn’t make sense if we didn’t include something from Chance’s Acid Rap as it was easily one of the biggest projects of the year. There were a few routes we could have gone, maybe “Coca Butter Kisses” the feel good “Everybody’s Something” or the layered, deep, “Pusha Man”, but in the end “Juice” felt like the clear winner. Acid Rap was a true album  in the sense that there weren’t a lot of cuts you can just take out individually and listen to—it works much better when listened straight through—but "Juice" is good anytime, anywhere.  I think “Juice”  had the most impact as well being that it was the lead single and was the first song many people heard. I probably listened to this song more than any other this year, but it doesn’t feel like it, because every time I listen it is just as rewarding. Seriously it never gets old and is such a fun listen. "Juice" captures everything we love about Chance; quirky, refreshing, great (and different) wordplay, and it drips creativity. Bonus point for the doper than dope visuals too.

Drake- "Started From The Bottom"

In all honesty, this was my least favorite Drake song of the year,  but if you don’t think it belongs in the conversation than you need to take your hater goggles off.  To this day, people are still quoting “Started from the bottom now we here” like the song came out yesterday. Like “Juice” it was the lead single and really got the buzz going fro "Nothing Was The Same". And I do respect Drake though for leading with something different. I don’t really think anyone expected him to come out of the gate with a more aggressive, trap-based cut, but clearly, it worked well. From the quotable, catchy hook to the radio ready beat, it has everything you need for a lead single and definitely needs to be in this discussion based on impact alone.

Eminem- "Rap God"

Eminem got a lot of shit this fall/winter for the "MMLP2". A lot of people were disappointed in the project and honestly I didn't dig the album, but it's hard not to be impressed by "Rap God". People keep saying he’s lost his edge, but here, he shows that now matter how old he gets, when he really goes in, he is damn near untouchable. For someone to title a song “Rap God” is on some next level, boastful Kanye type shit, but I don’t think I heard a single person complain here. From a technical standpoint this song is flawless. The last minute and half is some of the most impressive hip-hop of the year. Not only his is double-time flow awe-inspiring, but he gives a big middle finger to all the doubters and backpackers who say he is a “pop” artist; that section is everything we love about Eminem. The beat is kinda eh, but this song is all about Eminem proving that he is, in fact a “Rap God”

Black Milk – “Monday’s Worst”

With cuts from Drake and Eminem in the running for song of the year you might think RefinedHype has lost our edge. Fear not, nerds, this next nomination will restore all faith back into the leaders of RefinedHype Nation. The best album nobody is talking about (and maybe the best album period) is Black Milk’s "No Poison No Paradise". Those who don’t need a lot of bells and whistles to their hip-hop should eat this album up. This kind of stuff is why I love hip-hop; dope, deep rhymes and soul beats. One of the best songs from the album is “Monday’s Worst”. The song itself is dope—I could listen to that beat for hours and hours—but what really blew me away is the concept. The song before “Sunday’s Best” is about a young Black Milk’s churchin’ Sundays and “Monday’s Worst” is all about doing whatever it takes to make a living, which often includes robbing drunk dudes. The mini concept within the album blew me away. The depth of his bars and production and the juxtaposition of a church going Sunday with the crime spree Monday is to much for my rap brain to handle. I love well thought out, well executed, complex, thematic and deep hip-hop, and while it is a rarity, Black Milk captured lightening in a bottle with “Monday’s Worst”.

Tech N9ne – “Fragile” ft. Kendrick Lamar, ¡MAYDAY! and Kendall Morgan

Tech N9ne and Kendrick are two of the best emcees around. When they are on the mic, they demand you listen. We all know Kendrick’s reputation as a show-stealer, but don’t sleep on Tech in that role either; they both are capable of taking a track and choking the life out of it with their dominant, flawless flows. On “Fragile” you get to hear both at their bests and the result is one of the best songs of the year. I wrote about it back in August and said it might be one of my favorite songs and now, I can officially say it survived the test of time and is easily a top five song. I am amazed that this song isn’t more popular. Fuck it I’ll say it, Kendrick’s verse on here is better than "Control"; the passion and fire in his voice is griping (and don’t forget Tech). Filling into the gaps is ¡MAYDAY! and Kendall Morgan, who provide the perfect canvas for the emcees to paint; the vocals and instrumentals have a nice, subtle edge to them which really sets things off nicely. As for the content, it is so rare to hear emcees speak honestly about their work and address naysayers in more than a  “fuck the haters” routine, but they do it here. How anyone can criticize either of them for their efforts here is beyond me. Flawless from top to bottom.

Honorable Mention: A$AP Rocky“1 Train”, David Dallas “My Mentality”, "Control", "Pusha Man",  Pusha T “Numbers On The Boards”, Rapsody “Lonely Thoughts”…and many many more

I fully expect a lot of write-ins here. Picking the best five songs is damn near impossible, there are so many worth candidates that were left off, but in the end, we could only pick five. I am depending on you RefinedHype Nation to make sure the proper song wins, even if it is a write-in. So let's get to it. This is one of the more important awards of the year.

And The Winner Is.....Chance the Rapper's "Juice"

With 24.14%, or 56 votes, Chance's improbable run gets even more improbable as he takes home Song Of The Year for "Juice". Chance beat out the likes of Drake, Tech N9ne, and Eminem (whose "Rap God" finished second); how many people can say that? The more you think about the year he has had, the more it kind of blows your mind. From virtual unknown to RefinedHype Award winner, it totally does doesn't get much bigger than that.  What a great song, easily my most played of the year.
 

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?