With 2016 coming to a close, XXL takes a look back at the year in hip-hop. This was a strong year for rap with a ton of great new records from a multitude of artists ranging from Drake to Kamaiyah. The variety and output of music over the last 12 months has been exceptional in comparison to previous years. No matter what kind of hip-hop fan you are, there's a song that you can find that can get you off your feet. The power of the internet can be thanked for that. Now rappers can just upload a song to their SoundCloud page and it has the possibility of landing on the charts.

"Black Beatles," the perfect rap record made by Rae Sremmurd and Gucci Mane, has been No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the last three weeks. Lil Uzi Vert and 21 Savage, two young artists that made this year's XXL Freshman Class, made huge splashes with records like "Money Longer" and "X," respectively, soaring up the charts and gaining millions of plays on streaming sites.

All it takes is one song for a rapper's life to change and this year proved that. Young M.A, Aminé, Desiigner and Rob $tone all had a record blow up, pushing their career forward and turning them into household names.

It's a grueling process to pick the top tracks of the year. There are thousands of new songs that come out in one calendar year but XXL took on the challenge of selecting the best records that dropped over the last 12 months. These are the crème de la crème of hip-hop. Take a look at the 50 Best Hip-Hop Songs of 2016.

  • "One Dance"

    Drake Featuring Kyla and Wizkid
  • "Ultralight Beam"

    Kanye West Featuring Chance The Rapper, Kirk Franklin, Kelly Price and The-Dream
  • "Money Longer"

    Lil Uzi Vert
  • "Chill Bill (Remix)"

    Rob $tone Featuring D.R.A.M., Denzel Curry and Cousin Stizz
  • "Work"

    Rihanna Featuring Drake
  • "Wicked"

    Future
  • "Famous"

    Kanye West Featuring Rihanna and Swizz Beatz
  • "Lockjaw"

    French Montana Featuring Kodak Black
  • "Pick Up the Phone"

    Travis Scott Featuring Young Thug and Quavo
  • "X"

    21 Savage Featuring Future
  • "Litty"

    Meek Mill Featuring Tory Lanez
  • "THat Part"

    ScHoolboy Q Featuring Kanye West
  • "Black Beatles"

    Rae Sremmurd Featuring Gucci Mane
  • "Drug Dealers Anonymous"

    Pusha T Featuring Jay Z
  • "For Free"

    DJ Khaled Featuring Drake
  • "Bounce Back"

    Big Sean
  • "All the Way Up"

    Fat Joe and Remy Ma Featuring French Montana and Infared
  • "Selfish"

    PnB Rock
  • "False Prophets"

    J. Cole
  • "Keisha"

    Dave East
  • "FDT"

    YG and Nipsey Hussle
  • "Stop Come On"

    Ezale and DJ Fresh
  • "Through the Night"

    Travis Scott Featuring Kid Cudi
  • "Controlla"

    Drake
  • "Caroline"

    Aminé
  • "Broccoli"

    D.R.A.M. Featuring Lil Yachty
  • "No Problem"

    Chance The Rapper Featuring Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz
  • "Today"

    Kodak Black
  • "Too Much Sauce"

    DJ Esco Featuring Future and Lil Uzi Vert
  • "Grapes of Wrath"

    Ka
  • "Out the Bottle"

    Kamaiyah Featuring HottBoy Zay
  • "Push It"

    O.T. Genasis
  • "F Cancer"

    Young Thug Featuring Quavo
  • "Big Amount"

    2 Chainz Featuring Drake
  • "Girlfriend"

    Kap G
  • "Warzone"

    T.I.
  • "Dang!"

    Mac Miller Featuring Anderson .Paak
  • "Bring Yo Friends"

    Tunji Ige
  • "Bad and Boujee"

    Migos Featuring Lil Uzi Vert
  • "OOOUUU"

    Young M.A
  • "ULT"

    Denzel Curry
  • "What"

    Playboi Carti Featuring Uno The Activist
  • "Memo"

    Young Thug
  • "Ladies Hit Squad"

    Skepta Featuring D Double E & A$AP Nast
  • "Lite Weight"

    Anderson .Paak
  • "Timmy Turner"

    Desiigner
  • "My Shit"

    A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie
  • "Wat U Mean (Aye, Aye, Aye)"

    Dae Dae
  • "Miserable America"

    Kevin Abstract
  • "Key to the Streets"

    YFN Lucci Featuring Migos and Trouble

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