The Dean’s Top 10 of ’10

As the Professor has already noted, you do not realize how difficult it is to narrow down your top ten favorite songs of the year untill you actually sit down to do it. I feel like I should have made a list of the top 50, as I believe that there are many more jams than the ones I have acknowledged below that deserve to be noted.

Yet the Professor and I have done our best to attack this overbearing and impossible task of narrowing our favorite songs down and prioritzing them but we have done it and I hope you enjoy.

10. “All I Want Is You” by Miguel ft. J Cole – As I have said I am a sucker for great R & B and this is exactly the reason I have started my list with this jam. I love this low key beat with the background guitar perfectly accompanied by Miguel’s beautiful and almost haunting vocals. J. Cole does a great job with the verses and has had a monster 2010 rising up from the underground with jams like “Higher,” and his highly acclaimed mixtape, Friday Night Lights as well as being the first rapper to sign with Jay Z’s Roc Nation. The combination of Miguel’s great vocals and J. Cole’s lyricism makes this track a great starting point for my top 10.

9. “No Hands” by Waka Flocka Flame ft. Wale and Roscoe Dash- What can I say about this jam. Although I despise Waka Flocka Flame and often joke that he is one of the reasons for the “death of Hip-Hop,” for literally trying to murder beats by making shooting noises on his verses instead of actually constructing words and trying to rhyme them, I have to respect his success in 2010. This jam is a banger, catchy as hell and worthy to be in the top 10.

8. “I’m Single” by Lil Wayne- Although Rebirth was not a high point for Weezy in 2010, this was my favorite track off the album with “Drop the World” being a pretty close second. First off, the beat is trippy as hell and makes you feel like you are on sizzurp yourself. Secondly and probably most importantly, this was one rare Wayne track where, in the style of Kid Cudi and Kanye in his past two albums, he actually has a focused subject matter about his pains and escapes regarding relationships and tells a dark but convincing story. This song has definitely stuck with me and is not only one of my favorites of this year but also one of the most underrated as well.

7. “Shut It Down” by Drake ft. The Dream- I very much enjoyed Drizzy’s Thank Me Later this year, although I felt that it was not as strong as his mixtape material. I have to say that “Shut It Down” is tied for my favorite track with “Miss Me” but I have decided to choose “Shut It Down” in my list because it is easily the best R & B song of the year. As I have said since the beginning of Drizzy’s career, he is not only talented at writing witty punch lines, but is just as talented maybe even more so at making a mean R & B jam. When Drake puts on that crooning voice and starts to sing along with a smooth R & B beat, it is immediately DIIYD time for the ladies. But when you put Drizzy with R & B killa The Dream? Game over.

6. “Irish Celebration” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis- This song is on my list primarily because every time I hear it I can’t help but take pride in my Irish heritage and get an urge to take a pint of Guinness to the face. With a great and unique production of meshing a traditonal irish drinking song and hip-hop sound with Macklemore telling a great story, this jam is a must that definitely one that went under the radar this year…except maybe on St. Patty’s.

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• Posted by The Dean
 ·
• Thursday, Dec 30, 2010 @ 11:03 pm

• 4 Comments
• · Artists: Childish Gambino, Drake, Gyptian, J. Cole, Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Lil Wayne, Macklemore, Miguel, Nicki Minaj, Pusha T, Ricky Blaze, Roscoe Dash, Ryan Lewis, Sean Kingston, The-Dream, Waka Flocka Flame, Wale