Top 10 Songs You May Have Overlooked in 2014: Taryn Peters

By Taryn Peters
Rap Music Director

For every catchy chart-topper, there is a beautiful ditty that fell through the cracks, never to be appreciated by the masses. Here are ten songs I think received less attention than they deserved in 2014.

10. “Heavy Metal & Reflective” – Azealia Banks (In case you missed it, this song goes hard. Her album “Broke With Expensive Taste” isn’t bad either.)

9. “Ends (Money)” – JMSN (Any song that reminds you “having money’s not everything, not having it is” is always worth some attention [that’s a Kanye quote]. And JMSN is cool.)

8. “So Glad It’s Over” – Jean Grae (Jean Grae is under-appreciated, period.)

7. “Lost Generation (feat. Lupe Fiasco)” – Big K.R.I.T. (This song may not be overlooked; I’m not sure. “Cadillactica” was one of the top hip-hop albums of the year. However, this deserves extra exposure! An uptempo yet bluesy rap song that makes you think…)

6. “Dehydration (feat. The Mind)” – Mick Jenkins (“The Water[s]” was one of the more fluid mixtapes of the year [pun intended], but I still think Mick is slept on as a rapper. Favorite part of the song: “This ginger ale is for your daughter… or ya shorty or whatever”.)

5. “Bet (feat. Dev Hynes)”/ “Cold Sweat” – Tinashe (I couldn’t decide between these two songs. Both are unfortunately overshadowed by the hotness that is “2 On”. Regardless, I think “Aquarius” is my favorite album this year.)

4. “Diablo” – Mac Miller (People don’t take Mac Miller seriously, and for that, they may have missed out on this year’s best song to listen to in a car. The bass is SMH ridiculous. And there’s a Coltrane sample. Mac’s stepped up his lyrical game a bit as well.)

3. “Guitar Melody” – CyHi The Prynce (CyHi might have dropped one of the best mixtapes of the year, but it didn’t receive the praise it deserves. He is perhaps the most underrated rapper on Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music label and in music in general. This song, too, sounds great in the car.)

2. “9” – Willow Smith (I feel like people are very skeptical of Willow [and Jaden], but they both consistently put out great music. The melodies on this song make me crazy. “Not negative, just different/ You wanna have lunch, I wanna have a picnic/ You wanna go out, I wanna just fly all night”)

1. “Clouds” – Prince (He dropped two albums this year, and nobody seemed to care… This song is as under-appreciated as it is funky. And it is incredibly funky. Click the link to watch his performance on Saturday Night Live!)

Honorable Mentions:

• “HiiiJack” by SZA
• “Everybody Knows” by Swerve & SYG
• “Hustle Harder” by Common
• “One Touch (feat. AlunaGeorge & Rae Sremmurd) by Baauer [I personally think this should be played at every club and party]
• Almost anything by James Fauntleroy