This Week: The Best Bars of Summer 2024 🎤

The 2024 Song of the Summer bracket continues with the Hip-Hop/R&B Division! We’ve already crowned two division winners—the 7th seeded “Compress / Repress” by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Electronic/Dance Division) and the 8th seeded “Docket” by Blondshell and Bully (Rock Division). Can another underdog take it home? 🤔

A quick refresher on how it all works: Before the summer is up, we will crown winners in four genre divisions—Rock, Electronic, Hip-Hop, and Pop—before crowning the one true Song of the Summer for 2024! We scoured the playlists and listened to scores of tracks before narrowing it down to our top 32 songs. We placed a limit on one song per artist (per division) and determined seed placement by the total number of Spotify streams as of the day of writing this newsletter.

Now without further ado, let’s choose our champion for the 2024 Song of the Summer: Hip-Hop/R&B! 🔊

HIP-HOP/R&B DIVISION: ROUND ONE

(1) MILLION DOLLAR BABY vs. (8) #RICHAXXHATIAN

Tommy Richman was relatively unknown a few months ago, but his R&B/Funk fusion track “MILLION DOLLAR BABY” broke through the noise on TikTok to became one of the presumptive song of the summer favorites. And we can see why—it’s a sweet and bouncy falsetto banger that is catchier than many of the songs we’ll see in the entire bracket.

In this initial match-up, Richman is taking on the number 8 seed, “#RICHAXXHATIAN” from rappers Mach-Hommy and 03Greedo, with production by KAYTRANADA. With a mere fraction of the streams that “MILLION DOLLAR BABY” has (0.3% to be exact), “#RICHAXXHATIAN” shows Mach-Hommy stripping away some of his more experimental tendencies in favor of a groovy, stream-of-consciousness rap song.

Just song vs. song, we may prefer Mach-Hommy, but there is no doubt in our minds that “MILLION DOLLAR BABY” has to move on to the next round.

WINNER: (1) MILLION DOLLAR BABY by Tommy Richman

(2) Not Like Us vs. (7) Éttouffée

What could we possibly say about Kendrick Lamar’s scathing club classic of a diss track that hasn’t been said already? The Kendrick-Drake beef is easily one of the most important pop culture moments of the year (you can check out our earlier newsletter breaking down all the back-and-forth), but amidst over a dozen disses, nothing hit quite like “Not Like Us”. The song generated a lot of conversation and countless memes upon its release, and Kendrick has only kept it alive with his massive concert on Juneteenth (where he closed out the show by performing “Not Like Us” five times in a row) and the celebratory music video drop on July 4th.

While not a single, “Éttouffée” is probably the standout cut from Vince Staples’s latest project, Dark Times. Taking a pointed, reflective look at his own career, Staples characterizes himself as a “Martian” in the ghetto and graces us with one of his catchiest choruses to date. It’s somewhat of a return to form for the Long Beach rapper and a solid summer rap song that feels very West Coast, but it sadly just doesn’t stand a chance in this bracket against one of the most instantly iconic West Coast rap bangers of all time.

WINNER: (2) Not Like Us by Kendrick Lamar

(3) Truth or Dare vs. (6) The Spark

Tyla made waves in 2023 with her hit single, “Water”, but enters our Song of the Summer bracket with the second single from her self-titled 2024 album, “Truth or Dare”. It’s a rhythmic and smooth R&B track that incorporates elements of Amapiano, a piano-driven genre of music originating in South Africa. And while Tyla is only 22 years old, the number 6 seed is even younger…

Featuring more than a dozen Irish primary school students rapping over a bass-heavy dance beat, “The Spark” is one of our favorite viral Song of the Summer. The song was created for Cruinniú na nÓg (an annual "national free day of creativity for young people” in Ireland) and comes with its own utterly charming, neon-tinged music video. It’s cute, it’s camp, it’s catchy, it’s a legit contender for Song of the Summer. Think you can stop what they do? We doubt it!

WINNER: (6) The Spark by Kabin Crew and Lisdoonvarna Crew

(4) Nasty vs. (5) URRRGE!!!!!!!!!!

Apart from a few notable features, Tinashe has largely flown under the radar throughout her decade-long career as an R&B singer, but all of that changed when she dared to ask one simple question—“Is somebody gonna match my freak?” Yet another song in this division that has seen its success skyrocket as a result of its popularity on TikTok, “Nasty” is a great horny anthem and a personal favorite of ours.

Tinashe’s competitor, the number 5 seed, is basically a bonus track from the deluxe version of Doja Cat’s 2023 album, aggressively titled “URRRGE!!!!!!!!!!” (with 10 exclamation points). It’s super fun, super braggadocious, and SUPER Doja. The track also features A$AP Rocky, who hasn’t been releasing much music as of late, so it’s nice to hear him having fun on a relatively frivolous rap song. Still, it’s hard to compete with a song as memorable and pervasive as “Nasty”, so Tinashe moves on to the next round.

WINNER: (4) Nasty by Tinashe

HIP-HOP/R&B DIVISION: SEMI-FINALS

(1) MILLION DOLLAR BABY vs. (2) Not Like Us

The first 1 vs. 2 match-up of the entire bracket, and it’s a tough one because both of these songs are probably popular enough to take the whole thing. But we have to trust our gut and choose the more culturally important, impactful, and memorable song of the two: “Not Like Us”.

WINNER: (2) Not Like Us by Kendrick Lamar

(6) The Spark vs. (4) Nasty

And now we have to choose between two of the most virally entertaining songs of the summer?? Curses! This pairing was hotly debated internally, but we ultimately have to kick those darling little Irish kids to the curb and push Tinashe forward to the division finals!

WINNER: (4) Nasty by Tinashe

HIP-HOP/R&B DIVISION: FINAL

(2) Not Like Us vs. (4) Nasty

And it comes down to this: the DJ Mustard-produced “Not Like Us” from Kendrick Lamar vs. Tinashe’s viral sensation, “Nasty”. We love both of these songs with a lot of passion, but the decision is clear.

The winner of the Hip-Hop/R&B Division and third of our four finalists for the overall 2024 Songs of the Summer competition is…

The 2nd seed— “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar! 🏅

What’s Next?

Right now— you can listen to all of the Hip-Hop/R&B Division contenders, including the winner “Not Like Us”, in the linked Spotify playlist below

Next week— we choose which Pop Division contender goes up against Blondshell and Bully’s “Docket”, before breaking down the final four songs and crowning the official winner of the Listies’ 2024 Song of the Summer bracket!

🚨 BONUS LIST ALERT 🚨

…and that’s all folks!