Audible Treats' Best Singles Of 2012 Reminder: Hip-Hop & Indie Rock
12.04.2012
Highlights of Audible Treats' 2012 Client Singles
We've already given you our list of the best albums we've worked, and now here are our picks for the best singles we pushed this year. Once again, these singles are ordered by genre; hip-hop, then indie rock / electro.
Best Hip-Hop / Urban Singles:
Mike WiLL Made It - Production for Juicy J's "Bandz A Make Her Dance"
Mike WiLL Made It - Production for 2 Chainz feat. Drake - "No Lie" WATCH | WATCH | ASSETS
"You say no ratchet pussy; Juicy J can't." Few producers, if any, can claim to have had a better, or more productive year than Mike WiLL Made It and these two songs, Juicy J's "Bandz A Make Her Dance," a song which features Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz, and 2 Chainz' "No Lie," featuring Drake, are not only two of Mike WiLL's biggest singles this year, but two of the biggest singles for 2012, period.
Iamsu! - "Function" E-40 feat. Iamsu!, YG, and Problem
Iamsu! - "Bout Me" Wiz Khalifa feat. Iamsu! and Problem WATCH| LISTEN|ASSETS | PR
Iamsu! has made a serious mark on hip-hop this year with a pair of breakout mixtapes, KILT and $uzy 6 $peed, but it was his work with other artists, both as a rapper and producer, that, time and again, proves him to be one of the most diverse, talented young artists in rap. In addition to guesting on E-40's "Function" and collaborating with Wiz Khalifa on "Bout Me," a song that Su! also produced, Iamsu! first garnered attention for his work on LoveRance's "UP!," for which Su! produced, penned and performed the hook, and guested on with a scene-stealing verse.
Following Kreayshawn's breakout 2011 single, "Gucci Gucci," she announced her official debut album, Somethin 'Bout Kreay, with the 2 Chainz-assisted "Breakfast (Syrup)," accompanied by a self-directed house party video.
Pac Div - "Cross Trainers" feat. Kendrick Lamar and Blu LISTEN | ASSETS | PR
Pac Div's first single off their sophomore album, GMB, exploded onto the blogosphere this past November. With help from fellow LA stalwarts Kendrick Lamar and Blu, the trio of Mibbs, Like, and BeYoung hash it out over a ghoulish production by Swiff D and an infectious hook, "I got my cross trainers on, muthafucka I run shit / All I do is rap, make dough, fuck the dumb shit."
MHz Legacy - "Spaceship" feat. Danny Brown, produced by Harry Fraud LISTEN | ASSETS | PR
While MHz Legacy was packed with quality tracks, "Spaceship," premiered by The FADER, best proves the enduring influence and legacy of the crew with an unreleased Camu Tao verse and guest appearances from Danny Brown and Harry Fraud, both of whom have been quick to cite Camu as an influence.
Since making his debut in 2001 on Jay-Z's now-classic single "1-900 Hustler," and following that with some timeless singles of his own, including "What We Do" and "Flipside," Freeway has long since proven himself capable of churning a single that the streets can co-sign as its own. "Jungle," premiered by Pitchfork, and the lead single from Free's fourth studio album, Diamond In The Ruff, is just another fine example of the Philly spitter's enormous talents after more than 10 years in the game.
Dee-1 - "The Man In My City" feat. Mannie Fresh and Juvenile LISTEN | ASSETS | PR
Dee-1, the educator-turned-rapper out of New Orleans, proved he straddles the line between dirty south and conscious hip-hop better than anybody in the rap game with his single "Man In My City." Not only does the hot track feature NOLA legends Juvenile and Mannie Fresh, who hosts Dee's mixtape #TheFocusTape, but the song also boasts an FCC clean Juvenile, a very rare occurrence.
The soundtrack to Flatbush Zombies' psychedelic underworld is propelled by the urgent and bass-heavy production of crew member Erick Arc Elliot, and with rappers Meechy Darko and Zombie Juice, FBZ' haunting soundscapes make even the prissiest of prudes pledge allegiance to the walking dead, as became evident with "S.C.O.S.A.," combining a warbled and head-pounding bass into a video of blurred and frenzied shots, putting the trio's perverse addictions on full display.
Stu Bangas & Vanderslice - production for "Gusto" feat. Apathy, Alchemist, Evidence, and Roc Marciano WATCH | ASSETS | PR
There are few underground producers putting out harder beats that Man Bites Dog Records producers Stu Bangas & Vanderslice, and "The Gusto," the first single from their 2012 album, Diggaz With Attitude, is a prime example of that, as rappers Apathy, The Alchemist, Evidence, and Roc Marciano team up for what's easily considered one of the grittiest singles of the year.
Between the endless flowKlout Juice, Pokemon card-covered palatial bed, CEO-status mansion (specifically the CEO of gloabl fast food chain Wendy's, #realtalk,) or the unbelievable twerking that unfolds, Chippy Nonstop's video for "Money Dance" is an exploration of the Oakland-based firecracker's idea of opulence. Chippy even goes rogue and flips the song into a trippy remix toward the end, complete with inverse coloring and ass-shaking galore. Best Indie Rock / Electro Singles:
Acting under his alter-ego Two Fingers, Amon Tobin's single "Vengeance Rhythm," off the game changing album Stunt Rhythms, was brought to life (and death) in a jaw-dropping video, featuring gruesome high-def slow-mo shots of a seemingly innocient looking teddy bear ruthlessly massacring a slew of rubby duckies, Barbies, and other toys in a pain-stakingly filmed stop-motion fury.
With the growing buzz surrounding indie rock bands from Nashville recently, Turbo Fruits celebrated their hometown loud and proud with their single "Love Tennessee." The single, which premiered on Prefix, is from the band's split 7" EP with fellow Nashvillian outfit Bad Cop, and extols their beloved state with lyrics like "Whiskey and Coke / Telling bad jokes / This is the place to be / We love Tennessee."
Brown Shoe's beautiful video for their heart-wrenching song "Sweet Crazy Baby" features a lone ballerina, gracefully moving to the tragic lyrics and delicate composition in an empty theater. The spellbinding visual for the song comes from the Sacremento-based band's latest release, The Gift Horse.
In its premiere of the video for "CA-2", named after beach hugging Highway 2 in California, SPIN described Jemez Mountain Hawkz's nostalgic found-footage complication for their debut single off Hey-Mez as, "wind-swept, sun-splashed... perfect for a song whose title references the highway that runs from the Angeles National Forest to Santa Monica."
The Music Ninja premiered the fifth single from Gowanus, Brooklyn fuzz-rockers Lightouts, saying, "Their latest single, 'The Big Picture', is a pop monster which combines the melodies and bounce of electro with the grit of rock to create something very special. Definitely a band to look out for, Lightouts have the potential to be massive. Stay tuned for more from them."
The members of Houston psych-rock band Linus Pauling Quartet slaved for seven months working on their video for "Crom," teaching themselves claymation to animate their "Beowulf meets Gumby with a double kick drum" inspiration. The video, which premiered on VICE / Noisey, was also the debut single off the LP4's latest project Bag of Hammers.
Sad Baby Wolf - "Everything Is" (Neutral Milk Hotel Cover) LISTEN | ASSETS | PR
Albuquerque shoegaze outfit Sad Baby Wolf took on one of indie rock's most revered bands ever this year with their cover of Neutral Milk Hotel's "Everything Is," and their risky decision paid off with a premiere from Stereogum and praise from Spinner, Pretty Much Amazing, and Magnet Magazine.
The counterpart to the Turbo Fruit's "Love Tennessee single from their split 7" EP, Bad Cop's surfy, high-energy single for "Wet Lips" is brought to life with a femme fatale, trippy color filters, and clips of their manic live performances; the track also went on to provide the soundtrack for Surfing Magazine'sofficial video trailer for The 2012 New York Surf Film Festival.
Jack Davey celebrated the release of the second half of her grungy solo debut L0-F! Side B with the video for "Like That," which features a reinvented Jack in a futuristic Chromat outfit roaming the streets of Hollywood at night, singing the Joey Strat-produced track while ransom note lyrics float across the screen.
Thanks again for your continued support throughout the year!
The Audible Treats fam: Michelle McDevitt, Gavin Rhodes, Dan Friedman, Dory Greenberg, Nic Petre, Aaron Morales, Alex Martinez, and Mochi the wonder pooch!
Please contact Michelle, Gavin, Dan, or Dory if interested in talking with any of the artists listed here.
