Let’s get ready for 2025 by overanalyzing 2024!
MOST UNDERRATED SONG
If we’re being real, because of the Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake beef, there are tons of songs that got overlooked. Y’all let the beef consume you, sucking every ounce of life out of you like leeches. I was paying attention, though, and noticed that y’all didn’t give nearly enough love to “Last Lap” by Rod Wave. When I tell you my soul flies out of my body while listening to this track every time, I’m not lying. Go back and shake this song’s hand, bro.
MOST OVERRATED SONG
Travis Scott & Mustard – Parking Lot
Not every Travis Scott song is great, guys. To me, “Parking Lot” has a decent beat and some catchy moments, and that’s about it. To me, Travis sounds way too dull on the track, and there’s absolutely nothing special about the s**t he says in his verses. Yet, the song currently has over 100 million streams on Spotify. Wow.
MOST UNDERRATED ALBUM
Freddie Gibbs – You Only Die 1nce
My brothers and sisters in Christ, this album is so good! We all know Freddie Gibbs is a great rapper, with extraordinary flows and intriguing content, but his underrated ability to put together a cohesive body of work with smooth transitions, intricate production, and a consistent theme—along with hilarious interludes—was showcased throughout You Only Die 1nce. I don’t want to say I was blown away by this project, but it genuinely felt refreshing to listen to.
MOST OVERRATED ALBUM
I am a big fan of WE DON’T TRUST YOU, but when Future and Metro Boomin tried to follow it up with WE STILL DON’T TRUST YOU a few weeks later, it just didn’t hit the same. The sequel leaned more into an R&B vibe, which I was surprised to find underwhelming—many of the tracks felt like unfinished reference songs. Toward the end, Future and Metro added a batch of “mixtape Pluto” tracks, but those didn’t land for me either. On top of that, the guest features felt off—J. Cole, A$AP Rocky, and The Weeknd all delivered verses that were just weird to me. Honestly, WE DON’T TRUST YOU didn’t need a sequel at all.
WORST SONG
Ice Spice – Think U The Shit (Fart)
You could throw a bunch of Ice Spice’s songs from Y2K! into a hat, pick any one, and it would fit right onto this list. I decided to go with the one sporting a downright cringe-worthy title. Listen, I don’t hate ginger people; I have ginger friends, but we can’t let Ice get away with making this low-IQ-ass track. Apparently, people like it, though: It has 100 million streams on Spotify (I guess there’s a bigger farting community out there than I knew. Respect).
WORST ALBUM
This album was an absolute cringe-fest. For starters, the artwork literally features the album title scrawled across a trash can—talk about setting the tone. The tracklist doesn’t help its case either, with songs named “Phat Butt,” “Popa,” “Think U The Shit (Fart),” and “GYAT.”
The real kicker, though, is the content itself: the punchlines are some of the worst I’ve ever heard, the hooks are painfully simplistic, and the lyrics feel completely pointless. It’s almost impressive how this project managed to fail on so many levels.
WORST VERSE
Remember Vultures 2? Yeah, me neither. All jokes aside, I thought the album was solid and could’ve been great if Kanye West actually took his rapping seriously. What really got under my skin, though, was “RIVER.” It’s a pretty decent track, but Kanye absolutely ruins it with one of the most gibberish-filled verses I’ve ever heard. If I were Ty Dolla $ign—who dropped a 40-point triple-double on that song—I’d seriously consider filing a lawsuit.
Ty Dolla $ign had to go through so much trauma during the release of this album. It’s sad.
BEST VERSE
With J. Cole’s back against the wall after apologizing to Kendrick Lamar, he responded by delivering one of his best verses ever on “Pi.” Dropping 90 points, 11 assists, and zero turnovers, Cole showcased top-tier wordplay, razor-sharp punchlines, an impeccable flow, and unmatched swagger—all over one of the funkiest, most unconventional instrumentals we’ve heard in a minute. Beyond impressive!
BEST HOOK
The irony is that one of the simplest hooks of the year is the best. The “Not Like Us” hook is catchy, low-key powerful, and provided the nail of the coffin when it came to Kendrick’s beef with Drake. It created a movement that I think propelled the Compton rapper to an outstanding year. Yes, all because of this hook (And a few other things).
BEST FEATURE
Kendrick Lamar’s verse on “Like That” flipped hip-hop on its head. You can argue it’s the reason he had the greatest year for a rapper ever. But why was it so good? Well, I loved the tenacity he rapped with on it, calling out his equals with pure fearlessness. Add to the fact almost every line he dropped was memorable, his verse kind of came as a surprise, and he found a unique way to attack the beat to turn s**t upside down. Yes, this is the feature of the year, and could’ve easily won verse of the year.
BEST BEAT
The “LIKE THAT” beat is harder than trying to beat Super Mario Bros 1 with no mushrooms. I love how it hits so hard, sounds so action-packed, and flips that iconic beat everyone recognizes but can’t name (“Everlasting Bass”). Seriously, the first 19 times I heard this beat, I had to close my eyes.
CHEESIEST SONG
Drake flipping Kendrick’s “The Heart” series against him was a clever move, no doubt, but it fell short of pushing the beef forward. The track veered into territory where Drake seemed to explain himself—a cardinal sin in a rap feud. After hearing the song, I think a lot of people checked out of the beef entirely, saying, “Yeah, I’m good on this now.”
BEST INTERNATIONAL SONG
From a musical standpoint, “Truth Or Dare” might be Tyla’s most impressive track to date (yes, even more impressive than “Water”). The melodies she delivers are absolutely phenomenal, and the overall composition makes it an irresistible, culturally rich, and fiery listen. This track is nothing short of spectacular.
BEST INDIE SONG
As you probably know, this site is packed with indie reviews, and lately, that’s the type of music I’ve been drawn to. With that in mind, I really connected with “Superfan” by Ricky Montgomery. The song, with its stripped-down instrumentation and a touch of whiny vocals, had me laughing, getting a little emotional, and ultimately reminded me why I love indie music. It’s one of those tracks that reignites your passion for music.
BEST INDIE ALBUM
Y’all know how much I like The Kid LAROI, right? Well, I think Chris is more than capable of playing his backup QB. Recently, Chris dropped an album called Call It a Day, and what I love about it is that it features some impressive vocal performances, timeless-sounding beats, highly infectious melodies, and just the right amount of hip-hop and R&B vibes. The album also features some very honest lyrics regarding love, relationships, and more. What a good body of work!
SONG WE’RE AFRAID TO ADMIT WE LIKE
DEC 25
QD’S FAVORITE ALBUM
DEC 26
QD’S FAVORITE SONG
DEC 27
TOP SONG
DEC 28
TOP ALBUM
DEC 29
Quincy is the creator of Ratings Game Music. He loves writing about music, taking long walks on beaches, and spaghetti that fights him back.
