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Top 25 Songs of the Summer

Sep 6th, '11 • News • by XXL Staff • 26 Comments

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#Top Hottest Songs of the Summer-Homepage
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Top 25 Songs of the Summer

Owning the summer's become one of hip-hop's most coveted bragging rights over the years. Long before Jay-Z began his string of calculated summer takeovers, MCs took pride in releasing songs to match the warm weather. Summer veterans Rick Ross and Lil Wayne dominated this year, but not without splashes from newcomers Big Sean ("My Last," "Marvin and Chardonnay"), Meek Mill ("Tupac Back," "I'ma Boss"), YC ("Racks") and Kreayshawn ("Gucci Gucci"). Some made the cut despite a late release (Lil Wayne's "She Will) while others (Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass," Kanye West's "All of the Lights," Ace Hood "Hustle Hard (Remix)")—though released late last year—still got enough spins to make onto summer playlists. In conjunction with Labor Day (the unofficial end of the summer), XXL looks back at the artists that kept the heat coming during the year's hottest season.—XXL Staff
25. Maan feat. Snoop Dogg & Iyaz "The Mack" Mann's World (2011)

25. Maan feat. Snoop Dogg & Iyaz "The Mack" Mann's World (2011)

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24. Wiz Khalifa feat. Too $hort "On My Level" Rolling Papers (2011)

24. Wiz Khalifa feat. Too $hort "On My Level" Rolling Papers (2011)

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23. Young Jeezy feat. Lil Wayne "Ballin" Thug Motivation 103 (2011)

23. Young Jeezy feat. Lil Wayne "Ballin" Thug Motivation 103 (2011)

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22. Maino feat. Roscoe Dash "Let It Fly" The Day After Tomorrow (2011)

22. Maino feat. Roscoe Dash "Let It Fly" The Day After Tomorrow (2011)

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21. DJ Drama feat. Fabolous, Wiz Khalifa & Roscoe Dash "Oh My" Third Power (2011)

21. DJ Drama feat. Fabolous, Wiz Khalifa & Roscoe Dash "Oh My" Third Power (2011)

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20. Drake "Headlines" Take Care (2011)

20. Drake "Headlines" Take Care (2011)

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19. Bad Meets Evil feat. Bruno Mars "Lighters" Hell: The Sequel (2011)

19. Bad Meets Evil feat. Bruno Mars "Lighters" Hell: The Sequel (2011)

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18. Ace Hood feat. Lil Wayne & Rick Ross "Hustle Hard (Remix)" Blood, Sweat & Tears (2011)

18. Ace Hood feat. Lil Wayne & Rick Ross "Hustle Hard (Remix)" Blood, Sweat & Tears (2011)

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17. Kanye West feat. Rihanna & Kid Cudi "All of the Lights" My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)

17. Kanye West feat. Rihanna & Kid Cudi "All of the Lights" My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)

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16. Rick Ross feat. Lil Wayne "9 Piece" God Forgives, I Don't (2011)

16. Rick Ross feat. Lil Wayne "9 Piece" God Forgives, I Don't (2011)

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15. Jay-Z and Kanye West "Niggas in Paris" Watch the Throne (2011)

15. Jay-Z and Kanye West "Niggas in Paris" Watch the Throne (2011)

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14. Lil Wayne feat. Drake "She Will" Tha Carter IV (2011)

14. Lil Wayne feat. Drake "She Will" Tha Carter IV (2011)

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13. Meek Mill feat. Rick Ross "Tupac Back" Self Made, Vol.1 (2011)

13. Meek Mill feat. Rick Ross "Tupac Back" Self Made, Vol.1 (2011)

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12. Drake "Marvin's Room" Take Care (2011)

12. Drake "Marvin's Room" Take Care (2011)

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11. Big Sean feat. Kanye West and Roscoe Dash "Marvin and Chardonnay" Finally Famous (2011)

11. Big Sean feat. Kanye West and Roscoe Dash "Marvin and Chardonnay" Finally Famous (2011)

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10. Lil Wayne feat. Rick Ross "John" Tha Carter IV (2011)

10. Lil Wayne feat. Rick Ross "John" Tha Carter IV (2011)

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9. Kreayshawn "Gucci Gucci" (2011)

9. Kreayshawn "Gucci Gucci" (2011)

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8. Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack, Nayer "Give Me Everything" Planet Pit (2011)

8. Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack, Nayer "Give Me Everything" Planet Pit (2011)

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7. Nicki Minaj "Super Bass" Pink Friday (2010)

7. Nicki Minaj "Super Bass" Pink Friday (2010)

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6. YC feat. Future "Racks" Got Racks (2011)

6. YC feat. Future "Racks" Got Racks (2011)

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5. Jay-Z and Kanye West "Otis" Watch the Throne (2011)

5. Jay-Z and Kanye West "Otis" Watch the Throne (2011)

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4. Lil Wayne "How to Love" Tha Carter IV (2011)

4. Lil Wayne "How to Love" Tha Carter IV (2011)

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3. Meek Mill feat. Rick Ross "I'ma Boss" Self Made, Vol.1 (2011)

3. Meek Mill feat. Rick Ross "I'ma Boss" Self Made, Vol.1 (2011)

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2. Big Sean feat. Chris Brown "My Last" Finally Famous (2011)

2. Big Sean feat. Chris Brown "My Last" Finally Famous (2011)

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1. DJ Khaled feat. Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne "I'm on One" We the Best Forever (2011)

1. DJ Khaled feat. Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne "I'm on One" We the Best Forever (2011)

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#Top 25 Songs of the Summer-featured

Tags:

Ace Hood, Bad Meets Evil, big sean, Bruno Mars, DJ Drama, DJ Khaled, Drake, Eminem, Fabolous, Future, Gallery, Headphone Gumbo, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Kreayshawn, Lil Wayne, Maino, Mann, Meek Mill, Nicki Minaj, Pitbull, Rick Ross, Rihanna, Roscoe Dash, Royce Da 5' 9", Snoop Dogg, Too $hort, YC, Young Jeezy

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ibrahim

some are fucking shit…xxl bums lil wayne and young money also
- jimmyjam33
  
  ur a moron. these are the top songs of the summer, is it xxls fault lil waynes on half of them. just show how fucking stupid the people on this site are.
  - Pacer
    
    Not really man. I think some of the tracks are pretty weak as well to be honest. Lil Wayne or not…
DaeDae

Why isn’t Novacane by Frank Ocean up here, i heard that song every where
- smoothjazz
  
  word man novocane was bumping everywhere…
Kivley

That Maino song is trash.
http://www.twitter.com/itsdabidnessyo Bizzy

I HATE Give Me Everything. It’s barely even a Pitull song, and it’s just awful after the 105th time.
- http://www.twitter.com/itsdabidnessyo Bizzy
  
  Now I feel like a moron for spelling Pitbull wrong.
  - bazz
    
    what diffrent does it makes? pitbull is wack any way, any day! so fuck you and him!
Ceezy

more than anything, this shows how weak this summer was for hits…. str8t asscheeks, even worse than ’10…

things better get back to at least where they were 07-09
- King Richard Aka Da God Of Rap
  
  according 2 most fans & artist hip hop dead neway so it dnt matter & these songs r wat fans seem 2 want cuz dey big radio smashes & da fans can change da landscape of muzik mo than da labels
THE MAN

FRENCH MONTANA – SHOT CALLER
FRENCH MONTANA – SHOT CALLER
FRENCH MONTANA – SHOT CALLER
FRENCH MONTANA – SHOT CALLER
FRENCH MONTANA – SHOT CALLER
FRENCH MONTANA – SHOT CALLER
FRENCH MONTANA – SHOT CALLER
JAY

MEEK MILL!!
http://I LEON

Its funny how all yall get on these things to complain about every song that comes out. Do yourself a favor and stop listening to rap or hip hop for that matter and you’ll stop crying.
- LEON
  
  or at least come out with your own albums get it reviewed then complain
NAPTOWNNUISANCE

Well here is a bitter pill for you to swallow. Album sales are at a low, gold is the new platinum, so whats that say about how much people care about the current music scene? It doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out music isnt no where as good as it used to be, because if it was it would still have very strong sales overall.The fans are speaking its time for a change were tired of the garbage.
- Jazz
  
  If you think there is no more new, good music, you clearly aren’t looking. Crashing record sales have nothing to do with musical quality, but easy virtual access to those albums.
  - NAPTOWNNUISANCE
    
    I didnt say there was no good music out there thats new, I was just sayin over all the quality is low. Just like movie ticket projections a few years ago were predicted to be hurt by pirating, it is reported that the movie industry is thriving.So dont give me the download excuse, yeah its part of it but not the overall problem. The internet problems can be fixed just look at the jay z and kanye album it didnt leak, so obviously they figured it out, get into a studio record together like in the old days and keep your recordings in a vault up until its time to press them for sale.
    
    So the music industry could thrive if handled better, most of the stuff they are puttin out is garbage, and what is considered good by todays standards doesnt stand neck and neck with stuff considered classic material.I dont see but a few albums comin out these days being considered classics ten years from now.
RihannaSucks BigTime

BULLSHIT LIST!!!!!!
There’s like 3 dope tracks on there.
There rest are poop!!!!!!

Hey XXL. Do a list like this for every year since 1992 and then compare them year by year. Look at years like 94, 96, 98, 01, 06 and then admit that the shit on this list doesn’t even come close to the great songs of those years.

You need to stop promoting wack music cause it’s killing this culture.

Hip Hop needs to reclaim some kind of authenticity and stop trying to be pop music. Note to rappers; STOP making house / electro crap and actually spend some time creating meaningful lyrics. The best music is the kind that touches your soul and lives on forever. The worst kind of music is all this disposable crap that’s being mass produced by cookie cutter copycat producers and fake thugs that think they got skills on a mic.

NY and ATL stand up. It’s time to breathe new life into this thing. Let’s get it!!!!!!!
- Fuck Rihanna
  
  real talk…..original hip hop is dying….and xxl are not helping by promoting pop……the fact that ghetto dreams (common, nas) not on that list tells u everything….best song all year…..hip hop peaked in 06 and has only gone down since…..(kanye, game, 50, eminem all fell the fuck off)….’cookie cutter copycat producers’…real fucking talk
  
  nipsey hussle and j.cole tryna bring back real hip hop tho
  
  top down… nip hussle….real hip hop
  - Wudup
    
    Nipsey is dope he got like a newskoo Old snoop dogg flow
nujerz

Real talk the majority if not entire list is trash…. I dont mess with any of the MC’s on this list at all and the ones I do they chose the corny song off the EP (Lighters)… Fuck XXL straight up for supporting, promoting and pushing wack ass rappers and there bullshit music.

This main reason I wont re up my subscription tired of seeing the same trash on the covers getting all the pub.
bless

these niggaz talking bullshit that nigga ross has the appeal. fraud or not he’s one of the most entertaining ever. ” ever made love to the women of your dreams/ in a room full of money out in london as she screams/”. And my favorite rappers are ghostface killa, raekwon, big l, biggie, jigga, nas, jadakiss, dmx, papoose, big pun, blu and wayne.
J. Cesaer

Yo, if yous are looking for the future of rap and hip hop, you need to look up Jon Connor! Don’t judge his name, he is the real shit and is trying to bring back dat real shit.

He just came out with a Marvin and Chardonay freestyle…killed it!

Hustle hard freestyle…killed it!
BWS

y the fuck isnt game on this maino suck dick n iyaz too
PISTOLVANIA BIGG DEE

RICK ROSS IS TRASH RAPPING ABOUT STUFF HE NEVER DID AND HE WAS A C.O. N DA PRISON CAN’T BELIEVE THAT MANY PEOPLE BUY THIS NIGGAS B.S.

Top 25 Songs of the Summer

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