It's a long, exhausting crawl to the end of 2016 but if you blink twice, the year will be almost over. 2016 was a roller coaster year for America. The U.S. elected Donald Trump as president and the country has been more divided than usual. Hip-hop has lost some important figures this year. Atlanta rapper Bankroll Fresh and Baltimore spitta Lor Scoota were both under the age of 30 and emerging as promising talent in hip-hop this past year. We also lost Phife Dawg and Prince Be of P.M. Dawn because of health issues in their final years.

Through these tough times, music has been a guiding force to help hip-hop fans get over such a tumultuous year. Rappers responded by having one of the best years in music. There were plenty of big, notable albums from superstar-level MCs, such as Kanye West and Drake, who made quality projects. We also got a healthy dose of new artists who made names for themselves from monumental songs (Aminé, Nebu Kiniza) and critically acclaimed projects (Noname, Kamaiyah).

There was also plenty of great music that landed on the Billboard charts and collected a huge number of views on YouTube — check out our songs of the year and video of the year lists — but XXL wanted to shine a light on the people who released under-the-radar tracks that need to be celebrated. From Trouble's "Ahh Man" to Post Malone's "Lonely..." and more, these are the most slept-on songs of 2016.

  • "Worth It"

    Dreezy
  • "Lonely..."

    Post Malone Featuring Jaden Smith and Teo
  • "Church / Liquor Store"

    Saba Featuring Noname
  • "First Day Out"

    Tee Grizzley
  • "Good Drank"

    2 Chainz Featuring Gucci Mane and Quavo
  • "Ahh Man"

    Trouble
  • "The Healing Component"

    Mick Jenkins
  • "Too Many Years"

    Kodak Black Featuring PnB Rock
  • "Mr. Tokyo"

    Madeintyo
  • "iSpy"

    Kyle! Featuring Lil Yachty
  • "Shine"

    Buddy
  • "Decemba (Remix)"

    Divine Council Featuring $ilk Money and André Benjamin
  • "Haitians"

    Lajan Slim
  • "Devils Team"

    Nef The Pharaoh Featuring Mozzy
  • "Ha"

    Bruno Mali Kidd
  • "Layers"

    Royce 5'9" Featuring Pusha T and Rick Ross
  • "Youngsta"

    Blac Youngsta Featuring Young Thug
  • "Tropicana"

    Topaz Jones
  • "Rosecrans"

    DJ Quik and Problem Featuring The Game and Candace Boyd
  • "Telephone Calls"

    A$AP Mob Featuring Playboi Carti, Yung Gleesh and Tyler, The Creator

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