Hear The Best Hip-Hop of March 2016 In One Playlist (Audio)

For Hip-Hop fans, March 2016 will forever be associated with the loss of Phife Dawg from A Tribe Called Quest. Less than 2 weeks after his sudden passing, fans worldwide are still mourning. While March 22 undoubtedly will become an annual day of reflection and celebration for Hip-Hop, there were also a number of great songs released by artists who likely were influenced by Phife and Tribe in some way, and who continue to build on the foundation they laid.

March found Royce 5’9″ on a tear, delivering some of the best music of his career. His combination of autobiographical releases as well as pure fire-breathing lyricism set the tone for his forthcoming album Layers this month. D.I.T.C. continued starting off the weeks right with their Monday premieres in full swing, as they build toward the release of their D.I.T.C. Studios compilation album. Joey Bada$$ celebrated Brooklyn and Biggie and unleashed a furious 5 Fingers of Death Freestyle. Elzhi delivered on the high expectations of his Lead Poison album. Common and Ice Cube released their first ever collaboration on which they addressed their beef from 20 years ago and preached a message of solidarity and maturity. And, DJ Sean H kickstarted the month with a mashup with seamlessly blended the soulful melodies of Sade with the grim rhymes of MF DOOM. Additionally, records from Big K.R.I.T., Your Old Droog, Meyhem Lauren & Action Bronson, Joell Ortiz, A$AP Ferg & ScHoolboy Q, Rittz, Ras Kass, MC Eiht, Spice 1, Bumpy Knuckles, ONYX and more helped to usher in the Spring.

You can listen to all those songs, as well as some moving words from Q-Tip about Phife below.

Related: Listen To The Best Hip-Hop of February (& January) 2016 In One Playlist (Audio)