Hear The Best Hip-Hop Of May 2016 In One Playlist (Audio)

As May helped us get ready for Summer, it brought the heat for Hip-Hop, too. De La Soul delivered on the promise of their new album And The Anonymous Nobody, with the scorcher, “Pain,” and Redman announced a new group called 1000Volts, consisting of himself and DJ Jayceooh, releasing his first single “I’m Gone,” featuring Trae The Truth, from the project. Chance The Rapper broke new boundaries, releasing the first free mixtape to land on the Billboard charts. Leading the way were his songs with 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne, as well as the Gospel-infused “How Great,” featuring Jay Electronica.

Chance The Rapper Makes History “Coloring” His Way Onto The Charts

The month brought other noteworthy collaborations, as well, with Jay Z releasing his first two verses of the year, care of features. He swung for the fences, both on the “All The Way Up” remix with Fat Joe and Remy Ma, as well as a killer collabo with Pusha T. T.I. also linked with Dr. Dre on the aptly-titled “Dope,” and ScHoolboy Q and Kanye West worked together for the first time on Q’s new single, “THat Part.”

May was not all merriment, however, as it also came with the loss of Afeni Shakur, activist and mother to Tupac Shakur. The Game celebrated her, his mother and moms all over the world with the unflinchingly real “Mama.”

Those songs and others featuring Masta Ace, Joey Bada$$, Mistah F.A.B., Nipsey Hussle, The Roots, Styles P, Sheek Louch and more can all be heard in the playlist above.