2016 has undoubtedly been a great year for music. From the gospel-rap genre that's been loosely created to feel-good albums without any need of skips, there has been countless GREAT projects released back to back this year and every music lover is stuck in a constant swoon.

It has been a while since a region or city has been said to run the music scene; however, this year, Chicago artists stole the whole show. Here are my favorite projects to come out of Chicago in 2016 (in no particular order).

Noname - Telefone

It's difficult to explain why this album is so necessary, and without a doubt, some of the best hip-hop to come out this year; reason being, it speaks so beautifully for itself. It's a project that fans have been waiting for (im)patiently for so long. Noname ventured on the 3stacks route for quite a while: killing every single feature, which left listeners to grovel in anticipation for the release of her solo project. And of course on arrival, there were no disappointment in sight.

Noname tells her South Side stories with some of the best eloquence, assonance, and rhetoric that exists in rap. From tracks like the beautifully haunting "Casket Pretty," to the summertime front porch soundtrack "Diddy Bop," her unique style carves its space. There is no single song that one could honestly choose without feeling guilty of even remotely discrediting the beauty painted in them all. There is a smile, a broken yet golden heart that shines through, and a pure sense of Black girl magic that comes with picking up the Telefone.

Saba - Bucket List Project

"And I'm from the side of the city that they don't be talking about". In his signature spacey-storytelling style, Saba delivered a true West Side story. 

Bucket List gives a first hand walk-through of Saba's side of town, completed with time capsule recounts from him and his amazing feature list (including Noname, Twista, Chance, Joseph Chilliams, Jean Deaux, and WHERE did he find Matthew Santos!?).  The project is a very smooth listen despite many of the songs being about some of the more troubling times in his life. It's laced with high optimisms and heavy faith that attaches to listeners who follow the same suit. "Church/Liquor Store" is a greatly written map of hood demographics and all that occurs between them. "Westside Bound 3" (every Westside Bound has been FIRE) is a self-explanatory anthem and "Symmetry" is a short trip to space; each of them perfectly telling different sides of the same story. Most people associate bucket lists with tasks to do before the end, but Bucket List Project was just the breath of fresh air we needed.

Jamila Woods - HEAVN

Black girl magic at some of it's finest. Since her initial break into the music scene as the other half of the band Milo & Otis, Jamila Woods has been serenading Chicago for quite some time. She gained quite the widespread buzz after swooning us with her honey-over-tea like voice in "Sunday Candy," and has since been receiving the extensive attention she's long deserved. 

HEAVN is a beautifully crooned album of self-assurance, protest, and hometown glory wrapped in one. Most importantly, it's an album speaking greatly to the testaments of being a Black girl and being damn proud about it. Of course she has some help from some fellow Chicago artists but Jamila holds her own all too well. "Blk Girl Soldier" is the soundtrack of Black girl heads held as high as their fists; an anthem that is far needed. In "LSD" she sings that you must "love her like the lake", a tale of love for not only herself but also the lake that hugs the city. And thanks to this album, one surely should love her like the lake.

Vic Mensa - There's Alot Going On

Properly titled, there certainly is a lot going on between the Black youth and Chicago Police Department. Vic Mensa hails from the ever talented SaveMoney crew and holds no punches in his activism or his raps so there was no surprise when hearing "16 Shots" for the first time. The song speaks about the Chicago Police Department's seeming vendetta against Black men in Chicago, particularly on the South side. Particularly, the song talks about the case of Laquan McDonald, who was shot 16 times by officers killing him in the street. In light of this occurrence in addition to several others, Vic makes it no secret through bars on bars that he's no fan of police. The rest of the EP speaks on the same issues as well as a couple grunge-rap, head-bobbing, just hot as hell songs (like "New Bae") complete with the feel-good that is "Liquor Locker". The EP holds a genuine, true to style wave with the title track serving more as a personal story on wax than a rap song. These seven tracks serve enough to hold us over happily until his next from him to us release.

Dreezy - No Hard Feelings

Dreezy is as authentically Chicago as. It. Gets. Apple Music describes her debut album as "hip-hop dynamite" and there is absolutely no room for disagreement here. As my favorite Chicago compliment goes, my best description of No Hard Feelings is Go. Crazy.

My first encounter with Dreezy was her hopping on the "Chiraq Remix" and tearing it completely to shreds. She is definitely something the hip-hop scene was missing, especially for the lady MC's. This album flows pretty seamlessly between South Side drills to straight R&B bops as she shows she can not only go bar-for-bar with your fave, but also sing a tune when she's trying to really put the Chicago charm on you. Strong examples being her effortless flows on "Spazz" reminding you of who she is to the singing-in-the-rain smooth cut "Close To You" where she duos with R&b fave T-Pain--not to mention those interludes are as authentically South Side as I've ever heard on an album. It's safe to say that Dreezy didn't come to play and she's here to stay.

Such N Such - REMIXES

Who doesn't love a good remix? This summer Such N Such, another talent hailing from the SaveMoney squad, gave us a 9-track EP of some hit re-imaginations.

Pharrell's "Frontin'" is one of those songs frozen in time and mood that always gives a good feeling and Such's remix recreates the same vibes with a new-age bounce with it. It's obvious that he not only has a great ear for music but the prowess to compliment it in producing. In between these perfect-for-summer remakes, he throws in some original works of his too-- sealed with some raps that were a pleasant surprise. "3:46 A.M." comes in with sprightly chords, a vocoded "I Get So Lonely" sample, with a smooth verse to top it off. REMIXES is a great soundtrack for riding around, starting the day, or just to play for a quick dance around the room. We've know what Such was capable of since his earlier production of "14,400 Minutes" for Chance, "Est N19ga" for Saba, and "Negro League" for Mick Jenkins and future projects are ones to keep an eye emoji out for.

Joey Purp - iiiDrops

It was definitely a SaveMoney summer for 2016. Joey Purp used "Morning Sex" to open his  tape iiiDrops with honest bars to the gut with the first bars being "I done been on both sides of the burner/I done witnessed both sides of a murder".

Like other Chicago projects released this year, Purp talks about the many things the streets have shown him in his upbringing; in this particular track, he does it in a triumphant way -- dark story, bright background. This is how the house of this project is painted, beats that go just as hard as the raps being spit over them. There's also the personal favorite, "Girls @" that is undoubtedly a certified banger. Before the pure fun of the verses comes in, it's easy to be immediately charmed by the hook. By the time Joey & Chance come in, you've probably caught your shoulders bouncing for quite the while. iiiDrops is a perfect mix of being as tough as one needs to deliver bars but still wavy enough to keep the head bob smooth.

Thaddeus Tukes - Vibes

Talking all that jazz. If there is one genre that remains truly timeless, it's this one. The vibraphone, most appropriately named for the vibes it never fails to bring, is Thaddeus Tukes' weapon of choice on his EP Vibes. 

We've heard his sound before on Donnie Trumpet's "Pass The Vibes"; however, Tukes has a flair of his own. The EP is all live recordings of him and his band, and every person in the band has a pure rawness of their own causing one to make a stank face at each solo while kicking back and letting them take you away. Vibes features covers of a few jazz standards and favorites, a notable being of Chick Corea's "Spain". Tukes makes his skill and knowledge of music quite evident through the 8 tracks of this EP and it's an enjoyable vibe from top to bottom.  There's not a single lyric on Vibes and there's absolutely none needed for the instruments are a serenade in themselves. 

Chance The Rapper - Coloring Book

Many fans were certain that after his sophomore project Acid Rap, Chance would have a hard time topping it with his following release. Were we certainly and completely wrong. If anyone from the Chicago music scene has had an amazing year, it's Chance the Rapper. 

Coloring Book  was one the most amazing albums to come out of not only Chicago, but out of hip-hop this year. It was a body of work that detailed trial, triumph, tales of a city lined with metaphors and lucid language, and several biblical references all wrapped in one. We've all heard "No Problem" on several mainstream radio stations throughout the country. However, the most important and my favorite song on the album unanimously goes to "Summer Friends" with Francis and The Lights and Jeremih. Francis starts the song with chilling vocals perfected on a prismizer (similar to a vocoder, much more precise and brighter). Chance tells of his childhood growing up on 79th street -- playing with homies, staying with family, but most of all, how the violence and gang activity caused for many of his friends to not make it through the summer. It's beautifully nostalgic while doubling as being a sorrowful tale, almost a sung obituary for all the homies he's poured one for due to the block over the years. Coloring Book perfectly fills in the lines, vividly coloring lyrics of all things Chicago. It safe to say that for him and all that listened, blessings kept falling in our laps.