July was a huge month for music, and honestly, most of this list could’ve been taken up by songs from Blank Face and Telefone, but plenty of artists dropped exceptional music. Check out the month’s top 25 below

ScHoolboy Q – “Big Body” (feat. Tha Dogg Pound)

ScHoolboy’s album is incredible (read more about it here), and one of the many highlights was “Big Body”, a straight up funky cut that placed Tyler, the Creator in the producer chair. Tyler did his best Neptunes impression on the beat, and ScHoolboy, Kurupt, and Daz Dillinger decimate the beat. In an album of dark street tales, “Big Body” is the celebratory interlude.

Kehlani – “CRZY”

It’s been a dark year for R&B singer Kehlani, but she’s become no less confident in her music: “CRZY” is a fun, ambient track that shows off her incredible abilities. The song is a testament to her strength and fortitude going forward, in the face of serious mental issues that almost led to her ending her life. If this song is any indication, Kehlani’s back in full force and ready to take the R&B world by storm once again.

Mac Miller – “Dang!” (feat. Anderson .Paak)

The first single off Miller’s upcoming The Divine Feminine is a groovy collaboration with LA’s Anderson .Paak, who seems to have replaced Ty$ as the go-to hook+verse provider. Miller’s output has been flawless lately, and if “Dang!” is any indication, his upcoming album is going to be a groovy, excellent way to usher in the fall.

Noname – “Diddy Bop” (feat. Raury & Cam O’bi)

Noname’s long-awaited debut is an incredible album, showcasing the Chicago MC’s lyrical abilities. “Diddy Bop”, referencing Diddy’s famous dance, features a hook by producer Cam O’bi and a verse from youthful prodigy Raury. The song’s a perfect, calm track to sit back and appreciate.

ScHoolboy Q – “Eddie Kane”

“Eddie Kane” is preceded by “Groovy Tony”, the first single heard off Blank Face. It’s a menacing song, and a guest verse by Jadakiss helped make it one of the album’s darkest, grimiest cuts. The song abruptly shifts halfway into “Eddie Kane”, a reference to the fictional character from Robert Townsend’s musical The Five Heartbeats, features production and an incredibly soulful hook by Dem Jointz, and shifts the darkness of Groovy Tony into a relatively uplifting beat that ScHoolboy absolutely kills.

Gucci Mane – “Guwop Home” (feat. Young Thug)

Gucci’s returned in full form since his lengthy prison sentence, and his post-jail release Everybody Looking sounds like he never left. Young Thug’s emphatic over the return of his hero, and Gucci’s verse manages to run through every colour in the spectrum over a beat by Zaytoven and Mike WiLL-Made-It.

DJ Khaled – “Holy Key” (feat. Big Sean, Kendrick Lamar & Betty Wright)

Khaled pulled off a lot of incredible things with his Major Key album (a new Nas song, a new Jay verse, etc.) but one of the coolest things was getting Big Sean and Kendrick Lamar back together again. The last time the two collaborated was “Control”, the song that found Kendrick labelling himself the “king of New York” and promising to kill almost every major rapper (including Sean and Jay Electronica, who were on the song with him). “Holy Key” finds Sean at his most political, and Kendrick blew Khaled away with his thirteen-syllable rhyme scheme. Betty Wright, a soul and R&B legend from the 70s, delivered the earth-shattering verse that draws the song together.

DJ Drama – “Intro” (feat. Lil Wayne)

Drama’s Dedication series propelled Lil Wayne into massive stardom, taking him from a Hot Boy to a superstar, and Wayne brought his best work to Drama’s latest album Quality Street Music 2. “Into” is classic Wayne, an impressive feat after the rapper’s recent proclivity for hiding his ailing voice behind layers of autotune.

Towkio – “Intro (My Calling)”

Towkio’s .wav Theory was one of last year’s most fun releases, and the SaveMoney rapper returned this year with his Community Service 2! EP. The tape carried on his penchant for heavy lyrics over danceable melodies, and Joey Purp and Vic Mensa each appeared on excellent cuts, but the Knox Fortune-produced intro “My Calling” is a lyrical ode to hustling in Chicago.

DJ Khaled – “Jermaine’s Interlude” (feat. J. Cole)

It’s been a couple years since we heard a new J. Cole song, but Khaled gave him one of the few solo appearances on his album. The Earth Gang-sampling “Jermaine’s Interlude” finds Cole weary of the state of the world, from police brutality to industry traps to his own mental issues that find him playing “with thoughts of retirement”. It’s a deeply emotional verse, the kind we’re used to now from Cole, but his statement of “if it’s anything like this in heaven, maybe I’d be better off in hell” is heartbreaking.

Lil Yachty – “King of the Teens”

Off his latest release, Summer Songs 2, the Lil Boat returns with a true youth anthem. Yachty really is the king of the teens at this point: most adults can’t seem to understand the appeal, but his unorthodox, autotuned caterwauling has made him one of the most interesting characters in the rap game. His latest album shows a growth in Yachty’s abilities, and “King of the Teens” is a perfect summer anthem.

Jazz Cartier – “Lil Wayne”

Jazz’s Hotel Paranoia album has helped put the Toronto native on the map, but a busy tour schedule hasn’t stopped the rapper from releasing new music. “Lil Wayne” is, obviously, an ode to Weezy: it begins with a clip from the Carter documentary, and Jazz raps about “diamonds on my neck going bling bling” on the chorus. Jazz is just as powerful and articulate as he’s always been, and hopefully he keeps up his music output.

Big Sean – “Living Single” (feat. Chance The Rapper, Jeremih & Smino)

The second leaked Chance song to leak recently (the other being “Good Ass Kid”), “Living Single” was reportedly supposed to be a cut off of Big Sean’s upcoming album. Sean’s verse is excellent, and solid contributions from the three features make the song an absolute triumph: Chance kills it, Jeremih’s chorus is lovely, but up-and-comer Smino (whose blkjptr EP has been making waves, as well as his Zero Fatigue collective with Monte Booker and Jay2Ain’tShit) establishes himself as an artist to be reckoned with.

DJ Khaled – “Nas Album Done” (feat. Nas)

I honestly never expected three songs off of a Khaled album to make it into a “best songs of the month” list, but the incredible lineup led to some amazing singles. “Nas Album Done” bluntly announces the completion of the first Nas album in four years, and features a Fugees-sampling beat provided by Cool & Dre and 808-Ray (Khaled even wrote a letter to the Fugees thanking them for letting him use their song “Fu-Gee-La” for the track). Nas proves that he’s still got it, and takes some shots at Donald Trump while he’s at it.

Raury – “Neveralone”

The twenty-year-old Atlanta native has always had a proficiency for mixing singing and rapping in a way that’s more Andre 3000 than Drake, and “Neveralone” is a perfect showcase of his abilities. The track, inspired by the parachute-less skydive conducted by Luke Aikins, finds Raury addressing his own demons and offering support to others, and he recently described it on twitter as being almost too personal to release. It’s a good thing he did.

Bernz – “Quiet Place” (feat. Tech N9ne & Stige)

Bernz’ rap duo Mayday! has always been one of the best acts on Tech N9ne’s Strange Music label, and his solo album See You On the Other Side is a summer album with a deep message of vice and insecurity. Included on the album is a collaboration with Tech N9ne himself, along with singer Stige (who also appeared with Tech and Bernz on Mayday’s “Know It”). Tech abandons his usual speed-rap style for a slower verse that showcases his sound and ability, and Bernz himself delivers an excellent verse about the horrors of fame.

Noname – “Shadowman” (feat. Saba, Smino & Phoelix)

Noname’s shown her gratitude to a lot of people for the people who helped with Telefone, but most of her twitter love recently has gone to Saba and Phoelix, who were incredibly instrumental to the tape. The album’s finale, “Shadowman”, featured both artists, along with rapper Smino (who’s been making serious waves in his own right), and song finds all four artists searching for hope in the face of tribulation.

Jay Z – “Spiritual”

The first solo Jay Z cut since 2013’s Magna Carta Holy Grail came about via a dark time in American society: a series of murders, both by and against police, inspired “Spiritual”. I spoke about the song when it was released here, and you can check it out on youtube if you don’t have Tidal.

Dem Atlas – “Sum-Mo”

MF DOOM’s Fat Albert-sampling “Datura Stramonium” beat has long been a fan favourite, made famous by its use in Joey Bada$$’ “World Domination”. Rhymesayers rapper Dem Atlas recently released mF deM, an album that exclusively uses DOOM beats, and while there are many examples of the rapper’s skills throughout the album, “Sum-Mo” is Atlas having the most fun.

Snoop Dogg – “Super Crip”

Snoop’s latest album, Coolaid, was criminally underappreciated. After last year’s Bush, a funk album that left many unimpressed, Snoop returned to his old school G-funk days with Coolaid. The album’s highlight was the Just Blaze-produced “Super Crip”. Blaze’s production is crisp and slinky, and Snoop reps the California gang he once tried to separate himself from, establishing himself as a Crip-walking superhero “walking through the clouds with a Crip stick cane.”

Desiigner – “Tiimmy Turner”

I’ve spoken about this song already, but it’s by far the best song in Desiigner’s small repertoire. The hypnotically repetitive chorus, Desiigner’s smooth, indecipherable voice, and Mike Dean’s exceptional production takes a 30-second acapella freestyle and turns it into a richly layered work of art.

Jamila Woods – “VRY BLK” (feat. Noname)

Jamila Woods has been a vocal part of the Chicago scene for a while, from her band M&O to her contributions to Chance and Saba songs, and her first solo was everything fans came to expect from the talented singer. “VRY BLK” teams Woods up with rapper Noname Gypsy in a song that reinterprets the childhood song “Miss Susie” as a challenge against the racist police system.

Avalanches – “The Wozard Of Iz” (feat. Danny Brown)

Avalanches’ Wildflower is a sprawling, layered masterpiece of samples and features that lived up to the impossible expectations, and the one artist who made a repeat appearance on the track is Detroit oddball rapper Danny Brown. After his verses on “Frankie Sinatra”, which also featured MF DOOM, Danny also contributed to “The Wozard of Iz” with a short verse that references past songs “Blunt After Blunt” (from XXX) and “Terrorist Threats” (off Ab-Soul’s Control System).

21 Savage – “X Bitch” (feat. Future)

XXL Freshman 21 Savage has been bringing his own brand of violent gangster-rap to the Atlanta scene since last year’s Slaughter Tape, and this year he teamed up with super-producer Metro Boomin for his latest album, Savage Mode. “X Bitch” finds 21 stunting on his ex, trading lines with Future over an eerie, menacing Metro beat.

Big K.R.I.T. – “4PM @ The Kappa”

KRIT’s been relatively quiet since dropping an album and a mixtape last year, but he returned in full force with his #12For12 mixtape: on July 6th, KRIT dropped a different remix every hour for twelve hours. ScHoolboy Q, French Montana, Kodak Black, and Future all had their beats decimated by KRIT’s celebrated Southern delivery, but it’s his remix of Drake’s post-Views release “4PM In Calabasas” that was his most impressive.