It’s been an amazing year for music. In 2021, the underground innovated like never before – here are the ten songs that shocked us with energy in brand new ways and solidified past trends into incredible sound, the ten tunes we couldn’t get enough of. These are 108MICS’ top ten songs of 2021!
10. Kid Trash – MoLLY (prod. Kid Trash)
Soundcloud | Spotify | Apple Music
As usual, Kid Trash has been going all out this year with standout EP Scissorhands and a collection of colorful singles. I can’t stop replaying MOLLY, an electrifying track with an addictive hook and raspy vocals. I’ve been singing “Love hurts so I’m under the weather / me and the molly look better together” like I’m getting paid to do it. The tone switch between those syrupy lines and the scratchy “write my name in the death note / sometimes you learn to just let go” showcases the artists extensive range of vocal capability that they’ve been consistently sharpening. – Mars (@gayidiot49)
9. dollywood1 – Graveem1nd Trucker Hat (prod. Envyother + Follow)
Dollywood1’s voice glides across the ominous production of “graveem1nd trucker hat” confidently. I haven’t stopped replaying it since it was released shortly after her collab with dltzk. The slow-paced, muddy lines like “you know my name don’t wear it out / why is my name in your fuckin’ mouth?” set the tone for the hard-hitting verses “And I just cut that bitch off / And she still wanna fuckin’ talk” that proclaim absolute confidence. Her ability to effortlessly deliver such an addictive track surely make it one of 2021’s hidden gems. – Mars (@gayidiot49)
8. uglyboy – Iseethru (prod. uglyboy)
Soundcloud | Spotify | Apple Music
It was difficult to pick out just one uglyboy song for this list, but I’m certain that ‘iseethruu’ is his best ever. The lyrics are absolutely cutting and reflect the mindstate of a man truly at his wits’ end. The production is monstrous too, a real achievement of sound bolstered by impeccable mixing and mastering by the man himself. This song brings out the best in uglyboy, featuring some serious passionate vocals and an energy that translates wonderfully into the exasperated tone of the song. He’s always been a consistently great artist, but with songs like ‘iseethruu’ uglyboy is proving that he’s capable of being one of the greatest pop singers to walk the planet. If you’ve never heard his music before, this is a perfect place to start and will hopefully be an indicator of his 2022 output to come. – Chris (@malenchanted)
7. Laura Les – Haunted (prod. Laura Les)
Soundcloud | Spotify | Apple Music
“Haunted” by Laura Les is an interesting piece—while 100 Gecs, her collaborative effort with Dylan Brady, has released music, it hasn’t made a splash like this song has, whether there isn’t as much laser focus on the experimental sounds of the duo due to many of them becoming popularized in the underground or because this banger of a solo track simply outranks them all. With some of the sparsest production she’s featured on yet, the song kicks off with a plucked lead synth over a light drum pattern and a manic, screamed hook drenched in distorted filtering – layers that would obscure it entirely if not so meticulously crafted. The production mentioned allows room for this to happen; it’s not packed so dense even though the tempo is just as high, with simple kick-snare patterns, a wide synth bass, and hi-hat risers comprising most of the percussion here and no Gecs-esque tests of the boundaries of melody, just the same plucked melodies as the song falls into a much more comprehensible verse where Laura gets into the feeling “haunted,” sleep deprivation compounding and the lines between psychosis and reality blurring as the hallucinations seem to catch up. This song feels like a glimpse into a psyche pushed to its limits, a manic episode breaking into pieces, and it manages to evoke and express those feelings in its incredibly short minute-and-a-half runtime. – Steve (@xoxoarctic)
6. Yeat – Trëndy way ft. Septembersrich (prod. Upmadeit + Sharkboy)
Soundcloud | Spotify | Apple Music
Yeat made huge waves with his debut album “Up 2 Me”, and no song captures the seismic chaos of his music and impact like “Trendy way”. As synths blast and yell in the background, Yeat and long-time collaborator Septembersrich enlist each other for a series of intense and complimentary verses. Yeat, as ever, is off the rails; “Yeah, I just wake up take a perc, then take an X, do that shit again, turn a five to a ten”. His delivery is arrogant and lively. Septembersrich raps his verse with fidelity and uproar, swerving around; “fuck it, crash, with my twizzy serving chickens in that bag, most of y’all broke as hell” imbues the song with chemistry and high-grade flexing. “Trendy way” is a victory lap from an artist who directed underground culture in the second half of the year. – Jamie (@jadexhost)
5. BXKS – Must Feel (prod. Timic Ndoloka)
Soundcloud | Spotify | Apple Music
You can stress all you want, but it’s all a game to BXKS. The UK rapper had a strong year, turning rap into a multidimensional design language across vibrant albums and singles. On “Must Feel”, from her cel-shaded summer release “Full-Time Daydreamer”, she’s well beyond it all. “Flex for the gram no money in the purse, if the shoe fits I know that line there hurts – if the shoe fits you should get new kicks” is some of the year’s catchiest wordplay. Beneath everything there’s encouragement; “you don’t even know your worth” is the song’s main motif. Combined with scores of video game sound effects, “Must Feel” creates an unbeatable sense of levelling up. – Jamie (@jadexhost)
4. funeral – potions (prod. funeral)
Soundcloud | Spotify | Apple Music
“potions” delivers hyped sex-money-murder rap in a sugary and addictive casing. funeral excels in a pitched up neon world, rapping cyclones around his suspenseful and rapid production. The moments where the two synchronise are some of the year’s most perfect; as funeral smoothly stretches bars like “I like when you fuck it uh-up” the drums brake and snap back with precision. At the bridge, he raps “bitch you know I fuckin’ been smooth” before swan diving into the hook; “Potion, I make her say “oh shit”, oh”. Everything about this song is perfectly engineered, from the split rise and descent found across multiple lines of melody to the irresistibly bright aura of plugg percussion. “potions” blends suave impact and the fun 2021 needed. – Jamie (@jadexhost)
3. Chloe Hotline – Fantasy (prod. Chloe Hotline)
Soundcloud | Spotify | Apple Music
New Orleans bounce isn’t one of my areas of expertise, but I recognise an important song when I hear one. Chloe Hotline has been one of the greatest discoveries that I’ve made (thanks to my co-writer Jamie) in 2021, and this song was the first that I discovered from her. It’s an explosive track that combines the instantly recognisable sounds of bounce music with one of the rawest vocal performances of the year. This hook stays in my head at almost all times of the day, saying so much with two such simple lines. The song is a perfect summer banger, but it works just as well in the colder months when we’re all in need of the heat that this tune delivers in spades. I’m totally in love with Chloe’s vocal style, which is restrained yet unquestionably slick. She rides this beat (her own creation) with undeniable poise, firing on all cylinders as the beat bumps in the background. This is easily one of the year’s most accomplished songs, and will introduce you to an artist that truly puts the work in and is deserving of immense success. You can’t be a fake fan for that long, as she says herself here. – Chris (@malenchanted)
2. Earl Dawgit – SMILE ON MY FACE (prod. Earl Dawgit)
“SMILE ON MY FACE” takes Earl Dawgit’s carefully constructed persona, a chronically online web of memes and tightly-wound emotions, and puts needles in the pressure points like acupuncture. It’s the culmination of years of development; Earl’s talent is now more than obvious as he soars over rich mid-tempo percussion. “I’ve never given up before, that’s why I’m always winning” he sings wildly, tamed and encouraged by autotune and confidence. Earl reminds his audience to keep going, but by the sounds of it he’s already found his nirvana. – Jamie (@jadexhost)
There’s something ethereally beautiful about Earl Dawgit’s ‘Smile on My Face’, and it’s crazy because on first glance it’s not a song that suggests anything of the sort. And yet as soon as it first kicked in, I knew that I was in for something special. Earl is a talented vocalist, this much we know, but I’ve never heard him sound quite like this before. The guy is singing here like his life depends on it, unleashing one flawless hook after another as not a second of this song is left untouched by his outstanding vocals. This is not only the biggest and boldest track of his career so far, it’s also a benchmark for other creators in this field to aspire to. How did he come up with such mesmerising vocal melodies? How did he make a beat this banging and emotive in equal measure? Why can’t I stop singing this in the shower? These questions may forever go unanswered, but one thing is for sure: this is a superb song by an artist that well and truly deserves the love and attention that his music should and will bring him. – Chris (@malenchanted)
1. Quinn – from paris with love (prod. Quinn)
Soundcloud | Spotify | Apple Music
“from paris, with love” is insurgent music. Quinn plays the part of a spellcaster, sitting atop her tower of samplers and DJ controllers, casting brilliant orbs of clashing sound to the valleys below. Behind immense synth risers, the sound of glaciers dying fizzles away. Radio chatter creates a sense of paranoia, of being watched, and even minute details, like the way bass notes tiptoe on delay lines from the right ear to the left, create an unmatched sense of cohesion and texture. “from paris” is constantly breaching with textures flying and crashing down; there’s the harsh comfort of overdriven snare drums, synth drones that strain under their own gravity, and bass that, as if unlocking hell, screams as it hits.
Surprising lightness gathers too; Quinn’s voice is taunting amidst an electrified glockenspiel background, layered in the momentum of young expertise; “if you’ve got a problem tell me, I’ve been known to be a problem child” she sings, defensive. A contrast opens, the instrumental explodes into overworked and noisy bass as Quinn tries everything she can to not only disprove but destroy her critics. Complementary and warring, “from paris” is a vision of creative complexity, a testament to Quinn’s rebellious and absolute refusal to compromise in the face of compounding stress. It’s a scene-setting masterclass. – Jamie (@jadexhost)
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