Kanye West, Noname, and J. Cole all released songs that shared crucial circumstances of society towards Black people in 2016. The song “Neighbors” by J. Cole was the most impactful song of the year because it outlined the detrimental consequences of the Black American experience on the threat mortality to audiences around the world.

The creators of hip hop envisioned an art form that wasn’t dictated or made to be exclusive by white audiences but was created and carried out by Black people sharing the Black American experiences.