I can’t tell you how excited I am for Cudder’s third album, ‘WZRD’ set to be released on February 28th. Looking at his first two albums, each one has been progressively different, showing different styles and sides of the man on the moon. Teaming up with producer Dot Da Genius as well as stopping his well-known habit of smoking trees, I can’t wait for this album and it’s gonna be extremely hard to not listen to any of the leaks. Teleport 2 Me is the first single and I already love it. Purchase the song here.

I don’t know if other kollectors out there are familiar with Iggy Azalea, but nonetheless I have recently fallen in love with her unique style. This Australian (yes, AUSTRALIAN) white rapper is just about ready to take over the rap game. With rumors swirling about the internet that she was signed to Def Jam, and the fact that she has upcoming tracks with artists like Yelawolf and Dev have drawn all kinds of attention to Azalea. Her gritty style of rhyming on top of some dirty rap beats remind me of Nicki Minaj, except I think that Iggy Azalea will soon surpass her. To top it off, her tattooed fingers spell out the words to her boyfriend’s latest work – Live. Love. A$AP. Yep, this girl is about to take over the world. Get ready.

Props to DJ Big Red for enlightening me.

Hey I’m always down for Biggie remixes. This remix comes from Viceroy, the producer responsible for bringing kollectors the dope remix of Wiz Khalifa’s This Plane. I personally love these two remixes – they both have those great synth sounds and positive vibes that just make you want to dance. Hopefully we’ll see some more ‘Jet Life’ remixes in the future, Viceroy. Support Viceroy on Facebook and download above.

EDIT

Winners have been announced on @thekollection

Today is your lucky, lucky day. We’ve teamed up with the awesome crew over at SOL REPUBLIC to bring Kollectors one of the biggest giveaways in Kollection history! Everyone has a chance to win, and entry is simple. Check out the prizes and rules below:

The Prizes

• First Place: One pair of red SOL REPUBLIC Tracks, one Kollection Snapback, and 20 Kollection Stickers
• Second Place: One pair of red SOL REPUBLIC Tracks, one Kollector Tee (size & color stock pending), and 20 Kollection Stickers
• Third Place: One pair of red SOL REPUBLIC Tracks and 20 Kollection Stickers
• Five Honorable Winners: 10 Kollection Stickers

That’s three pairs of Tracks from SOL REPUBLIC, a sold-out kollection snapback, K gear of your choosing, and tons of stickers to 8 lucky winners!

EDIT

Winners have been announced on @thekollection

Rules*

• You are allowed one tweet per day. Additional tweets and mentions are awesome, but we’ll only count one per day.
• Winners will be chosen, at random, from the list of participants. Each valid tweet counts as an entry. Multiple entries increases the odds of winning (keeping rule #1 in mind).
• The giveaway ends on January 30th.
• Keep calm and Kollect on.

About SOL REPUBLIC

The team at SOL REPUBLIC got in touch with me in December of last year looking for a way to collaborate and help each other’s brands grow. I was immediately hooked on their beautiful products, the simplicity in their design, and their impressive attention to detail. I finally got my hands on a pair of their Tracks in mid-December and was absolutely blown away. The sound quality is amazing, packed into a low-profile, clean, simple design. At $100, these heaphones are, without a doubt, the best pair of quality and value I’ve ever seen in the headphone market. Give the guys at SOL REPUBLIC a like below, tweet them up, and get your hands on some of their gear – absolutely incredible products that The Kollection is happy to support!

I have missed The Cataracs ever so much. Releasing this song earlier today, the Internet is buzzing about with excitement. Producing songs to rage to is something that Campa and Cyrano have perfected, and adding this dubstep-tinted track only pushes the envelope that much farther. I noticed at around the 2:30 mark some chords resemble those in Dev’s “Breathe” track from her album The Night the Sun Came Up. Either way this song is fire and I suggest that everyone breaks this one out for a wild Friday night!

Domo dropped this track through his twitter for fans the other day. I noticed that there’s never been a lot Odd Future representation on the Kollection, so I wanted to post this Domo Genesis track and see if people are feelin it. Anyways, Domo flows with ease, spittin some solid rhymes over a laid-back beat. Check it out, comment, and download above.

It’s good to see Wiz getting more songs out these days (Still recovering from him ending the daytoday series). This one is over Drake’s “The Motto,” and I’m happy to say Wiz has still got it. G.F.U = Get fucked up. If you’re used to Wiz Khalifa this isn’t a new theme in his music. Love Wiz’s bars, Juicy J & Berner are decent too. Taylor Gang or Die!

It takes me a century to order my latte let alone conjure up an all-encompassing list of my 10 “top” tracks of the year. I’ve had the privilege of writing for the K since the first day of 2011, and my goodness have I fallen in love with hundreds of captivating tracks from many emerging talents over the past year. Overwhelmed, I almost went insane while putting this mix together.

Clearly, “Top 10″ lists weren’t made for me. I love way too much music for way too many reasons. But if I must produce, here it is. A list that showcases variety of style, range and energy from hiphop, electronic, indie and ‘mash’ artists – all united by a particular X-factor, in my opinion. These tracks spoke to me. I played them countless times. They’ve given me chills. They’ve grabbed ahold of me and made me listen. I encourage you to download the ones you might have missed; and don’t be afraid to get a little addicted. Here’s to an amazing upcoming year of music in 2012!

S.R. – Smokey Robotic
One of the most unique acts we feature on the K is definitely Smokey Robotic. I’ll admit some of their tracks have been questionable, but this energetic opener on their latest album revitalized my faith in the incredible power of the group. The gorgeous pulsating piano and violin crescendo anchor the track, and the soulful hook grabs me every time. Get into this one, it’ll make you feel incredible.

Tycho – A Walk
“The Walk” is an incredibly mesmerizing instrumental piece by S.F. native, Scott Hansen – who interestingly enough is also a graphic artist. His visual and audio works seem to channel the same wavelength; signaling sonic journeys into far off space that simply leave you blown away.

Collect Call (Adventure Club Remix) – Metric
Every track the Montreal Dubstep duo of Adventure Club touches turns to gold. Soaring female vocals supported by smooth bass lines and a certain glitch-wave I can’t get enough of characterizes their style and cements them in each of my playlists.

Song for an Actress – Hoodie Allen
The combination of Hoodie’s ridiculously funny rhymes and a great soulful sample courtesy of the Fitz and the Tantrums makes this Leap Year opener more than repeat-worthy. It sets the album’s tone perfectly – hilarious, but fully committed to making a larger, clever statement.

Feel Tall – OnCue
Seeing ‘Geoff’ perform this one live in November sealed the deal – “Feel Tall” has no doubt been cycling through my headphones on practically a continuous stream – the light CJ Luzi production contrasts perfectly with Cuey’s powerful delivery of his heavy message.

I’m On One (KillaGraham Remix) – DJ Khaled ft Drake & Lil Wayne
This one is just badass. There is something so sexy about smooth dubstep tracks like this; they’re always on my workout and party playlists for clear reasons. Those drops…

Don’t Move – Phantogram
I admit, there was a time period where I’d look for excuses to drive somewhere just so I could ride around blasting this. The choppy, upbeat ‘spaced-out’ synth production is way too fun, and Sarah Barthel’s sweet vocal is inviting and rich. The switch-up halfway through is the highlight for me – this is a MUST download.

Midnight Life – The White Panda
The infectious M83-crafted beat is hard to go unnoticed; it was everywhere after it first surfaced. The White Panda did something different here, using the intoxicating instrumental and Kanye’s “Good Life” to instantly create a feel-good jam for any occasion.

Blue Jeans (Count Ninjula Remix) – Lana Del Ray
Lana is becoming huge. She is a bit over-fabricated, a hyper-hipster maybe. Regardless, the girl has one of the most unique vocal tones out there and isn’t afraid to pour out devastating emotions on her heartbreaking tracks. “Videogames” and “Blue Jeans” have irresistible qualities, but this Count Ninjula remix I spotted [while it is a bit heavy] intensifies the sultry, firey single.

Stage Dive – Sol
Washington emcee, Sol, isn’t a guy we’ve covered heavily on the K. He has a great vibe about him, but I just wasn’t a huge fan immediately. With the bouncy “Stage Dive”, I immediately took notice. Simple production [from Nima Skeemz] and laidback verses are my favorite hiphop combination – nothing overdone, just real talk from a real artist. Kollect on!

How does one even start to sum up a year of incredible music into a list of just ten songs? This has been a challenging post to put together, no doubt. I’ve spent the past few hours sorting through a few thousand songs, deciding which ten made 2011 the year it was. What I ultimately decided to do was to not just highlight ten individual songs – that’s just not enough – but rather make my selection based on the artist and the style of music featured. My year has been a well-rounded balance of hip hop, electronic music, and yes, a mashup here and there.

Below, in no particular order, are my favorite songs of the year. Read the individual descriptions for more info about why I selected each track. Let me know what you think!

The Chase Is On – Hoodie Allen

This year Hoodie Allen truly blew up. He made his first major mark in the music scene back in 2010 but this year was truly his launching point. Vanessa interviewed Hoodie earlier in the year, and this Fall I had the chance to see him live and spend a few hours kicking back and talking. Hoodie Allen is one of the most laid-back, humble, and easy-going artists I’ve met this far in my journey with The Kollection. His music is fun, light, and full of some of the best lyricism around. The Chase Is On is my favorite Hoodie Allen track, landing him a place my top tracks of 2011.

Child Celebrity – Mac Miller

Love him or hate him, Mac Miller is a true success story of our generation. This young kid has hustled to the top of the music scene this year with some of the most explosive growth I’ve ever seen an artist experience. I first heard Mac Miller just a week or two after starting The Kollection – I was one of the first couple thousand views on Nikes On My Feet (the video now has 20,000,000 views) – and I was hooked ever since. Mac first gained solid traction in 2010 with K.I.D.S., continued his journey in 2011 with Best Day Ever and rounded out the year atop the charts with Blue Slide Park. No matter where Mac goes with his music, I’ll always respect his work-ethic, his enthusiasm, and his never-ending drive for success. Child Celebrity is one of my all time favorites from the kid.

Against The Bottom – Grieves

This track absolutely flew under the radar this year. I’ll admit, I don’t know much about Grieves or his work, but this track, Against The Bottom has been on such consistent playback that there’s no way I could leave it out of my top tracks. This song, for me, just means so much – the whole track comes together in such a beautiful way. It’s a feel-good song and a summer-time jam, but it also carries enough emotion that requires a deeper, independent listen. Beautiful.

Feel Tall – OnCue

OnCue is the one of the most unique artists to make a rise in 2011. He’s passionate, emotional, energetic and engaging. I was able to interview OnCue this year, and I can now say from experience that this guy is for real. OnCue seems so down to earth. He knows what he’s doing, why he’s doing it, and his love for music is utterly apparent. Feel Tall, for me, captures OnCue’s career in 2011 like no other track can. The lyrics are powerful and sincere and the instrumental is oh-so beautiful. Keep an eye on OnCue in 2012.

Inspired by Rehab – 3LAU

If anyone out there has had one helluva year, it is without a doubt Justin Blau, aka 3LAU. I’m always proud to say that we were one of the first blogs to pick this kid up and now, just a few short months later, he has nearly 30,000 fans on Facebook. 3LAU’s mashups, for many reasons, resonate incredibly well with young people. They’re unique, energetic, well-produced, and seem to hit the right mix of vocals and instrumentals. Inspired by Rehab is one of my all-time favorites from 3LAU – it’s a shame it’s so short (cough cough, extended mix please Justin?). I was able to interview 3LAU earlier this year as well – Justin is one of the most passionate musicians I know. I had more fun in his interview than with any other artist – he’s overflowing with energy and enthusiasm. Cheers to 2012 3LAU.

Dancing In The Dark (Proper Villains Remix) – Dev

I’m certainly not the biggest dubstep fan out there, and I would hardly call this track pure dubstep, but there’s something about the progression of this track, the incredible bass, and the way the melody and vocals seem to play along that has had me hooked since I first listened. The original Dancing in the Dark is good, no doubt, but this Proper Villains remix gives it the energy and power it truly deserves. This is one of my go-to tracks when I’m driving, working out, or snowboarding, earning a spot in my top picks of 2011.

Rolling in the Deep (Deathstar Remix feat. Marty Party & Minnesota) – Adelle

This is a strange song for me to put in my top tracks of 2011. I really wanted to stray away from remixes, especially over Adelle tracks. There seems to be a purity with Adelle’s music that so many artists take away with their remixes and mashups. But here I am – this Rolling in the Deep remix has had me hooked since we first posted it back in May. It’s a huge track, worthy of a solid sound system, and I feel like it does artistic justice to Adele’s emotion and power. Don’t even bother listening to this one without some bass.

Another One Down – Asher Roth

Ah, Asher Roth. What a guy. He’s absolutely one of my favorite artists right now, and is up in my top 3 for 2011. He’s been so consistent this year with amazing tracks, incredible melodies, solid collaborations, and great beats. His lyricism is so smooth, his flow completely unique, and his style unmatched by any other white rapper out there. His latest project, Pabst & Jazz is an incredible assortment of tracks that truly show what a diverse and talented artist Asher is. One of my goals for 2012 is to get an Asher interview – he’s just one of those artists that would be easy to chill with. Until then, Another One Down takes the cake for my favorite Asher track of 2011.

Broken Lungs (Adventure Club Remix) – Thrice

My close friends know that I’m not the biggest dubstep guy. In my mind, there’s a time, place and style that permits dubstep but this year it seems as though the market has gotten pretty crowded. However, despite the saturation, there’s always room for a few stand out artists. In 2011 my favorite dubstep producers are the duo known as Adventure Club. These guys have brought beauty and melody to a world of Skrillex-impersonators, and Broken Lungs captures the energy of their style into a truly beautiful and deep track. The bass in this song is unmatched, the buildups and drops are incredible, and the production truly demonstrates the impressive talents of these emerging artists. These guys are on my list of people I’d like to meet someday, just to pick their brain a bit. I love their music and their style which has landed Broken Lungs a spot in my top tracks of 2011.

Don’t Give Up On Us – Avicii

I can’t think of any other house producer in the world that deserves recognition more than Avicii. This artist has absolutely gone above and beyond what anyone expected of him in 2011 and has emerged as one of the most popular and well known electro artists in the world. His music is melodic, captivating, driving, and pure. The vocals he uses are beautiful and smooth. I can’t speak highly enough about Avicii and his work that he’s shared with the world in 2011. Levels was his biggest hit of the year, but for some reason I just knew I had to put Don’t Give Up On Us in my top ten. It seems so much more melodic, thoughtful, and passionate than anything else he’s done and I always enjoy throwing this track on repeat. Avicii has big things in store in the new year and I’m excited to be along for the ride.

You would think that picking 10 songs would be an easy task.. Ten tracks that really stand out among the rest. Well, not as easy as it sounds. I tried to pick ten songs across different genres that are the soundtrack to my life, and after being welcomed to The Kollection with open arms earlier this year, it opened my eyes to how much music is truly a part of me. OK, I’m done being emotional for now, enjoy my top picks for 2011! (These are in no particular order.. it was hard enough choosing 10!)

1. Wings – Macklemore X Ryan Lewis
Macklemore is without a doubt my favorite hip hop artist. Always and forever. Wings, as well as every other song this duo puts out, gives me chills because there is so much emotion and meaning behind every song. Sprinkle in some piano to any hip hop song and I’m a fan.

2. Just Relax – Quincy Kwalae, Clinton Beefy, Loggy
This song was part of the soundtrack to my summer. The sample of Jimi Thing from Dave Matthews Band and some chill hip hop make for an excellent song that is appropriate in any setting.

3. Crave You (Adventure Club Remix) – Flight Facilities
I’m very picky with my dubstep, so the fact that this particular song is in my top ten is a big step for me. The soft female vocals over some ridiculous drops in this Adventure Club remix make for a dubstep track that is one of the most addicting tracks I added to my kollection this year – courtesy of Dubstep Kollection!

4. Escape – Radical Something
My Top 10 list would not be complete without a track from Radical Something. Their album We Are Nothing – linked in the title of this description – was my summer in a nutshell. Guitar strums, dreamy vocals, and witty raps (“and that’s my Microsoft Word to ‘yo motha!) were all blended together by Josh Cocktail, DJ Big Red, and Loggy to create magic.

5. #WhiteGirlProblems – Hoodie Allen
Hoodie Allen’s Leap Year was one of my favorite mixtapes of the year, and this song was just so funky that I had to throw it up here. And I may also be addicted to twitter and hashtagging everything. (@chelseanice) Oops.

6. Country Shit (Remix) – Big K.R.I.T featuring Ludacris & Bun B
This song had been released before I was a part of the Kollection team, so this song was not available for download on the site, so I have it for you all here! I am a huge hip hop fan, and in my opinion Big K.R.I.T’s mixtape “Return of 4Eva” was amazing. “My Interpretation,” another stand-out track from Big K.R.I.T can be kollected here.

7. Feel I Bring – Aer
Aer has such a low-key vibe that I’m addicted to, and after I heard Feel I Bring I was hooked. This song flows so nicely throughout, and then towards the end the rap speed picks up for an awesome interlude.

8. Dear Professor – The Dean's List
Since “If I Die Young” was one of the most over-played songs of 2011, you’d think that this song would be pushed to the depths of my iTunes. However, this sample works so well it’s ridiculous. The Dean’s List took over the blog scene with “The Drive-In”, and this is just one of the many songs I fell in love with.

9. This Ain’t Water – Starting Six
Although this particular song was never posted on the Kollection, this track from Bay Area group “Starting Six” is one of my favorite songs to rage to. Throw this song on, and crazy things start to happen. Just do it. You can grab one of my other favorites “Dale Shake” from the Six right here!

10. Make the Money – Macklemore X Ryan Lewis
I tried not to put an artist twice on my list to diversify things, but how could I not include this? Macklemore’s emotions are so powerful in his songs that you can’t help but listen to the story he is telling. I’m gonna let you all in on a rather embarrassing secret: When I saw Macklemore and Ryan Lewis in San Francisco, in the middle of “Otherside” a tear or two came out. No, I don’t have drug issues or a sad life story, but I was so overcome with emotion that I couldn’t control myself. Weird? Maybe. But I don’t care because there are very few artists whose music impacts me enough to act like a fool in public.

Thank you all for taking the time to read my Top 10 List, and I look forward to 2012 with all you kollectors!