Future’s career reached new heights in 2015 thanks to his prolific mixtape output, and he continued the pace in 2016. January brought the mixtape Purple Reign, which spun off one of his biggest solo hits, “Wicked,” and February brought the chart-topping album EVOL, with brooding favorites like “Low Life” featuring The Weeknd. He linked up with Lil Uzi Vert and Rich Homie Quan on the Future-dominated DJ Esco mixtape Esco Terrestrial, guested on hits by 21 Savage and A$AP Ferg, and continued his partnership with Drake beyond What A Time To Be Alive. But perhaps the biggest surprise of the year was that even Jay-Z wanted Future on the hook, for the DJ Khaled single “I Got The Keys.”

Subscribe to the Spotify playlist here.2016 was a year of insurgent indie label artists breaking through to hip-hop radio, including Young M.A, YFN Lucci, and Chance The Rapper, whose jubilant gospel rap sound crossed over from self-released mixtapes to mainstream stardom with the help of killer guest verses by 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne on “No Problems.” Kevin Gates’s long-simmering buzz finally paid off with his first two platinum singles, the sweetly melodic “2 Phones” and the rampaging “Really Really.” Lil Yachty led the charge of a new generation of teen rappers with his breakout guest verse on D.R.A.M.’s “Broccoli.” And mainstays of radio playlists like Drake, Future, and Young Thug continued to dominate the airwaves along with post-prison comebacks from veterans Gucci Mane and Remy Ma.

Miami has a long history of hip-hop dating back to the days of 2 Live Crew, and for the past decade, the scene’s two most famous exports have been Rick Ross and Pitbull. They worked together early in their careers on DJ Khaled posse cuts and have since diverged down parallel paths. With Ross’s ninth album Rather You Than Me and Pitbull’s 10th album Climate Change, both out in March 2017, the two rappers continue to represent Miami on a major level in very different ways.Rick Ross is a self-styled kingpin in the tradition of rappers like The Notorious B.I.G. and JAY Z, rapping from the perspective of a crime boss—wealthy but embattled. Slow, cruising beats —like the one provided by Miami duo The Runners on “Hustlin’”—brought him fame, and he helped bring the abrasive trap sounds of Lex Luger to the mainstream with 2010’s “B.M.F. (Blowin’ Money Fast).” He’s never had a top 10 solo hit, but five of his albums have topped the Billboard 200, and he’s revered for his ear for production and his consistently enjoyable albums.Pitbull is “Mr. Worldwide,” a Cuban American rapper who can start a party with any kind of beat. He rode the way of mentor Lil Jon’s crunk movement with his early hits, but he quickly expanded his sound by rapping over dancehall, reggaeton, pop, and EDM tracks. Only two of his albums have charted in the top 10 of the Billboard 200, but his singles are a perennial fixture on the Hot 100, including No. 1s “Give Me Everything” and “Timber.”But for all their differences, Rick Ross and Pitbull have traveled similar career arcs. After warming the bench for long-running Southern rap labels Suave House and Slip-n-Slide in the early 2000s, Rick Ross took charge of his career by signing with Def Jam. He eventually launched his own successful label, Maybach Music Group, and has branched off into owning restaurants. Pitbull survived the collapse of his first label, TVT, before thriving on Sony with his own Mr. 305 imprint. But as you’ll hear in this playlist of contrasting cuts, both are openly influenced by their city’s homegrown Miami bass sound, and both have had hits with some of the same collaborators, including T-Pain and Ne-Yo.

Click here to add to Spotify playlist!Ohio musician Jay Joyce played with bands like In Pursuit and Iodine in the ‘80s and ‘90s, but in the 21st century, he’s reached enormous success as a producer and songwriter for country music. Having recorded all five of Eric Church’s studio albums, Joyce has cultivated a sound that’s both polished and homemade, with warm acoustic textures and a reverb-soaked ambience that recalls the work of Daniel Lanois. Church’s hits have ranged from the poignant, piano-driven “Springsteen” and the thunderous power ballad “Give Me Back My Hometown” to the raging celebration of “Drink In My Hand,” and the combination of Church’s ambitious songwriting and Joyce’s lively production has yielded a string of platinum plaques.After his success with Church, Jay Joyce was in high demand in Nashville, producing chart-topping singles for Carrie Underwood and Zac Brown Band. He’s put his stamp on everything from the soulful groove of Thomas Rhett’s “Make Me Wanna” to the doo-wop balladry of Little Big Town’s crossover hit “Girl Crush.” In 2011, he produced one of country legend Emmylou Harris’ most successful albums, Hard Bargain, and in 2015, Joyce was nominated for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, at the GRAMMYⓇs—the only country producer to appear in the category in recent years.But Joyce’s rock roots and skill at capturing a live-band feel have also brought a wide range of clientele from outside of country music. Early in his career, he produced a solo album by Crowded House frontman Tim Finn, and he produced Kentucky alt-rock band Cage the Elephant’s platinum 2009 self-titled debut, as well as albums for garage punk band FIDLAR, and hard rock revivalists Halestorm. This playlist lets you appreciate the sheer breadth of his work.

All four of the founding, permanent members of Pearl Jam will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in April 2017, but of the four drummers who played on the band’s albums over the course of their 25-year run, only two will be inducted with them: Dave Krusen and Matt Cameron. A third, Jack Irons, is already in the Hall of Fame for his work with Red Hot Chili Peppers, so that leaves just one odd man out: Dave Abbruzzese.The exclusion of Abbruzzese from the Hall of Fame induction is notable because, while he only played with the band from 1991 to 1994, that era represents the peak of Pearl Jam’s fame. He played on two of the band’s three top-selling albums, Vs. and Vitalogy, and toured heavily in support of the other, Ten. Fourteen tracks with Abbruzzese, nearly half of his studio work with the band, got enough radio airplay to appear on Billboard’s rock charts.Abbruzzese played on some of Pearl Jam’s most recognizable songs, including “Better Man” and “Daughter,” and songs that remain setlist staples to this day like “Rearviewmirror” and “Corduroy.” He also played on the band’s memorable contributions to the multi-platinum soundtrack for Cameron Crowe’s Singles, the hit cover of Victoria Williams’ “Crazy Mary,” and several B-sides.A steady and versatile drummer, Dave Abbruzzese handled expansive midtempo grooves like “Immortality” as well as the scorching punk of “Spin the Black Circle.” Though he only received a handful of songwriting credits, his drum fills and splashy flourishes left a distinctive signature on many songs. Still, Abbruzzese reportedly never clicked with the rest of the band on a personal or political level; rumor has it that the lyrics of “Glorified G” were Eddie Vedder taking a potshot at the drummer, a proud gun owner. And while Pearl Jam’s black sheep drummer won’t be inducted into the Rock Hall with the band next month, it’s hard to imagine they won’t be playing any songs he helped originate.

Missy is easily one of hip-hop’s most innovative talents. Her and Timbaland’s production effectively globalized the genre, and she’s always been underrated as a rapper -- she mined the space between singer and rapper a good decade before Drake got there. Some albums are better than others, but she never fell off, and it’s a travesty that she hasn’t released one in over a decade. Although her singles are epochal, she’s much more than a singles artist, and she’s the latest in Al Shipley’s amazing “deep cuts” series.

Gucci Mane became one of the south’s most prolific and influential rappers with the help of a deep bench of producers, and Xavier “Zaytoven” Dotson is first and foremost among them. A transplant from Oakland, California, who grew up playing church organ, Zaytoven brought a new set of textures and influences to the Atlanta trap sound with soulful keys, ornate piano runs, and squealing synths. That brighter array of tones helped Gucci stand out from his contemporaries on his early hits, and Zay soon began expanding his client base, working extensively with artists including Migos and Future. And after Gowop spent years in and out of prison, he linked up with his favorite beatmaker again to get back to work. -- Al Shipley

Gucci Mane became one of the south’s most prolific and influential rappers with the help of a deep bench of producers, and Xavier “Zaytoven” Dotson is first and foremost among them. A transplant from Oakland, California, who grew up playing church organ, Zaytoven brought a new set of textures and influences to the Atlanta trap sound with soulful keys, ornate piano runs, and squealing synths. That brighter array of tones helped Gucci stand out from his contemporaries on his early hits, and Zay soon began expanding his client base, working extensively with artists including Migos and Future. And after Gowop spent years in and out of prison, he linked up with his favorite beatmaker again to get back to work.

Khalif “Swae Lee” Brown and Aaquil “Slim Jxmmi” Brown were an unknown pair of brothers from Tupelo, Mississippi, when they caught the attention of Atlanta super producer Mike WiLL Made It. He signed the duo to his Ear Drummers label, and flipped the company’s name backwards to dub their group Rae Sremmurd. They were soon off to the races with a smash debut single, “No Flex Zone,” that was remixed by Nicki Minaj and Pusha T, and have been rubbing elbows with major stars regularly ever since. They’ve assisted on singles by Wiz Khalifa and Ty Dolla $ign and branched out into EDM with Baauer and Dillon Francis. And Swae Lee has become in demand as a writer, notching credits on songs by Gucci Mane and even Beyonce.

“We got London on the track” is the famous drop, spoken by Skooly of the Atlanta rap group Rich Kidz, that helped turn producer London Holmes into a brand name. But it was one of the group’s contemporaries, Young Thug, that brought London On Da Track’s beats to the Hot 100 with a series of hit collaborations with Rich Gang, Tyga, T.I. and others. And over the course of Thug’s solo releases, particularly the Slime Season series, London On Da Track has emerged as the rapper’s most indispensable producer. His rich piano chords, swirling synth lines, and crisp, swinging percussion provide the musical heft for Young Thug’s best songs, allowing the iconoclastic rapper to experiment with his elastic voice over a solid foundation.