@Dree’s Groove

He might have declared himself “best rapper alive,” but Lil Wayne's never been too proud to take inspiration from his hip-hop forefathers. The pavement-crumbling basslines and chopped ‘n' screwed sensibilities of his track “Money On My Mind” nod to the heavy sound pioneered by Southern stars like UGK and Soulja Slim, while the smoothness of his latter-day flow owes a thing or two to JAŸ-Z's fluid, polished style.

The hits and only the hits—this collection brings together great songs from the top of the charts.

A mix of laidback hip-hop, R&B, and the occasional chilled-out electronic soul track, this playlist is calibrated to carry you into low lights and late nights. Because “after hours” doesn't mean it's over. We regularly refresh this set with new music. If you like a song, add it to your library.

This is turn-up music that will put you in the club before you’re even on your way. Mostly hip-hop, a little R&B, all bang, all day. Our editors update these picks regularly. If you like a track, add it to your library. Enough talk? Okay. Let’s go.

R&B is one of the most dynamic, adventurous sounds in modern music, a place where art both personal and provocative meets the mainstream. From the alt vanguard to modern vets, straightforward to left-field, these tracks capture where R&B is now and point the way to where it’s going. This week, Mariah the Scientist and Kali Uchis’ “Is It a Crime” is at the top of the playlist. The introspective track off of Mariah’s latest album <i>HEARTS SOLD SEPARATELY</i> finds the duo addressing critics who have opinions on their relationships and reassuring their partners that they aren’t letting the naysayers get in between them. “Sometimes I look around for someone who might understand it/I seen it in they eyes that they’ll, they’ll never get it/I think I lost my patience and now I can’t contain it/They, they were wrong about us, I hate the way they paint it/I love the way that you walk and the air you breathe,” she lilts. We update this playlist regularly. If you like a track, add it to your library.

The birthplace of funk itself, New Orleans, gave the world its distinctive take on hip-hop in the late ’90s: hyperkinetic, self-made, deeply grooving, and completely uncompromising. Cash Money Records, founded in 1992, turned a cassette-tape hustle into an empire, evolving the percolating and bawdy local “bounce music” into a unique strain of gangsta rap. The label conquered the globe thanks to the flows of Lil Wayne, Juvenile, B.G., and others, even getting the words “bling bling” into the dictionary. Similarly, the enterprising Master P relocated from California to his NOLA birthplace mid-decade, making stars of local MCs Mystikal, Mia X, and his brothers Silkk the Shocker and C-Murder. In the years since, bounce has become a national concern thanks to ambassador Big Freedia. Contemporary Big Easy rappers may not always have that twerk-ready sound, but gangsta-rap sensations like Boosie Badazz, Kevin Gates, and YoungBoy Never Broke Again are keeping things vivid and personal.

“Hey Siri, play the Getting Ready to Go Out playlist.”

“Hey Siri, play the Bachelor Party playlist.”