11 Songs Where the Hate is Real | Playlist

11 Songs Where the Hate is Real features music courtesy of 21 Savage, The Chainsmokers, Gnash, Kelsea Ballerini, and Korn among others.

“Hate on me hater!” Preach Jill Scott – preach! Prepare for a playlist that is chocked-full of sheer hatred! DUN DUN DUUUUN!!! Okay, okay – totally being a bit dramatic – but the central theme of 11 Songs Where the Hate is Real is ‘hate’. Every song on this playlist features some form of the word within their respective title.  Artist contributing to the hatred include 21 Savage, The Chainsmokers, Gnash, Kelsea Ballerini, and Korn.

1. Tory Lanez, “Hate to Say”

Memories Don’t Die • Mad Love / Interscope • 2018

“I find it funny how n***as start talkin’ money / I’m livin’ lovely, apartment far from the bunjee / I remember us livin’ not too far from the junkies, the flunkies / That tried to punk me on corners but never sunk me.” Ah, we start of this most hateful playlist with plagiarism… allegedly, of course. “Hate to Say,” a highlight from Memories Don’t Die, features the best flow from Tory Lanez to date.  The production bangs without being incredibly dynamic or overt.  The key selling point is a One Direction sample – who would’ve thought?  Again, the problem is a plagiarism faux pas. Sadly, it wouldn’t be the first accusations of copycatting Lanez has committed. That definitely takes away from the sheer excellence of this gem that’s heavily ‘inspired’ by rapper VI Seconds.

2. The Chainsmokers, “Everybody Hates Me”

Sick Boy…This Feeling • Disruptor / Columbia • 2018

“Yeah, let’s do it again but, uh, this time, uh, let’s go full psycho.” That’s the intro that kicks off the dark, pessimistic “Everybody Hates Me”.  The raspy-voiced Andrew Taggart is clearly in a mood.  Lines like “Yeah, I just wanna drink tequila with my friends” or “I’m so defeated, I just want this shit to end” sum up the hatred that he feels.  The chorus, followed by a drop, seals the deal.

“So, I walk into the club like, everybody hates me...
I’m talkin’ to myself, shit, now they think I’m crazy...
Like everybody hates me.”

Ultimately, “Everybody Hates Me” is a well-produced record by The Chainsmokers, successfully blending pop and dance.  Like much of their material released in 2017 and 2018, it’s not game changing per se, but worth listening to.

3. Future, “Hate the Real Me”

BEAST MODE 2 • Epic • 2018

“Lemme tell the world how much I care for you / I paint a picture, gave a style to you / I took a chance when you had miles on you / I should’ve f**ked and blowed some loud on you.”  Hmm, interesting. On the same record, “Hate the Real Me,” Future asserts, “I’m tryna get high as I can.” “Hate the Real Me” finds the rapper both flexing and introspecting on the past. Ultimately, the record is a fitting closer to Beast Mode 2, finding the rapper desiring to reach even loftier heights of success and likely, drugs. While simply focusing on drug use here would be inaccurate, in the past, drugs have dominated Future’s music, particularly throughout his excellent 2015 album, DS2.

4. Kelsea Ballerini, “I Hate Love Songs”

Unapologetically • Black River Entertainment • 2017

“I hate Shakespeare and Gosling and cakes with white frosting / Two names in a heart-shaped tattoo… / I hate catching bouquets, the honeymoon phase.” Country singer Kelsea Ballerini doesn’t hold back her hatred – being ‘extra’ when it comes to love.  If you were to only listen to the complaints that Ballerini makes, you might miss the fact that she actually likes love on her soulful hit “I Hate Love Songs” from her 2017 LP, Unapologetically.  She’s not into the gooey aspects of love, but she loves her boo. On the chorus she sings, “I hate love songs / Yeah, I really do / I hate love songs / But I love you.”

5. Dave East, “The Hated”

Ft. Nas

Paraonia: A True Story • Def Jam • 2017

“They hated Jesus, hated Malcolm, hated Martin / (They gon’ hate) eight n***as living in a two-bedroom apartment / No lights up in the crib, I guess I came up out the darkness / Mood change when I spark it, new Range, now park it.” “The Hated,” a highlight from the 2017 album Paranoia: A True Story, pairs east coast rapper Dave East with his mentor, Nas. Unsurprisingly, the results are superb. Nas plays a limited role – on the intro and the outro – but accentuates the song nonetheless (“We gotta get it / They hated Esco / They heated Escobar / I’m still here”). The production work (Joe Joe Beats) is on-point, while the rhymes by East are strong.  His best attribute is his honesty and openness, as he tells his story.

“I had a basic plan, get out the projects and never look back / Could still smell the aroma from when my uncle would cook crack / One conversation between homies, better yet brothers / That used to spend the night with each other…”

6. Bleachers, “Hate That You Know Me”

Gone Now • RCA • 2017 

“I put my things into boxes / Carry all of my old lies / Rubber band in my past time / And you know what? I hate it.” From the jump, it’s clear that Bleachers (Jack Antonoff) has a hit on its hands with “Hate That You Know Me”. On the verses, Antonoff builds the case against things he dislikes about himself.  He seems to be lying to others, and arguably, even to himself.  His lover, however, can read between all of the BS.

“Oo-oo-ooh / Long way down / You’re such a heart attack / But it feels like oo-oo-ooh / Pressure points / They pressure you right back / Come on, think about it.”

An uncredited Carly Rae Jepsen gives Antonoff a brilliant assist, even though she’s not prominently featured. Ultimately, “Hate That You Know Me” is one of the better songs of Antonoff’s career.

7. 21 Savage, “My Choppa Hate N***as”

Without Warning • Epic / Motown / Capitol / Republic • 2017

“You might got a pistol but this stick is way bigger / I call it KKK, ‘cause my choppa hate ni***as.” Without Warning. That’s exactly how Without Warning, the collaborative album/mixtape between 21 Savage, Offset, and Metro Boomin arrived on October 31, 2017. In most cases, 21 Savage and Offset rap together, backed by Young Metro’s signature beats.  “My Choppa Hate N***as” is a change of pace however, finding 21 Savage dropping a solo cut on the project. Unsurprisingly, “My Choppa Hate N***as” sounds as if it would’ve been at home on his Issa Album. While his delivery stands out positively, the lyrics themselves aren’t nearly as positive.

“You do a lot of talkin’ n***a, not me
Do a lot of walkin’ n***a, that’s me
Finna open up a morgue, all this damn beef
Choppa with the sword, Game of Thrones .223.”

8.Maren Morris, “Dear Hate”

Ft. Vince Gill

Dear Hate – Single • Columbia • 2017 

“You were there in the garden, like a snake in the grass / I see you in the morning staring through the looking glass / You whisper down through history and echo through these halls / But I hate to tell you, love’s gonna conquer all.” A song for times such as these – that’s what Maren Morris offers up on single, “Dear Hate”, a response to the Las Vegas mass shooting, which took the lives of 58 innocent people.  Morris enlists a country music juggernaut, the one and only, Vince Gill.  She kicks things off exceptionally, showcasing the utmost vocal prowess and musicianship on the first two verses. Lyrically, the text is incredibly thoughtful – eloquent and pitch-perfect.  On the chorus, she combines forces with Gill, exhibiting breathtaking vocal chemistry.  Gill earns the best verse, citing the hate occurring in Selma, JFK’s assassination, and the September 11 attacks.  Ultimately, the message is that “Love’s gonna conquer all”:

“Dear love
Just when I think you’ve given up
You were there in the garden when I ran from your voice
I hear you every morning through the chaos and the noise.”

9. Korn, “The Hating”

The Serenity of Suffering • Roadrunner • 2016

“I feel it all come crashing down on me / I feel alone and torn apart / I wasted time to let it get to me / An angry mouth with a broken heart.” “The Hating” serves as a standout from The Serenity of Suffering, the 2016 album by veteran nu-metal collective, Korn.  Although it’s potent from the jump, “The Hating” opens with an intense, yet relatively poised intro. Jagged, monstrous guitars establish a more agitated sound prior to the first verse.  The chorus (excerpted above) soars, featuring a melodic sound despite the incredibly tense production work. The introduction brilliantly returns as the outro – an excellent, unifying touch.

“The hating
It’s pulled inside of me
The trying
To test my sanity
It’s in you waiting
It’s all make believe
And the ripping
The child from within me.”

10. Michael Kiwanuka, “Love & Hate”

Love & Hate • Polydor • 2016

Michael Kiwanuka allows time for “Love & Hate” to develop – to percolate if you will. “Love & Hate” appears on the British musician’s soulful 2016 album, also titled Love & Hate. The result is a song that easily separates itself as one of the truly elite moments. “I believe / She won’t take me somewhere I’m not supposed to be,” Kiwanuka sings, continuing, “You can’t steal the things that God has given me / no more pain and no more shame and misery.” Ultimately, the seven-minute record is nothing short of grand.  There’s certainly nothing to ‘hate’ about it in the least.

11. Gnash, “I Hate U, I Love U”

Ft. Olivia O’Brien

Us • :): • 2016

“Do you miss me like I Miss you? / Fucked around and got attached to you / Friends can break your heart too, and / I’m always tired but never of you.”  The crowning achievement of the 2016 album Us is undoubtedly “I Hate U, I Love U.” “I Hate U, I Love U” is the breakout single by artist/producer Gnash featuring rising, teen pop artist, Olivia O’Brien. The approach is as ‘oxymoronic’ as its title, with gnash delivering assertive, sometimes profane lyrics in a cool, calmed, and collected manner.  Though he never seems to be melodramatic or overexcited – f-bombs and all – “I Hate U, I Love U” is extremely effective, chocked full of swagger. No hatred to be found here.

Photo Credits: :):, Black River Entertainment, Capitol, Columbia, Def Jam, Disruptor, Epic, Interscope, Mad Love, Motown, Pixabay, Polydor, RCA, Republic, Roadrunner