Now 2016 had been a crazy year socially but musically it was pretty amazing and a lot of my favorite artist or artist I listened to a lot in middle and high school came back and made music again. From Weezer’s White Album to A Tribe Called Quest’s final album We’ve Got It From Here to De La Soul to The 1975 to Santigold’s 99 cents to something that surprised me California by Blink 182.

With all this amazing music that came out last year I still think there are a lot of artist and bands who need to come back and make music again. Artist and bands who haven’t made music since I was a kid or very early in the 2010s. I need these artist and bands to come and save us in 2017. When I say that I of course don’t really mean that in the non-mainstream sense but more in the eye of the radio because although I haven’t listened to the radio really at all in a long time (unless I am in the car with my sister) I hear all the time how it sucked this year. Now I know the radio sucks every year but apparently it sucked even worse in 2016. So I need all of these artist and bands to come back and wow us and have a bunch of incredible radio singles and save us all (or at least those who still listen to the radio).

Honorable Mentions

Lauryn Hill/Wyclef/The Fugees & Andre 3000/OutKast:

Alright after Tribe came back at the last minute in 2016 I got so excited! I was over my head and started to think oh this could mean other incredible hip-hop groups could make up and come back from their watery grave and make one last album just to give us a taste of what they can do. Plus we need more veteran hip-hop acts to come back and show these lil this and lil that rappers that hard work and talent actually can make your music good not just a good beat and dance to go with it.

Anyway Lauryn Hill has been getting on everyone’s nerves since she hasn’t been showing up to her show’s on time due to the universe and her just being kind of cocky which I think is us the fans fault which can you blame us The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is still one my favorite albums of all time.  Now do I really think Lauryn, Wyclef and Pras are really going to get back together and put out a project? Not really but then I didn’t think they would of performed at the Dave Chapel Block Party either but they did so there can always be hope. Though I would just love a L-Boogie or Wyclef album even if the Fugees never come back.

On a similar note OutKast needs to come back and grace us with an album this year. They performed at Coachella, a bunch of other festivals, went on a limited tour and even did a remix to a Frank Ocean song in 2014. So I got excited and was like where is the album? With these guys I know there is not really any beef with these two or so they say but if there is not then come back and do one more album make us proud. Andre 3000 has been guesting on a bunch of albums in 2016 and Big Boy had that group he was working with in 2015 so they are making music and are still incredible. Just come together and make that album or hey I will even take a song anything just make music again.

In the end all of these legendary hip-hop acts have to come back in some way with new music it will flush all radio hip-hop out today down the toilet where it belongs.

Top 10

T-Pain:

Ok I’ve been waiting ever since like my sophomore year of high school for T-Pain to come back with a project. He was on that remix of All I Do Is Win which is such a bop but nothing solo in such a long time. As the Prince of modern Auto Tune as annoying as it can be on some artist when over used T-Pain perfected this art. What’s even funnier about T-Pain is that he can actually sing very very well. But every time I think of party songs from middle and high school T-Pain comes into mind because he just did it so well. At the time I would have put T-Pain on my guilty pleasures list but since I don’t believe in guilty pleasures anymore he is just good music. He was killing it back then being featured on so many songs and albums and putting out a few banger projects. 2017 I’m looking at you bring back T-Pain. PSA bring back T-Pain!

Sean Paul:

Sean Paul made all the best hits back in the day. He was the head of that whole Reggaeton thing that was big in the mainstream back in 2005-2006. He had all the radio hits yet at the time I couldn’t understand him at all because he had this Latin mixed with a Jamaican accent so it got really thick so I just loved the chorus and beat. My favorite songs from him where Give It Up to Me, Temperature and Gimme the Light which were gold. Reggaeton has come back into the mainstream in different ways since back then but not the way it was and I think it defiantly needs to come back and Sean Paul needs to be the one to do it.

Shaggy:

Shaggy was huge in the late ’90s early 2k with songs like Angel and It Wasn’t Me which my sister used to have on in the car and I had no idea how dirty it was (but I liked it). He had a song in the soundtrack of one of my all time favorite movies Holes and was just a great artist back then for modern reggae. Reggae of course still has the modern Marley kids still making music but there is still not a big reggae presence on modern radio so if Shaggy came back and changed all that it would be awesome as I love reggae.

Akon:

Like T-Pain Akon was everywhere in my middle school and high school days and I mean everywhere. He was on everyone’s songs and he just put out some party bangers (and some not so good songs but hey). Akon actually came out back in the mid or late ’90s but made his name out there in the pop world in the 2000s. He gave us that tropical and international vibes in his songs. Also he is a big celebrate who gives back to his community back in Africa giving millions of dollars which is amazing. Plus he made Lady Gaga what she is so there is also that. Anyway Akon was just incredible and we need him to come back with some bangers for our 2017!

Nelly Fertado:

I’ve been a big Nelly Furtado fan since she first came out with I’m Like A Bird. Now I loved her sweet pop songs she was making on her first album with one of my favorite songs off that being Turn Off The Lights. She then around my middle school days teamed up with Timberland and got a little more out there with her music. Songs like Promiscuous Girl, that colab between Tim, Nelly and Justin and Man Eater. My favorite Timbo produced song is Say It Right which is just so amazing. She put out another album in 2012 with her songs like Big Hoops. She basically has just dropped out of the spotlight since to raise her son but I wish she would come back to us with something. Nelly is suppose to come out with an album in 2017 which is exciting so I hope she has good singles to dance to. She is incredible and I need new music ASAP!

Missy Elliot/Timberland:

Missy came out with a killer track in 2016 with Pharrell which was just phenomenal. After her big guest appearance on the 2015 Super Bowl half time show with Katy Perry she got all this buzz around her name by all the little kids of today who have no idea who she is. So I was like yes new music from my girl who made my middle school life. She put out the song and it was amazing but now I need an album full of radio singles to get us up and dancing like back in the day. I also need super weird music videos to accompany these songs too because they just go hand in hand. It has to be an album produced by Timbo and help to get his producing back because we need that too outside of JT albums. I wouldn’t even mind if Timbo put out an album of his own they weren’t all bad when he put them out in the past. Anyway Missy, Timbo, Pharrell even Magoo come back and grace us with magic in 2017! One up one down VA magic! (oh and make sure Tink comes back too she is fire!)

Travie McCoy/Gym Class Heroes:

Gym Class Heroes made a splash on the radio on the co-signing of Pete Wentz with Cupids Chokehold back in 2007-2008 which made me fall in love with this group and they became one of my favorite bands of all time as we hadn’t really heard a band like this on the radio in a long time. They had other hits on the radio like Stereo Hearts, Ass Back Home and Fighter among a few others. Travie McCoy came out with an album in 2010 with a summer radio smash in Billionaire (introducing us to an early Bruno Mars). Now Gym Class Heroes is a very underrated group in its self and most people only really know the radio hits because each one was such a summer hit. They haven’t come out with an album since 2012 with the Papercut Chronicals II which was amazing. Then Travie since 2013 has been putting out some solo stuff for his solo album that was suppose to come out multiple times since 2013 with his last song coming out in 2015 with Sia. So know it is time to come out with new music guys. Either a Travie solo album or a full Gym Class Heroes project I’m ready. I need new music from you guys because right now we are lacking hard on diversity on the radio and you guys would bring it to us. Travie McCoy can rap better then most rappers out today and its cool that they mix hip-hop with rock, pop and funk its really good. Come back in 2017 please!

Pearl Jam:

Pearl Jam are one of my favorite bands of all time and I need them to come back in 2017. Their last album to come out was Lighting Bolt back in 2012 which had really no radio singles at all. The last time they had a radio single was from their forth studio album Vitalogy with Betterman. Now the fact they haven’t had a single in a little over 20 years is crazy but if you think about them in their hay day with Ten and all the singles that came from that then I think they can come back and save rock radio. I mean rock radio is not going as bad as pop and hip-hop radio but it’s not doing great either. They play the same 10 songs all the time most of them from the ’90s and even when they do play new music it mostly sounds the same. Pearl Jam has always been ahead of the game and I feel they could come back and be the band to bring guitar riffs, drum solos and rockin vocals back to the radio. Pearl Jam Album 2017!

The Killers:

Ok I’m not the hugest Killers fan but I did listen to them a lot in middle school as my sister was really into them. I was really into Hot Fuss and Sam’s Town their first two albums and I loved them. The Killers are a mix between dance/alternative music and indie/alternative music. One of my favorite songs by them is Human. Anyway I would really appreciate if  they came back in 2017 and had the incredible singles like they did back in 2005-2006-2007 with songs like Mr. Brightside, Somebody Told Me, When You Were Young and Read My Mind. They would do wonders in our more digital sounding music would with all our electronic, synth, EDM sounds because they pretty much perfected it in the rock world in the early 2k with Somebody Told Me. Come back Killers and change (again) the radio rock world.

The Gorillaz:

The Gorillaz is a virtual group made by Damon Albarn the lead singer of the ’90s band Blur and Jamie Hewlett who does the drawings of the band. There a very eclectic group mixing rock, hip-hop, and electronica so their music has been played on all different kinds of radio stations. Their biggest time on the radio was on rock radio in 2005-2006 with the release of their album Demon Days and their singles DARE, Feel Good Inc., and El Manana. Now it is said they will be putting out a project this year which will be awesome and all though they didn’t really have any singles from their last albums The Fall or Plastic Beach they were great albums I still think they can come back and make some bomb radio hits.

Shakira:

Shakira’s last album in 2014 was self-titled and had some singles Can’t Remember to Forget You which I really liked, Empire and Dare (La, La, La). Now Shakira always has radio hits from her albums so she just needs to come back and change the pop game again with her Colombian flavor. Hook up with Wyclef again and get that flavor out there girl. Plus she even does pretty good ballets like Gypsy. But it is said she will be putting out music this year so that’s great. And she has done a few Spanish speaking songs while she has down time with her kids and husband and did the film Zootopia.

Well there you have it folks. I hope I will be seeing all of these acts around in 2017 & look forward to seeing what this year has in store for us musically.

Till Next Time…Save the Radio 2017!