I’ve always been the type of person to associate music with certain events or phases of my life. My freshman year, 2016, was the phase of my life where I went to a lot of frat parties, which is probably why I think it was the best year for frat party music. In my defense, some musical gems came out of 2016.

The main reason why 2016 was such a good year for frat music is because a lot of famous rap artist started to gain their fame that year. Rap music seemed to be everywhere on social media and new artists were making their way onto the music scene.

Two artists that really started to rise in 2016 were Lil Uzi Vert and Post Malone. Lil Uzi had released some singles and mix-tapes before the release of Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World in April 2016, but they didn’t get as much attention. Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World peaked on the US charts at number 37. Two of his more popular songs, “Money Longer” and “You Was Right,” were both frat party anthems in 2016 and were both featured on the album. Uzi seemed to be a UK favorite that year and even performed here then.

Post Malone was pretty much unknown up until 2016. After the release of his debut album Stoney in December 2016, his rap career really started to take off. He has since been nominated for more than 30 music awards and won favorite male artist, top rap song, and song of the year. Stoney went 3x platinum and “Congratulations” peaked at number 8 on the charts, hence why you heard it at every tailgate in 2016.

A really large trend on social media in 2016 was the “mannequin challenge,” a challenge where you would have to stand still (like a mannequin) during the beginning portion of “Black Beatles” by Rae Sremmurd. Even though I never participated in the challenge myself, the words “that girl is a real crowd pleaser” will always get me hype.

Other rap artist were also heavily praised in 2016 and it contributed to the party music. Drake released Views in April of that year and the song “One Dance” was the third most popular song in 2016. DRAM also made his introduction on the charts with “Broccoli,” peaking at number 34 on the year-end charts – this one will always remind me of freshman year.

If you would like to see my 2016 frat party playlist, look up “2016 party bangers” on Spotify. It has all the essentials.