We still in List Season but in mid January??????
Man nothing matters anymore so why should I have a deadline to be done with this shit - It's either you get it now or never get it because I never finish (or I secretly post ones that I never finish and don't tell anyone) lmao. But glad to be doing the former for y'all, as today, I wanted to give some love to one of my favorite scenes in the world - Jersey Club! (Jersey Club January Baby! lmao) This is now the 3rd annual Jersey Club list that I've done, which is crazy to think about - I always loved Jersey Club music since high school but like I never engrossed myself that much and put myself in the hell that I'm currently in until these past few years. And I say that like it's a bad thing.... But trust me, it's not - I've learned so much and I've got to see a scene flourish and evolve in real time, as Jersey Club is just exponentially getting bonkers as times goes on. Today, you'll learn about a shit load of producers, get your mind blown at least 3 times, and get sick of me finding ways to say that this shit is ridiculous - Trust me though, the music will be worth it. However enough stalling and here are my 100 favorite Jersey Club songs of 2023:
100. FńêTheproducer x Mg Burto x XanaxTP - Ludwig the accursed
Starting this off in the most chaotic way possible with names that you'll see a lot in this list. Miami's Mg Burto has been Jersey Club's "Wild Card" producer over the past couple of years, hopping on tunes with some of the scene's best in such a uniquely chaotic manner. Lately, it feels like Burto is passing on his knowledge and tips to younger budding producers like he's on some Obi Wan Kenobi shit, and the main padawan from the bunch would be easily Jersey's FńêTheproducer - Like this kid has turned Jersey Club into breakcore practically - Throwing jungle drum breaks, glitchy stutters and other influences that feel so alien to Jersey Club (which is saying a lot at this point); Stir in a crazy ass Bloodborne sample (a Jersey Club first?) and you get music perfectly suitable for the world we live in...
Shit makes me feel like a 2nd string high school linebacker who's never known for making good plays but because I can hit the running man hella crazy to this tune.
We're approaching the territory where we'll have to show all the producers on songs like Sky Sports MatchDay Starting 11 team sheets, as this is a nine and a half hypnotic prog Jersey Club tune from some of the scene's brightest emerging producers. There's too many damn things in here to talk about but give it a peep if you really want to see how internet-poisoned this shit is starting to become.
97. LETSGOYANII - My Friend
When it comes to breathing new life into irresistible oldies, there is no one on this list who has done this better than Jersey City's LETSGOYANII, LabSisterz 1st producer in command who's easily in the conversation for the most underrated producer in the scene. Here, you get this intoxicating line of strings that stalks you the entire song while Yanii is just out of their damn mind. The way they layer those vocal runs to where it flows so smoothly is mind boggling - Plus, that fucking groove man, oh my GOD; each new line of madness results in a new part of your body spazzing out where by the end of it, you're looking like Squidward at the talent show. Just a pure heater from one of Jersey's most unsung heroes.
96. Saint x DJ SN3S x FńêTheproducer - Jelly Fish Jam Cypher
This is what would've happened if the jellyfish gave Spongebob some laced shit instead at the pineapple rave lmao this shit is insane - Have to give a special shoutout to DJSn3s for that Harlem Shake callback; one of my favorite chops of the year lol
Sure, this was because of the Wednesday Adams show, but The Cramps getting a Jersey Club remix is truly some bizarre shit. The only two producers in the scene who could tackle that sample funnily enough are the ones on this song, as this is just insane. Lost my mind on Jay's part when Sugar Mama's boyfriend came in with his maniacal laugh - Just nothing about this should work but it does so well.
94. qua - B.O.R
Another producer who you can safely herald as a current pillar of the next generation of producers alongside Burto would easily be Jersey's qua. From the start, this kid has felt like a true chosen one to the scene, as receiving tutelage from some of Jersey's best like SteezTheProducer and 2napps when you're starting off almost feels like cheating. Seriously though that was the best thing to do, as qua molded into this whole different beast and each time he drops a project, it feels like Jersey Club is entering a new generation on some smartphone shit. This Clams Casino/Imogen Heap mirage of a callback is unlike anything else in club music and just shows how far he's taken it himself. Sheer insanity.
Jersey Club is so funny because like literally nothing is safe from being mixed - Like name me another genre that is taking On The Radar cyphers and making tunes out of them. Also, this is like just as good as "Bent" in my opinion - The high-energy old school feel here is such a fresh take on the NY rappers.
Ever wanted to know what it would sound like if you threw 50 Cent into a violent wind tunnel? Sure you did, so Jersey City club regular Da.waune got with budding newcomer Low make whatever the fuck this hellishly abrasive mess this is - Very in vein of producers like qua; that super dissonance-heavy left field sound that you'll see a lot on here.
91. ChillzNYC x yvngsolo x gangwalkk x ProdbyAbnormal x Mafia x Da.waune - Spongebob Cypher 2
Take a bunch of SpongeBob clips throughout numerous episodes and characters and have them do this surreal Royal Rumble to the death, as you have six of the best young producers duking it out to see who's the most insane. Hoy Minoy OyMoyMinoy.
90. HydroBoi - runninginthe90s
Philly's HydroBoi was easily one of 2023's best rising producers as this kid came out of nowhere in the most breakneck, fire-trail-following-behind-you Philly fashion possible, as these 220 bpm tracks are a great intro to his insanity. Here he has Takumi from Initial D take some methamphetamines before having to go deliver tofu as he's just driving off the damn mountain instead of dramatically drifting in slow motion. You'll have the jitters by the time this'll be done..
Two other newcomers that really made names for themselves this year are easily Philly's Loog and ProdbyAbnormal, both producers who really became popular due to their prominence on TikTok and I feel like they're the best examples of producers emerging initially from the Tok and then they make a splash into the scene. Crazy how that works. However for the song here, including ProdbyKRI, it feels like Gwen Stefani is a whack-a-mole emerging from various holes in the ground while you have the 3 producers just smacking the shit of her and the listener as well as this is a bombastic banger that have your rear view mirrors rocking off your car.
I don't think there's a single soul playing that damn flash game (also ain't flash dead fml), however that doesn't mean that there isn't a need for a sequel to one of my favorite club tunes of 2021 - More names that you'll see a lot on here later, however Georgia's wolfrum and Jersey's rrodney are two producers who should be considered as top tier in this scene at this point; The growth between the sequel and original is immense, however don't sleep on Florida's raverobber. I felt like this tune specifically was her coming-out party to the scene and since then, rave has been on a damn roll, slowly becoming one of Jersey Club's best outsider producers following a path very similar to wolfrum. Rave's part at the end changes the whole tune drastically and she just loses her damn mind. Incredible.
Man if I had a dollar for every time I said this, I could shut this blog down and move to Tibet, but this blasting-off-into-space-and-the-skin-on-your-face-is-ripping-off-of-your-skull sound that is so prevalent in Jersey Club is my favorite thing about this shit. From the Xbox achievement noise, to Call of Duty soundbites, to everything else being so overblown, qua and Da.waune show you why this is some of the best music in the world. Real driving fast in a school zone at 8pm type music.
If there were like a Jersey Club Tag Team Championship, I feel like ChillzNYC and yvngsolo (FKA Bumpin) would be multiple time winners on some Dudley Boyz shit. Both have such uniquely frenetic styles that complement each other so well, no wonder they have a bajillion collabs together. Here, they force Ice Spice and PinkPanthress to stick their fingers into a high voltage socket, as they are just glitching and malfunctioning over this really funky bassline where you have all these other sounds coming at you like that one video of the girl throwing a whole ass table at people. Still think Pink is just saying "Boy's Aaliyah" lmao.
Worthy of a spot on here solely because of the last 50 seconds thanks to Jersey insane asylum patient FńêTheProducer - I don't watch Cory Kenshin videos but I think this is a song about his plant? No idea but Fńê is in here throwing breakcore jungle breaks, more record scratches than a Jet Set Radio game, and more outlandish shit that, on paper, has NO place in Jersey Club music. Thankfully, this kid is proving that shit to be very very wrong.
Another Jersey Club Royal Rumble to show you how fried this genre is becoming on the daily, however, I'm starting to think that lil homie's family is dead...
Clara La San is one of those artists who feel like their music came from god just to be remixed by dudes in Jersey and one of the goats of the genre had to show us how it's done. I don't have the words to describe his style specifically but LilC4 is one of those producers whose vibe is distinguishable from the start - Just so lush, almost mysterious, like he's producing his in some magical grotto. No idea but he is one of the best who's bumped them triplets.
A late buzzer beater addition, but getting 2 of the best to ever do it remix some 2sdxrt3all is some Kevin Garnett ANYTHING IS POSSIBLEEEEEEEE type shit. Like we finally have a glimpse of what Dirtball's mind probably sounds like as Steez and 2napps conjure up this breakneck ditty that has you shaking like you just went 0-100 in a Hellcat. Just so incredibly chaotic and really does feel like it's going to have a psychotic break any second. Real straightjacket music.
It's simple, you put on an Ayoo Lyve song and by the end of it, you're just looking like
He's the closest to surrealism in Jersey Club, as he always takes these familiar samples and makes it so unfamiliar to even aliens from galaxies far away - Like even on this song, it sounds like Lauryn Hill is buzzing over a city in her Fugees spaceship as these robotic voices and ghastly pitches are so disorientating. I'm already like Peter by the end of this blurb.
Mary's another one of those artists whose music feels tailored for Jersey Club, as club regular GavinTheProducer demolishes this classic with a pretty simple, but endlessly booming rejuvenation. The way that deep vocal sample bellows over young Mary's crooning is such a gritty juxtaposition that sets the groove from the start.
79. HydroBoi x B Goodie - TANG IT smd cypher
This unlikely pairing between one of Jersey's best and one of the genre's new rising producers results in some of the most energetic music you can find, as this immediately turns your head into a pogo stick, violently oscillating due to the absurd tempo and intoxicating bounce. Anytime club music exceeds 200 bpm, it exudes this primal energy. Hence, you can't stop flailing your arms around as a sorry excuse for tanging and you're doing a days worth of exercise in those 3 minutes alone, so what's there not to love about this???
See, if the Fitness Gram Pacer Test was just like this, I would've never played hooky or ditched class but alas, this multi-man producer clash has absolutely no melody - It instead has that damn Male Siri ass voice and other memorable noises being decimated by muddy legions of bass and hip-shaking energy that would've gotten you run that mile in 2 minutes instead of 20.
The fact that there's a sequence here that's just Buzz Lightyear stating his name repeatedly on top of Coi Leray malfunctioning and Tom screams (a me special) and it's ONLY cracking the top 70 just shows you how batshit insane this genre truly is. When it comes to sampling nostalgia-heavy things, yvngsolo is easily one of the best in club to do it.
I think I say this every single time I put together a list of Jersey Club music, but seriously, it still holds that Jersey's JayIsFed is one of the most underrated producers in this whole scene. He's at that same level as a lot of current club stalwarts, but he's never mentioned with the rest of them, which is a travesty in my opinion. "smoove" is a tune where as soon as the first millisecond hits, you start moving every single bone in your body. The groove of that flangey guitar met with the surgically-precise flow from Jay just vaporizes the listener by the end. Give this dude some love!
You know damn well this was inevitable as hell but Brasil has now joined in on the fun? I'm a really weird dude so I'm kinda like a purist when it comes to club music, where I mostly care about the music coming from the usual cities, however when it's good as hell like this, it's hard for me to ignore. ICQ BABY is one of the many monikers of São Paulo magician Agazero, as the multi-faceted producer has now given their interpretation of Jersey Club, gilding it with the irresistible flair of funk. Sure, some of it has that template-y feel that has barred me from enjoying a lot of the internet's interpretation of club music, however the way they throw in funk motifs and how it just feels so effortless just makes it hard to ignore. The aptly-named "HEAVEN" really does feel like gliding through the clouds while angelic cherubs are guiding you with their Tiktok dance moves. Still very internet-y, however super unique and one of my favorite side projects from anyone on Soundcloud.
Easily the best duo in Jersey Club and god damn might just be the best duo in electronic music period - You think I give a fuck about an Overmono? Burto and Fne is the closest we'll ever see a wizard chopping it up with their apprentice, doing magic spells and wreaking havoc upon the world. I'll go ahead and say it that they've molded an entire subgenre of Jersey Club themselves, as this is the most chaotic and apocalyptic iteration of it yet. Again, Fne is throwing breakcore amen breaks with FL Slayer guitars like it's a normal Thursday afternoon while Burto seriously just doesn't want you to hear ever again as he's slathering bass on everything like it's BBQ sauce. Add in the GOAT Grim Reaper and you have one of many "WHAT THE FUCK" moments from these two this year.
Sure, let Lil Yachty talk like he's 47 years old listening to the Urban Outfitters playlist, but he always saves his ass putting out a good song and "Holster" was that lifeline from that oldhead this year - Give that song to one of Jersey's best, rrodney, let him throw that song around and give it his signature pulsating feel, and you'll start doing suicides down the pews at church. Top 10 remixer in the world idgaf.
Easily the best surprise (I guess it really isn't a surprise to some, but to me, it was) to Jersey Club this year was the addition of Jersey rapper/producer maajins - You've probably seen their name over the years in various notable SoundCloud rap hits, however while still making music in that vein, he's joined the likes of qua and Steez making some of the most batshit Jersey Club music out there. Here, he takes an old XXX song that samples Kate Havnevik and turns it into this fast-paced, running-on-water number that is just so stupidly groovy. You'll see his name a few more times on here, but he's easily one of the best newcomers to the scene and someone to keep y'all's eye on!
Another DJ that has such a unique feel to their sound is Rahway's LEAKTHEDJ - His music always has this final-boss-that-has-4238-forms aura to it, as it's always so dramatic no matter what he samples. Here, he is taking a deeeeeeep cut by sampling the highly underrated mid-2000s cartoon The Boo Crew and puts it over this smoky jazz ditty that has you chain smoking outside of a 50's diner. The "Let's Bounce Son" guiding the track through the smoke is just so infectious and it's just another great song belonging to a repertoire of one of Jersey's best.
You know when you mix like all the food coloring bottles together and it just makes this dark murky mess that looks almost sludge-like? This is honestly what this song feels like to me - Everything is barely decipherable, while 2napps and Jern do not give a fuck, throwing layers and layers of bass and distortion that has you just frozen in disbelief. It's like looking at a really old photo that has so much wear and tear to it where you can barely see the person depicted - They're doing the same thing here, but like....deliberately lmao
Another appearance from Philly's Loog, as this cut off of his 2nd album of 2023 CountyFloat features one of Jersey's most underrated producers LETSGOYANII - These two work in perfect harmony as they take Kelis and put her on this angelic white cloud and let her graciously float down to earth, as this mix between the light and mellow piano sad girl instrumental and the hard hitting nature of both producers is such a unique experience. Yanii's part at the end.....my god...
Real ones remember this one from NBA 2k16. Burto teams up with one of the best in Jersey, Ayoo Lyve to make an absolutely insane remix of the DJ Mustard track. Of course, this track has Lyve end it, and that's seriously like giving the ball to your best guy with 10 seconds left to go in the game. You just know they're going to deliver and they sure as hell do as the tone immediately shifts into something more grandiose and serious when they come in. The random glimpses of LL Cool J, Doja Cat, and the Ting Tings blaze past you in such a jarring manner and it feels like Lyve is the final boss here to beat you ass. Banger.
65. ug - bayonetta
Another outsider to the club scene that really made waves in 2023 was Seattle's ug - They follow a similar trajectory to someone like raverobber, breaking through their respective internet circles and really hanging it with some of club's best. Here, they take the Platinum Games classic and throw it in for a whirlwind, as this is like watching someone really good at those games wreck shit and get the highest ranks and everything (I am really bad at them unfortunately). That part towards the end that has that bass that sounds like it was snatched from a BNYX beat adds so much more ferocity and really shows the impeccable chops of this rising producer.
Jersey's Tang is another super young producer who just doesn't seem to have a ceiling yet, as they just keep dropping crazier and crazier shit as time goes on. His style is so fast-paced and frantic, listening to his music for more than 5 minutes seriously gives you the jitters lmao. Here, he reimagines the legendary T-Pain school dance banger with an alternate version where he was accidentally given ayahuasca in the studio before recording it. The melody Tang accompanies the tweaking T-Pain with almost feels like those multidimensional shapes that we really can't fathom, as it's just so incredibly complex and ear-mashing. This the version they play probably in the space clubs over there on Planet Xeonion #5 or some shit.
Fun Fact: The "PROJECT PROJECT X X X X" you hear in most of MCVERTT's beats comes from fellow member Px.Temp, as he is an incredibly member of that crew. Here, he takes this afrobeat instrumental and turns it into this club tune that sounds like something a Jersey jester would be rocking to in front of the King of Newark as entertainment. He adds so much bounce to it (no shit) and really makes this infinitely replayable. PROJECT PROJECT X...X..X...X..X
Linden's PURR.XD is a producer who should be everyone's go-to when it comes to club music that sounds like the literal fucking apocalypse. He took the prevalent aggressive HBK style of the early 2020s and cultivated his own insane style out of it, making him one of the most interesting Jersey Club producers to keep up with over the years. While their output wasn't as superfluous compared to previous years, PURR still pops his head in every now and again to let us know that he still hasn't lost it. With "IM THE 1 YOU NEED," this feels almost like this weird emo offshoot of Jersey Club that is so just abrasive; the slow tempo helps too as it feels like this giant monolith slowly taking steps, causing earthquakes in their path. Real sad shit to listen to you if you want to blow your windows out and piss off everybody outside.
Another appearance from Miss Yanii where once again, she is just demolishing another classic - This time, she's taking Black Rob and putting him on one of those NASA centrifuges, where he's woah'ing from every single possible direction, about to fling out the atmosphere. Yani just makes music that gets you to make the stank face - They always find innovative ways to take their material and make them stand out amongst a sea of other producers in her area. One of the best for real.
I feel like the only two people that could take the hilarious ramblings of Charleston White and make it sound like the scariest, most threatening thing on earth would be these two. As previously mentioned, maajiins has really made a name for himself in Jersey Club in such a short period of time, and when you pair them up with one of the best, qua, you just know you are about to be sideswiped by some absolutely bonkers shit. The whole song sounds like it's coming from a particle accelerator, as it's coming with such a suffocating ferocity, you are just reduced to smithereens. Throw in all of the other subtle samples and callbacks over the catastrophic calamity, you'll be leaving the club looking like the grandma Spongebob was trying to sell chocolates to...
58. RetroJ - OULL
South Jersey's RetroJ is a master of the craft of "doing more with less." He has one of the most distinguishing and unique styles in the humongous stratosphere that is Jersey club with his hugely barebones and trapped-inside-of-an-empty-church sound that still sticks out like an NBA player at a little clown convention. Here, Retro takes that iconic choral sample from that one rap guy that was vaporized a long time and accompanies that bellowing and ominous line with sampling that feels like it's coming from those bullet vests Rambo would be shooting from. Everything feels so hushed in a sense but it just adds to the insanity. Like they say, RetroJ, you so crazy!
57. hiei - 2B
hiei is another producer who just came out of nowhere this year, boasting a lot of video game inspired club tunes that are so incredibly well-made. The best out of the bunch in my opinion is this Nier-callback "2B" that takes the stupidly dramatic soundtrack and transforms it into this little-drummer-boy-ass choppy mess that could get any one of the nerds that unlocked all 234957386457 endings of the game to move like they're prime MCVERTT. Another instance to my claim that they are making these producers out of a fucking factory, the way they show up so frequently and with so much quality as well.
Here, you got somebody getting their ass whooped by allergies while Burto is suffocating you with bass only that he could conjure up. Then you have these fucking ridiculous tempo fluctuations that feel like jumping onto a treadmill going 800 mph. You're holding on for dear life until you're a pile of bones, as you're just ravaged by the time Burto says it's done. One of one.
I'm at the point of writing this where I'm ctrl+f'ing my whole doc to make sure I'm not saying "newcomer" a bajllion times, yet once again, we got another newcomer to the scene this year and here, he's with one of the juggernauts of Jersey. gangwalkk only started making tunes a few months ago, however from his recent output during the summer, you can't tell that at all because this dude is really shaping up to be something special. Now bring in one of Jersey Club's best this generation, rrodney, give them both a super somber piano ballad, and without fail, this is gonna be a good one. Gang starts it off forcefully, dictating that "Now rock..." like a well oiled machine, but it's parts like this that really makes me think rrodney is the best in Jersey right now. When he comes in, the sample gets super Paulstretchy, feeling like you're frozenly alone in space, and rrodney is the speeding ship blasting past you, as he doesn't miss a beat here. When it comes to atmosphere, hands down one of the best of the year.
In a genre chock-full of frenzied chaos, it can be a bit hard at times to find some sense of serenity, however there's a single producer who makes up for it all. I've been keeping up with Georgia's wolfrum ever since they were 15 making Roblox and Minecraft remixes, and now 3 years later, they've become THE producer who has meshed ambient soundscapes and clubby goodness to absolute perfection. There should be a picture of a wolf from Minecraft next to "atmosphere" in the encyclopedia, because there's seriously no one who can touch wolfrum in the spectrum of club music. Here, they bring along gangwalkk with them, as this song perfectly encapsulates that cover art - Watching the sun set over a tranquil body of water. Both producers sound like they're just gliding over the water with how light this feels. Seriously, there's no one like wolfrum right now. Get in the know.
53. HONCHO - ok
Especially since this new club boom started, there's been an influx of anonymous newcomers and the most "out there" that I've come across is easily HONCHO, a nameless figure in the scene who seems more like a Jersey Club alchemist rather than just a plain ol' producer. Their sound is very "qua-adjacent," as the best that I can describe it is that it is like a dream - So much is happening in such a short period of time; you can barely comprehend what is even happening, so you have to give yourself some time to collect yourself and figure out what the fuck is going on. This Warriors-influenced track exhibits that lucid state greatly, as everything feels so distant and indescribable, however after a few listens, you know that this kid is cooking. In terms of sound, one of the most unique producers around making club music.
I try my hardest to give "normalcy breaks" because I know I really do be throwing a buncha bullshit at y'all most of the time, so here's one of them: The best K-Pop group around being remixed by one of the most important producers in Jersey's Club development, DJ Sliink. This one is so simple, stripping back the original and turning it into something that can turn any dancefloor into an Ozzfest moshpit. So good.
I think everyone knows now that Jersey Club and TikTok go well together like streaming services and exploitation, and I think out of any song on this list, this is the perfect embodiment of the two cultural giants coming together. That whole NPC shit on Tiktok was a fever dream - seriously one of the strangest things I have ever seen, as you have just 1000s of folks just sitting in front of their phones, meeting every strange demand from victims of carpal tunnel syndrome. French Canadian Pinkydoll is probably the most recognizable figure from that side of the internet, and you know it was just a matter of time she was gonna be put on a club song and GOOD LORD. Take the weird charm of Lo-fi Beats to Study To, add on a bunch of NPC soundbites, and now you got just an absolute abomination. But it's a good abomination though! Jersey Club at times can really blur the lines between shitpost and legitimately good club music, and this tune from these 4 is one of those flagship examples. So good.