The 2023 Remix Report Card: Final Grades
I have been doing the Remix Report Card since 2007, and my criteria for what remixes to cover has remained pretty much consistent that entire time: I'm mostly covering official remixes of rap singles, or R&B/pop remixes featuring rappers, but I will occasionally include other genres, noteworthy remixes of album tracks, etc.
The number of remixes I've found to include has varied wildly from year to year, though. In the early years, I covered about 40 remixes a year, but in the mid-2010s that number shrank to under 30 a year, to the point that the column nearly died because I was starting to worry there wasn't enough going on to write about. Then, the numbers really started climbing in the last few years: I covered over 70 remixes in 2020, and this year for the first time I covered over 100 remixes in one year (here's Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3 and Vol. 4 with grades and best verses for each remix).
Female rappers were a big part of the explosion of remixes this year. Sexyy Red guested on 8 remixes, Latto on 6, Lola Brooke on 6, Kaliii on 4 -- NLE Choppa is the only male rapper who guested on more than 2 remixes this year. My main year-end singles list includes a couple remixes ("Put It On Da Floor Again" and "Boy's A Liar Pt. 2") that firmly eclipsed the original songs, so I left those off of this list. Here's the massive Spotify playlist of every remix I covered in 2023, it's almost 6 hours long.
The 20 Best Remixes of 2023:
1. "Kill Bill (Remix)" by SZA featuring Doja Cat
2. "Point Me 2" by FendiDa Rappa featuring Cardi B
3. "Billie Eilish (Legends Mix)" by Armani White featuring Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, and N.O.R.E.
4. "No Love (Shemix)" by J.K. Mac featuring Flo Milli, Trina and Maiya The Don
5. "Peaches & Eggplants (Remix)" by Young Nudy featuring Sexyy Red and Latto
6. "Rocketman (Remix)" by Boosie Badazz featuring Jeezy and Kodak Black
7. "Sweet Yamz" by Fetty Wap featuring Charlie Wilson and Ronald Isley
8. "Pound Town 2" by Sexyy Red & Tay Kieth featuring Nicki Minaj
9. "Cuff It (Wetter Remix)" by Beyonce
10. "Rodeo (Remix)" by Lah Pat featuring Flo Milli
11. "Area Codes (850 Remix)" by Kaliii featuring Luh Tyler
12. "Sins (Let Me In) (Remix)" by Kanii featuring Trippie Redd
13. "Hell N Back (Remix)" by Bakar featuring Summer Walker
14. "Don't Think You Ever Loved Me (Remix)" by Tyrese featuring Jeezy and 2 Chainz
15. "Slut Me Out (Remix)" by NLE Choppa featuring Sukihana
16. "FreakyT (Remix)" by TiaCorine featuring Latto
17. "Conceited (Remix)" by Flo Milli featuring Lola Brooke and Maiya The Don
18. "Bed Time (Remix)" by Flo Milli featuring Monaleo and Gloss Up
19. "ICU (Remix)" by Coco Jones featuring Justin Timberlake
20. "Gun Class II" by MudBaby Ru featuring Nardo Wick and G Herbo
The 10 Worst Remixes of 2023:
1. "I'm Geekin (Remix)" by DDG featuring NLE Choppa and BIA
2. "Creepin' (Remix)" by Metro Boomin featuring Diddy, The Weeknd and 21 Savage
3. "All My Life (Remix)" by Lil Durk featuring Stray Kids
4. "She's A 10, But... (Remix)" by ARTAN featuring Yung Gravy
5. "Mine (Remix)" by WanMor
6. "Princess Diana (Remix)" by Ice Spice featuring Nicki Minaj
7. "Sweet Yamz" by Fetty Wap featuring Wiz Khalifa
8. "Don't Play With It (Remix)" by Lola Brooke featuring Latto and Yung Miami
9. "Link Up (Remix)" by Ne-Yo featuring Fabolous
10. "Sittin' On Top Of The World (Remix)" by Burna Boy featuring 21 Savage