A playlist for filling out your March Madness Bracket

there’s one thingThe March Madness field was set in stone last Sunday and now everyone in America is scrambling to fill out their bracket. There are an endless number of strategies you can use to pick the games. You can copy a so-called expert, or you can do something a little less serious. Whatever you go with, you’ll need a playlist to bump while you scribble. This basketball mix-tape — or at least basketball-adjacent mix-tape — will give you all the inspiration you need.

Kyle – Sunshine: Start with this euphonic collaboration between Kyle and Miguel, because it’s the official track of ESPN’s Sonic Blockbuster campaign for the 2017-18 college basketball season. Exactly zero minutes of the college season take place during the summer, but that doesn’t matter when a song is this catchy.

J Cole – Carolina On My Mind: Next up is J Cole’s tribute to his home state, which name-drops the Tar Heel nickname. If there’s one thing North Carolina is known for, it’s college basketball. The UNC Tar Heels are the defending March Madness champs, and between UNC and Duke, North Carolina has won 13 national titles, second-most in the country. Not bad for a state with 10 million people.

The Game – Red Bottom Boss: “These n***as gettin’ pooped on/While I get my Duke on, and crossover like Duhon.” The Chris Duhon reference was kind of dated when this song was released back in 2012. Duhon played at Duke from 2000-04. But apparently Duke has been really good pretty much that whole time, qualifying for March Madness every year since 1996.

Tyga – Chiraq to LA: “Southpaw and we in the gym/Tryna be a baller? End up like Flip in Above The Rim.” Spoiler alert, Birdie kills Flip. Second spoiler alert: your weird uncle’s bracket is going to kill yours.

Future – March Madness: Alright, this song has nothing to do with basketball, but the certified platinum track from 2015 is still one of Future’s best, and its message of frustration (over police brutality) still resonates today, when gun control is the new insanity. Plus, if it’s taking you more than four songs to fill out your bracket, you’re putting way too much thought into it.