2017 Year End
Now that 2017 is over I’d like to give you my annual edition of the top 10 hip hop albums of the year. This will be my 5th year doing this so I thank all of you for rocking wit me and caring about the opinion of some random dude on your facebook feed. This year was a really good year in Hip hop. At some point I had a 5 way tie for the honorable mention spot including albums from N.E.R.D, Brockhampton, Calvin Harris (S/o Amanda Johnson), and J.I.D. But aint no ties in this race!! *Kanye shrug* Without further ado the format is as follows:
# Artist- Album (Description) *favorite song*
Best Mixtape of the year
Dave East- Paranoia: A True Story ( The past two years Dave East has been making a lot of noise. Heralded as the return of NYC street rap by many of the old heads, including the pen that wrote Ether: Nasty Nas. East has dropped a couple tapes that have been good but this tape stands head and shoulders above all of them. This is largely due to the fact that East balances a more popularized production sound with his golden era flow and bars. In this tape we get pop radio records like The Chris Brown assisted “Perfect”, traditional sample heavy New York raps like “Have You Ever”, and bass boosted street records like the Jeezy assisted Paranoia) *Phone Jumpin*
Before moving on I want to give a MAJOR shoutout to Lil Wayne- Dedication 6 I haven’t lived with this mixtape long enough to include it on this list but it is an AMAZING tape with Wayne rapping like he has something to prove.
Honorable Mention- Smino- blkswn (Smino carries on the lineage of melodic St. Louis rappers started by Nelly and Chingy which ruled my ENTIRE childhood. Where Smino differs is that his melodies and rhyme patterns can often be a little Avant garde. This experimental nature can both push people into the tape and pull them away. Initially I only liked his more traditional Tory Lanez/Drake Rap/R&B songs ie “Wild Irish Roses” and “blkswn” However, in coming back to these songs I kept coming back to the project and eventually started catching on to the BARS he was dropping which are often multi-syllabic alliterations within a dope concept. This is very much a project to ride to while having incredible depth and complexity in the latter half. The only detriment is that it is a little long for an introduction to an artist.) *Amphetamine ft Noname (specifically the second half of the beat)*
#10- G Herbo- Humble Beast ( G Herbo once known as Lil Herb is a product of the Drill Music bubble. We all knew drill music with its incredibly violent lo-fi production was not a genre that would last long but brought a lot of shine to Chicago. In many ways Chance, Vic Mensa, Mick Jenkins and Noname are indebted to Drill music for also putting them on the map. Within this bubble there were two artists who those paying attention knew had a potential to survive: Lil Herb and Lil Bibby. On the formers debut album we see an artist who balances unpolished irreverent street songs ie “I Like” and “Everything” with great concepts and poised execution ie “Malcolm” which is one of the best narrative driven street records ive ever heard. The pain in G Herbo’s voice is what sets this album apart from a lot of the trap albums on this list with Herbo constantly shouting out his dead friends-- for whom he has named his last 3 mixtapes. With more time I can see the 22 year old rapper moving up in the echelon of rappers) *Street*
#9- Meek Mill- Wins and losses (The lead up to this album is one of the biggest triumphs this year, especially acknowledging the major L he had taken to the Champaign Papi himself: Drake. An AMAZING mixtape in DC4, 2 solid Eps with Meekend Music, and 2 GREAT flex Freestyles preceeded this album. The concept of the album matches the title with huge club records ie “F*** That Check Up” and “Glow up” positioned next to pain filled tales of the struggle ie “Heavy Heart” and “Save Me”. The problem with this album is length and sequencing. Sitting at 17 songs -- 19 songs for deluxe version—Meek isn’t able to carry my attention all the way across the finish line. This is partly due to the HORRIBLE sequencing of this album which would put the hypest songs next to his slowest songs, repeatedly making it almost impossible for you to get through the album without skipping. Despite this Meek’s honesty, vulnerability, and fiery passion make his lyrics hit harder with every listen #FreeMeek) *1942 Flows*
#8 Stormzy- Gang Signs & Prayer (Who knew England had more than “Mans not hot”?! Stormzy comes from across the pond spitting nothing but fire emojis. I haven’t been able to get into the UK grime scene despite several tries. Stormzy distinguishes himself on this album by being able to stick to his grime roots but also dropping the bpms --beats per minute-- to an American hip hop standard and sometimes even further into gospel/R&B beats. It is his ability to go from talking about chatting up peng tings to Road man tings to somehow also talking about God tings. He balances these very different genres and topics almost perfectly) *Cigarettes and Cush ft Kehlani*
#7 Rick Ross- Rather You Than Me (The Boss comes back this year with what is arguably his best album since Teflon Don. Rozay makes the listener feel like a drug kingpin in the best way possible. His production can go from floor length chinchillas and marble floor foyers on “Santorini Greece” and “Lamborghini Doors” to dangerous dim lit alleys on the Jeezy, Yo Gotti, and Future assisted “Dead Presidents”. You cant talk about this album without mentioning the railing of Birdman on “Idols Become Rivals” which may have been the nail in the coffin to the respek on Birdman’s name) *Santorini Greece*
#6 Tyler the Creator- Flower Boy (This album may be the most commercially successful album that Tyler has seen selling over 105,000 copies after an almost 2 week leak. This beat out Meek Mills album which is a huge moment in hip hop with an artist who was once seen as a fringe cult following artist beating out a top tier traditional hip hop street lyricist. However, it had to grow on me. I was used to the loud raucous irreverent Tyler from his previous projects including Cherry bomb-- moment of honesty congratulations I played myself by not putting Cherry Bomb on my list a couple years ago Smuckers is one of the best songs of this decade, fight me bro-- Tyler slows everything down here choosing to focus more on melody rather than spitting the coldest 16 you’ve ever heard. I honestly don’t have to make an argument for the greatness of this album go watch Tyler’s NPR tiny desk performance NUFF SAID) *November*
#5 Migos- Culture (If you disagree with this youre probably Joe Budden. Tracks 2 through 6 completely ran the clubs/radio all 2017. Lord Quavius sang some of the most memorable hooks of the year on top of Offset laying FIRE bars and folding Cardi B into the family….. Takeoff was there too I guess. Theres not much to say for this album besides the Migos were being the Migos and dropping trap anthem after strip club anthem after club banger) *Deadz ft 2 Chainz*
#4 Rapsody-Laila’s Wisdom ( This has been a huge year for women in rap. The top of the rap game has got some much needed diversification with The rise of Cardi B, Remy Ma, Kash Doll, and Rapsody. Laila’s Wisdom is the lyrical magnum opus of the years women’s movement. The album starts as a good back pack rap tape with Rapsody flexing her lyrical muscles—like on “Power” when she out raps Kendrick-- But when you get to track 5 the album becomes FAR more with the lyrics becoming more introspective, the concepts becoming more nuanced, and the beat selection building gravitas. This album is amazing and would have been higher up had her TDE influences not been so apparent. At times the songs sound like To Pimp A Butterfly leftovers—which does not speak to a lack of quality. She can also sound a little like Jay Rock in her more aggressive flows. Despite these little nitpicky things the albums has been incredibly well received by critics being on most end of the year lists I have seen. Now we just gotta get people to buy it. ) *Black and Ugly*
#3 Jay Z- 4:44 (I had a tough time placing this album. I knew it was between 2 and 4. Jay-z narrowly beats out Rapsody here not due to the music but rather the influence and importance of the album. At almost 50 Hov bears his soul on this album leading 4:44 to be dubbed by some as the first Sean Carter album. Jay-z has been in this game for over 20 years operating at the heights of hip hop. For him to be able to pivot into the subject matter of this album speaks to his greatness as an artist. It is also important to talk about the ageism in hip hop and contras the reception of this album to the lukewarm reception of Eminem’s latest effort. Hovito proves that older artists can still succeed without chasing a sound. My only complaints in the musicality of the album is that the beats can at some points dont match the CEO of the R-O-C’s lyrical prowess/onslaught and the roll out of the album for tidal users left the last 3 songs of the album off. Without the added 3 songs the album leaves you wanting a little more. Nonetheless Jigga mans lyricism alone almost carries him to the top of every list) *Adnis*
#2 Big K.R.I.T- 4eva Is A Mighty Long Time (This is the most ambitious single project of the year—When talking about ambition you have to mention the Saturation series by Brockhamptom which put out 3 projects this year. But as 1 project K.R.I.T drop what could basically be 2 different projects in one album. The Big K.R.I.T side gives you what we have come to expect of the Mississippi rapper: production so southern that its the sonic equivalent to hot water cornbread and Okra, Bass that somehow rattles your headphones, and high quality lyricism. The perfect example of this working on all three levels is “Get Up 2 Come Down” which sounds like it came straight out the Dungeon in Atlanta. But K.R.I.T then elevates the album astronomically when he gets to the Justin Scott side-his real name. At this point the album becomes incredibly personal and musically amazing. Covering topics including his faith, his southern lineage, problems with his own artistry, and alcoholism. I honestly have no drawbacks to this album its just a great album) *Bury Me in Gold*
If you’ve made it this far I want to give a special s/o to you. I feel like every year these things get longer and longer to write but I honestly enjoy just writing all these thoughts out. So thank you all for reading the ramblings of a guy with a whole bunch of opinions and no actual credibility in hip hop. But before I move on I want to point out that while my love for Hip hop is second only to my love for Jamilia Ane' Davis. Hip Hop did not have the best album of the year. It was R9&B- If you don’t like SZA’s album you don’t deserve your ears. This is on top of Daniel Caesar’s and Bruno Mars albums. For a genre that I thought was quickly dying R&B ran 2017.
#1 Kendrick Lamar- DAMN (While not my favorite Kendrick album it is still an amazing body of work. I look to Kendrick to do the unexpected and after 3 heavy conceptual albums K dot does the unexpected and draws back on the concept and brings BANGERS. Hidden within these bangers are still messages regarding race and religion that we unwittingly sing while it plays in the club. Not only does Kendrick bring consciousness to the club with this album but it also gave him credibility to be in G.O.A.T conversations. No this album did not certify him as the gratest of all time but it did allow him to cross the threshold in which you will not be laughed at in bringing his name up. I count 2 classics in his discography and zero trash albums. Another strong outing from kung fu Kenny as he continues to put an amazing career together) *FEEL.*
If you read all that jumble I pray that your 2018 is as good as Cardi B’s 2017