2023 Year End

Position. Artist-Album Title- Explanation *Favorite Song

EP- Tyler the Creator- The Estate Sale- A nice EP to extend an already amazing album. The Estate Sale sees Tyler writing high level raps with more reflection than I was prepared for. While technically the deluxe version of Call Me If You Get Lost, I often listened to Estate Sale as its own body of work and its too good to not bring up. *Sorry Not Sorry

Sleeper- Ab-Soul- Herbert- The Black Lip Pastor sometimes catches a hard break from me. I compare his newest albums to the way that Control System made me feel as a teenager. Both Soulo and I have grown since then and this album is a perfect testament to that. For the first time in his career Soul drops the overthinking and headiness of his past albums to talk about his life. A much needed update from the recluse of the TDE roster. *Do Better (if you need help please call someone)

HM- Rick Ross and Meek Mill- Too Good To Be True- Maybach Music was a staple of my teenage years and to see these two back together makes me happy. The album sounds like two friends went into the studio and just whipped something up, which is great but also the downfall of the album. It doesn’t feel planned out, there are several records that sound like left overs that have been laying around for a while and Meek and Ross never truly get all the way in their bag and talk that talk. * Go To Hell

10- Larry June- The Great Escape- This album is a vibe! I originally couldn’t get all the way into it then one day I was riding down Lake Shore Drive with my sunroof open listening to the luxurious Uncle Al production and it all clicked. The specificity of the vibe is the only thing that holds this project back as I was never the hugest fan of an entire chill album which I associate with the likes blog era artists like Curren$y and LE$, but this one connected with me. *Barragan Lighting

9- Mike and Wiki- Faith Is A Rock- I am truly becoming a back pack hip hop fan. I have never been this deep down in the back pack before though. I am a baby in these waters. It started this year with the Earl album, I then migrated to the Danny Brown album and eventually found this Mike and Wiki album. I think it is the mixture of Uncle Al’s beats, Wiki’s unique voice and of course the BARS * Mayors a Cop

8- EST Gee- El Toro 2- Big Gee does it again. He is able to balance the street album with some experimenting, without stretching it too far. My problem with street albums is that they can often become monotonous to me, but the Louisville rapper stretches his discography in some interesting ways on this album including songs like Toast and the Moment With series. *I Like

7- Reason- Porches- Reason beefing with TDE as part of his roll out was not on my bingo card, but makes perfect sense. TDE has fumbled this second generation (and yall better not fail Doechii! She’s clearly a star) and it is arguable what their treatment of their now legacy artists has done to their careers. Reason is a great artist and creates an extremely well balanced album. The only issue with it is that nothing feels necessarily fresh, even down to the patriarchal west coast interludes. *I Don’t Trust You!   

6-  Doja Cat- Scarlet- An incredibly talented artist struggling with fame is usually a good recipe for artistry and here the equation turns out true again. I was initially disappointed in the album, because it was rumored that Doja was putting out an amazing hip hop hip hop (if you know the tonal sound I am making in repeating those words you are a true head) album. Instead in Scarlet we get Doja attempting a balance of both worlds of pop rap and boom bap beats. It doesn’t always work but when it does you are in for a great listen (the run from Paint the Town Red to Ouchies is great pop rap while the run from Cant Wait to WYM Freestyle is more underground hip hop based) *Love Life

5-  Drake- For All the Dogs Scary Hours Edition- We have to thank Joe Budden for bullying Drake into releasing this version. Without the added songs where Drake is really rapping rapping this album is sub-par. Full of cringey moments such as dissing Esperanza Spalding and weird punchlines about former countries like Yugoslavia. I came to an understanding of this album not as fast food raps, as he is still Drizzy and can rap but more like chipotle raps. Something quick and thoughtless, not planned or truly nourishing. That is until the scary hours edition dropped, now its like adding wagyu to my chipotle steak burrito. Sitting at almost 30 songs one could make a great album out of the pieces. *Bahamas Promises/Stories About My Brother

4-  Conway The Machine- Wont He Do It- The Griselda team had a relatively quiet year with Benny taking more time with his forthcoming album and Westside putting out an album that shifts away from the Griselda formula. But with having a three headed monster over there, Conway comes and saves the day with an album full of more challenging beats (I wouldn’t know how to approach Brucifix). Conway makes it all work somehow and gets some amazing bars off. * Flesh of My Flesh

3- Mick Jenkins- The Patience- I have been watching Mick Jenkins since he dropped his amazing mixtape the Water[s] almost a decade ago. He has continued to make great music with electric writing and concepts, but hadn’t truly put together a head turning project as a whole until now. Mick went on to acknowledge this and blame it on the lack of control he had over his career and claims to be in a much better position now. If this album is proof of his control than he has his career  firmly in his hands. Filled with amazing bars, concepts and chill jazz infused beats- the album is great. *Pasta  

2- Noname-  Sundial- The eclectic socialism sister comes back with another amazing project. In this album we see Noname struggling with the demographics of her fan base (mostly white) while attempting to forge a community within it. This can be seen in the track ballons which features Jay Electronica, a fervent member of the NOI. Her featuring an NOI member upset certain members of her fan base due to the organizations history of antisemitism. Other fans saw it as a continuation of Noname’s pro-black lyricism. This album proves that two things can be correct at the same time. Noname can be a true lyricist dealing with complex matters while embodying a more upbeat, happy demeanor at the same time. She can be problematic while preaching the benefits of an anti-capitalist life. Also, her second tinydesk performance is amazing *balloons (she ate me up on her second verse in regards to sad albums).

I started doing this in 2013 and to see how far I have come since then is crazy. Thank you all for riding with me as I figure this thing called life out through the medium of hip hop. 2023 was crazy and who knows what 2024 will be, but I know I will have no doubt I will have something to say.

1- Killer Mike- Michael- A truly introspective hip hop album which firmly sees itself in the vain of southern rap. What Killer Mike has done over the years under the name of Run The Jewels has been amazing, but fat boy takes some time to sit back and tell the world what he has been going through during that same time. There are some truly beautiful moments on this album (please watch the live performance of Motherless on the Tonight Show) there are also some concepts I have never seen like Something For Junkies written out of respect for those battling addiction and acknowledge Killer Mike’s own role in their struggles.  *Scientists and Engineers