2024 Year End

Sleeper- Black Star- No Fear of Time- But, Alex this came out in 2022! Well I didn’t know about it! The albums isnt available on streaming services and to hear it I actually had to buy a zip file and download it to my phone like it was 2009. But with all that said these legacy hip hop acts keep proving that they still got it! (Take a listen to LL Cool J’s newest album, Method Man’s latest feature run, and I would not be surprised if Snoop & Dre make it on to my list next year). Black Star continues a legacy of lyricism with a pan-african and anti-capitalist bend with the wisdom of men in their 50s. *Freequency ft Black Thought (When the rap gods get together on a 7 min song, what more do you want?!)

EP- Doja Cat- Scarlet 2 CLAUDE- Tyler the Creator opened the door for deluxe albums to be seen as EPs for me last year. Here we see Doja open the book up a little further to create even more pop rap bops. But what truly takes this to another level is the inclusion of volume 3 which takes new songs I already liked from the extension and added South African a capella group, The Joy. Doja’s South African roots sometimes gets lost in her antics and history, but the inclusion of Zulu lyrics herein feels like a reclamation of identity. *Acknowledge Me ft. The Joy (if you don’t make an ugly face when you hear this beat, you don’t love hip hop!)

Honorable Mention- Tierra Whack- World Wide Whack- The eclectic artist drops her first full length album. She fills it full of off-kilter concepts, singing and beats. The album sometimes feels like an adult version of sesame street with juvenile songs about bathing, imagination, movies and suicide. How she is able to balance these things I have no clue. It sometimes reminds me of the Youtube classic “Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared”. *Imaginary Friends (She raps “When I grow up I want to hang from the ceiling/the roof is leaking tear drops” on a song about her imaginary friend Tony… how?)

10- Ab-Soul- Soul Burger There was a battle in my head over this spot! Boldy James has put out 4 projects this year which I wouldn’t be mad at putting here, but last minute I made this decision. The Black Lip Pastor has entered into a new era over a decade after I was first introduced to him. The album which was dedicated to his best friend who was murdered, sounds very different from any other Soulo project. It is meant to reflect the deceased’s taste in music rather than the Skinny Biggie’s. It is a musical pivot (the act of pivoting seeming something TDE members are committed to this year). The verse penned by Herbert, but using Doe Burger’s AI voice is particularly striking. *The Sky Is Limitless

9- Latto- Sugar Honey Iced Tea- The Atlanta rapper continues to show an amazing ability to create not just moments, but albums. While she can undoubtedly make club bangers, it is her ability to slow down the BPMs and make love songs that impresses me most. Now if you have Glo sitting in this spot, I wouldn’t be mad at that. But what puts Latto ahead to me is her production value and sequencing (which is splitting hairs for most people). *Ear Candy ft Coco Jones

8- Freddie Gibbs- You Only Die 1nce- Gangsta Gibbs returns with a follow up to the 2017 You Only Live 2twice utilizing the same narration voice of Slink Johnson but instead of reprising as Jesus, he is the devil this time. How the Gary rapper is able to rap about coke over R&B beats is nothing short of amazing. The peak of the album was Anniversary using the same beat as Tony Toni Tone to rap about a death date rather than a romantic date (the song has since been removed from the album, Im guessing because of sample issues). *Rabbit Island

7- Lupe- Samurai- I have been watching Lupe over the years quietly drop great projects. But the unique approach of writing from the perspective of Amy Winehouse as a battle rapper creates a lush jazz rap bed for the lyrical miracle stylings of the westside Chicago rapper. If you are in love with words , this is a great album to listen to. *Cake

6- Mach-Hommy- #RichAxxHatian- Pray For Haiti goes down in a lot of under ground circles as a classic, however I have never been able to get into it. As such, I have always given Mach-Hommy a listen here and there to see if my taste has changed. This year, I finally got it. The mysterious rapper who hides his face and lyrics (you cannot look them up on the popular lyric sites) utilizes a plethora of sounds, subjects, and languages to express himself. French, Kreyol, and Arabic are throughout this album calling for freedom or exhibiting braggadocio over beats from Conductor Williams to Kaytranada. *Sur Le Pont d’Avignon (Reparation #1)

5-  Rapsody- Please Don’t Cry- The North Carolina rapper puts out one of her most personal albums to date. Using The Matrix as a scaffolding to discuss the dissonance she feels in herself. Theres a fair amount of just exhibiting high level rap mixed in with these more personal records discussing topics from her sexuality and infidelity to dementia. The album is a little too long, but doesn’t necessarily feel bloated. *A Ballad For My Homegirls ft Baby Tate (This is my favorite song of the year!)

4- Doechii- Alligator Bites Never Heal- Doechii is the future. Ive been saying this for some years now and it feels like this year was her coming out party. I initially felt the album was just good, not great, because I knew the potential she had inside of her. Then came her amazing Colbert performance followed by her incredible Tiny Desk performance. These two performances elevated the album for me. I do wish Sunday’s Best made the project though. *Denial Is A River

3- Tyler the Creator- Chromakopia- FYI: It’s the West Coast from here on out. Tyler’s most personal album he’s ever released sees the LA rapper tackling subjects from his mother’s mortality, abortion, to his relationship to his own hair. This album feels like the culmination of all of his prior albums. You can see his raucous and brash nature from his early works on Rah tah tah, the experimentation with chords from Igor on Like Him, the introspection from Flower Boy on Take Your Mask Off, and the rappity rap of CMIFGL on I Hope You Find Your Way Home. Tyler is undoubtedly the biggest out the city next to Kenny *Like Him

2. Kendrick Lamar- GNX- 2024 was a generational year for Dot. He won the biggest rap beef of the century, united a billion gangs on stage, and was selected for the superbowl. On GNX we continue to see Dot’s reign as the King of the west coast. He took much smaller LA artists and put them on stage with him and then continued to support the city by putting them on his album. I can understand this album moving up or down your personal list based on your relationship to west coast music as it is unapologetically just that. *Heart pt. 6

As always, if you have made it this far into this list, thank you! 2024 has been a strange year with the economy down, the US elections, genocide and I’m sure we can all name 5 more things which caused this year to be gloom. But as Zora Neale Hurston said, “some years ask questions, other years answer”. I pray we all studied and are prepared for whichever comes next year.

1. Schoolboy Q- Blue Lips- Only a TDE rapper could top the former TDE rapper (a huge year for the label as this is the 4th album on the list.) Q switched up his tried and true formula for albums to create a frenetic and frantic album with beats changing what feels like every minute. However, at the same time Q is able to tackle some heady concepts, conducting what can feel like ADHD the album. This concept is the perfect meeting place between an old school tightly constructed album and this generations much more popular playlisting. For Q to have the ability to change his artistry, while simultaneously still feeling authentic, 15 years into his career has to be celebrated.  *THank God 4  Me