Ok, so this is the first list of what I hope will be many. In this list I'm listing my top 20 rap albums from 2010 onwards. I'll try and gradually widen the time limit, which will make it more and more difficult (making this one was already very hard). I tried to keep it ordered, but it's honestly too complicated. So it's more or less in order, but I didn't spend an hour debating over which album should be higher than the other.
1. The Roots - undun : The Roots are my favorite rap group, and this album is imo their best one next to Things Fall Apart. Great concept album, all the songs blend together so well. All in all perfect album. I actually did an in-depth review of that album if any of you want to check it out
over here.
2. Kanye West - My Beatifull Dark Twisted Fantasy : I've always been a huge Kanye fan, and while I'm a bit worried with what he's been doing lately (Yeezus, while having some good songs, is his worst album by far imo), he's still a genius, and this album is basically perfect. It captures everything that makes Kanye compelling in the first place, the beats are great, the story is great, and Yeezy gets pretty introspective and honest, which is when he's at his best.
3. A$AP Rocky - Live.Love.Asap : This album (more of a mixtape in fact) is pretty out of place on here because it isn't as perfect as the others at the top of the list. And Rocky is probably the weakest rapper out of this whole list. I'm not that much of a fan of what he's been doing lately either, although I do still like it from time to time. This mixtape is extremely important to me because it's what got me into the whole butt rap scene, which in turn encouraged me to listen to the whole "screwed up, lean in my cup" hip-hop. This album just has a great atmosphere from beginning to end, and I don't think I'll ever not be in the mood to listen to it. It's very heavily style over substance, but smoking weed to this while bobbing my head basically defined 2012 for me.
4. Blu & Exile - Give Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them : I was a huge fan of their debut "Below the Heavens", so I was extremely hyped when this dropped. My expectations were absolutely blown away, and I actually prefer this album to the first one. Honestly, perfect album, if there's one you have to listen from my list, it's got to be this one. I've also reviewed this album in depth, I consider it my finest review so I'd be glad
if you wanted to check it out.
5. Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d city : Lots have been said about this album. It's a concept album depicting a day in the life of Kendrick Lamar in his howe city of Compton, when he was about 16. The concept is beautifully executed from beginning to end, the songs are great, and apart from one or two mishaps (the Drake song and the Mary J Blige song come to mind), it's a perfect album. It's widely considered as the last hip-hop classic, and you should definitely listen to it, whether you like Kendrick or not.
I'll try and be more concise outside of the top 5 or this is going to take forever.
6. The Left - Gas Mask : One of the best underground albums of these last 10 years. This is anti-mainstream rap at its finest, the beats served up by Apollo Brown are absolutely stunning, the rapping is top-notch, the lyrics are crazy. This is just gritty, down-to-earth, no-nonsense hip-hop at its very finest. I'm sure Lamar will be able to sing this album's praises as well
I've also done a
review for this one.
7. Kendrick Lamar - Section.80 : The mixtape he put out before Good Kid MAAD City. Excellent mixtape, less cohesive than GKMC but awesome mixtape anyway. What got me put on to Kendrick.
8. Freddie Gibbs and Madlib - Piñata : Already talked about that one. The contrast between smooth-jazzy-producer Madlib (my favorite producer) and realest-gangsta-in-the-world-right-now Freddi Gibbs is fascinating.
9. Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music El-P and Killer Mike unite to create this banging, hardcore, old-school record, but full of futuristic beats from the legend El-Producto. I'm sure Lamar loves this, and so do I. IF YOU CAN SEE THESE BOTH LIVE, DO IT!! Best concert I've ever been to (except for the Roots ofc).
10. CunninLynguists Oneirology : Their best album since A Piece Of Strange. Goes to show you that southern rap isn't only about trap muzik. Very intelligent music and theme, and the production from Kno is just out of this world.
11. Eligh - Grey Crow : Really heartfelt album, extremely honest, and Eligh is just a beast on the mic. I've also reviewed this one, although I wouldn't say it's one of my finest reviews :
here it is12. Dark Time Sunshine - ANX : If you like anything El-P or Anticon related, YOU HAVE TO CHECK THESE GUYS OUT. Amazing album, their debut, "Vessel", is fantastic as well.
13. Curren$y - Pilot Talk : Basic weed rap, but done so perfectly it's a joy to listen to. Lots of bragging, but it's realistic, Curren$y is very down to earth and intelligent, and the beats... oh my the beats... Most of them are done by Ski Beatz (a legend, produced a lot of Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt), Mos Def also contributes, and they're all spectacular. Curren$y's flow may be off-putting at first but it's one of the most unique flows in the game right now.
14. Kno - Death Is Silent : This time the Cunninlynguists producer takes matters into his own hands. While the rapping is probably the less spectacular out of my whole list, the songwriting and beats are out of this world. There's not many producers who can make such beautiful and hard-hitting beats at the same time. This album has actually brought me to tears on several occasions when I was going through some rough breakup.
15. Chance The Rapper - Acid Rap : Lots of people hate him because of the voice. It's definitely not for everybody, but it has to be one of the more refreshing album in recent memory. Just a treat, I binged on that album so hard when it came out. Very uplifting.
16. Big K.R.I.T. - ReturnOf4eva : I couldn't do this list without some KRIT. I took this one, but really any of the mixtapes he's put out these last 5 years have been stellar (his album not as much though). Always threading the line between consciousness and bragging, he produces most if not all of his beats, and is as talented on the mic as behind the boards.
17. The Roots - How I Got Over : Another Roots album, another success. 'Nuff said.
18. Mac Miller - Watching Movies With The Sound Off : This album is the one that stunned me the most. I used to think Mac Miller was complete **** (and his earlier music still is complete crap), so I didn't expect anything at all from this album. God damn I was wrong. Amazing album, very trippy and butty. Mac really outdid himself on this one, and went from being he the butt of all jokes to becoming a great rapper.
19. Earl Sweatshirt - Doris : Great debut by Earl. Lots of people didn't like it, and it's obviously a winter album. Extremely depressing and monotone, but I just love it that way.
20. Mick Jenkins - Trees And Truths : I've only started listening to this not long ago. I just looove it. He's probably the lesser known out of my list, and I can't really expand on it too much since I don't know much about the guy yet. Just listen to this song (which isn't on that mixtape btw), it gives a good idea of what he's capable of (and the video clip is dope):
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xLEGmijvMg[/youtube]
Barely missed the cut (some missed the cut because I had already put some artists on there, such as Run the Jewels or anything by Big KRIT) :
Danny Brown - Old
Danny Brown - XXX
Joey Bada$$ - Summer Knights
Run The Jewels - Run The Jewels
Big K.R.I.T. - King Remembered In Time
Big K.R.I.T. 4eva N a Day
Flatbush Zombies - D.R.U.G.S.
El-P - Cancer 4 Cure
Ab-Soul - Control System
Phonte - Charity Starts at Home
Curren$y - Pilot Talk II
KiD CuDi - Man on the Moon II
Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot
Dark Time Sunshine - Vessel
I thought I might include my non-hip-hop list here, but seeing as this is already a huge message I'll save that for some other time.
