At the end of every year, the team at HipHopDX likes to review and recap the most important things that happened in our culture. We look back at the Beef’s, the best social media moments, some of the best rap lyrics in the game, as well as recognize the overall best. So check all that happened in Hip Hop in 2019 or click here if you want to see the full list of Hip Hop Awards, nominees and winners.
2019 saw an eclectic mix of rappers — both new and seasoned — dominate the Hip Hop space. From the sexually-charged lyrics of Megan Thee Stallion and wordplay wizardry of Rapsody to the masterful delivery of Freddie Gibbs and powerful bravado of DaBaby, there was no shortage of options when it came to finding a sound that resonated with the various tastes of rap fans.
J. Cole, who was crowned HipHopDX’s Rapper of The Year in 2018, once again makes the list but it’s DaBaby who claims the coveted spot this year. Although he initially looked like he was taking a similar route as Tekashi 6ix9ine in terms of social media antics (like when he Instagram’ed the Louis Vuitton store fight), the Charlotte, North Carolina-bred rapper jumped back on course and delivered not one but two celebrated albums — Baby On Baby and KIRK.
Check out HipHopDX’s Top 5 picks for Rapper Of The Year below.
MEGAN THEE STALLION
Megan Thee Stallion became a bona fide star in 2019, establishing herself as one of the central figures in Hip Hop discourse throughout the year. After making some inroads toward stardom in 2018, Hot Girl Meg realized her potential when her Tina Snow single “Big Ole Freak” skyrocketed in popularity following the release of its music video in February. Her momentum kept building and caught fire with May’s Fever mixtape, setting the stage for her “Hot Girl Summer” movement to dominate the conversation in the following months. By fall, Megan had solidified her status as one of mainstream Hip Hop’s top acts and began flirting with crossover success ahead of her debut album, which is expected to drop in 2020. — Justin Ivey
FREDDIE GIBBS
It’s not like Freddie Gibbs was ever in danger of being accused of not having skills. However, as rap music swayed to a more melodic, less vocally coherent module, ardent MCs such as himself were forced to be resourcefully unique without compromising their artistic credibility. Well, score one for Gangsta Gibbs, who — after letting the anticipation fester from 2014’s Piñata — surpassed his Madlib-helmed project with the year’s sharpest rap LP in Bandana and took Griselda on the aptly titled Album of the Year Tour, all while finding time to rock NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert and collaborate with the incarcerated 03 Greedo. — Trent Clark
RAPSODY
In the two years since Rapsody released the Grammy Award-nominated Laila’s Wisdom, the Snow Hill, North Carolina MC has proven without a doubt she deserves a spot among the Hip Hop elite. With the August arrival of EVE, she solidified her status with a densely packed, 16-track tribute to the influential black women who shaped Rap into the musical powerhouse she is, while refusing to compromise her core values and embracing her “tomboy femininity” at the same time. Coupled with a spot on Big K.R.I.T.’s recent tour and a colorful Door Dash campaign, Rap continues to elevate her visibility and, as she raps on “NINA,” exposes her ability to “spit hard metal gates” to a whole new audience. Even after the perceived Grammy snub this year, she carried herself like the true goddess we know her to be. — Kyle Eustice
J. COLE
2019 was a phenomenal flex for J. Cole — an artist whose arguable greatness is endlessly debated. However, it’s hard to argue with metrics. For starters, he set the internet ablaze with the fabled recording sessions for the Billboard 200-topping Revenge of the Dreamers III, which included his highest-charting song ever, the four-times platinum “Middle Child.” Then there was an incredible feature run capped off by not only the double-platinum “The London” alongside Young Thug and Travis Scott but also Gang Starr’s first single in 16 years, “Family & Loyalty.” Hate or love it, it was a Cole world all year long. — Riley Wallace
2019 Rapper Of The Year
DABABY
Though his ascent has clearly been a slow burn, it’s difficult to think of an artist who has had a bigger breakout year in recent memory than DaBaby. Capped off with the multi-platinum success of his single “Suge,” he dropped his debut and sophomore major label efforts — Baby On Baby and KIRK — in the same calendar (a lá DMX) and blazed a stack of notable singles — from remixes of Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” to “Cash Shit” off Megan Thee Stallion’s debut. Not to mention, he’s been touring like mad and making several high profile appearances, including his recent performance on Saturday Night Live. Crazy thing is, he’s just getting started. — Riley Wallace
If Da Baby is the best rapper of the year then Idk what fucking world I am living in. So many people are putting out quality music that talks about SOMETHING that matters. Its just sad to see Da Baby(even his name is fuckery) being promoted to young people as something to aspire to.
A fucking legit serial killer as well..let’s have our kids look up to this clown. I agree totally..nothing redeemable bout Dababy..in a cpl years he will be with Trinidad James golding clothes in Macy’s
This list is a disgrace to the rap culture. The only rapper I see there is Jcole and Rhapsody.
Benny the Butcher is the best RAPPER of 2019…
Drake is and has always been the rapper of the year ever since his debut. Da Baby sounds the same in each song.
Megan looks like a man. 2Lps for DBaby can’t knock the hustle but MC the Year is Rapsody no doubt
finally something i can agree on
Hahahahahahaha
These guys got something called dababy as rapper of the year, time magazine named lizzo rapper of the year. What the fuck is happening?
Common said the this would happen in 1994
Mc of the year hands down should go to King Crooked… no questions asked and da baby fucking sucks so bad get some taste in music megan the stallion too? Fuck outta here all wack aside from cole and rhapsody
Stop coming to this site. Its obvious your tastes (which of course leans towards lyrical miracle bullshit) dont align with this site.
Notice u are the only one not saying they are way off with terrible sellouts like Dababy winning. U are the out of touch one dummy
Conway the machine or benny the butcher should be rapper of the year !!
Cole hands down! Ready for the Fall-off?
The ones with REAL SKILLS never win. Da Baby? Get real…
Benny the Butcher
Conway the Machine
Westside Gunn
Anybody ever heard of these guys?!
Da Baby over J. Cole, Gibbs, Rapsody? GTFOH.. when did the amount of money made override talent?
If we’re just talking about rappers who only tell you about themselves, what they have and are a creation of corporate interest, then da baby wins hands down. Though if we’re talking about MCs who tell you about what’s going on in society, have a message with substance and are a creation of one’s community then of course J Cole and Rhapsody carry on the essence of HipHop.. the Underachievers are my favorite of the year… Peace y’all
Westside Gunn. Conway. Benny. Roc Marciano. Crimeapple. Mach-Hommy. Fahim. Ghostface. Your Old Droog. Are the top this year
Fahim and Westside Gunn are weak compared to Benny and Crimeapple. Don’t get me wrong I love them. I thought Muggs should’ve got best producer. Elcamino has an argument for newcomer or breakout star too.
What about Nicholas?
I’m still waiting for my apology!
J. Cole did nothing of quality this year. Yes, I read what was written in the article, I just disagree with the impact of those numbers. Especially the Young Thug song, that thing was so trash and that album was horrible. Good for him that it was a success numbers-wise, but it sucked. I love J. Cole btw, just saying he had an ok year, dont make it sound like he was everywhere. Nobody was talking about him or his projects. Rapsody killed it, she was robbed of a Grammy nod (and win because she probably deserves album of the year). I saw below that someone mentioned westside gunn, that’s among the worst takes in the history of hip hop takes.
Benny the Butcher got snubbed. He raps circles around Dababy and that is saying a lot.
All I want to know is how much did Interscope pay you to say DaBaby is rapper of the year?
Rapper of the Year has to be Freddie Gibbs without a doubt.
The butcher?
M O Z Z Y ! HELLGANG!
BLUDDAH #gurlyface
Jim Jones had the best album this year!!
I think it’s a well rounded list…Rapsody & Gibbs def belong on there but I’d love like to see Griselda represented…I don’t really care for Megan the Stallion for real….DaBaby doesn’t matter make my kind of music but he belongs…and always Cole ?