Bars were alive and well in 2020 — whether they came from incarcerated rappers or even alien rappers. Over rapid trap hi-hats and inventive production, artists such as Lil Baby and Megan Thee Stallion dominated the charts with top rap songs and earned their place at the forefront of rap’s future at every turn. Elsewhere, veterans such as Freddie Gibbs and Benny The Butcher let fans know their pen continues to improve, producing some of the best rap songs of their career as they took their turn in the spotlight.
No matter which side of Hip Hop is preferred, the 2020 best rappers conversation uncovered these wordsmiths and gave fans lyrics to stick to their ribs and ruin their bib at the same time.
Every year, HipHopDX staff joins in discussions, debates and sometimes heated arguments to come up with a list for our Year End Awards. Review all of our award categories and nominees.
2020 Best Rapper Nominees
The 2020 Rapper of the year award goes to…
LIL BABY
The Double Platinum Rapper Hit The Grand Slam This Year
Lil Baby said it was his turn and we believed him. The Atlanta king delivered one of the most well received efforts of the year in My Turn, filled to the brim with hits upon hits. Whether it was the 42 Dugg-assisted “We Paid” or the anthemic “Heatin Up,” Lil Baby stayed in rotation and made sure his presence was felt. And of course, that’s not even mentioning “The Bigger Picture,” one of the most important songs of the year to come at such a pivotal time.
Some of Our Favorite Hip Hop Artists This Year
Read on for HipHopDX’s breakdown of the best rappers of 2020 and why these five stood above the rest this year.
BENNY THE BUTCHER
Benny The Butcher Reached New Heights On ‘Burden Of Proof’
Benny The Butcher said 2020 was about expanding — and he did just that. After carving out one of rap’s most loyal fanbases along with Griselda, The Butcher got with Producer of the Year candidate Hit-Boy for Burden Of Proof, telling the truth about street life in each abrasive bar. Look no further than “Over The Limit” to see Benny and Hit-Boy at their best, bringing adrenaline-pumping bars and beats on a track that just might make fans press the gas pedal a little closer to the floor.
FREDDIE GIBBS
Freddie Gibbs Delivered An Album Of The Year Contender With ‘Alfredo’
Freddie Gibbs was everywhere in 2020. The veteran spitter shined on his own Alfredo, next to his talented peers such as Westside Gunn and Boldy James on their respective albums, and even ventured into experimental R&B on Tom Misch and Yussef Dayes’ “Nightrider.” It’s hard to name just one reason why Gibbs earned a spot on DX’s Rapper of the Year list, but his versatility and unavoidable presence unparalleled.
MEGAN THEE STALLION
All Eyes Were On Megan Thee Stallion In 2020
2020 was the year of Megan Thee Stallion. H-Town’s finest was on two of the biggest songs of the year, floating on “WAP” with Cardi B and earning her first-ever No. 1 record on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Savage.” She’s proved she can hold her own next to Beyoncé and followed up the success of Suga by selling over 100,000 copies of Good News in its opening week. Megan delivered some of the hardest hitting bars TikTok has ever seen and she’s been rewarded with a banner year that gives her plenty of momentum heading into 2021.
POP SMOKE
Pop Smoke Validated His Star Power With ‘Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon’
Pop Smoke’s name still rings across the world and for good reason. As one of drill music’s most formidable voices, 2020 saw the Brooklyn rapper expand his range with massive records such as “The Woo,” one of the most unique hits of the year that pulled together something for everyone across the corners of the sonic map. On “Mood Swings,” he hit soothing melodies next to Lil Tjay on a song that’s found viral success. Elsewhere on “Shake The Room,” he went back to his roots for a stadium-shaking smash that showed his undeniable chemistry with Atlanta’s own Quavo.
WESTSIDE GUNN
Westside Gunn kicked off his 2020 with the terrific Pray For Paris, only to follow it up less than three months later with Flygod is an Awesome God 2. Still not done, he came back with even more bars on Who Made The Sunshine? and enlisted his own daughter WS Pootie to draw the album cover.
BLACK THOUGHT
Black Thought has proved his worth on the mic 10 times over, but he’s still coming back for more. This year, he dropped off Streams Of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane & Able and popped up on projects from Eminem, Public Enemy and Westside Gunn.
ROYCE DA 5’9″
Look no further than the intro track on The Allegory to see why Royce Da 5’9 earned an honorable mention. The explosive MC lets his fans know how he’s coming right off the bat, with clever wordplay and crafty metaphors.
CONWAY THE MACHINE
Conway The Machine lived up to his name in 2020, dropping three projects on his own and appearing on almost too many songs to name.
KILLER MIKE
On RTJ4, Killer Mike delivered stirring verses and full-blast anthems filled with knowledge. Also, timely verses recorded before the death of George Floyd reaffirmed the ever-present dangers of police brutality against Black people.
Check out some of HipHopDX’s other Year End Award Categories below.
Thought and Royce honorable mentions?? LMAO…Merry Christmas buddy LMAO!!!!!
Is Marshall immediately disqualified for clearly being the alive? Where is Nas, Busta Rhymes?
Lmao no Em?? Why everyone always hating Em? Dude dropped two albums this year and a couple “steal the show” guest verses, with both albums he dropped topping the charts AND I guarantee he had more bars in just HALF of one oh his albums than any of this rappers had the whole year. Dude drops 160 bars in every song he does. FOH
People got bored of the highest selling rapper of all time responding to Twitter criticisms, dissing modern rap trends his gonna take part in and subbing MGK for the past few years and albums. MTBMM is more of that, just more refined.
More bars=enjoyably listenable content. He didn’t used to rap as fast back in the day and his content hit better because of it. Its clear as day.
He’s a legend but he now thinks barring people to death is the only way to make music.
But they praise pop smoke for “the woo”, how many times have we heard that song. I don’t get why whatever Em talks about, people say, you already said that before what else you got lol. But other artist can make the same club song or talk about the hood and all that same old gangsta talk and people act like they’re the first to talk about that… Not saying you, js
Because Eminem makes trash music. Westside, Conway, Benny, Busta and Nas are not only great lyricists but they made great music this year, which is more I can say for Em. I’m sorry but rhyming locking me knocking, dropping the socking, blogging the smogging, flogging the noggin, gobbling the jogging and rhyming the same syllables for 8 minutes straight doesn’t make you best rapper of the year. He’s a dope lyricist but he can’t make a good song to save his life, Side B was grade A ASS.
I don’t hate Em but I agree with the second comment who replied to you. Eminem can rap obviously but he has no memorable songs. As the person stated, it gets boring after a while him dissing people over and over again. I miss content and being a wordsmith alone isn’t going to do it. Eminem did not age well iv my opinion. Royce is an example of a rapper who aged well over the years and I’ve been listening to Royce since the 90s. Eminem doesn’t really make a big impact in the culture imo. Really aside from his core fanbase & Stans the general public does not really play his music like that. I think it was all nice and fun when he dropped the Kamikaze album, but after a while it gets played out.
Btw, I do like his Zeus record & Killer. I definitely can play that multiple times.
Man whatever they say, Em got no replay value?! how is that possible? do you see how many listens this dude got in all streaming services and YouTube? putting Meg in the list and not even mentioning Em is a crime in my opinion… Dude had a fire album and his verses on Cudi and Big Sean tracks was straight up flames! oh wait, they didn’t even put Sean on the list? GTFOH!
Westside Gunn is cool but if Nas and Busta ain’t listed…ya list is bullshit.
No Nas, no Busta, no Eminem… Alright anyone know of another hiphop site? This one is clicking clowns
Do you still wear fubu too?
Better than skinny jeans goofy
Also love Royce but let’s stop nut hugging.. The Allegory didn’t hold a candle to book of Ryan. Royce is elite but that Allegory has zero bangers or memorial moments
Missing nas and bizzy bone
Eminem is my favorite of the year unmatched!
NBA is the hottest and most consistent outta them all.. Shout out to lil baby he came thru in 2020 as well
facts people be sleepin on yb
I agree but I prefer baby
Once again, this cancel Culture bullshit is alive! Y’all forgetting the lil wayne albums went platinum in 2020! With the exception of Lil Baby, none of them came or will EVER hold a candle to lil wayne lyrically, or album sales!
I agree but Lil Baby Rocked 2020 , 2020 was for him period.
Why is no one talking about tom macdonald?
Cuz he ain’t an industry bitch. DAX as well. Killin all these clowns.
What about tom?
The disrespect to dababy is crazy. Rockstar went number 1 and stayed there for a minute plus he’s all over TikTok in 2020 is TikTok is starting to control music which is crazy but he’s still dominating.
Megan thee stallion was a flop after the Tina snow project or hot girl summer lol I mean did any one hear what her new radio song is omg yah da yah da yah da is straight trash I rate it 20 garbage ?️ cans I mean really wtf is that oh I know no bars them queen of the ring girls go way harder than some one who quote MADE IT. YALL NUTSHELLS FOR THAT ??
Lil wayne for funeral, could even throw in Carter v deluxe edition that was pretty much a album in it self
The UK got a couple rappers that were better then some of these people you got on this list for example Headie One, Fredo, and Loski.
Where is Kendrick Lamar? This list is invalid without him. Even though he didn’t release an album in 2020, he still a strong contender for the best rapper. His features alone are better than any album released this year. Kinda like how Biggie was best rapper in ’95 without releasing an album that year
Interesting and i agree, i don’t think biggie was the best in 95. I mean nas illmatic ? So that point is debatable. Gza also dropped liquid swords in 95 so… but kendrick is still top 10 right now and has credentials to be in the top 10 goat list and i have him there. I would love to hear your top 10 list of the top rappers in the game right now
where is eminem? r u for real right now?
Surprised dababy aint in there
I feel like DaBaby’s album this year was a let down. Though the singles throughout and videos were
great.
this aint no real list y’all probably just putting down who you like not what the people actually like where’s the Jack Harlow or Eminem, Dababy
FRRR? like they gon say what they think cuz
Nooooo yea they could dababy but ain’t nobody changing Lil Baby’s Place Period
Lil Baby is as hiphop as Mike Oldfield. Benny is an overrated Roc Marci-clone with zero talent. Conway is very similar to Benny but at least he has a decent voice. Royce is wack from day 1. Westside Gunn is a dumb shiteater with annoying voice and inelaborate beats. Megan the Male Horse is a pop act for pop listenters. Pop Smoke is only hyped because he’s dead – RIP thou. The rest is okay, but nothing special.