As with every year, 2023 saw the music industry adjust to the wave of new trends that so often dominate the pop culture conversation.
The initial buzz brought about by TikTok artists in the 2020s began to normalize, with major label-backed stars now mainstays on the video-sharing platform; stadium tours and music festivals seemed to multiply like gremlins after a swim, popping up in their droves in both major markets and local communities; and Hip Hop music as a whole lost some ground to country, afrobeats, reggaeton and other genres, yet it still stayed number one thanks to collaborations with some of the world’s biggest international stars.
But that doesn’t mean there was a shortage of top quality Hip Hop albums released this year. Whether it was the return of Travis Scott after the Astroworld tragedy, Killer Mike dropping his first solo album in over a decade, Nas teaming up with Hit-Boy once again, Danny Brown showing what a difference sobriety makes to his musical output, or stellar projects from cult figures such as Larry June, Veeze and NoName, it was quite the year for rap fans.
Struggling to find a list of the Hip Hop Albums that have been shifting the culture? Take a look at our lists for Rap and R&B to get a complete survey of the projects that are dictating the conversation around Hip Hop culture.
Need some new songs to throw in the rotation but Spotify and user-created playlists are way too long? We kept it simple and added only the best of the best songs from each month to make sure you get the songs you need without a hassle. Peep the lists below.
Looking for some up-and-coming rappers and underground gems? We’ve done the work for you and highlighted the short EPs, mixtapes and projects to check out if you’re tired of the mainstream album cycle.
Editor’s note: Albums from this list were released between January 1, 2023 – December 30, 2023.
Pink Friday 2 – Nicki Minaj
Teased initially in 2020, Pink Friday 2 comes in the fourth quarter of 2023 after Minaj spent most of the year reinstating her dominance through guest appearances. Her most successful collabs in 2023 are remixes to Ice Spice’s “Princess Diana” and Sexyy Red’s “Pound Town,” while other collabs with Lil Uzi Vert (“Endless Fashion”), Young Thug (“Money”), and YoungBoy Never Broke Again (“WTF”) kept her name in the conversation. Pink Friday 2 is a risk-free Nicki album, taking safe bets to meet the expectations of her fans. By doing so, she continues extending her reach as a global force, further straddling the line between Hip Hop and pop through refined Barbie aesthetics and more mature reflections. Coming off the divisive mixed reception of Queen, Pink Friday 2 is a return to form, maxing out her sonic abilities in Hip Hop, R&B, pop, and dancehall.
Quaranta – Danny Brown
The 11-part tracklist is essentially a “best of” taken from 30 to 40 songs recorded over the pandemic, he recently told Apple Music 1. Even though his triumphant stint in rehab has afforded him another lifeline, Brown’s only been sober for six months, whereas the concept in question was conceived when he was still trying to cut a deal with his demons. Yet, it sounds like he had already switched gears and was deeply contemplating a sustainable lifestyle long before he acted on it, almost as though his music was ahead of his day-to-day prognostics. Far beyond the excess of Old and somewhere between the curse of XXX and Atrocity Exhibition resides Quaranta — tired and resigned but, above all, buoyant. The LP is characterized by a mindfulness that Brown usually channels through humor on his podcast and sporadic attempts at stand-up comedy, but his now-somber tone deters from the thrill of probing death while simultaneously trying to circumvent it.
Welcome 2 Collegrove – Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz
The years-in-the-making Welcome 2 Collegrove marks the second collaborative project by these longtime colleagues and close friends. The pair released Collegrove in 2016, an album overshadowed by Wayne’s label troubles and effectively a 2 Chainz solo effort with a handful of Lil Wayne features tacked on for good measure. The sequel might not see the duo vibing like Ghost and Rae on Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, but their chemistry is evident, born out of a real kinship that authentically translates on wax. The album largely succeeds off the natural chemistry of its co-creators and the wide range of instrumentals that touch on several regional rap styles that both rappers learned to conquer during their decades-long careers. But the mayors of Collegrove keep it in the parking lot, displaying a flair and attitude endemic to rappers from south of the Mason–Dixon line.
The Night Shift – Larry June & Cardo
On The Night Shift, June’s second album this year with a legendary producer (in April, he released The Great Escape with The Alchemist), he adds just enough new wrinkles to keep his sound interesting. There were no sharp left turns; June still raps about women, biking, and smoothies (even interpolating the opening two bars from his own 2019 song “Tracy, CA” on “Stickin’ and Movin’”), but with some extra monetary flourishes. If you don’t believe his tried-and-true formula of rapp works, The Night Shift is a testament to the contrary; since 2019, the old school Beamers have become McLarens, the limos have become private jets, and the Kenzo sweaters have become Celine pants.Larry June is at his best when he sticks to his reliable recipe, compounding a few new concepts with each successive project. The Night Shift is June continuing his growth and evolution as an artist, however incremental it may be.
MIKE – Burning Desire
Since releasing his 2017 breakthrough May God Bless Your Hustle, MIKE has been on a prolific run. His catalogue has continued to expand and improve annually, with high-quality projects released consistently and MIKE himself appearing sharper with each outing. Running concurrently with that artistic growth, he seems to be settling into his role as an elder statesman in New York hip-hop’s underground. After being a mainstay in the community for years, the now 25-year-old has solidified himself as a figurehead in the scene – and with his latest LP, it seems he is acutely aware of just where he stands. With Burning Desire, MIKE brings forth his most self-assured work to date. The project is a no-holds-barred effort, existing as a lyrically dense, texturally diverse and unapologetically singular experience.
Faith Is A Rock – MIKE & Wiki
After connecting this past November for the snack-sized One More EP, released in conjunction with Dutch streetwear brand Patta’s collaboration with Tommy Hilfiger, Wiki and MIKE have unleashed a full-length project, Faith Is A Rock, produced entirely by The Alchemist. Containing three songs from the EP—the collaborative “One More,” and solo tracks “Be Realistic” and “Odd Ways”—this 10-song project admirably delivers what core fans of both MCs had hoped for from a more substantial offering, with Al unsurprisingly in peak form. The duo’s chemistry is off the charts going back to back, keeping the wordplay complex enough to command multiple listens in order to fully decipher.
Another Triumph Of Ghetto Engineering – Open Mike Eagle
Open Mike Eagle has always taken a grandiose approach to his rap music. From 2010’s Unapologetic Art Rap to 2016’s Hella Personal Film Festival and 2017’s opus Brick Body Kids Still Daydream, the Chicago-bred, LA-based underground broke superhero has often organized his work around a key theme or principle. His latest project, another triumph of ghetto engineering, is perhaps his finest work to date, or at least sets the stage for an epic debate amongst indie rap fans everywhere. This album has an explicit theme—the hard, often unrewarded work of Black artists everywhere—and one that bubbles beneath the surface and gives the album its brilliant thrust. Namely, this is a celebration of rap, of its beauty and brokenness, of those at the top of the game and those gone too soon to ever reach a peak. This is an album of triumphs and toils, of all that the game has given Mike and the ways in which it has fallen short for him. Mike is probably your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper, but more importantly, he’s your favorite rapper’s biggest rap fan.
Sundial – NoName
Noname blends Chicago’s deep-rooted history of poetry and soul-embalmed rap with the polyrhythms of traditionally African instrumentation n her brilliant new album Sundial. The catalyst to this is present here in Saba, Ben Nartey and AJ Halls’ collaboration in the production, bouncing rimshots on every off-beat, keeping pace with Noname’s slick boom-bap. In its introductory skit, “toxic” showcases a feminine-masculine mismatch in the understanding of love. The speaker emphasizes that love is commitment, and Noname expresses that same frustration with “toxic” love from people whose company she wouldn’t even prefer to her own. The yearning is paradoxical and so are Noname’s lovers, having babies with other women even though they had never shown maturity since the beginning. With the album, Noname flaunts a lyrical and spiritual masterclass, while also embracing her vulnerability and silencing anyone who doubted her.
The Patience – Mick Jenkins
On The Patience, Jenkins’ familiar laidback cool is replaced with an anxious, angry bite. Jenkins is pissed – at the industry, fugazis (“Pasta”), money-grubbing peers (“Guapanese”), and his lack of recognition. A feeling of frustrated stasis is palpable throughout Jenkins’ excellent new album, which he mostly recorded while waiting out his CMG contract. His expression on the cover says it all: these songs were crafted during a period of deep frustration, when waiting began to feel like prison, when all he wanted was full control over his artistry. This project is a career reset – years of being a mainstay in underground circles and garnering acclaim from critics has still left Jenkins feeling overlooked. He’s ready to take his craft to a higher level. The Patience is a rewarding opening chapter, a satisfying burst of fresh air after a period of holding his breath. What comes next for Jenkins is unknown – but hopefully fans won’t have to wait too long to find out. He closes the album with a promise: “I’m just now stepping into what I feel like is full agency over my creativity, my artistry, my business, and even myself as a man.” And with this new album, he makes great strides to return to form when he was once considered the next great Chicago rapper.
Signature – Joell Ortiz & L’Orange
Between his multisyllabic rhyme schemes, agility and penchant for piling writerly details, rapping has never been a problem for Joell Ortiz — and it wasn’t on his mostly solid 2021 album, Autograph. There, his raps were generally sharp, with the project’s main issues being indistinct production and spurts of formulaic song tropes that occasionally halted its momentum. Those issues are almost entirely erased on Signature, a reimagining courtesy of soul production maestro, L’Orange. This time, Ortiz and L’Orange cut trite mid-2000s sounds and a few generic songs for a tighter, more emotionally intense offering. As sharp as it is tidy, the Autograph remix edition is an exercise in efficiency and sonic imagination, with the latter being a courtesy of a production dynamo who keeps it anything but stale. In the end, L’Orange left his mark on Signature by penning his own, making this version of Autograph a lot more legible.
Summer’s Mine – Babyface Ray
2022 was the year that Babyface Ray made his mostly seamless transition from a regional rap star in Detroit to an international star with critical acclaim and mainstream appeal. The beautiful part is that he didn’t need to stray far from his signature sound to do so. His latest offering, Summer’s Mine, is a return to form after a slight meander off the path with his second project of last year, MOB. Now, as one of the biggest names in the Motor City’s booming hip-hop scene, Babyface Ray is continuing to put his city on his back with a continuous, effortless knack for unapologetic flexes, nervous flows, and introspective reflections. On Summer’s Mine, all of these characteristics combine for a masterful, all-encompassing body of work that finds Ray claiming the summer for the second year in a row – and succeeding.
Ganger – Veeze
Though it should be considered a musical aggregate of Detroit’s rap scene, Ganger’s mixing is far ahead of its time within the realm of Hip Hop. Where more experimental, electronic-leaning acts change the mixing of vocals and instruments to distort their sound to become hardly recognizable, Veeze and his team of producers, including Ddot, Pooh Beats, and Bass Kid, toy with the idea of a slight change. The mixing on Ganger periodically boosts Veeze’s voice to be just a few decibels too high or too low, leaving his mumbles either subdued by the instrumental or overpowered by it. The result is a sound collage, where each element in each song feels repurposed under the direction of Veeze. On songs like, “WHOda1” and “Weekend,” the augmented volume of Veeze’s voice reflects a warm amity, whether it be whispering roasts into your ear or shedding his vulnerabilities a bit too close to the mic.
Michael – Killer Mike
The moniker Killer Mike conjures a lengthy list of descriptors: searing truth-teller, 2nd Amendment-advocate, activist, MC. His new LP, Micheal, Executive-produced by No I.D., is an eclectic, heartfelt swirl of majestic soul and songwriting that’s as piercing as it is intimate. For this one, Mike explores tragedy and love with a mix of naked sincerity and the types of detail that usually has to be extracted from memory. As he’s explained in multiple interviews, this isn’t Killer Mike, it’s Michael Render, a human being that’s more than the sum of whichever labels we try to prescribe him. At about 54 minutes, Michael is a dense, but efficient body of thoughts and sounds, one embedded with instrumentation and gospel choirs you’d find in Black churches across the South. Of course, soundbeds like those are natural for Atlanta rappers of a certain age, but in this case, the dosage is more sizable — Mike’s deliberate move to incorporate the music of his childhood while paying homage to the culture that raised him.
Hood Hottest Princess – Sexxy Red
If Detroit has become the de facto center of the universe for a new generation of street rappers with a penchant for deadpan punchlines and copious punch-ins, then Memphis is something of a sister city. Led by the producer triumvirate of Tay Keith, Hitkidd, and Juicy J, the city’s resurgent scene has expanded far beyond Tennessee’s borders to cultivate a new lineage of raunchy, inescapable club-rap anthems. St. Louis’ Sexyy Red is the latest emcee to flip Three 6 Mafia’s tried and true formula into a contender for Song of the Summer: Her horny-as-hell breakout single “Pound Town” is a graphic, often hilarious celebration of casual sex that’s guaranteed to be a floor-filler for months to come. Though it can be tough to follow up bottled lightning with a full-length project, Sexyy Red’s sophomore mixtape Hood Hottest Princess manages to succeed by sticking to her strengths. Light on features and capped at a lean 30 minutes, the release is packed back to front with hard-hitting nu-crunk energy and pornographic quotables—exactly the kind of material anyone pressing play is looking for.
MAPS – billy woods & Kenny Segal
billy woods describes Maps, his exceptional new album and second collaboration with producer Kenny Segal, as a “post-pandemic” record, an interesting shift from the quarantine-album narrative that dominated the past couple of years. And Maps is exactly that, chronicling woods’ return to touring as the general population hesitantly removed their masks and walked back inside. He wrote a lot of the record on the road, documenting the mundanities and curiosities of life as a touring artist, especially one with a larger, more international audience than before. “Soundcheck” describes his need to escape the tedium of its titular activity, opting instead to find the nearest Szechuan restaurant. He fights jet lag on “Bad Dreams Are Only Dreams” and smokes weed in a hotel room during “Facetime,” listening to festival goers chase oblivion after a Playboi Carti set.
SREMM 4 LIFE – Rae Sremmurd
Ten years after dropping a debut jam-packed with up-tempo club bangers, the brothers behind Hip Hop duo Rae Sremmurd find themselves genre statesman enjoying every conceivable trapping of success. Channeling the same dizzying energy that fueled their initial ascent, Slim Jxmmi and Swae Lee keep the party bumping with Sremm 4 Life. But although the scenery and the musical backdrop is much the same, the brothers tap into a level of introspection that only comes with age that they’ve never quite harnessed before.
GLORIOUS GAME – Black Thought & El Michels Affair
Coming off the critically acclaimed Cheat Codes — a runner-up for the DX Best Hip Hop Album Of 2022 award — Tariq Trotter, better known as Black Thought, once again asserts his Zeus-level pen with Glorious Game, a collaborative LP with El Michels Affair (headed by one of his fave producers, Leon Michels). Playing out as a stage-worthy one-person show, Thought remains endearingly personal throughout the tightly curated 31-minute project, walking us through the sights, sounds, smells and sensibilities instilled coming up in the Point Breeze neighborhood of South Philadelphia.
GENERATIONAL CURSE – ICECOLDBISHOP
GENERATIONAL CURSE is a unique project from performance to production, especially regarding debuts in 2023. The music sounds fresh; it’s layered and anchored by its willingness to be heard. While Icecoldbishop adds plenty of social commentary throughout the songs, it never feels corny or shoved down your throat. Bishop’s storytelling is exceptional, learning from generations of west coast emcees who created the blueprint. GENERATIONAL CURSE excites the future, and for Bishop, the future couldn’t be brighter.
Mind Of A Saint – Skyzoo
Fully thematic albums can be a mixed bag. If an artist’s concept is too complicated or obscure, listeners will lose interest. Conversely, if it’s too loose, artists open themselves up to criticism for poor execution. Brooklyn MC and ATL restaurant owner Skyzoo’s latest release, The Mind Of A Saint: A Soliloquy by Skyzoo, is a master class in pulling off a conceptual album without breaking character or losing steam (no easy feat). The album is told from the point of view of drug kingpin Franklin Saint, a character in Snowfall, a drama co-created by the late John Singleton, set in 1980s Los Angeles at the start of the crack cocaine epidemic. Throughout the 10-song affair, Skyzoo’s penchant for crafting lyrically rich, rewind-worthy Hip Hop loaded with easter eggs shines as brightly as ever, with an almost mind-boggling level of attention to detail. Whether it’s telling the engineer that he’s not used to the studio as he’s from a “different life” on the song “100 to One” or describing Franklin telling his friend Leon about working on an album on the intro to “Brick by Brick” (“Yo Saint, I know you’re going to get all poetic”), he fully commits to his character.
Indiana Jones – Boldy James & RichGains
Just a few weeks after it was reported that rapper Boldy James had been in a car accident in the Detroit area that left him with broken vertebrae in his neck and other injuries, the MC (who has since moved to a rehab center) released a sobering collaborative project with Rich Gains, Indiana Jones. Boldy’s non-assuming delivery and melancholy aura seem almost elastic when applied to the sonic signatures of different producers—which makes, for example, his Nicholas Craven-helmed Fair Exchange No Robbery sound so different from his work with Futurewave (Mr. Ten08), Alchemist or Real Bad Man. In this case, Rich Gains, half of the production duo Blended Babies (with partner JP), has given the Detroit MC an eclectic vibe that pushes him in ambitious new directions. As a result, Boldy delivers incredibly intriguing tracks balanced against some of his bleakest bars in recent memory.
Devinsalbum is called soulful distance, not social you plonkers, Debbie’s ruddy fuming….
Half of these would have made the list without even being listened to, don’t front
And don’t know who Lil dirk is. Give me his best line?
Does he actually have bars or is garbage?
How y’all didn’t cover Byron Blake and he debuted top 20 independent?
No mention of Fred The Godson’s ‘Ascension’ album ?!?! The disrespect ?
No, the ignorance. These so-called hiphop journalists are on some wack pop music. Ask them about Kool Keith and they will ask back who’s that, ask them about Nicki Minaga and they will spit her sizes and zoodiac.
Y’all not playing fair if you not including the Yelawolf & Caskey project.
Yelawolf has been on a roll. The project with Dj Paul is also good.
Nyck Caution??? This site slippin
Dis site been slippin since they gave 5 mics to a yung ma album with an asterick saying sponsored. I think dat gurl be in jail now or sumthin and never hears from her again on the real.
Dis been a weak year fo hip hop on da real yah hear meh. Damnz, we really do need DJ Khaled tah come out and save dis year. To many clone rappers singin and doin drugs, music be wack. real ones stay up.
if this is “the best Hip Hop” so far, then shit is dead.
Gtfo with that lil yachty shit lol he is straight basura
You’re joking, right? Only hip-hop albums i see on this list are Benny’s Plugs and Eminem’s Side B.
Here’s how Hip-Hop Side B was:
MGK’s “Tickets to my Downfall” outsold it in week one by 30,000 albums.
Ain’t nobody trying to hear a 50 year old man whine about his daddy anymore. Had enough. I stuck with that twit through some bad albums, but that was the last one. He’s spent the last 3 years bragging about being the best and then being so incoherent that he actually proves himself wrong on every track lol It’s pathetic
There are some good albums dropped this year but overall 2021 is one of the most wack regarding albums releases year ever
Yelawolf’s Mud Mouth is a deadly album.
no its not…its average at best!!
Defari & DJ Babu- Likwit Junkies 2, Krayzie Bone- Leaves of Legends, Yelawolf- Mud Mouth or Mile Zero, Mayday- Minute to Midnight, Fiend- T.G.I.F., Talib Kweli- Gotham, etc. There are always lots of great hip-hop albums that don’t make the lists. It’s just personal preference.
Is this for real? Or …..
Mud Mouth
i listened to that based off your comment and old mates comment below…it was sh!t. and i like yela!
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Rome Streets / DJ Muggs – Death and the Magician
All Hus Kingpin 2021 drops
Eric Bobo / Stu Bangas – Empires
Just to put it in perspective!
AOTY gotta be Lloyd Banks COTI album…
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Album of the year is between Skyzoo and Lloyd banks.
Skyzoo released a classic album once again. 5/5
Yelawolf and Caskey – BLACKSHEEP
Yelawolf – Mudmouth
Caskey – Fine Art
Lloyd Banks – TCOTI
Was expecting a list of the best albums but instead we got damn near every hip hop album that came out in 2021, lol.
Fr plus ain’t no good female rappers where wha?
lloyd banks and busta rhymes have the best albums the rest of these tight jean wearing trash is for mentally challenged generation z.
Styles P Put Forth More Effort than anybody on this List! He is Always Consistent, And Always Real!! And Killah Priest/True Master Have The Album of the Year! Thank You Priest!!
Best albums are Lloyd Banks and The Horsemen.
Young Nudy had the best album so far
Rome streets was absolutely ill yo. DJ mugs is one of the GOATs.
Massive griselda fan but thought the new Benny was a miss. Only a handful of good tracks. Production let it down.
Evidence – Unlearning Vol 1
Mach Hommy – PFH
Planet Asia – Holy Water
Rome Streetz x DJ Muggs – DATM
Rome Streetz x Futurewave – Razors Edge
Conway x Big Ghost ltd – If It Bleeds…
Raticus x Miskeen Haleem – Tenement Music
No Nas kings disease. Yall trippin
KD II released a day after this list had been published.
Dave is from Streatham not Brixton.
Mtbmb by far
Someone explain why Conway’s La Maquina not on here.
I came here to write this comment. The fuuuuck??! L
I don’t have a Top 5, that C.A.R.(Canvas Of A Radiant Child) by GF Anon is CLASSIC!!!
Its actually boldy James and Alchemists 3rd album together. First was “my 1st chemistry set”
What about Fred The Godson’s posthumous album ‘Ascension’ ? No love for the God?!
YOUR ALL TRASH!!! NAS HAS THE BEST ALBUM! WHO OUT RAPPED OUT FLOWED AND OUT LYRICED HIM?!??!?! YALL SOME SOUTHERN MUMBLE MID WEST STRANGE MUSIC LISTENING FOOLS!!! BRO ITS ABOUT BEST RAP HIPHOP BARS FLOWS CONTENT LYRICS SWAG. BRO NAS BEAT EVERYONE! EVERY SINGLE TRACK BRO!
Where is Ransom – Se7en?
Whoever be making these lists be tweakin!
Ransom been on a tear these last couple of years.
Way too many albums. Hip hop is over saturated. That can be good and bad
Umm Doe or Die II
Are you gay?
No women?
Lil Simz don’t 4get! She is Nice!
Who are making these trash lists? 75 percent of the albums on here are BS trap ish. Some of the albums I can get with, but the others are garbage. Lil Durk? Lil Yachty? Are y’all kidding me?
You might need a basic counting class, then a math class on how to do percents.
Uhhhh…yeah Mark lol. Go crawl back to the hole where you came from.
Dave is not from Brixton smdh.
Born there, raised Streatham. But born there. SMDH
.
Nice
CASHAPP3.COM
It’s funny how ya’ll think what you choose as the best is the gospel but let me enlighten you nerds.In 10 years from now Nas will be the only artist outta this bunch that will still be celebrated just like throughout all the years nobody listening to Master p but we still on Outkast, Scarface and AZ so stop with the cap period.
LMAO. Bruh, we don’t think like this. No one that writes for us thinks like this.
That new Flee Lord w/Roc Marciano project has some definite highlights on it specifically “Trim the Fat” feat. Stove God Cooks,been playing that 1 for a minute ?
This what you want is my shit!
How is Nipsey and Jay a “polarizing collaboration”? Jay bought 100 COPIES of Crenshaw for 100$ almost 10 years ago…they had a relationship smh. Oh, and this list is trash by the way…
Why I didn’t see Conway the Machine on there ? Are u kidding me ?
Lol CLB but not Donda? Lmao.
which fuckin version from that schizoprhenic dipshit?
Bo Jackson is Al and Boldy’s third full-length collaboration. In 2013 they released My 1st Chemistry Set
why expect them to do the minimum amount of research at all?
Fair, we missed that. Will update the blurb. Thanks
i kinda feel like you shouldn’t put albums you can’t link to reviews for on here. i mean, we all know you co-sign corny mumble shit ever since Complex took over but….
We aren’t owned by Complex but your first point is valid and something we can do now that the reviews section has expanded.
lol where is Roc Marciano man?
Nice
It’s kings disease 2 everyone stop fucking around
10th
I think Lloyd banks album COTI was fire and would have to be in the top 3 albums of the year. Banks is a bit slept on and it’s a shame because he should be one of the most respected and well known rappers period
No Donda but y’all got Certified Lover Boy which sounds exactly like the past 4 Drake album, while Kanye once evoked the culture production wise and lyrically… What a joke….
No one is listening to that Gunn project
Gunn just soldout every piece of Vinyl on Daupe.. so f’ whoever ain’t listening.. Ratio ?
meant to say f’ that ratio trash
Everybody is bumping Westside Gunn fool
Priest & True M
Divine Intervention No.1
This List is Pathetic…….
Lol. This is a shit list. Westside gunn and Lloyd Banks. Boldy James too. Why the fuck is like yachty on here. Nobody is listening to that bull shit.
who still listens to Yachtzee!!?! GTFOH! ?
Are you high when ou have anything to say bad about young buck who could arguably be a top five rapper in the game . Go check how many albums he has made and his consistency thru out most of them. And boldly James is one of the most underrated rappers in the game . His shit is fucking tight . Don’t get me wrong with the right team he could be making classics but his shit is raw as fuck.
Best rappers in the game
1—-Kevin gates hands down he has been doing longer then lebron James
2—— Nipsey Hussel I’m gonna pretend like he’s still alive because he’s neck and neck Californias best rapper ever aside from 2-pac
3—–Millyz best white rapper in the game by far I think he has 7 Blanco albums and they’re all classics.
4——-Dave East – underrated on the west coast but he gets biggie respect in NY mainly Brooklyn
5——Freddie Gibbs – his style is among no other and if he wasn’t to hard for the radio he would be a household name . Gary Indiana Is the murder capital of the world
6——Maino- Did 10 years fed time and became a rapper behind bars came out sick then fell off for a second but now he’s better then ever.
7——Jelly Roll- people who don’t know that he’s a rap legend and not just country singer of the year they should look at all his albums and his duo albums one with Haystack and 4 with Jennings .
8——Big Kris – don’t care that he’s just an underground king he’s worth of top ten rapper in the last 15 years .
9——-Mozzy- when it comes to gangster rap he is the poster child . Raw as fuck
10——J-Cole- can’t say enough good things about Cole but consistency up and down each album is what I noticed .
11——-Logic-:I have never witnessed some of the fast flows he has done up there with twists but all in all he’s way better and can’t call him a complete white rapper his dad Is black and ma is white .
12—-Aaron May- I really think his style is one of a kind and your either gonna realize he’s the shit or you’ll sleep right thru his savvy lyrics
13——Payroll Giovanni – you can move him up or down he’s that good if he went down it would only be because there’s others tat might have more albums with as consistent tracks .
14——Dizzy Wright – the only stud rapper in Vegas but man did he put the, on the map album after album .
15—— Devin The Dude this list would be completely diffent if I did old school rappers but I had to add him even though Scarface would probably take the crown in Houston
How are you dudes huh??? Nas clearlyyyyyy had the best rap scheme bars and flows out the year. I dare you to follow his flows and metaphors. Not to mention hes East Coast so hes way flyer than most these cornballs. Also dont care what anyone says Meek Album was hard as fuck. People drive around and you can hear it in their cars all the time. Ummmmm……..Thats it.Ill wait for Pusha, Ross, and TI…….Everyone else is just commercial
Yall must really hate Kanye
Yeah. CLB, westside gunn, lil yachty were all wack. I ma a huge DMX fan but that album was weak. They dont even have an image or blurb about Donda, which somehow got a lower score than it received after one of the listening parties (I think they dropped it from a 3.8 to 3.1) despite it sounding much better and cleaner when actually released.
Imma keep it a buck with you because I wrote the leak review. The leak was better than the actual finished album, IMO. And much of the staff felt the same way.
bro where jpegmafia and injury reserve. the production on that shit has me jizzin myself just thinkin about it
Grip IDFT should be up there too
Grip IDFT?! and Kevin Allen Nothing Lasts Forever should fa sho been on the list.
Spodee – God Bless The Child
Extremely predictable list! If you know you know…
All Rome Streets stuff
All ransom
All hus kingpin
All muggs
Stu/Bobo Empires
No Yelawolf albums? Mud Mouth or Blacksheep. This site is going downhill.
Russ gotta be thrown on this list! Chomp 2
Russ chomp2 is straight fire
You missed No More Losses by D.Bridges and Duo-Litty by Samad Savage
Nobody listens to them but you
Certified Lover Boy is a RAP album…not a hip hop album
I guess masterpieces aren’t considered for this list. ANY LIST MISSIG DONDA is invalid.
Tanks for the laugh!
1. AktheSavior – Hiatus
2. Nas – KD2
3. Pink Siifu – Gumbo
4. Mick Jenkins – EITR
5. Cozz – Fortunate
6. Lucki – Wake up Lucki
7. Chester Watson – 1997
8. Archibald Slim – Fell Asleep Praying
9. Kent Loon – Bittersweet
10. Vince Staples – VS
How the fuck is coti not on here. U guys fuck this up every year. I’m off this site
Dave is stretham not Brixton.
JayZ did not provide the blueprint to contemporary East Coast rap. That was Nas. Early on, Nas paved the way for virtually every neega coming outta NY in the 90s.
This is clearly some revisionist attempt at rewriting history.
Wouldn’t be no Nas, Biggie or Jay-Z without Rakim.
Be none of them without LL.
Lol not a single Yelawolf album
Never gonna convince me Pooh Shiesty & Moneybag Yo
Had a better project then Donda the Kanye hate is just blasphemous at this point
Skyzoo’s album a lot better than most of those albums on yall list and he can’t get more props than that? Whack and Fucked Up.
all these polls are not accurate nas is a given but what about Ransom , Rome Streetz , Hus Kingpin, Stu Bangas +Eric Bobo , DJ Muggs , Alchemist , Rigz, Agallah, El Da Sensai, Killah Priest
Obviously Nas isn’t a given. I see every album on a poll but none of Nas’s 2 albums. I see disrespect as always. Took him 12 albums to win 1 grammy, knowing he should’ve had at the least 2 before he won his first 1.
I don’t know why EVERYBODY hollering Kanye & Doda album being done wrong when they have his album listed as 1 of the BEST albums 2 str8 months for the same album. & I know damn well Nas King’s Disease II album came out the same month as Kanye’s album. & it’s not listed either month. & it went #1 on the Billboard. The still till this day DISRESPECT towards Nas whom is spittin nuttin but bars on these young cats is BLASPHEMY! But you’ll put any & every garbage Eminem album on every list.
To me a fire album was AZ’s “Do or Die 2” should’ve been mentioned. A legend at the art.
Curren$y -Pilot Talk 4 on repeat. Said.
What’s up with all these gay rappers from the GayTL lately taking over the Billboard Charts. YoungButtPlugga, TSGunna, and Lil Gay N**** between last year and this year. I’m sick of seeing and hearing about these butt pirates, honestly.
Good songs
With a Young Thug album on this you know it is BS and this site tries way to hard to promote Soundclound reject artists S M H
WORD? – ATMOSPHERE was released in October 2021, not 2022. That mistake tells you anything about how professional this site is.
I’m happy the Alchemist is recognized.
Y’all should have KRS-1 on this list his album is ?????
What happend to krayzie bone ?? He dropped Leaves of legends 2021 and Krayzie Melodies 2022 ! I swear this page most of the times doesnt care when some of our old school ogs put quality music …krs1 I M A M C R U 1 2 ( 2022 ) not on the list ??
no love to the cool kids smfh this cant be legit
No revival…? Eminem…?
you really put Kendrick on that list?? have you heard “we cry together”?? I’m a Kendrick fan, and this was by far his worst album.
Just 1 of 18 tracks. Album is a classic. Ya’ll too stupid to realize it.
okay “Dave Free” lol. That’s just one of the many horrible songs on the album. And you’re just too stupid to realize it. That album was mid. Only a few decent songs.
if you really believe Mr. Morale is as classic as Section.80 and GKMC… pgLang will be a failure. For you to even say that is an insult to Kendrick’s legacy.
We cry together is best song from that album
BILLY WOODS – AETHIOPES
T H R O N E – LIONFISH
WILLYYNOVA – BURNING BUSH
NEW VILLAIN – THE MIND OF HUGO STRANGE
good to see yall aren’t sleeping on QUELLE CHRIS tho
Great
Please stop shoving Kendrick Lamar down our throats because his album was hot garbage. Pusha Ts claim of album of the year still holds true (so far).
“Phife Dawg was only 45 when he transitioned…” Maybe these days we should use a different term. At first my mind went somewhere else with it.
Onyx? Cypress hill? KRS one? Young Zee? Slaughterhouse? Canibus? Hrsmn?
Pleases stop with the misleading titles.This is a list of every album that dropped in the last year and a half that was tolerable How you front on the time frame and quality?
Every album can’t be the best. This sire is trash for deleting comments. Don’t lie in the title of your articles.
I like dick fw y’all talking about.
For me so far it’s drill music in Zion, still gotta listen to pushes album and couldn’t get through Kendricks… Logics album was dope
Westside boogie More Black Superheroes is missing!!
Hey
MC Eiht album Revolution In Progress was dope too
Dooe
Best album out right now is Sunsets In The Ghetto by UFO Fev!
UFO Fev just put out one of the BEST albums of the year called “Sunsets In The Ghetto”
Lupe and Kendrick for me. Jermiside – the overview effect is giving them a run for their money though.
Last kendricks album feels overrated to me. It has little to no replay value. Pushas album is waaay better even if not so ‘woke’.
Feels like people are just supposed to feel a type of way about any kdots release.
How Aaron May’s – No Recognition NOT THERE??? The album’s name speaks for itself
No Black Thought on this list..? Y’all gunna need to update that ASAP
Lupe’s Album best album so far Kendricks album is overrated as hell it is wack
COTI2, God Don’t Make Mistakes, Elephant Man’s Bones, Word?, It’s Almost Dry, No Fear of Time, Montego and Cheat Codes for me. Not in that order. Solid amount of good releases, in sure I’m forgetting a few.
Best albums this year:
Roc and Alc
JID
Meechy Darko
Rest have been meh
Joey B, Denzel Curry & Meechy Darko my top 3 of the year so far.
How are you all not going to review JID? AOTY smh.
ur trash brah
Everything King ISO has put out this year!
Kodak Black is nowhere to be found, irrelevant list.
Only thing that made this list relevant was the YB song.
Other than rock marciano currensy boldy james westside gunn and benny the butcher this list is trash
Other than rock marciano currensy boldy james westside gunn and benny the butcher this list is trash
You have to be kidding some of the rubbish that made this list and there is no mention of Tee Grizzley. His album is the best album of 2022!!
You have to be kidding some of the rubbish that made this list and there is no mention of Tee Grizzley. His album is the best album of 2022!!
No cheat codes? This list is a mess.
Hip Hop Is Dead…
clickbait bllsht
This list is hilarious – Hasn’t even got Cheat Codes. F
“The Best hip-hop albums of 2023.” Then you day these albums were released between 2021 and 2023… Huh?
“The Modern Day Slave”: A Revolutionary Hip Hop Album in T-Shirt Form
Are you ready for the hottest new hip hop album of 2023? Look no further than “The Modern Day Slave” by the talented artist Joe Philly. With 20 tracks, this album is mostly written, performed, and produced by Joe Philly himself, with contributions from artists such as Teria Morada, Hash, Brooklyn James, Double Teezy, Gin Oakian, K Fuentexaz, and Snake Scagnetti. With beats by producers such as IHATEZAY, Martin Ramirez, Dj Rival, and Bonafide 5150. This album is guaranteed to have you bumping your head from start to finish.
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The title of the album, “The Modern Day Slave,” reflects the current state of society and the struggles faced by many individuals. Through his lyrics, Joe Philly sheds light on important social issues, making this album not just a collection of great beats and rhymes, but also a powerful statement.
So what are you waiting for? Get your hands on “The Modern Day Slave” T-shirt on the Ides of March 2023, and experience hip hop music like never before. Whether you’re a long-time hip hop fan or just discovering the genre, this album is a must-have for anyone who appreciates great music and meaningful messages. Don’t miss out on this unique and innovative release from Joe Philly.
“The Modern Day Slave”: A Revolutionary Hip Hop Album in T-Shirt Form
Are you ready for the hottest new hip hop album of 2023? Look no further than “The Modern Day Slave” by the talented artist Joe Philly. With 20 tracks, this album is mostly written, performed, and produced by Joe Philly himself, with contributions from artists such as Teria Morada, Hash, Brooklyn James, Double Teezy, Gin Oakian, K Fuentexaz, and Snake Scagnetti. With beats by producers such as IHATEZAY, Martin Ramirez, Dj Rival, and Bonafide 5150. This album is guaranteed to have you bumping your head from start to finish.
But that’s not all. This album is being released in the form of a T-shirt, making it the ultimate wearable experience for hip hop fans. The T-shirt will feature a tappable area that automatically downloads the album to your phone, so you can enjoy it on the go. And with augmented reality technology, the T-shirt will project Joe Philly’s multiple music videos in thin air, using your phone’s camera. This is a revolutionary way to experience hip hop music, and you won’t want to miss it.
The title of the album, “The Modern Day Slave,” reflects the current state of society and the struggles faced by many individuals. Through his lyrics, Joe Philly sheds light on important social issues, making this album not just a collection of great beats and rhymes, but also a powerful statement.
I am rapper
just look it up so fair i like
got put friend on it
just look it up so fair i like
got put friend on it
No NF??
STYLES P
NAS
DAVE EAST
MILLYZ
DAVE EAST IS CRAZY UNDERRATED. . SHAME ON THIS LIST. GET YOUR EARS CLEANED OUT OR SOMETHING. COME ON NOW…
i came here for Nas Tyler n Billy woods all them other albums is WHACK!!!
DJ Muggs Soul Assassins 3 Death Valley
💀 how’s are those the best without Almost Healed album?
Dang, placing an album with an antisemitic verse on it calling for war against people who have been through atrocities such as the Holocaust is wild.. DO BETTER.
That’s clown level journalism.
No Gunna? Whole list 🗑️ ‼️
List is garbage, you just list whatever trash is trending on tiktok
List is garbage, you just list whatever trash is trending on tiktok
Magic 3 not there? madness!!
Aftab khan
Wcich option my happeiness
935562
Song
All new car systems iMessage control business
How personal finance to dealer if system id map hidden information unfair to drivers
I love all the albums I find in here
I’m interested
I’m interested
I need a second