2018 was an interesting year for music. It was like a mid-level playoff team – excellent depth throughout but few truly stand-out performers. There were quite a number of good releases to include on a best-of list, most of which I would classify as simply solid, but the few top tier albums were truly outstanding. I don’t like assigning absolute rankings (i.e., #1, #2, etc.), so I broke it down into the following salient categories:
The Cremita de la Crop
This is the highest of the high, the most exalted of the bunch. What set these albums apart for the most part was content – this shit hit home with a vengeance and caused some serious reflection. Aside from Daytona, which made it here because it, quite frankly, SLAPPED. That combo of Kanye beats (which weren’t in peak form this year generally) and Pusha’s sharp lyricism earned it the position in the upper echelon. But the other entries here – from Saba, Royce, Noname, Phonte, and Mac Miller – contained heavy emotional content to go along with the musical excellence and gave them extra staying power. I’m a sucker for artists who bare their souls and let us in on their vulnerabilities, and all of these artists did just that. Saba’s ability to process grief through art; Royce’s grappling with addiction within the context of his personal and family history; Phonte’s working through the complexities of entering middle age and watching the phases of life pass by; Noname’s positioning of herself within hip hop and the world as a whole; and Mac’s wrestling with insecurities in the context of loss and substance abuse, made even more potent in the context of his untimely demise from an overdose – all were inspirational examples of art as human expression, and they stood the test of time because of their relevance.
Saba – Care For Me
Royce da 5’9 – The Book of Ryan
Noname – Room 25
Phonte – No News Is Good News
Pusha T – Daytona
Mac Miller – Swimming
This Shit Bangs
This bunch of albums is dope, often bordering on fire. Musically and lyrically, many of them are on par with the tippy top group of albums, just with slightly less length or emotional weight/sharpness. The projects by Vince Staples and Open Mike Eagle could easily have slotted in with the above group had they been a little longer. Ditto Earl’s Some Rap Songs. As they stand, they are still outstanding medium length releases that bang as well as resonate. Cole’s KOD attempts to do a lot thematically and mostly succeeds, but it doesn’t quite pack the same punch as some of the other albums on this list. Jay Rock, Nipsey, and Cardi all made albums that felt like classics from another era, hitting all the notes you expect from a major hip hop album and doing it with style. We got the Cudi/Kanye project we’ve been waiting for since practically forever and for the most part it lived up to the hype. JID finally fulfilled the promise we’ve been seeing in him for a while now. And Travis Scott’s Astroworld, along with Drake’s inferior Scorpion, was essentially the musical backdrop of 2018, containing one of the year’s biggest and most durable hits in Sicko Mode. As for Blood Orange and Tierra Whack, those two merit inclusion for their musical quality as well as for their willingness to break the mold and forge their own path. Whack’s 15, 1-minute long tracks, along with their visual accompaniments, make for compelling listening and leave you yearning for a full length project from her. And Blood Orange projects just continue to morph and evolve in enticing new directions so that it’s hard to pick a favorite one.
Nipsey Hussle – Victory Lap
Cardi B – Invasion of Privacy
JID – DiCaprio 2
Jay Rock – Redemption
Blood Orange – Negro Swan
Earl Sweatshirt – Some Rap Songs
Travis Scott – Astroworld
J Cole – KOD
Open Mike Eagle – When I Try To Relax
Tierra Whack – Whack World
Vince Staples – FM!
Kids See Ghosts – Kids See Ghosts
Good Ish
These albums were like sustenance for the hip hop soul this year. They didn’t necessarily elevate the art form – although you could argue that The Internet continues to push boundaries for the Odd Future collective – but they were such good, solid albums that they got me through from day to day. Masta Ace crafted another feat of storytelling in A Breukelen Story, although this time it wasn’t his own story he told; 6lack unleashed a touching, personal rumination that merged R&B and hip hop beautifully; Denzel Curry made a case for his own inclusion in the Next Big Thing running with the darkly skillful TA1300; and Curren$y and Freddie Gibbs teamed up to flex ludicrously all over the Alchemist’s bombastic production on Fetti. After decades of putting out great music with The Roots, Black Thought finally emerged with two short solo projects, where he teamed up with 9th Wonder and Salaam Remi, to reestablish himself in the conversation for best rapper alive, a role he certainly deserves to contend for. And finally, Westide Gunn led an exceptional year for his Griselda label mates with Supreme Blientele, a highly anticipated album that managed to exceed expectations with its stellar production and grimy sound. Truly good shit all around.
Westside Gunn – Supreme Blientele
Black Thought – Streams of Thought Vols. 1 & 2
The Internet – Hive Mind
6lack – East Atlanta Love Letter
Masta Ace & Marco Polo – A Breukelen Story
Denzel Curry – TA1300
Currensy, Freddie Gibbs, Alchemist – Fetti
Honorable Mentions
And a few more heaters to get you through the cold winter months. Don’t say I never gave you nothing.
Black Panther OST
Evidence – Weather Or Not
Joell Ortiz & Apollo Brown – Mona Lisa
Father John Misty – God’s Favorite Customer
Jericho Jackson – Khrysis & Elzhi Are Jericho Jackson
Final Thoughts
I know I said I don’t do numerical rankings, but fuck it – Saba is 1a and Royce is 1b. Fight me.
