The Year in Hip-Hop So Far
Introduction
2022, so far, has seen the release of several well-crafted yet underrated hip hop albums. Even if your favorite artist didn’t drop a viral single this year, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t something out there for you to enjoy. Through this article, I hope to expose you to a variety of Hip Hop albums, rating them on a number of factors, from musicality to the experience of the listener, so you can consider trying one out.
A Note to Keep in Mind:
To preface my reviews and ratings, I’ll own my biases right off the bat - I definitely lean towards lyrical hip hop despite also enjoying trap bangers like Walk It Talk It (Migos ft Drake) and a number of Travis Scott songs.
Methodology for Ratings:
I used a qualitative scale (rather than a number rating system) to highlight that any album above redeemed/mid is worth listening to and giving a try. You might like some albums more than I did and that’s expected. Reading my rationale for each album will give you more insight for when you make the ‘ultimate’ decision: to listen or not to listen. Additionally, I have starred my favorites from the year.
The scale: Out of 5 with
0 - Irredeemable
0.5 - Terrible
1- Bad
1.5 - Let Down
2 - Redeemed
2.5 - Mid
3 - Pretty Good
3.5 - Good
4 - Great
4.5 - Likely Classic
5 - Classic and Album of The Year Candidate
Trap Albums
Drip Season 4 (Gunna)
Rating: 3/5 - Pretty Good
Rationale:
Gunna delivers a safe set of songs that deliver on vibe and production. The soundscape is chosen well enough that the lack of variety in Gunna’s flows and cadence isn’t tedious to listen to. I don’t see Gunna taking any risks at all on this project. Highlights such as Pushin P (ft. Future) and P Power (ft. Drake) (just to name a few) ensured that the album had enough to climb to number 1 on the charts.
Other Thoughts:
If you are more into trap than I am you might rate this at anywhere from a 3.5 to a 4, but nothing about this album blew me away enough for me to put it there.
Sick! (Earl Sweatshirt)
Rating: 2.5 - Mid
Rationale:
I’ll start with a slight compliment - the chosen beats on this are reasonably good. Everything else is a bit messy. Earl Sweatshirt definitely took risks on this record which is why I don’t think that it should be lower than I put it. The record has tracks where Earl Sweatshirt tries out weird and wacky cadences and other experiments. However, without any major stand out songs and some places where the bars feel a bit undercooked, most would relegate this album to an “I’m Bored Vibe” playlist.
Dope Don’t Sell Itself (2Chainz)
Rating: 1.5 - Let Down
Rationale:
Maybe it’s my fault for expecting more from 2Chainz. But I know that he can deliver far better projects than this and has done so in the past. This album feels very generic - the album lyrically and production-wise shares a style with past 2Chainz and the current crop of top trap artists. While the album doesn’t have any standout songs, its range of features (Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch, 42 Dugg, NBA Youngboy, Lil Durk, and Swae Lee) brings variety to the album in a different manner (which is why I didn’t place it lower).
2Alive (Yeat)
Rating: 0.5 - Terrible
Rationale:
This album is almost unbearable to listen to. The harsh, electronic-inspired production is overbearing in its presence on most tracks. Most of the tracks feel overcrowded and Yeat’s autotuned cadences get old very quickly. Yeat’s bars are okay and don’t really add anything to the album.
Other Thoughts:
The only people I know who liked this album were already Yeat fans before listening to it.
Ghetto Gods (Earthgang)
Rating: 3.5 - Good
Rationale: Earthgang delivers on many ends throughout the album. Every track brings something new to the table with definitive risks taken throughout. The production is innovative, has pleasant melodies when it wants to, and has some spicy beats in it throughout. The flows are tight and the lyrics are much more meaningful than the average trap album (tying in thematically to the title of the album “Ghetto Gods”). The features speak to the fact that Earthgang are rising stars (Future, JID, J Cole, CeeLo Green, and Ari Lennox).
Other Thoughts: I’m very excited to see how Earthgang progresses on their future projects.
***Before Shit Got Weird (The Cool Kids)
Rating: 4 - Great
Rationale: I loved this album. The production is very experimental but solid throughout. I particularly enjoyed the beats on Horizon Island, Scam Likely, and Hibachi. The cadences throughout the album are relaxing to listen to or abrasive in a fun way. On certain tracks the tone of voice can be described as sensual. The album is imbued with a great sense of humor from a discussion of ways to get scammed in Scam Likely to the skits all of which touch upon the absurd or weird in an amusing manner. The features are on point and in place with Gabby! delivering on Horizon Island, G Dott maintaining the mood of the song on Dapper Dan Leather, and Pell/A-Track reinforcing the vibe of Too Bad as some of the highlights of the features.
Other Thoughts: This album feels rewarding to listen to after a long day and it's a trap album like nothing else you have really ever seen.
B.I.B.L.E (Fivio Foreign)
Rating: 3 - Pretty Good
Rationale:
Fivio Foreign delivers a lot of middle of the road tracks but there are some gems in the midst of them. The dark drill beats are always fun to listen to but Fivio Foreign only really delivers lyrically what he needs to on half of the songs. The features are well utilized in the right places with the first Lil Yachty song I heard that I actually enjoyed on this album. Thematically, the songs tie together as the story of Fivio Foreign’s rise.
Highlights: What’s My Name (ft. Coi Leray), For Nothin, Slime Them (ft. Lil Yachty), World Watching (ft. Lil Tjay and Yung Bleu), Changed on Me (ft. Vory and Polo G)
Other Thoughts: DJ KHALED THE MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER!!
Albums I haven’t listened to but heard good things about:
Last Ones Left (42 Dugg and EST GEE), Trendsetter (Coi Leray)
Lyrically Inclined Albums
From a Bird Eye’s View (Cordae)
Rating: 2.5 - Mid
Rationale:
Cordae, unfortunately, takes basically no risks throughout the album. Lyrically, he is solid as always but the album drags on in some places with production that is mostly unremarkable, occasionally heating up on tracks like Super. The main issue with this album is its generic feel - Cordae feels like the rapper who you would see in a textbook explaining how to rap and doesn’t bring anything unique to the table. The features are a symbol of how much industry credit Cordae has gained without truly gaining the respect of his fans.
Highlights: Parables Remix (ft. Eminem), Super, Sinister (ft. Lil Wayne)
Bacc on Death Row (Snoop Dogg)
Rating: 3 - Pretty Good
Rationale: This is an album that attempts to bring 90s hip hop style lyricism to the modern day. The feature list is absolutely stacked with Nas, NateDogg, DaBaby, and Wiz Khalifa being some of the most major artists featured. Snoop Dogg brings his bars to the party on almost every track. The production for the most part is solid with a highlight being the fun sample of the Crib Your Enthusiasm theme song on Crip Ya Enthusiasm. The variety of beats highlights the versatility of Snoop Dogg’s flows on the album. However, with no tracks that are truly memorable, the album can’t quite make it to the Good category.
***God Don’t Make Mistakes (Conway The Machine)
Rating: 4 - Great
Rationale:
Conway The Machine delivers bar upon bar on a record that sees him touch many topics from his own life and what he has been through with a sense of maturity and introspection that few can replicate on an album. The subject matter is serious with many tracks chronicling Conway The Machine’s experiences of the streets and his emotional wellbeing through said “trials and tribulations” as per his own words on Stressed. The album includes Conway reflecting on getting shot in a manner that left half his face paralyzed - this album is the first time that he does so very explicitly. Conway’s cadences deliver emotion in line with the production on numerous tracks. The beats are dusty and grimy in a trademark Griselda manner. The feature list is small and safe but delivers as we knew they would (such as Benny The Butcher).
Other Thoughts: Eminem said this album was a classic but he owns the record label that released the album.
***Tana Talk 4 (Benny The Butcher)
Rating: 4 - Great
Rationale:
Benny The Butcher is lyrically phenomenal throughout the album with a rare mastery of wordplay throughout the album. The beats are as grimy as those on God Don’t Make Mistakes. The album successfully tells stories about many aspects of street life in general, taking a more bird eye’s perspective on the topic than God Don’t Make Mistakes. The feature list is awesome with J Cole, Boldly James, Diddy, Conway the Machine, and Westside Gunn doing their thing very well on their respective tracks. Some of the concepts on the album are also incredibly thoughtful with 10 More Crack Commandments being a reference/tribute to Biggie’s 10 Crack Commandments and Tyson vs Ali reflecting on the fact that people will compare Benny The Butcher and Conway The Machine without recognizing that both are great in their own right.
Other Thoughts: Johnny P’s Caddy has a J Cole verse that will probably go down as a classic J Cole verse.
Forever (***Posthumous*** Phife Dawg)
Rating: Rather than rating a posthumous album, we should celebrate the way this album represents the best of Phife Dawg.
Other Thoughts:
This album has a very nostalgic feel to it. Some verses remind me heavily of Phife Dawg’s best verses on his albums in A Tribe Called Quest and the album overall is a celebration of Phife Dawg’s incredible life and artistic talent. The beats are glistening on some tracks with pleasant melodies and calming rhythms. The amount of thought that Phife Dawg put into the album is very visible and I hope that it is celebrated like so.
***Melt My Eyez, See Your Future (Denzel Curry)
Rating: 5 - Classic and Album of The Year Candidate
Rationale: This album single handedly turned me on to Denzel Curry’s music. Now he’s one of my current favorite artists. The ONLY flaw in the tracklisting is: the hook on Zatoichi (with Slowthai sounding very rough). That’s it. The rest of the album is incredible. Throughout the tracklisting Denzel delivers bar after bar regarding his mental health, introspecting on his past wrongs, what black people have to go through on a daily basis, how screwed up the world is, death as an overarching theme, and the samurai-inspired mentality he adopted to cope with his and broader issues. He does it with a soundtrack that glitters with sonics that borrow from jazz, soul, funk, and even modern EDM-style melodies on some tracks. Denzel’s wordplay is also almost unparalleled with highlights such as
“Run the jewels
'Cause I kill a mic on any LP”.
Which is a tribute to the legendary underground hip hop group Run The Jewels composed of Killer Mike and El-P. His analysis of society’s flaws has a level of maturity few can match on any record. The features are all in place and give the exact energy Denzel Curry tries to give on the same track.
Highlights: Melt (ft. Robert Glasper), Walkin, Ain’t No Way (ft. way too many artists), X Wing, The Ills (but literally every track except Zatoichi is pure gold)
Other Thoughts: Troubles (ft. T-Pain) might not seem all that good at first listen but it really grew on me after some time. The auto-tune is well-used in that track. If you enjoy this album, I highly recommend looking at Denzel’s back catalog with other classic albums like Taboo and some good albums like Zuu and Imperial 64. Notable singles in his pocket include Bruuh (Remix with JID) and Ultimate (the greatest meme song of all time).
I Know Nigo (Nigo)
Rating: 3 - Pretty Good
Rationale:
I didn't learn anything about Nigo except that he has friends who can create some decent beats and can get on premier artists because he runs a clothing brand that people dig. However, Pusha T, A$ap Rocky, and Tyler The Creator all deliver reasonably good tracks with bars, wordplay, and solid general vibe making for a fun track listing that is worth trying out.
***Aethiopes (Billy Woods and Preservation)
Rating: 4.25 - Between Great and Likely Classic
Rationale:
This is an incredibly deep album. On the level of importance it’s actually near the level of To Pimp a Butterfly. Billy Woods presents his thesis that the locus of blackness has been defined through encounters and eventually prolonged exposure to Europeans (the name is an early term that Europeans used to refer to Africans). I haven’t fully digested all the minor points the album makes, but I can appreciate the bars and storytelling involved in telling history in a serious manner that breaks with whitewashed narratives in the status quo. The album is going to end up underrated because many will not want to try such serious subject material but those that will try it will be rewarded with many pearls of wisdom and a changed perspective on history.
***It’s Almost Dry (Pusha T)
Rating: 4.25 - Between Great and Likely Classic
Rationale:
Daytona is a high standard to live up to - that was a certified classic album. However, Pusha T pulls out a mostly more laid back vibe that delivers on track after track about cocaine dealing with occasional political points mixed in. The album contains bar after bar with wordplay such as Pusha T declaring himself Shakespeare because his son is a “work of art”. There’s no lack of double entendres either with bars like “Walk it down like Brady, gets better with time” where his delivery of time makes it sound similar to Tom. Pusha T’s cadences vary from more laid back to very aggressive and it always results in him getting a point across. The production is spotty in a few areas and both of the Kanye features are not particularly good. The Kid Cudi hook on Rock N Roll is extremely mid. However, the tracklisting has basically no skips and provides much of the same thrill that Daytona did to many fans.
Highlights: Brambleton, Neck & Wrist (ft. Pharrell Williams and Jay-Z, Just So You Remember, Hear Me Clearly (Nigo produced) - but again, the entire track-listing definitely delivers.
Other Thoughts: This album comes close to but not quite at the level of Daytona. I was also surprised that Don Tolliver, Lil Uzi Vert, and Pusha T did a track together that turned out not so badly.
Albums I didn’t listen to:
Colors (NBA Youngboy)
Albums I Chose to Review Separately
Donda 2 (Kanye West)
Rating: N/A - because it doesn’t feel completed
Rationale:
This album is full of half-baked great ideas that never truly were seen through to their full potential (likely because of the personal drama enveloping Kanye West right now). Most people have listened to the album through YouTube clips or a friend with a stem player. In either case, the album is full of tidbits that could be very good but never really were seen through to finished products. I think for the man who put together Graduation, MBDTF, and Kids See Ghosts - three of the most finished product albums one could have created, we definitely hoped for more. The XXXTentacion sample chosen was awesome and that hook made many fans remember his life. The Jack Harlow, Future, and Migos features were all at least solid despite the lack of anything remarkable from Ye’s end lyrically throughout the tracklisting. Most of the album highlights seem to be because of strong production choices alongside solid features.
Other Thoughts: If this album is ever revisited and re-released by Ye it does have potential to be great.
Better Than You (NBA Youngboy and DaBaby)
Rating: 3 - Pretty Good
Rationale: I don’t have too much to say about this album because both artists were able to feed their fanbases what they wanted but outside of their fan bases I don’t see this really strongly respected by other groups of fans. The entire track listing is solid (and in line with the individual works of both artists) with some highlights such as Neighborhood Superstar.
D-Day (Dreamville and DJ Drama)
Rating: 3.75 - Between Good and Great
Rationale:
For a mixtape by a label, this is an impressive showing. A lot of the artists on here get to shine at least once with Bas, Ari Lennox, and Earthgang showing why they have garnered the support of J Cole. The tracklisting has numerous bangers in it and is quite a fun listen. Most of the beats are definitely more trap sounding with the exception of songs that only J Cole was on. I’m also very happy that we finally have a properly released version of Heavens EP (the J Cole short film/music video on YouTube that blew up).
Highlights: Lifestyle (Bas ft A$ap Ferg), Coming Down (Ari Lennox), everything J Cole did on here, and perhaps some of the Earthgang songs depending on your taste.
Other Thoughts: DJ Drama = J Cole’s DJ Khaled
Albums I haven’t listened to:
7220 (Lil Durk) but I heard generally that this project was decent with some bangers like AHHH HA.
Albums to watch out for In The Next Month Or So
Kendrick Lamar is dropping Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers on May 13th.
Future just dropped “I Never Liked You.”
Travis Scott’s “Utopia” is dropping later this year.
by ISHAN KINIKAR