Best Albums of 2018
With the end of 2018 upon us and the holidays in full swing, nostalgia creeps in like a thief in the night. Thoughts of a year passed with its ups and its downs fills our memories with good feelings and with emotions that aren't as good. For the rap community, it's been an overall great year. It's not a year that can come close to the stellar years that were 2005, 2000, 1989 and 1996 (all of them in the list of best years in Hip-Hop), but it was pretty good. The beefs were elite, the songs were peaking on the Billboard and the albums were top notch. I cannot complain. What stands before us and the passing into a new year are just the lists that seem to crown the years. The list that I have compiled is personal and I encourage everyone to argue their choices as to what should be in the top five albums of all time. With that being said, it's time to count them down!
Honorable Mentions
The list of honorable mentions is really long due to the overall quality of albums having gotten better this year, arguably due to the large sea of rappers that we now have access to. As I compiled my list, I was given more and more top level projects that were deserving of a spot on the list, however, five is a short number that had to be respected. In no particular order, the honorable mentions are: : Championships by Meek Mill, Victory Lap by Nipsey Hussle, Young Sinatra IV by Logic, Tha Carter V by Lil Wayne, Kamikaze by Eminem and K.O.D. by J. Cole. And there goes the dislikes! But to be realistic, there are none of these albums that don't deserve to be in the top 5. They are all great in their own right and every choice made from this point on was made with a heavy heart.
5. The Black Panther Soundtrack, curated by Kendrick Lamar
The Black Panther Soundtrack is one of the best and most ambitious hip-hop albums in the past ten years and most definitely the best soundtrack hip-hop album since Kill Bill volume 2. It's impactful, with many of the tracks being on the album being very good. There are two major problems in the entire project, the first one being that it isn't always connected with the plotline of the movie/soundtrack and the fact that it is a soundtrack, making me really unable to give it the top spot.
FAVORITE TRACKS: King's Dead (Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Future and James Blake), Pray for Me (The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar) & X (Schoolboy Q, 2 Chainz and Saudi)
4. Swimming by Mac Miller
One of my favorite albums of the year came from an artist who really touched the world during his short stay. The late great Mac Miller gave us an introspectie and deep album dealing with so many important topics like self-love, depression and healing. It's a real shame that this is the final album that he'll put out during his lifetime, but the impact made by this project and a lot of his other works says a lot about his relatability. I wish nothing but love and peace for his fans, his loved ones and his family. Thank you Mac Miller for the memories.
FAVORITE TRACKS: Come Back to Earth, Wings, What's the Use?, Self Care.
3. Book of Ryan by Royce da 5'9"
Is there anything that Royce da 5'9" can't do on a rap verse? Poignant delivery, word play in vogue, impeccable flow with a mastery of the art of storytelling, Book of Ryan is arguably his best album to date. The sheer volume of greatness in this album is not to be underestimated. Every song seems to be hand crafted and truly thought out. Nothing on this album can be removed without damaging the integrity of the project. What lowers the standing is the one thing that Royce hasn't cared about in his entire career: sales. As long as it is true to himself and to his family and fans, I think he's happy. More power to him.
FAVORITE TRACKS: Caterpillar (feat. Eminem and King Green), Boblo Boat (feat. J. Cole) & Summer on Lock (feat. Pusha T., Jadakiss, Fabolous and Agent Sasco)
2. Invasion of Privacy by Cardi B.
From going number 1 onto the Billboard Hot 100 and being labeled a flash on the pan to becoming one of the biggest and brightest stars of 2018, Cardi B has had one big year under her belt. Marriage, baby, possible divorce, whatever Cardi does is entertaining; her album doesn't disappoint. She puts New York back on the map by being the head honcho. Lyrical aptitude is present and hit songs are accounted for. Sales are high and critical reception is high for the Bronx native.
FAVORITE TRACKS: Best Life (feat. Chance the Rapper), I Like It (feat. Bad Bunny and J. Balvin) & Bodak Yellow.
1. Scorpion by Drake
I'll start off by stating the obvious: this is not his best album. It doesn't qualify in his top three. But it stands today as my favorite album of 2018 for a lot of reasons. The sales were through the roof. The singles dominated the Billboard for months on end. The album is long to satisfy the streaming platforms but isn't forcefully meant for a single run through, but two (hence, Side A and Side B). You can pick and choose what you want from this album. There isn't much wrong about it (except for Ratchet Happy Birthday, but going platinum on your first day out excuses that). Congratulations Drizzy.
FAVORITE TRACKS: “Talk Up” (feat. Jay Z), “Nice For What”, “8 Out of 10” & “Don't Matter to Me” (feat. Michael Jackson)
In the end, this was a tough list. It is in no way perfect. It's imperfect in design because it's a subject to one of the best parts of the artform that we all love: it's cruelly subjective. You may hate Scorpion and love Victory Lap. I can't fault you for it; if anything, I'll invite you to debate it and try to make me think otherwise. It's the friendly camaraderie in a community in which everyone and anyone can express themselves freely. Album of the year. Song of the year. Artist of the year. It's all subjective in the end. What matters is what made you think and what made you feel. Scorpion happened to make me feel a bit more than the rest, but that doesn't mean that the rest was dope. I loved Young Sinatra IV and I still listen to K.O.D. from front to back (as one should do for every J. Cole album ever). It's a matter of choice and having the courage to speak it into existence,