I love that album. I think it’s more or less like a lost classic from/love letter to the era they started making it, with enough subtle nods to the last 15 years of rap music to mean it couldn’t have existed back then. Think both DM’s production and Black Thought’s rhymes are next to impeccable, both subtly but densely layered, found it perfect for being baked and just sinking into it tbh. Have probably overplayed it now, but I’ll always enjoy going back to it, which is what you want really.
In a year where the now seemingly bottomless well of good-but-not-great weekly dad rap releases has given me very little joy, it might be the most thoroughly dad rap of them all… and yet might still be my hip hop AOTY, certainly in the top few
Danger Mouse’s production has always left me a little cold, to be honest. His style is very bright and exuberant and I don’t think it works with Black Though at all, especially those moments where he’s rapping over vocal samples and is mixed so quietly you can barely make out what he’s saying.
I don’t think it’s a bad album, but it is textbook BBC 6 Music hip hop.
See, I’m the opposite here. I think Black Thought can end up sounding a little bit mechanical and doesn’t have the knack for hooks outside of The Roots. Working with someone whose production is absolutely loaded with colour and hooks brings it to life where his solo stuff can otherwise sound a bit drab, for me. Also think DM’s production on it is great. I’d have agreed with you before, but I think it’s the best produced rap project he’s ever done by miles
I know what you mean. Technically brilliant, but you wanted a lesser rapper like Dice Raw or Malik coming through with a verse on a The Roots track to stop you getting sleepy
Someone described Loyle Carner as this too, so I guess I must be a BBC 6 Music hip hop guy (even though I don’t listen to the radio)
Definitely consider myself a casual and largely unknowledgeable hip-hop listener, but can understand how Cheat Codes and Hugo are probably both lacking a bit of edge / innovation. The thing I like about both is that they are just front to back tunes, no fucking annoying skits or rubbish filler. There are other reasons I like them too of course, but that’s a big help.
Wasn’t gonna bother with a top ten because I haven’t really put in the yards this year and others have covered basically everything I enjoyed anyway. But what the hell.
There were three albums this year that I really got addicted to and had on repeat, so I’ll put them all at the top:
JID – The Forever Story
= $ilkmoney – I Don’t Give a Fuck About This Rap Shit
= Danger Mouse and Black Thought – Cheat Codes
Roc Marciano & The Alchemist - The Elephant Man’s Bones
billy woods – Aethiopes
Loyle Carner – Hugo
Ghais Guevara - There Will Be No Super-Slave
Leikeli47 – Shape Up
Killah Priest - Mother
Yung Kayo - DFTK
And 20 other hip hop/adjacent things I had fun with in alphabetical order:
AKAI SOLO - Spirit Roaming
Backxwash - His Happiness Shall Come First Even Though We Are Suffering
Boldy James & Real Bad Man - Killing Nothing
Cities Aviv - Working Title for the Album Secret Waters
Denzel Curry - Melt My Eyez See Your Future
DJ Premier - Hip Hop 50: Vol 1
Ecko Bazz - Mmaso
Fly Anakin - Frank
JPEGMAFIA – Offline
KayCyy - TW20 50
KA – Languish Arts/Woeful Studies
Kendrick Lamar – Mr Morale and the Big Steppers
Kenny Beats - LOUIE
Logic - Vinyl Days
Mavi – Laughing So Hard it Hurts
Metro Boomin – Heroes and Villains
Moor Mother - Jazz Codes
Rap Ferreira – 5 to the Eye With Stars
Saba – Few Good Things
Smino – Love 4 Rent
This’ll go down to the wire for me. Really liking the new Quelle Chris and Cavalier and Cult Of The Damned, although not sure they’ll trouble my top 10 yet.
Seen the JID album mentioned a few times and two of the guys on the Dad Bod Rap Pod had Crack Sandwich as their track of the year, so I should probably give the whole thing a listen.
I guess since I’ve mostly finalized my top 30 or so albums of the year, I can break out the hip-hop ones.
Danger Mouse & Black Thought - Cheat Codes
Open Mike Eagle - A Tape Called Component System With the Auto Reverse
R.A.P. Ferreira - 5 to the Eye With Stars
Earl Sweatshirt - Sick!
Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
Quelle Chris - Deathfame
Elucid - I Told Bessie
billy woods - Aethiopes
I’ve not been a big Earl Sweatshirt fan up to this point and I don’t love the album, but it’s short and there are enough songs I like on it that it feels pretty solid.
Honestly have been disappointed with Quelle Chris’ album this year, find it lacking and there are a couple of songs I don’t really like that mess it up for me. Too bad as he’s been one of my favorite rappers the last few years, with Innocent Country 2 being my AOTY in 2020. But maybe it’ll grow on me.
Found billy woods’ Aethiopes too dense even after 3 or 4 listens I can hardly latch onto anything. Haven’t checked out his second one Church yet but probably will in the next few months. Armand Hammer’s Haram was my AOTY last year.
Have I only listened to 8 new release hip-hop albums this year? I guess so. Probably another 10 new-to-me from previous years.
Right I’ve had to force myself to stop because I realised I’d re-listened to 60+ 2022 Hip-Hop releases in the last 2 & a bit weeks & was going to end up with a Top 75 or something daft.
So here’s a (only) slightly less daft Top 50…
Top 10
Boldy James & Real Bad Man - Killing Nothing
Boldy James & Futurewave - Mr Ten.08
Boldy James & Nicholas Craven - Fair Exchange No Robbery
Black Thought & Dangermouse - Cheat Codes
Marlowe - Marlowe 3
Milc & Televangel - Neutral Milc Motel
Boldy James & Cuns - Be That As It May
Domo Genesis - Intros, Outros & Interludes
Pink Siifu & Real Bad Man - Real Bad Flights
Ace Cannons & Mighty Healthy - MIGHTYCANNONS
11-50
Rap Ferreira - 5 To The Eyes With Stars
Lupe Fiasco - Drill Music In Zion
Crimeapple & DJ Skizz - Breakfast In Hradec
DJ Muggs & Crimeapple - Sin Cortar
Westside Gunn - 10
AJ Suede & Small Professor - Hundred Year Darkness
Open Mike Eagle - Component System With The Auto Reverse
Che Noir - The Last Remnants
E L U C I D - I Told Bessie
Roc Marciano & The Alchemist - The Elephant Man’s Bones
AJ Suede - Oil On Canvas
Vic Spencer & August Fanon - Psychological Cheat Sheet 3
Saba - Few Good Things
Earthgang - Ghetto Gods
Benny The Butcher - Tana Talk 4
IDK - Simple
Earl - Sick!
Rome Streetz - Kiss The Ring
Daniel Son & Futurewave - Son Tzu & The Wav.God
Ab-Soul - Herbert
Action Bronson - Cocodrillo Turbo
Billy Woods - Aethiopes
Redveil - Learn 2 Swim
Meyhem Lauren & Daringer - Black Vladimir
Conway - God Don’t Make Mistakes
Wilma Vritra - Grotto
Milano Constantine & Big Ghost Ltd - Pay The Ghost
Denzel Curry - Melt My Eyez See Your Future
JID - The Forever Story
Eddie Kaine & K. Sluggah - Chosen
AJ Suede & Televangel - Metatron’s Cube
Fatlip & Blu - Live From The End Of The World Vol. 1
Kendrick Lamar - Mr Morale & The Big Steppers
Quelle Chris - Deathfame
Your Old Droog - Yodney Dangerfield
Curren$y & The Alchemist - Continuance
Juga- Naut - Time & Place
Infinity Knives & Brian Ennals - King Cobra
Crimeapple - Jaguar On Palisade 2
The Cool Kids - Before Shit Got Weird
Boldy absolutely smashed it this year & it definitely seemed to be the year of one MC & one producer projects.
Like this list a lot. I’ll have Kendrick, JID, Billy and Wilma Vritra higher, and I’m still not feeling Che Noir despite it being my bag on paper, but really like most of that top 20 with a few I’m definitely going to be checking out (Milc & Ace Cannons LPs particularly).
Right - need to stop pissing about with my list. Been relistening to things but there’s far too much stuff. I’ll never get through it.
Really liked (Top 10)
1 – Quelle Chris - DEATHFAME
2 – billy woods - Atheiopes
3 – Defcee and Boathouse - For All Debts Public and Private (Deluxe Version)
4 – Roc Marciano & Alchemist - Elephant Mans Bones
5 – Open Mike Eagle - Component System with the Auto Reverse
6 – $ilkMoney - I Don’t Give a Fuck About This Rap Shit, Imma Just Drop Until I Don’t Feel Like It Anymore
7 – AJ Suede and Televangel - Metatron’s Cube
8 – Ace Cannons & Mighty Healthy - Mightycannons
9 – ELUCID - I Told Bessie
10 – Cities Aviv - Working Title For The Album Secret Waters
Liked a lot (the other 40 in a rough order)
Summary
Cult Of The Damned - CULTGANGRAPSH!T, Vol. 1 (feat. Drae Da Skimask)
Joshua Virtue - Rama
Wilma Vritra - Grotto
Milc & Televangel - Neutral Milc Motel
Cavalier & Quelle Chris - Death Tape 1: Black Cottonwood
Teller Banks & Ed Glorious - I & I
Dalek - Precipice
Knucks - Alpha Place
Fly Anakin - frank
Jack Danz x Joe Snow - Def Sentence
Iblss - Raja’s Sun
Al.Divino & Estee Nack - Triple Black Diamonds 2
Pink Siifu and Real Bad Man - Real Bad Flights
Shirt & Jack Splash - I Turned Myself into Myself
R.A.P. Ferreira - 5 to the Eye with Stars
Domo Genesis - Intros, Outros and Interludes
YL and Zoomo - in memory of
Action Bronson - Cocodrillo Turbo
AKAI SOLO – Body Feeling & Spirit Roaming
billy woods - Church
Lukah - Raw Extractions
Ka - Languish Arts & Woeful Studies
Sleep Sinatra – In God’s Image (released NYE 2021)
Lloyd Banks - The Course of the Inevitable 2
Earl Sweatshirt - SICK!
Ty Farris & Sebb Bash - Fluorescent Mudd
Serengeti - We Saw Mad Turtles
AJ Suede - Darth Sueder 7: Rogues Gallery
Fatboi Sharif & Noface - Preaching In Havana
Westside Gunn - 10
Black Thought & Danger Mouse - Cheat Codes
Steel Tipped Dove & Aloe Vera - Days Pass Strange
Lord Kayso - Moor Chores
Boldy James & Real Bad Man - Killing Nothing
Knowledge the Pirate - Wolves Don’t Eat With Shepherd’s.
Rome Street - Kiss The Ring
Meyhem Lauren & Daringer – Black Vladimir
Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
Benny the Butcher - Tana Talk 4
Easily done. I haven’t looked at the best EPs thread of 2021 that I started because I didn’t even make my best albums list. Still got a pipe dream I might post in it one day.
