Recent ('20-'24) albums that highlight a bright future for the genre
10. JID - The Forever Story (2022)
There’s an old saying these days – “The South got something to say.” And in my eyes, nobody quite captures the essence of that phrase better than JID, who got his first big break signing to J. Cole’s Dreamville Records ahead of his 2017 album The Never Story. As a rapper, JID is nothing short of a marvel. His acrobatic cadences and nimble wordplay are not only impressive but entirely entertaining to listen to. One minute he’s spinning together the most dizzying, multisyllabic rhyme scheme, and the next he might sing something pretty beautiful. He’s also got that rare balance of street and book smarts that allows him to be thematically versatile and - for a lack of a better word - built different. He puts it best the opening track “Raydar” – “I got that shit you can play for ya Mama, I got that shit you can play for the hoes.” Whatever it is you like, you’d be hard-pressed not to find it somewhere in these 16 tracks.
Keeping with the general theme of peak talent and versatility, The Forever Story features a range of production from Monte Booker, Kaytranada, to BADBADNOTGOOD and James Blake. The features are equally colorful and fantastic, with everybody from Kenny Mason and Lil Durk to Lil Wayne and Yasiin Bey making great entries here. The Forever Story is a full hour-long experience, and it strings together a very coherent account of the rapper’s life and times to this point. It’s an album that our followers here at BLIGATORY were incredibly impressed with when it dropped in 2022, and for good reason, because JID is truly one of the best we have doing it these days.
9. Che Noir - Food For Thought (2022)
Enough’s been said at this point about Griselda, the three-headed dragon of Westside, Conway & Benny, and it seems most hip-hop heads know whether that’s really their cup of tea or not. What we love about Griselda as a label, and a movement in hip-hop is the web they’ve created, and how many talented and deserving artists are getting looks with more fans invested in these sounds.
One such rapper is Che Noir, also based upstate in Buffalo, New York, but only loosely associated with Griselda Records. Che’s got the makings of a truly outstanding rapper, with potency and presence over the mic just like any other great, ever. Try it for yourself. In one listen, you’ll hear how malleable and dynamic her flow is, how sticky her punchlines are, and that perfect mix of style and substance allows her to be versatile and in command of every track. Oh, and the majority of the songs here are self-produced, and there are some incredibly nice beats on this album. The songwriting is well worded, colorful yet direct, and spoken with charisma. Even down to the song titles being cool and thematic, there just ain’t enough time in this video to run down every little thing Che does effectively, sharp, and creatively.
A few fellow Griselda associated and/or signed artists make appearances here: Rome Streetz, Armani Caesar, 38 Spesh and others. Obviously, if you like Griselda stuff we’re recommending this to you - but even if you don’t really, I’d say any classic hip-hop loving fan is gonna like and respect Food For Thought a whole lot. If you’re a fan of Rapsody, Jay-Z & Foxy Brown, or even Mobb Deep, give this one a look.
8. Tyler, The Creator - CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST (2021)
One thing rap fans can be assured of is that Tyler, The Creator has yet to short them of anything other than maximum effort and creativity, and that’s not something you can say about all the most popular and recognizable rappers.
What makes CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST a very special album to us are Tyler’s vast variety of cultural and musical influences coming together in relentlessly bold combinations. It’s a very fun listen, beaming with heart and personality, and one that I’ve always thought has a little something for everybody. One minute, DJ Drama’s giving this thing the Gangsta Grillz treatment, and the next, 42 Dugg and NBA Youngboy are showing up with great features, alongside other great moments from Lil Wayne, Lil Uzi, and so many others.
It’s impressive how seamlessly he’s able to find common creative ground with such a variety of artists, and meet them at their level to create something vibrant and attention-grabbing. When you mix that with the variety of production here, ranging from East/West Coast sample-based, to inflections of Southern hip-hop and trap music, and several iterations of R&B and Neo-Soul - it’s a funhouse of influences, and nods to things, but Tyler somehow ties it all together in his own way. He also does some of his best rapping on this album, he’s not an elite lyricist by any means but he’s engaged and often very clever.
For those of you who feel like mainstream or more popular hip-hop is losing some of its creativity and personality - we probably agree with you, but hope that an artist like Tyler, as influential as he has proven to be, will continue to have a positive impact on that scope of rap music with albums like this.
7. Knxwledge - 1988 (2020)
Hip-Hop’s an artform with several pivotal institutions, so we didn’t want to make this list without an instrumental selection onboard. Knxwledge is an LA-based producer most well known for his illustrious presence on the online audio distribution platform Bandcamp, and for being one-half of the group NxWorries, where he produces color-bound and slackjawed soundscapes for Anderson.Paak to glide over with his patented mix of sing-rapping.
If you’ve never really deep-dove the Knxwledge catalog of beats, I’d say most hallmarks of his sound and style are here in 1988. The nuances and subtleties of his sample choices and production methods give a lot to listen for in these otherwise uncomplicated beats.
1988 is an ode to the year he was born, and with that, you get his sample-based masonry armed with a few extra late-80’s, early 90’s R&B cuts. Its best highlights include the opener, “dont be afraid,” which flips “Surrender” by Kut Klose into a syrupy-sweet and scintillating piece of instrumental hip-hop. Another highlight is “itkanbe[sonice]”, featuring Anderson.Paak, in what sounds like cutting room floor material from the ongoing NxWorries sessions as they look to soon release a sequel to 2016’s Yes Lawd!.
1988 is a blazing 22 tracks in under 38 minutes - which is sprawling compared to other Knxwledge projects out there, but is just a breeze to listen to. On a nice day, when the sun is hitting just right, you’re gonna feel like you’re living in a motion-picture’s soundtrack.
6. Noname - Sundial (2023)
Noname takes on the role of a heliocentric poet in her second studio album, which is really her third big project when you include her debut mixtape, Telefone, released in 2016. Longtime fans of Noname will instantly recognize her slam-poet-like streams of consciousness, as her asymmetric rhyme patterns and cerebral disposition are purely 1 of 1. Her sweet and sometimes delicate-sounding voice is often a stark contrast with the heavy, harsh subject matter that is as thought-provoking as it is true to life. And she does this in a myriad of ways, dissecting everything from the atrocities enacted upon foreign lands to the colorism on display at your local beauty store. But it’s not all death, doom, and diatribes – this album has a very heartwarming nature that I find balances the beauty and the beast of the world we live in, accepting it for what it truly is.
Sundial projects Noname’s array of innervisions across a slate of living, breathing, jazzy instrumentals as she hosts a nebulous cast of similarly ultramagnetic emcees. Billy Woods, Common, and $ilkMoney all deliver some unforgettable material for this project. Each of the 11 tracks feel cut from a hand-knitted cloth.
And honestly, this one was a little tough to include given the backlash she received for her inclusion of Jay Electronica on the song “balloons.” I think it’s absolutely fair to take exception to his verse on that song, or even just his presence on the album altogether – yet and still, I think she was rather unfairly criticized in ways that only stood to heighten the salience of her messaging throughout this album. And the truth is, most of the artists we praise today for their bravery, and willingness to speak truth to power, took the most arrows when it was time to take that stand, and I see Noname no differently in this regard.
5. Mick Jenkins - The Patience (2023)
Chicago’s Mick Jenkins is a rapper that’s seldom seen the attention and credit an artist of his caliber deserves, but I’ll give him this: listening to The Patience was my very inspiration to make this list. Nobody comes off hungrier or more urgent and imaginative with the wordplay at every step, and this album showcases the major strides that Mick continues to make as time moves on.
If we were to expand the criteria of this list to the latter half of the 2010’s I’d absolutely have to include Pieces of a Man, which came out in 2018. It’s always gonna have a special place in my heart, but even then, I can’t deny The Patience is a more concise and exciting display of what Mick Jenkins has to offer.
If you’re a fan of the guy, you’ve already come accustomed to his heady wordplay and variable flow; he’s often very chill, but alert, and in-the-pocket, but on The Patience you’d almost be surprised to hear how impassioned and emphatic he gets at times. On tracks like “Show & Tell,” “Sitting Ducks,” and “Pasta,” he’s really forcing the issue, with a fire in his belly that you can’t help but internalize. It’s my favorite aspect about this project, because art should move you a little. And thankfully Mick’s not just breathing hot air - he’s always coming with something to say.
4. Bruiser Wolf - Dope Game Stupid (2021) / My Story Got Stories (2024)
Bruiser Wolf’s two most recent albums deserve a double-feature treatment because, personally, I see them both as potential classics. Bruiser Wolf, a relative newcomer to the Bruiser Brigade camp, joining the likes of Danny Brown and Zelooperz. You’ll immediately notice his eccentric delivery that distinctly bounces from one word to the next, weaving in and out of witty metaphors, hilarious punchlines, and charming sections of story time. He’s an unconventional, over-the-top personality that could breathe life into even the most mundane of tales. A lot of the subject matter here consists of his allegorical accounts of a life made on the streets of Detroit, with moments of deep introspection and vulnerability peering through in some of the most pivotal tracks for both these albums. Take for instance, “Momma Was a Dopefiend,” the closing track on Dope Game Stupid, as a grim, no-gimmicks look into the parallels between drug sellers and drug abusers. Bruiser Wolf’s account of his mother’s embattled life sheds light on his decisions to get involved with drugs as a means of getting ahead in the world, and the pain that exists on both ends of the spectrum. Dope Game Stupid and My Story Got Stories are as captivating as any rap album of the decade so far, and the stories upon stories within both of these records is undeniable proof of that.
3. The Koreatown Oddity - Little Dominiques Nosebleed (2020)
Quite possibly the most singular and original entry on this list, Little Dominiques Nosebleed features some especially vivid and personal storytelling, with striking song profiles, and a slightly surreal atmosphere that gives this thing a fever dreamish quality at times. Despite this, The Koreatown Oddity (real name Dominique Purdy) is not SO abstract and in his own head that the average hip-hop head couldn’t enjoy most of what makes up the album.
If you’re at all familiar with LA-based underground hip-hop and art rap, or the Stones Throw catalog from which this album was released, you’ll hear those influences. I certainly find myself thinking of Madlib and/or Madvillain, or Del Tha Funky Homosapien, or People Under The Stairs when I’m parsing through this tracklist, but even then, those influences are driven in new directions, or at least, inward in a very personalized manner.
Little Dominiques Nosebleed is consistently cold-blooded with a side of wit, and satire, and it functions as an ode to Los Angeles through sonic, biopic means. This self-produced masterclass explores the ups and downs, over-and-under-grounds of a life lived in LA, deliriously under the hot California sun. If you like these kinds of quirky, unorthodox, but undeniably talented type rapper-producers, we’d recommend this as an underrecognized but elite album in that category.
2. Little Simz - SIMBI (2021) / Drop 7 (2024)
I’ve been saying it a lot lately, I’ll keep saying it: Little Simz is simply one of the best this genre has to offer currently, and with each passing release that is made evermore evident. Let’s start with 2021’s Sometimes I Might Be Introvert (AKA ‘SIMBI’), which for myself and many others is an easy pick for her magnum opus to this point in her career. It’s Simz’ first stab at a big, conceptual, and sonically grandiose album. In it, she has the space and time to aptly describe the world going on around her in incredible detail. If you like a rapper to be thoughtful, substantive, and deep - she does that a lot here. If you like a slick-talking, wordy, but charismatic type, she can do that too with relative ease. Perhaps most importantly for this record’s sake, she doesn’t skimp on the sounds, or the songwriting one bit. Every track, transition, and interlude serves to create an immense sense of environment and atmosphere. Production here is often wonderfully layered with live and digital instruments at play that mirror the world we’re living in. That level of variety and attention to detail stands out in the production as much as it does the rapping, and you’d be surprised at all the places this album will take you in its 60-minute runtime. And while we’re at it? Let’s throw some praise on the EP she released just a couple weeks back now, titled Drop 7. In much more condensed packaging at under 15 minutes, Simz and her producer take you from UK hip-hop, house, and grime, to Brazilian funk and Jersey club at the absolute drop of a dime. If you’re interested in checking her out, but a little turned off by the magnitude of SIMBI, you’ll find a perfect sampler of her skillset in this very brief EP, as well as a fresh sense of where she’s headed moving forward.
1. Nas & Hit-Boy - King’s Disease III (2022)
Now we made this list with a lot of modern, or even up-and-coming artists in mind – but I’m thankful to say that one of this genre’s undisputed GOATs is still making a lasting imprint with new music. Something about the King’s Disease series, and really all of Nas’ Hit-Boy produced projects, has seriously revitalized the Queensbridge prodigy back to former glory in a way we haven’t seen with another rapper of his pedigree. With hip-hop being such a young genre, the rules on aging gracefully within it are still being written. It was impressive to see Jay-Z drop one of his all-time great records with 4:44 at the age of 50 years old, while Nas has written entire new chapters to his legacy with multiple albums in this series. For every Nas and Jay, aging like fine wine in their later years, there are so many more greats in this genre either losing touch with their legacies, or are straight up just gone too soon for one tragic reason or another. Despite the fact that hip-hop IS in many ways, a young man’s game, it’s become entirely too expansive and important to be reduced to just that. I appreciate, and refuse to take for granted that Nas continues to forge a way forward, in turn showing us how to. Because the truth is, every rapper I named on this list is gonna hit this stage of life at some point if they’re lucky, and they too will be searching for new ways to express and redefine themselves, and put meaningful things out into the world. It’s developments like these that will hopefully make that transition easier for everyone, running so someone else can fly. Songs like “Once a Man, Twice a Child” epitomize his ability to ponder this phenomenon with relative ease, and offer insight and curiosity that reminds us that you can be forever young in this thing if you keep that fire burning in your mind and heart. King’s Disease III is such an easy and enjoyable listen, with purebred emceeing supported by production that bridges the channel between the sounds of our time and yesteryear. KD1 & 2 are also solid, but feel to be finding their footing a little whereas KD3 is confident and smooth, with a clarity of mind from the very first moment. And in a genre like hip-hop, that often places reactive and arbitrary limitations on even its most beloved figures, I don’t want to undersell what a win albums like these are for my favorite genre and artform.
Bonus
The Alchemist - Faith Is A Rock, VOIR DIRE, The Great Escape, the Elephant Man’s Bones, Continuance, Super Tecmo Bo, Bo Jackson, Haram, Alfredo, The Price of Tea In China
There are so many Alchemist-produced albums from the 2020’s worthy of making a list like this, so we moved them all to this one slot. The big ones being Alfredo with Freddie Gibbs, The Elephant Man’s Bones with Roc Marciano, and Bo Jackson with Boldy James. This is a BLACK HISTORY MONTH list, so we mainly wanted to highlight all the incredible Black artists he’s made albums with of late, and acknowledge that he’s definitely also one of the figures out here moving rap forward.
Pink Siifu & Fly Anakin - FlySiifu’s / Pink Siifu - GUMBO’!
Like so many other albums on this list, Pink Siifu’s GUMBO’! is a highly creative and versatile album with a ton of heart. Its quirky blends of trap, jazz, and southern psychedelic sounds is almost unlike anything you’ve heard. FlySiifu’s with Fly Anakin on the other hand, is a smoky, mellow piece that doubles as your classic buddy comedy. The skits on this album really take you back to an era in hip-hop where having them on albums was a lot more common. Their chemistry is truly great: Pink Siifu is very well-rounded overall, but helps shape the sound palettes as everything he touches just has that visionary quality - and then Fly Anakin is so incredibly consistent and sharp, he helps pack this thing out to the gills with excellent rapping. If you like this one, they also did an extended deluxe with extra songs as well, we recommend that too.
This is a list of current and active rappers releasing great albums (from 2020-2024) that are keeping hip-hop alive and well. Not only are they filling the void of today, but inspiring music to come for years. We feel like the genre is in good hands with projects like these.
Comments