Amine-Limbo
Amine shows a great amount of improvement on all fronts on Limbo: lyrical prowess, wit, production, versatility, and emotional depth. Limbo skillfully balances tracks with real emotional impact (Fetus, Mama), fun bangers for the car (Woodlawn, Compensating, Shimmy), and a wide range of styles and moods while remaining thoroughly enjoyable. Though sometimes leaning a little too much into his influences (a prime example being the Kanye inspired album closer “My Reality”), Amine comes through with a project that feels uniquely his and cements his standing as one of the most promising artists of the current era. He’s so much more than just “Caroline.”
8.5/10
Must-Listens: Compensating, Pressure In My Palms, Burden, My Reality, Woodlawn, Roots, Shimmy, Mama, Becky, Fetus
DBangz-Been a Long Time
If you know DBangz for his silly meme-rap songs, you may be surprised by how seriously good he is as a rapper. While most of the album keeps to a similar style, he does it pretty well, creating a well-crafted EP full of bouncy trap songs that occasionally dips into more emotional territory. Still, despite a few really standout tracks, it remains somewhat hampered by its brevity. 6.5/10
Must-Listens: Been a Long Time, Prove, Medusa
6ix9ine-TattleTales
Not good enough to be enjoyable, too bland to be appreciated even ironically, 6ix9ine leaves the ears bleeding and us waiting for the meme (and music) to be over. 2/10
Must-Listens: Maybe… LOCKED UP PT.2 if we had to choose one?
Disclosure-Energy
Mixing bouncy House, UK Garage, and R&B, Energy is packed with fantastic tracks, style, and well… energy. It does still suffer from a few songs dragging on a bit too long and over-reliance on repetition. 7/10
Must-Listens: Lavender, My High, Reverie, Fractal, Thinking ‘Bout You, Birthday,
Duckwrth-SuperGood
The new Duckwrth album is a fantastic collection of songs sporting a unique blend of RnB, pop, hip hop, and funk. SuperGood is soulful, gorgeous, and exciting with plenty of sticky hooks and passionate performances over fantastic production. 8/10
Must-Listens: Tuesday, Say What U Mean, Super Bounce, Find A Way, Quick, Coming Closer, Kiss U Right Now
Joey Bada$$-The Light Pack
Joey gives us a little taste of his solo music for the first time in almost 3 years. While extremely limited in its scope, The Light Pack is 3 tracks of the rapper at his best. The future continues to look bright for the Brooklyn MC. 7/10
Must-Listens: The Light, No Explanation, Shine
Jacob Collier-Djesse Vol. 3
In contrast to his earlier work, Djesse Vol. 3 sees Collier tapping into the sounds of house and EDM for the first time, yet while still retaining much of the jazzy flair and microtonal tunings that make him stand out so much in the current age. It makes for an incredibly unique (though sometimes hectic and cluttered) experience with many moments of sheer brilliance and pure auditory bliss to be found. 7.5/10
Must-Listens: He Won’t Hold You, Butterflies, In Too Deep, In My Bones, To Sleep, Sleeping on My Dreams, Running Outta Love
Spillage Village- Spilligion
Spillage Village proves its place as more than just an addendum to the Dreamville Record Label with its conscious, gospel-tinged take on faith and spirituality in our apocalyptic age. The album is at times plainly gorgeous, soulful, and uplifting but without sacrificing the grounded perspective and honesty that makes its creators so interesting. It may take a minute to click at first but once it does, this star-studded list of collaborators (including JID, 6LACK, Ari Lenox, EARTHGANG, Chance the Rapper, Mereba, and Masego) will almost make the soundtrack to the end times… worth it. 8.5/10
Must-Listens: Baptize, Hapi, PsalmSing, Ea’alah, Cupid, Shiva, End of Daze, Oshun, Mecca
21 Savage and Metro Boomin- Savage Mode 2
If you have even the faintest idea of who these two artists are, you know exactly what you’re getting when you listen to Savage Mode 2. That is, a vibey rapper over some bass-heavy, spacey trap beats with a few big features thrown in. That being said, the predictability of Savage Mode 2 is not to the detriment of its enjoyability. 21 and Metro come through with some great bangers stuffed with sticky flows, hooks, and features. Metro definitely does a lot of the heavy lifting however, as his production feels surprisingly soulful and funky, giving the album a bit more in the way of a distinct voice. Savage Mode 2 is a no-BS type of album that does not pretend to be anything more than it really is. It does what it sets out to do, and it does it well. Also, having Morgan Freeman on a 21 Savage album makes for some great moments. 7.5/10
Must Listens: Intro, Runnin, Glock In My Lap, Rich N**** Shit, Slidin, Many Men, Snitches & Rats (interlude), Snitches & Rats, My Dawg, RIP Luv, Said N Done.
Joji- Nectar
Though often sticking closely to his downbeat-piano-ballad guns, Nectar sees Joji branch out in new and interesting ways, taking his signature sound and pushing it forward. On his newest album there is more of a focus on lush vocal and orchestral layers than ever before, while often stepping into new genres and moods to keep the experience fresh. Though some tracks remain pretty obviously underdeveloped (such as the potential-filled “Upgrade” and “High Hopes”), these tracks are for the most part the exception and don’t drag down the overall experience too much. For every Upgrade, the listener is treated to one of Joji’s greatest experiments: the guitar solo on “Run,” the vocal layering on “MODUS” and “Mr. Hollywood,” the orchestral pieces on “Ew,” the gorgeous outros to “Gimme Love” and “777,” the choruses on “Sanctuary” and “Your Man”… even the Lil Yachty feature on “Pretty Boy” goes over well. The album still does drag a little towards the ¾ mark and some of the mixing holds back or obscures the better elements of certain tracks, but overall Nectar stands as Joji’s most creative, impactful, and (simply put) best project so far. 8/10
Must-Listens: Ew, MODUS, Tick Tock, Daylight, Gimme Love, Run, Sanctuary, Nitrous, Pretty Boy, Mr. Hollywood, 777, Reanimator, Like You Do, Your Man
2. NLE Choppa- Top Shotta
3. Big Sean-Detroit 2
5. Nas- King’s disease
7. Conway the Machine – FROM KING TO A GOD
10. Tkay Maidza – Last Year Was Weird Vol. 2
11. Bright Eyes- Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was
14. Brasstracks- Golden Ticket
15. Redveil- Niagara
16. Jaden- Cool Tape Vol 3
17. Declan McKenna – Zeroes