14. SKECH185 & Jeff Markey – He Left Nothing For the Swim Back (Backwoodz Studioz)
The line doing the rounds about Backwoodz Studioz is that they’re this generation’s Definitive Jux. However, there’s an argument to be made that Backwoodz Studioz’s output is even more challenging and abrasive than El-P’s revered label. SKECH185’s Backwoodz debut is relentlessly maximalist and in-your-face. His intricate raps are delivered at maximum volume, while Jeff Markey’s beats are by turns angular, dense, and often as confrontational as its MC’s delivery. However, if you can tune into its wavelength, He Left Nothing For the Swim Back is hugely engrossing. Highlights include the dark, riveting production of “The River” and the vivid lyricism of “East Side Summer”. It’s an essential listen for open-minded rap fans. – Tom Morgan
13. Aesop Rock – Integrated Tech Solutions (Rhymesayers)
Every few years, Aesop Rock releases another volume of his trademark dense rhymes and spacey beats, and Integrated Tech Solutions is yet another satisfying chapter. It begins with a parody of a generic tech business, but on “Mindful Solutionism”, he offers another critique of technology addiction, which is consistent with his generally insular, dense rhymes. His worldview is stated most explicitly in “Kyanite Toothpick”, with its humorous lines like: “I’m on that OG / You on that new to this…I’m on that find peace / You on that find meth.”
Despite being largely absent in “Who’s the GOAT?” discourse, his influence is evident in the current crop of critical darling MCs like Earl Sweatshirt, MIKE, and Armand Hammer, whose Billy Woods stops by for a killer verse on “Living Curfew”. Aesop’s storytelling skills have been unmatched for decades, and “100 Feet Tall” is a recollection of seeing Mr. T turned tribute, while “Aggressive Steven” is a heartbreaking tale of the intersection of homelessness, addiction, and mental illness. While many of the major hip-hop stars of the early 2000s have fizzled, Aesop continues to craft rewarding, engaging records that require a little work to unpack fully. – Brian Stout
12. Killer Mike – MICHAEL (Loma Vista)
If there’s one word to describe Killer Mike, it’s unapologetic. Since going from underground obscurity to global acclaim, the Atlanta rapper has remained outspoken on wax and off. While he has hardly hidden his Southern background with Run the Jewels, MICHAEL allows him to revisit his roots, lyrically and musically. Part autobiography and homage to the city that made him, MICHAEL is a lushly-produced and defiantly Southern hip-hop album, pulling from gospel and trap, Dungeon Family, and Three Six Mafia, and featuring a stacked list of local legends such as Andre 3000, Future, Ceelo Green, Young Thug, 2 Chainz, and even Jagged Edge. It’s an essential listen from a rapper at the top of his game and deserving of it. – Alex Brent
11. Oddisee – To What End (Outer Note Label)
It’s not that Oddisee‘s To What End tackles new sounds and subjects compared to his previous work. That’s not the case at all. To What End finds the Washington, DC, native rapper and producer serving a familiar selection of major and minor chords, immersing his work with soulful background vocals and espousing a steadfast and levelheaded everyman ethos. No doubt, longtime hip-hop fans have heard it all before, whether from Oddisee or others. The difference is that Oddisee’s final product has rarely been heard at a higher level, not even by Oddisee himself.
To What End, in title and substance, simultaneously asks a question and makes a statement. Its title is similar to the response of a Jeopardy contestant answering a trivia item in the form of a question, at once inquiring into the game show’s clue while also declaring, “I know it” — or, at least, “I think I know it.” Through its 16 tracks, To What End poses the question of why we — you, me, humans, musicians, any of us — do what we do, and for what purpose? It also provides the answer. – Quentin B Huff
10. Ice Spice – Like..? (10k / Capitol)
Like so many musicians today, Ice Spice seems to have become a name to watch overnight. Like..? is her debut collection, seven fiery, self-assured drill tracks that announce the 23-year-old to the world as a fully-formed artist. In spite of her controlled delivery, her bars are inventive and elastically spat, as highlighted by the rapid-fire rhythms of the viral hit “Bikini Bottom”. While there isn’t much in the way of variety — “Actin a Smoochie” is as about as mellow as it gets) — Like..? is a short, sharp, and thrilling display of energetic and hyper-contemporary rap from a burgeoning star. – Tom Morgan
9. Earl Sweatshirt and the Alchemist – VOIRE DIRE (Tan Cressida)
The increasingly prolific producer, the Alchemist, has become a high-demand collaborator, building studio albums with different recording artists for the last several years. This time around, he teams up with Odd Future alum Earl Sweatshirt. With his signature languid flow, Earl has established himself with a contrarian rap style, habitually delivering well-crafted near-spoken word verses for over a decade. This is Earl Sweatshirt’s fifth studio album, and his raps are as full as they were on his 2013 debut LP, Doris. The Chicago-born rapper stays consistent with his confessional, diaristic writing style. It’s as if we’re overhearing him reflect upon his life to himself behind a closed door.
The duo makes for an appropriate combination. The Alchemist matches Earl’s drawl with relaxed, soulful beats filled in with guitar and keyboard samples to give the album a live feel while carrying plenty of bass. With featured verses from MIKE and Vince Staples to round out the album, VOIRE DIRE is the perfect headphones hip-hop along similar lines as Madvillian, Black Thought & Danger Mouse, Denzel Curry & Kenny Beats, and other fully collaborative albums between rappers and producers. This isn’t the first time Earl Sweatshirt and the Alchemist have worked together; hopefully, it won’t be their last. – Andrew Spiess
8. Shabazz Palaces – Robed in Rareness (Sub Pop)
“Hands up wherever you at” is the first line of Robed in Rareness, the new release by Shabazz Palaces. This could mean any number of things at the start of a hip-hop album. A stop and search by police? A stage call to the audience at a show? Neither applies in this case. Dispensing with the usual rap cliches, Ishmael Butler, the mastermind behind Shabazz Palaces and formerly of Digable Planets (as “Butterfly”), is instead announcing a set of intentions, a personal statement, about this album and his career. “All I wanna do is feel free in my mind / All I wanna do is grab hold of my time,” he concludes by the end of “Binoculars”, the album’s opening track.
With the celebration of its 50th anniversary, hip-hop has been the subject of numerous retrospectives over the past year, including elaborate spreads in staid publications like The New York Times. Yet one would be hard-pressed to find Shabazz Palaces cited. Butler’s project has always defied easy categorization. Based in Seattle, Shabazz Palaces has refuted dichotomies of West Coast versus East Coast hip-hop and refused the patriarchal style of figures like Kanye West and Jay-Z. Musically, Butler has also deconstructed hip hop into its more elemental forms, with the logocentrism of rhyme and flow often decentered in favor of atmospheric sound design. Bitches Brew (1970) is more of a reference point than, say, Raising Hell (1986), to put it mildly. – Christopher J. Lee