The Second Golden Age of Hip Hop
The year is coming to an end and it’s time to take a step back and realize how crazy of a year it has been for music. The surge of streaming services, the amount of surprise album drops, and the fact that the MIXTAPE “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” went platinum are signs of the 2015 musical rapture. The music industry is changing and it’s too early to know if it’s for the better or worse, but one thing is certain; 2015 has been the best year for hip hop since the late 90s.1998-1992 may have been the golden age of hip hop, but hip hop reached cultural saturation 1998-2002 with some of the best selling and most critically acclaimed, “conscious rap” albums. However, in the mid-2000s, Ludacris and Lil Wayne style club bangers invaded the public hip hop scene. This created an ever-burning hatred in the minds of thousands of (pretentious) “hip hop heads” who craved nothing else but the return of so-called “conscious rap”. At long last, the internet hate and youtube comment shaming can stop, because it’s finally here guys. 2015 is it. Some say that hip hop never died, you just had to look for it. I agree with the statement, but I also do believe that 2015 has had the most “conscious” and influential hip hop releases in over a decade. Here are my 10 favorite hip hop releases of the year in no particular order:
Kendrick Lamar: “To Pimp a Butterfly”
I know I said this list is in no particular order, but it wouldn’t make sense to not admit that this is the best album of the year. With sharply worded critique and bold, experimental production, this album is an instant classic. With TPAB’s nuanced retelling of the modern day west-coast landscape, this album will enrage and inspire every listener.
Heems: “Eat Pray Thug”
One of the most underrated albums of the year, former Das Racist member reveals all in his solo commercial debut. The album is heart wrenching, with Heems opening up about addiction and his experiences as a person of South Asian descent living in a post-9/11 NYC.
Joey Bada$$: “B4.DA.$$”
A politically poignant look into what it is like to be a black teen in the heart of NYC, complete with beautiful, nostalgic boom bap production. My full review is here.
Earl Sweatshirt: “I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside”
Have you ever tried to sleep with a really bad fever, but all your thoughts kept melting together, and every time you remembered you were alive, the throbbing headache of paranoia and angst drove you back into a half-conscious haze of emptiness? That’s what this album sounds like. Listen to Earl ruminate about his addictions and social apathy. I recommend you listen to it alone at night in the dark.
Milo: “So the Flies Don’t Come”
Milo proves himself as not only a rapper but a poet, and challenges the stereotypes he faces as a “black rapper from California”. With offbeat productions underneath his poetic, spoken word style verses, Milo ferociously raps about the various facets injustice with the vocabulary of a classic novelist.
Drake: “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late”
Drake has had the most successful year of his career, and despite all the hate he gets, the man has proved his worth by transitioning from pop-star to cultural zeitgeist. He raps about the things you feel, whether it be your everyday struggle against your haters or the loneliness from that person who left you. With his best writing to date and surprisingly experimental beats, this mixtapealbum will be remembered for a while.
Mac Miller: “GO:OD AM”
Mac Miller released his second album, and boy has he been through a lot. He has gone from high-school party/ fratboy mainstay, to psychedelic LA rap affiliate, to opiated and depressed a la Earl Sweatshirt. With this album he bounces back, has found purpose, and shares introspective songs with a redemptive, rather than sad tone. This is a relatively fun album, and even the pop leaning singles like Miguel featuring “Weekend” have great lyrics with real substance.
Lucki Eck$: “X”
Chicago rap has experienced a renaissance in the last few years and has developed its own genres of hip hop, pioneered by the SAVEMONEY crew. Whereas Chance the Rapper, Towkio, and Vic Mensa are famous for upbeat, colorful music, Lucki takes us into the depths, with slow and murky, bass-heavy, chorus-less songs. His raps are slurred and his beats are sparse and brooding, but with potent lyrics he shows us what it’s like to be a drug loving young adult in the heart of Chicago.
Vince Staples: “Summertime ‘06”
Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly” and Vince Staples’ “Summertime ‘06” counter each other perfectly. Both albums grapple with what it means to identify as a black man in LA, and both of them rap about their gang influenced pasts. TPAB is warm and jazzy, but Vince keeps the atmosphere grim and cold. The beats are icy bangers, leaving nothing to buffer Vince’s straight-talk, no-nonsense verses. He presents Long Beach as harsh as it really is through tense political commentary, but unlike Kendrick, he offers almost no hope of redemption. The albums are perfect counters to each other; TPAB offers new perspectives and inspires change, while Summertime ‘06 is unflinching in its presentation of how things will remain if that change isn’t achieved.
Knxwledge: “Hud Dreems”
Lastly, Knxwledge’s album of disjointed, sampled beats could potentially be LA’s best response to the late J Dilla’s classic instrumental album, “Donuts”. After producing the fantastic beat for “Momma” on TPAB, knxwledge releases his magnum opus. The album consists of 26 short sketches of beats, all flipping old soul samples into something almost dysphoric and psychedelic. If you have a knack for beats, definitely check out one of the best experimental beat records to have been released from the LA beat scene.