Well folks, it's 2023 and we're anticipating an enormous amount of heat for the year. In 2022, we had numerous outstanding efforts from the likes of the Griselda camp, Kendrick, MAVI, Earl Sweatshirt, JID, Little Simz, Nas, and Roc Marciano. For a review of the most flammable albums of 2022, click here for a look. Already the year has started with a very dope new album from Oddisee, To What End, and the damn near brilliant Skyzoo project with new production duo, The Other Guys, The Mind Of A Saint. With this, we will go over some of the most intriguing albums that are expected (or rumored) to drop this year. In no particular order, LFG!
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Conway The Machine
Won't He Do It
We start off with the Griselda camp, in which Conway is set to drop his next full-length album, tentatively entitled, Won't He Do It. After dropping the album of his career in 2022 with God Don't Make Mistakes, the expectation is for him to meet or to even top GDMM. While his Drumwork crew of Jae Skeeze and 7XVEDAGENIUS will drop their efforts this year, the pressure is on for Conway to deliver another monster. Rumors are even swirling that the almighty Nas could be a guest feature on this effort. Also, keep an eye out for his reported album with Alchemist, LULU 2, but this may be the main dish in a potential year of appetizers for The Machine.
Boldy James & J Dilla
Drug Dilla
First off, get well soon to Boldy James as he's recovering from a near fatal car accident on 1/9. He survived and as of press time is stable. He's reportedly supposed to be dropping numerous efforts this year, however with this situation, there's no real word as to if these projects will get released due to the nature of his injuries and whether or not he would be in any condition to promote the projects. That being said, one of the most anticipated albums of the year is his reported under wraps album he did with the late, great maestro, J Dilla, entitled Drug Dilla. The thought of James over some Dilla is chilling, and with the many efforts that one of Detroit's most prolific is set to drop, this is arguably the most awaited.
Boldy James & The Alchemist
Untitled
Staying with Boldy, the next of his series of albums with the almighty Alchemist is said to be near finished and based upon the critical praise of their previous works of My 1st Chemistry Set, The Price Of Tea In China, Bo Jackson, and Super Techmo Bo. Their (ahem) chemistry is top notch and they rank among the best emcee/producer duos in the game today so to say the next episode of Boldy and Uncle Al will be certain to be crazy. While 2022 was definitely a defining year for him with albums such as Mr. Ten08 and Fair Exchange, No Robbery, expectations are high for him to have his best year yet, as he is set to also deliver other efforts such as collaborative efforts with Harry Fraud, V-DON, Jay Versace, and Futurewave.
Schoolboy Q
Untitled
TDE had a tremendous year just based off Kendrick's final TDE album, Mr. Morale & The High Steppers and SZA's excellent return, S.O.S., as well as Ab-Soul delivering his very dope album, Herbert. It's being said in 2023 that TDE may have their busiest year in quite some time. One of the key artists slated to drop is ScHoolboy Q. After delivering prior successes such as Habits & Contradictions, his platinum Grammy Award nominated album, Oxymoron, his excellent follow up, The Blank Face LP, and the so-so Crash Talk, the pressure is on for ScHoolboy to deliver up to the star level we know he can achieve. Based on the street single, "Soccer Dad", this sounds like a possible return to his Blank Face days, at least musically. Will this cut also indicate somewhat of a directional change in terms of content and subject matter? Time will tell.
Jay Rock
Untitled
Staying with TDE, Compton native, Jay Rock, is among the more underrated of the bunch, in spite of having tremendously dope efforts such as 90059 and Redemption still being bumped present day. It's been five years since we've had a Jay Rock album, and this could finally be the year we see a new effort from him. There have been rumblings that a new album is on the way and we can hope that it meets the standard set by his prior two fantastic outings.
Tyler The Creator
Untitled
We last heard this Grammy Award winning emcee delivering arguably the most cohesive and complete album of his career with 2021's Call Me If You Get Lost. Always seen as someone willing to push artistic and stylistic boundaries, Tyler is always one to watch and keep eyes on whenever there are rumblings of another Tyler effort. With an overall very impressive discography, and unbelievable albums such as the aforementioned and the just as impressive Flower Boy, the question is "Can he match or outdo this last benchmark effort?" Based upon what we know about him as an artist, don't bet against him.
Ludacris
Untitled
It's been nearly eight full years since we last heard anything in terms of a full length effort from ATL's own Ludacris. His 2015 offering, Ludaversal, was an overall dope effort that fit right into his very trunk-rattling prior efforts. With talks of him joining Janet Jackson on tour this year, some talk has emerged of a possible album to be presented to the masses as well quite possibly this year. Mr. Bridges may have been heavy on his Fast & Furious hustle, but he definitely hasn't forgotten his true love of hip-hop, and it's likely we could see another flavorful offering from one of the south's most influential emcees.
Curren$y & Hit-Boy
Untitled
What happens when you put together one of the game's most prolific and hardest working emcees with one of hip-hop's most in-demand producers over the last three years? What happens is you have the mixture of Curren$y and Hit-Boy. In 2022, they were both involved in two of the year's finest offerings, as Curren$y & another in-demand board wizard, The Alchemist, with Continuance, while Hit-Boy and Nas dropped off the simply bananas, King's Disease 3. Well these two mainstays are reportedly set to unleash an album together and it actually provides quite the curiosity to hear Curren$y over Hit-Boy's production. Curren$y will likely have another busy year, as he's also rumored to drop the much rumored effort with Jermaine Dupri, but this one may be the album that may put Curren$y on yet another level.
Teflon
Two Sides To Every Story
Longtime M.O.P.-affiliate, Teflon, has been relatively silent for the Brownsville emcee, who's last release was way back in '97 with My Will. The very highly anticipated DJ Premier-crafted, Contraband, was supposed to be released in '05 but never surfaced. Now almost twenty years later, we have new material from Tef in the form of singles like "Headshot", "Contraband", and "No Fake Love", that all are setting us up for his 2023 offering, Two Sides To Every Story. The concept is half the album will be produced by Jazimoto and the other constructed by Preemo. This is promised to be hard as nails and could be a silent killer whenever it's dropped.
Cyhi The Prince
The Story Of EGOT
Atlanta's Cyhi the Prince has been riding low over these last few years. The former G.O.O.D. Music signee was acclaimed for his show-stealing guest spots on Kanye's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, as well as his Black Hystori Project mixtape and his independent full-length debut, No Dope On Sundays in 2017. While he may have been crafting his pen game as a writer and co-writer on cuts like "Sicko Mode", last year, he stated he was working on his next effort, The Story Of EGOT, which apparently will be some sort of conceptual effort. As great as his pen game is, there's little to no doubt Cyhi will deliver the goods with this next example of his often underappreciated talents, both with the pen and on the mic.
Consequence
Nice Doing Business With You
Queens emcee Consequence has been another former G.O.O.D. Music artist that has been relatively on the low over these last few years other than being a reality TV star. His last full-length effort, 2007's Don't Quit Your Day Job, was a fairly dope effort that showed his ability to handle his own biz apart from Tribe (he was pretty much all over Beats, Rhymes, & Life) and was more than just Q-Tip's cousin and Kanye's protégé. He's currently working on his 2023 offering, Nice Doing Business With You, with reportedly Kanye responsible for a number of beats for the album (yes they reportedly reconciled). Quence and Ye in the past have made tremendous music together so let's see what this very updated version will sound like.
Sauce Walka & Daringer
Untitled
Texas emcee Sauce Walka is no stranger to controversy. Although his legal issues with the Texas Southern incident and his indie label being investigated for reported possible gang activity tend to override his talent, Houston's son is quite the underground phenom in southern hip-hop. So much so that he has Griselda's in-house boardsmith, Daringer, to construct his first full-length album. Daringer, himself, was behind the boards exclusively for Meyhem Lauren's Black Vladimir to much critical acclaim and rightfully so. Can the dark and sinister production of Daringer match the gritty southern street talk of Sauce Walka? The results could be something memorable.
Larry June & The Alchemist
Untitled
With rumored projects such as the next Gangrene album and collaborative efforts with Vince Staples, Conway, Budgie, and likely others, it's apparent Alan The Chemist could have just as busy and productive of a year as he has the past several. One noteworthy collaborative effort is with L.A. emcee, Larry June. June, who delivered 2022's, Spaceships On the Blade album, has been inviting in more and more of a following over the last few years along with cohort Jay Worthy. This could potentially be the biggest album in the career of LJ, as his laid-back stylings over what would likely be equally laid-back yet potent instrumentals form Uncle Al could be one of the legit mean ones of the year.
Nas & Hit-Boy
King's Disease 4
It's been said that 50 Cent will finally drop new music in 2023. While we were intrigued at him stating he was working with Dre and Em again for this effort, it was also stated he would be possibly working with Nas for he and Hit-Boy's fourth installment of King's Disease. This is surely fantastic news of another installment of the Grammy Award winning series for fans of both Hit-Boy and the legendary Queensbridge emcee. The first one was a very dope introduction to the pairing and the result was a Grammy. The second one showed Nas coming close to his old Nasty Nas days only as an elder statesman in the game. The 2022 offering of KD3 has been argued as perhaps the best overall in the series, and it's hard not to argue this sentiment. While Magic has been low-key considered King's Disease 2.5, we wait with eager anticipation how they'll top KD3, which will be a tall order for sure.
DJ Muggs
Soul Assassins 3
It's been twenty-three years since we've had an official Soul Assassins follow-up to his severely slept-on Soul Assassins II back in 2000. The first edition of it was a monstrous album with the likes of Goodie Mob, GZA, RZA, Infamous Mobb, and MC Eiht over some of the best Muggs production of this very day. With the follow-up, it was equally as crazy with the likes of Xzibit, G.O.D.Father of Infamous Mobb, Everlast, and Kool G. Rap blistering the haunting and occasionally rock-tinged production of Muggs. He did drop Soul Assassins: Intermission in '09 and was almost as knocking as the prior two pieces, but since then he's been more focused on collaborative efforts with the likes of GZA, Rome Streetz, Eto, Planet Asia, Tha God Fahim, Mach-Hommy, and Sick Jacken. All of which were nothing short of fantastic and continued to prove his legendary status among the greatest producers in hip-hop history. Now with cuts like the Method Man/Slick Rick cut "Metroplis" and the Scarface/Freddie Gibbs collab "Street Made", it looks like Soul Assassins III could be a reality sooner than later. If history shows us anything, you can believe this will be another high caliber effort from one of the greats.
Stove God Cook$
Untitled
Definitely one emcee that a lot of people are checking for in 2023 is Griselda signee, Stove God Cook$. The Rochester, NY native first made waves within the underground with his Roc Marciano-produced debut, Reasonable Drought, which received instant classic status within the sub terrain. Since then, he has been among the most featured artists out there, and then he signed with the Griselda camp, and has literally been on numerous Griselda projects, at times dominating the album as much as the particular artist (see Peace "Fly" God and Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Sincerely Adolf, both from Westside Gunn). He may arguably have the most anticipated release of the year from Griselda. The question is will he live up to the hype he has made for himself? Hopefully we will find out this year.
Rome Streetz & Conductor Williams
Untitled
Staying with Griselda, in 2022, Rome Streetz dropped one of the hardest Griselda albums in recent memory with his GXFR debut, Kiss The Ring. Streetz fit right into the Griselda aesthetic perfectly and his vivid street talk over atmospheric and menacing production was a match made in hood heaven. During an interview, Westside Gunn mentioned that among the numerous Griselda releases he plans on dropping this year is supposedly a finished album that Streetz did with one of Griselda's in-house production monsters, Conductor Williams. Conductor provided the soundscape for the tracks "Heart On Froze", "In Too Deep", "Soulja Boy", and several others on the album. The thought of an entire project done by Conductor with Rome finessing overt those trippy soulful samples that Conductor tends to create is quite the sonic image. Rome's Kiss The Ring set a new bar for his career. Can he duplicate it with this supposed collaborative effort?
Benny The Butcher & Hit-Boy
EVERYBODY CAN'T GO
Don't let some of these critics fool you. Benny's collaborative album with Grammy Award-winning boardsmith, Hit-Boy, Burden Of Proof, was excellent. Those looking for the sheer griminess and intimidating soundscapes of prior albums like Tana Talk 3 and The Plugs I Met were disappointed overall, but that doesn't mean Burden Of Proof was a bust because in no way, shape, or form was it. Hit-Boy provided Benny with more polished, slightly radio-friendly beats that were still very much a street-centered album. Some chatter was that Benny was back in the studio with Hit-Boy not too long after he dropped Tana Talk 4. In fact, Hit-Boy captured an image of him and The Butcher in the studio together. All signs lead towards the sequel to Burden Of Proof to drop in 2023, entitled EVERYBODY CAN'T GO. Benny is definitely the star of Griselda, and this is obvious with his Def Jam deal that he signed last year. There's no reason to think EVERYBODE CAN'T GO will be anything but sizzling and with one of hip-hop's most in-demand producers at the helm yet again, this could be another knockout for The Butcher.
Benny the Butcher
Untitled Def Jam debut
Let's stay with Benny for a second. We just stated that ECG could likely be on its way this year. Let's also mention the busy year he had in 2022. Aside from the fire Tana Talk 4 album, he also put out material such as his mixtape offering, Pyrex Picasso, as well as the group effort with his Black Soprano Family crew, Long Live Shay. Perhaps his most anticipated album this year isn't even BOP2. In fact, it just may be his Def Jam debut. Being signed to Def Jam was a move done by Def Jam exec, Snoop Dogg, and it very well could mean his stardom is arriving. Although highly acclaimed in the streets with his discography, with Snoop at the helm, it's possible this could be THAT Benny album that puts him on more red carpets without compromising his artistic integrity and his street loyalty.
J. Cole
It's A Boy
Fayetteville's own Jermaine Cole is seen as one of the most important emcees of his generation. After nearly a decade since the release of his most acclaimed album to date, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, J. Cole has been a hip-hop necessity. His prior works of Cole World and Born Sinner put him on the commercial radio map for the most part, but a more mature, introspective Cole started recording material that could easily be more relatable than his past works. In 2021, he dropped The Off Season, which was filled with trunk rattlers and a feistiness and confidence we hadn't fully heard from him since Forest Hills Drive. However, in 2023, this upcoming release, apparently now called It's A Boy as opposed to his prior title, The Fall Off, is said to be his retirement album. While of course we hope it isn't, we also can't say he hasn't accomplished a great deal within his career, including platinum albums, critical acclaim, working with legends such as Jay and Nas, the founder of Dreamville Records (which hosts artists such as EARTHGANG, Ari Lennox, and JID) and being seen as an elite emcee. Cole is a legend and if this is his send off, you can bet it'll nothing less than crazy.
Prodigy
The Hegelian Dialectic: The Book Of Death
When Bandana P left this world in 2017, he still had more jewels for us to peep. The first was The Hegelian Dialectic: The Book Of Revelation, a deep, almost philosophical album filled with conspiracy theories and illuminati-themed material. This was actually the first in a three part series, with the second part being released in 2022 in The Hegelian Dialectic: The Book Of Heroine. This album was themed around his love of drugs in the form of a woman and the bittersweet relationship he has with "her". While we truly appreciate these offerings from Prodigy by all means, perhaps it's the third offering in the trilogy that will be the most climatic. The album, The Hegelian Dialectic: The Book Of Death, is said to be more the gutter gangsta, murda music P we've all come to know and love throughout the decades. No doubt his brand of "heavy metal for the Black people" will be all the more reason to say farewell to a legend in the game and here's to hoping you can smell the gunpowder as soon as the first track hits.
Armani Caeser
Untitled
Among the many projects Gunn revealed that he planned on dropping in 2023 through Griselda, one of them was the third effort from Armani Caeser. Following up last year's very dope The Liz 2 will be a hard quest, as he raised her talent and bars even more than on her debut, The Liz. With the Griselda family behind her, it's possible that she could even raise a new bar for herself and be three for three in quality music from perhaps the next big star to emerge from the hardest crew in the game.
Kanye West & Jay-Z
Watch The Throne 2
Throughout 2022, Kanye, or ye, was much the subject of a plethora of controversial matters and trending topics. Most were not good whatsoever. However, musically, one thing that perked some people's ears up was that he mentioned on N.O.R.E.'s Drink Champs podcast was that Watch The Throne 2 was "coming soon". Could it happen? Don't bet against it. The first Watch The throne that dropped in 2011 got overall excellent reviews and showed the cohesive chemistry between both megastars. With Jay still sounding plenty hungry just based off his appearance on DJ Khaled's GOD DID album, as well as Kanye's work with Pusha and his own Donda albums, don't be enormously surprised if it does drop, but with most stuff related with Mr. West, we will believe it if/when we see it.
Snoop Dogg
Missionary
In 1993, the world caught a hold of the next big west coast superstar in Snoop (Doggy) Dogg. The LBC emcee was the much talked about protégé of the almighty Dr. Dre and helped make his Chronic album a treasured landmark for hip-hop. The hype was massive for his debut Doggystyle, and expectations were through the roof. It not only met them, it exceeded them. This became widely heralded as one of the all time great albums as well as one of the all time great debuts. Since then, Snoop has become an undisputed legend and folk hero to most within music and entertainment. During the summer of 2022, talk was that Snoop was the studio with Dre, and before long images of the two of them in the studio emerged. Turned out they were working on the 30th anniversary of Doggystyle, and this time the sequel would have a very appropriate title, Missionary. While it's always a beautiful thing to see the "Doggfather" and the "Good Doctor" get together, the thought of a ehole album from them again is more than exciting. While you never can fully depend on Dre to come through for an album release due to the sheer levels of his supposed perfectionism, this would be a massive release for the year.
Che Noir
The Essence
Buffalo native Che Noir has been making waves in the underground for about 3 years now. Her no-nonsense, raw stylings put her as part of 38 Spesh's TRUST crew along with Ransom. While she's had the most critical acclaim from her stunning album with production wizard, Apollo Brown, for As God Intended, she's also delivered very dope efforts such as After 12, Juno, and last year's efforts of The Last Remnants and Food For Thought. While she has stated she has a few album lined up for this year, one that keeps coming back up is The Essence. Although there's not a lot of info about it except she's playing a key role in production (don't sleep on her boardwork), this album wouldn't do anything but show what her past efforts have shown: she's one emcee that you better stop sleeping on.
Rapsody
Untitled
NC's Grammy Award-winning phenom, Rapsody, has been somewhat low-key since dropping her unbelievable effort of 2019, Eve, but definitely not off the map. Doing the occasional collaborations and guest features, her most recent was with Remy Ma for DJ Premier's incredible introduction to the Hip-Hop 50 series in the form of "Remy Rap". Rumors are swirling that she's back in the studio and after dropping one of the game's most inspiring and insightful albums, along with having quite the fantastic discography, it's not hard to understand why fans are chomping at the bit to get a new project from "Godzilla" herself.
Vince Staples & The Alchemist
Untitled
Consider this a rumor right now, but talk is that LBC's young phenom Vince Staples and Uncle Al are coming together for a collaborative effort. If you follow Alchemist on social media, especially Twitter, you know he's quite the character when it comes to his Q&A's. One such follower asked him about a possible Vince Staples collaboration, and his response was in the form of a crystal ball, and most of the time, that's his all but confirmed way of saying he's working with that said particular artist. Staples is coming off of his strongest overall effort since his debut Def Jam full-length, Summertime '06 back in 2015 in the form of Ramona Park Broke My Heart. Al, in the meantime, has worked with damn near a who's who of acts last year such as Conway, Benny, Kendrick, Rome Streetz, and Cormega. While we definitely look forward to the likely new projects he has with Boldy, Larry June, and Conway, let's not sleep on this one to possibly drop as well.
Meyhem Lauren
Champaign For Breakfast
After dropping arguably his best effort to date with the Daringer-crafted Black Vladimir album, Queens emcee Meyhem Lauren may have another stellar effort on his hands. According to DJ Muggs' IG account, he's working on an album with Lauren called Champaign For Breakfast, that will also include production from the evil genius himself, Madlib. Muggs and Meyhem are no strangers to each other as they put out the under-discussed Gems From The Equinox effort and their EP, Frozen Angels. Both projects were acclaimed and showed how great Meyhem glides over such eerie instrumentals. Now mixed with the unpredictable yet highly intriguing boardwork of Madlib and we may have a benchmark for Meyhem in 2023.
Griselda
WWCD2
Whenever Gunn, Benny, and Conway all together on a track, it'll be promised to be absolute fire. No disputing that. When they all came together for a full-length album through Shady Records at the end of 2019, WWCD (for What Would 'Chinegun Do), it absolutely brought their level of grittiness and utter grime to the masses and was uncompromising in its approach and themes of drugs, guns, and intimidation. With an aesthetic that rivaled prior classics such as 36 Chambers, The Infamous, The War Report, and Ready To Die, WWCD fit the same mold. Among the several projects Gunn stated would drop in 2023, this was one he really emphasized. He stated that his "family" album would drop, in the form of WWCD2 (tentatively speculated title). There's no doubt that if it's anywhere in the ballpark of the first one, this will be another sincere knock out for the camp and for those that prefer their hip-hop filled with images of police yellow tape.
Westside Gunn
MICEHELLE RECORDS
At the beginning of the year, Westside Gunn expressed that he was retiring in 2023. Having done quite a bit in the years he's been in the game, he apparently feels like there's nothing more to prove, which is arguably fair. He mentioned quite a number of efforts they're dropping (most of these supposed efforts have already been covered here). Perhaps the main project he's focusing on for himself is the much touted, MICHELLE RECORDS. This title is named after his aunt who lost her life in 2021 and was actually originally slated to drop on Halloween of 2022. Instead, 10 dropped (which we're not complaining about by the way as that album was quite bananas). If this is his final solo project, one can only imagine he will go out in star-studded fashion and present possibly the best album he's ever presented, and that's saying a lot considering how fantastic his efforts have been.
The Alchemist & Budgie
The Good Book Vol. 3
Another project that Uncle Al is slated to be involved with is the third edition of his Good Book series with fellow producer, Budgie. The album, which centers around religious or spiritual imagery, is likely to have some extremely dope instrumentals with tremendous stars spitting over them. Acts such as Roc Marciano, Action Bronson, the late Prodigy, Conway, Gunn, and Evidence have all contributed to the prior two albums. One half would be strictly done by Al and the other half was done by Budgie. We will see if they follow the same formula and if it'll be every bit as acclaimed as the prior ones.
Logic
College Park
We were all very pleasantly surprised when Logic delivered such a crazy effort in 2022 with Vinyl Days, a gem of an album that was just strictly hip-hop. No fillers. No gimmicks. Definitely not for any type of crossover appeal. Just hip-hop, and it worked beautifully. That was also his last Def Jam release. In 2023, he returns with his first indie album since before his Def Jam deal, College Park. With reported guests such as RZA, Statik Selektah, Bun B, and Norah Jones among others, this could be another intriguing album potentially. While his discography has been hit and miss, the DMV representative is very talented when he's sharp and focused, and based on Vinyl Days, he may have found a new fire within his mic and it's possible this could be another example of what got him signed to Def Jam in the first place.
LL Cool J
Untitled
The self-professed GOAT is back in 2023. The iconic Hall Of Famer hasn't dropped an album since 2013's Authentic. The owner of the ever popular Sirius XM station, Rock The Bells, has still been busy with philanthropy work and of course his role in NCIS. A couple of years ago, he stated that he was collaborating with another Queens legend in Q-Tip for the handling of his next album. Well, while we don't have confirmation on any LL/Q-Tip collaboration for this new album, he has however stated he's in full album mode and that he was "competing with himself" on this one. This means this could be quite the album that reminds us of why he's one of the single most influential and overall greatest emcees that's ever touched a mic. The owner of classic albums like Radio, Mr. Smith, G.O.A.T., and especially Mama Said Knock You Out is ready for another run at showing these young ones out here who made it possible for them to even hold a mic.
Lil Wayne
Tha Carter VI
In the early to mid 00's, was there anyone more on fire than Lil' Wayne? His run from '06 through '10 was nothing short of stellar and his mixtape run was damn near legendary. Not to mention all the guest verses he was blessing on other's albums (very similar to Busta Rhymes in the mid-nineties). It's been said he's resurrecting his Carter series in 2023, and if this resembles any of his others in the series, the game may be in a problem. While he may be a tad more recluse and not quite as active as he used to be during his peak, he's still Wayne, and as we've seen from him with guest verses on albums from the likes of DJ Khaled, Cordae, Westside Gunn, Benny, Latto, and Jack Harlow, he still knows how to put lines together that only Wayne has the brilliance to conjure up. There are also talks of his dropping the next installment in his I Am Not A Human Being series as well. Will Tha Carter VI measure up to his past crazy efforts, especially the career benchmark, Carter III? We hope to see.
Danny Brown
Quaranta
Detroit's quirky, yet very talented, emcee Danny Brown is easily among hip-hop's most fascinating characters. Catching strong buzz from his mixtape, XXX, he started to build a cult-like following slowly, and subsequent efforts like his collaborative effort with fellow Detroit emcee/producer, Black Milk Black & Brown, ODB, his ambitious yet phenomenal Atrocity Exhibition, and the Q-Tip executive produced, UKnowwhatimsayin all exhibit his propensity to display his left-brained mic stylings, mixed with trippy, if not straight up LSD-invoking, imagery as well as comedic lines as well. With his forthcoming album, Quaranta, we may likely get more of his comedic persona much like we saw with Uknowwhatimsayin, but still maintaining his technical ability with his excellent pen game. When you put this, along with the recent announcement of a collaborative effort with eclectic and experimental Brroklyn-native, emcee/producer JPEGMAFIA for a project, this could be quite a dope year or Mr. Brown.
Pusha T & DJ Drama
Untitled
2022 saw VA's Pusha T drop another benchmark effort with the Grammy Award nominated, It's Almost Dry. What Kanye and Pharrell put together was magical and many have argued that it's the album of his career, if only rivaled with his prior monstrous effort, the Kanye-helmed DAYTONA. With him officially done with G.O.O.D. Music, he's gone the indie route and his first order of business is a reported mixtape with southern mixtape giant, DJ Drama for a Gangsta Grillz-like project. While not much is known about this collaborative effort, you can bet if DJ Drama is on it or associated with it, this could be quite dope, as evidenced with his work/appearances on albums from Jeezy, Westside Gunn, and Tyler the Crestor. One really can't go too wrong with anything Pusha drops and one would be not too wise to not invest in this forthcoming project.
Run The Jewels
RTJ5
There's not too many album series more consistently outstanding than Run The Jewels' RTJ run. Killer Mike and El-P's official debut as Run The Jewels in 2013 was among the best releases of the year and showed that this combo that doesn't look like it would mesh on paper turned out to prove any and all skeptics wrong. However, it was 2014 when they dropped RTJ2 when we realized they could be among the most explosive and dynamic duo of their generation with an all-time classic of an album. Rivaling socio-political and conspiracy albums such as other monuments like AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted or even It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, this album officially made them a smash that both rap and rock audiences firmly appreciated. Their 2016 follow-up, RTJ3, was easily as great as their prior, and in some cases even better if you can imagine that. They really could've left the game right then with perhaps the greatest critical trilogy in all of hip-hop for this era, but then they dropped RTJ4 in 2020 and pretty much kept the same momentum as the prior four efforts. Already being compared to legendary duos like Mobb Deep, Gangstarr, and EPMD, Killer Mike announced during a concert that RTJ5 was coming. As we've heard from them on guest spots on projects such as DJ Premier's Hip-Hop 50 Vol. 1 and Westside Gunn's 10, RTJ hasn't lost a step and could quite easily be among the single most anticipated projects of all of 2023.
Redman
Muddy Waters Too
It's been practically forever since we've had a true full-length album from the legendary Funk Doc. Fans have been impatiently waiting for the sequel to his career best, '96's Muddy Waters, since he stated back in 2016 that Muddy Waters Too was coming. We've gotten what was supposedly a teaser album in Mudface, in 2019 but hopefully this is the year we finally get to see Muddy Waters Too see the light of day. While the assumption is that he will reunite with the likes of Erick Sermon (keep pushing forward E-Double), Rockwilder, and Keith Murray, not too much is known about the project, but again, we would love to finally get to hear the sequel to the album that really established the career of Reggie Noble.
Method Man & Havoc
Dirty P
When Method Man went on a radio show and stated that he had a collaborative effort with Havoc of Mobb Deep, heads were in a frenzy and couldn't wait for the album to drop. Havoc and Mef are no strangers to working with each other has Mef was featured on Mobb Deep's Hell On Earth classic on the ominous "Extortion", while Hav did work on Mef's Tical 2000: Judgment Day album on the banger "Play IV Keeps" and again on his 4:21...The Day After on the dope cut "Somebody Done Fucked Up". The prospect of a whole project by these two legends is tremendous and it could finally see the light of day. With Mef dropping the latest installment of his Meth Lab mixtape series and Havoc's work with the likes of Cormega, Styles P and Philly's Dark Lo, the time is s et for the album, Dirty P (combining the names of fallen partners Ol' Dirty Bastard and Prodigy) to get unleashed and don't be surprised if this doesn't make a bunch of top five lists when it drops.
Che Noir & Big Ghost LTD
Untitled
Over the past few years, mysterious producer Big Ghost LTD has dropped a number of sinister projects with the likes of Conway & Westside Gunn, CRIMEAPPLE, Ahnklejohn, Hus Kingpin, Knowledge The Pirate, and most recently Mickey Diamond. His brand of ominous and dark instrumentals have resonated throughout the underground for nearly a decade. One of his next up to bat is with aforementioned Buffalo native emcee, Che Noir. Showing that she can float on collaborative producer albums with her album with Apollo Brown, As God Intended, it'll be interesting if see if their success will rival past Big Ghost efforts. His instrumentals seem to bring the grittiness out of rappers and with Che Noir already there, this could be quite the interesting project.
The Roots
End Game
All hail the legendary Roots crew! It's been nearly a decade since we've had a full project from Black Thought, Quest Love and company, and that was the very decent ...And You Shoot Your Cousin album. Since then, they've mostly been relegated to Jimmy Fallon and The Tonight Show, with occasional scores such as The Hamilton Mixtape. Meanwhile, Black Thought has been expanding his wings doing collaborative albums with the likes of 9th Wonder, Salaam Remi, Sean C & LV, and most recently Danger Mouse for the exceptional Cheat Codes in 2022. However, a leak happened in the form of a Roots single with Erykah Badu and Tierra Whack, "Misunderstood". Rumored collaborators have been said to include 9th Wonder and Salaam Remi so with their long-awaited tenth album, this could be another victory lap for one of hip-hop's all-time finest acts.
Other Rumored/Speculated Albums for 2023
Boldy James & VDON- untitled
Boldy James & Harry Fraud- untitled
Boldy James & Jay Versace- untitled
Boldy James & Futurewave- untitled
YNBilly & DJ Drama- untitled
Various Artists- Conway The Machine Presents Drumwork
Estee Nack- NACKsaw Jim Duggan
Westside Gunn & Madlib- Gunnlib
Westside Gunn- Flygod Is An Awesome God 3
Jay Worthy & Roc Marciano- untitled
Jay Worthy- untitled
Step Brothers- untitled
Curren$y & Jermaine Dupri- untitled
JID- untitled
EARTHGANG- untitled
Spillage Village- untitled
Danny Brown & JPEGMAFIA- untitled
Masta Ace & Marco Polo- untitled
Busta Rhymes- untitled
Black Thought & El Michaels Affair- untitled
Anderson.Paak & Hit-Boy- untitled
Pink Siifu- untitled
Koncept Jackson & Sahdugold- untitled
Logic- 9
Slum Village- untitled
Your Old Droog & Madlib- YODlib
Tha God Fahim & Camouflage Monk- untitled EP
7XVEDAGENIUS- untitled
Planet Asia & Madlib- untitled
Apollo Brown & Planet Asia- untitled
DJ Muggs & Planet Asia- untitled
Talib Kweli & Madlib- Liberation 2
Raekwon- Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 3
PRhyme- PRhyme 3
Royce Da 5'9"- untitled
billy woods- untitled
Ststik Selektah- untitled
Fly Anakin & Madlib- MadFly
Jay Worthy & Camouflage Monk- untitled
Ill Bill- Billy
The Heartbreakers (Camouflage Monk, Conductor Williams, Denny LeFlare)- untitled
With other possible albums coming from Ghostface, Future/Metro Boomin, A$AP Rocky, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Cordae, several efforts from Your Old Droog (including the aforementioned collab with Madlib), several efforts from Tha God Fahim, and Denzel Curry, this looks to be another fire year very similar to 2022, even though it would be a tall order. However, based upon this list and others not particularly mentioned, stay tuned for what could be another great, great year for this decade.
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