Well folks, we've reached the end of another monstrous hip-hop year. So far in these 20s, it's been fairly safe to say that this decade could rival the eighties through the thousands in terms of amazing decades within the game, and we are only five years deep. Seemingly each year tends to get better and better and better, much like the nineties in a sense. 2024 delivered some simply amazing works of art from the likes of Common & Pete Rock, Killer Mike, Doechii, Rome Streetz & Daringer, Cavalier, and Armand Hammer, and it looks like 2025 has not only met the new benchmark set by last year, it may have raised the bar even higher for 2026. From Nas delivering his highly commendable Legend Has It series that saluted legends of the eighties and nineties and have them drop overall very dope efforts to his own VERY highly anticipated collab album with DJ Premier to a phenomenal return and reunion of VA's The Clipse to Alchemist and Boldy James both having an unbelievably busy year, this year has seen a highly credible amount of critically acclaimed music that made this year a very hard year to decipher the best albums of the year. Normally, we would go over the best twenty or thirty, but it really tells you something if twenty or thirty just wouldn't cut it. We had to do forty, and even then this was still hard due to the sheer amount of outstanding music dropped this year at our collective feet. As you read and go over this list, please keep in mind this is ALL SUBJECTIVE. One is welcomed to agree and disagree at any moments notice. There are no wrong answers here (give or take some artists that quite frankly made material so average or below they wouldn't even be good enough for any honorable mention slot). If you feel there were some albums that should've at least made HM, then by all means let us know so we can either agree, disagree, or if it hasn't been peeped, we can do just that. In any event, this is meant to be fun and strike up good HEALTHY conversation and debates if need be. Without further ado, let's get into it shall we?
40. Boldy James & Nicholas Craven
Criminally Attached
Production: Nicholas Craven
Guests: Poppy Bricks, others
We begin with one of a few albums delivered by Detroit's own Boldy James. James could likely earn the MVP title for most consistently dope projects in a twelve-month period (although Tha God Fahim should easily be mentioned as well). James has been linked with the likes of Chuck Strangers, Real Bad man, and V DON among others this year. However, he linked with one of Canada's most respected producers, and frequent collaborator, Nicholas Craven, twice in under a year. Earlier in 2025, these two dropped off the impressive, Late to My Own Funeral, which was a follow up to their previous collaborative effort, Penalty of Leadership, in 2024. Although that album was certainly dope, it would be the second offering of the two 2025 albums that would be the best of the two, Criminally Attached. Newly signed to Roc Nation, this album has Craven providing some of his best production work in quite a minute. His brand of chipmunk soul loops with often drum-less percussion has become a signature sound for Craven, and this works greatly for James. The opening track, "Walnut Grove", has Boldy boastfully stating how much of a hustler he's been throughout his life over a fitting sample, while he keeps this hustler lifestyle prevalent on cuts like "Infared.com", "Thread the Needle", and "2 Left Feet". If you know even a little bit about James' topics within his music, it almost always consists of coke rap, hustling, and street narratives, and he does not waver at all here. Staying true to his Detroit roots, he acknowledges his gang affiliations on cuts like "No Blemishes" and the closer, "1st Time Around", but also realizes his rise came through sacrificing and dealing with hood matters on the cuts "Mr. Quaker Oats" and the aforementioned "Thread the Needle". Many have argued that Craven and James' collaborative effort of 2022, Fair Exchange, No Robbery, is the pinnacle of their efforts together, but with Criminally Attached, this may have upped the ante. The chemistry these two have together is impressive to say the least, and one would be hard pressed to not consider this album one of Boldy's best overall projects.
39. Earl Sweatshirt
Live Laugh Love
Production: artist, Black Noi$e, Theravada, Child Actor, Navy Blue
Guests: N/A
Anytime an announcement of Cali's boy wonder, Earl Sweatshirt, is dropping an effort, fans perk up quickly, as they know Earl will deliver another highly acclaimed project. Following up 2022's Sick!, Earl finally presented his fifth album, Live Laugh Love. Those typically accustomed to Earl's heavy and occasionally depressing bars will be in for a shock with this surprisingly more upbeat and charming album. The husband and father has undergone some personal growth, even with tragedies, mental illness, and heartbreak along the way. The change is evident in a number of tracks on this album including "Gamma (Need The <3)", "Forge", and "Infatuation". The latter two reflect how much he embraces his different, yet cool, approach as a married family man. Aside from quirky flirts and basketball references (supposedly the album was made after a few impromptu games with the album's main producer, Theravada), Earl still reflects on his hardships, stress, insecurities, and his mental health. A standout track in particular is "Tourmaline", in which Earl looks back on his very unhappy times and how much he's progressed as a man over excellent production from Theraveda. He also does more retrospective introspection on "Crisco", in which he looks back on the violence he saw and witnessed growing up, suppressing his anger, and hardships that shaped him for the better and the worse. When he's not being thick with emotional topics or awkwardly admitting how much he's in love with his current life, he still keeps it all day hip-hop. Earl is already dumb ass nice with the pen and his delivery has inspired the likes of Wiki, MIKE, and MAVI. The opener, "gsc vs lac", is a great example of this, with its lighter overall content, but non-stop shit talking as eloquently as Earl can do, as well as the likes of "Well Done", "Live", and "Static". All of which exemplify Earl's damn near unmatched bars game and why he's commanded respect and acclaim from his contemporaries. Gone seemingly are the days of depressing, dark, and morose music from Earl such as earlier efforts like I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside and Some Rap Songs, and here are the days of him embracing life for the first time on wax on Live Laugh Love. However, don't let the family man growth fool you. Earl is still THAT emcee that was seen as one of hip-hop's most promising figures at the tender age of fourteen. He raps his entire ass off here, and it's excellent to see him still maintain that level of pen ferocity, while embracing the much-needed change in his mind state and outlook.
38. Westside Gunn
Heels Have Eyes EP
Production: Cee Gee, Harry Fraud, Denny LeFlare, Mr. Green
Guests: N/A
It can't be 2025 without ol' Flygod himself, Westside Gunn. The label CEO/wrestling promotion owner/fashion and art collector/emcee/curator never not stays busy. Besides having one of the most prolific discographies of the past decade, his work ethic is one of mystique and legend at the same time. There are times where he will promote an upcoming mixtape/EP/full-length album, and other time where he will just drop an effort out of nowhere and state that he "completed it in 24 hours". One of the latter examples would be his Heels Have Eyes series. Named after his wrestling promotion, 4th Rope, and their signature event, Gunn wanted to drop companion pieces to these events and all three delivered and delivered hard. The first one was a five-track banger that showed Gunn could put it together simply because he could. This fact makes it no less dope. His brand of luxurious street shit never fails on cuts like "Goro" while delivering an immeasurable amount of coke and gun bars on "Egypt", "Davey Boy Smith", and "Fishscale Fridays". He even gives a RIP shout to Mac Miller, while following it with gun references of Mac 10s and Mac 11's. It's what you expect from WSG, and this was the first of the three-part installment of Heels Have Eyes that reemphasized how important to the culture Gunn is. Trust me, it gets better.
37. Planet Asia & DJ Scratch
King's Dominion
Production: DJ Scratch
Guests: Rigz, Rome Streetz
Fresno legend, Planet Asia, is considered one of the game's most unheralded emcees. Respected and revered by practically all of his peers, Asia has gotten props from emcees such as Blu, Evidence, Guilty Simpson, and Xzibit, while also collaborating with these same emcees as well as the likes of Royce Da 5'9", Black Thought, Prodigy, GZA, and Domo Genesis. For almost thirty years in the game, Asia has been always consistent with the bars, but sometimes he would suffer from rhyming over average to mediocre production. That is not the case with his 27th album, King's Dominion, a collaborative effort with the legendary DJ Scratch of EPMD and Flipmode Squad fame. Released on Asia's birthday, this album was in the making before the pandemic hit, but for obvious reasons, the album had to get delayed. it finally saw the light of day in 2025, and we are all better for it. Scratch's sick boom-bap and very useful samplings stuck to Asia like Super Glue to flesh, as cuts such as the title track, "Not Allowed", and "Big Guns" has Asia in his whole lyrical bag. With the exception of the slightly syrupy "Put A Seed Through You", Asia spares the listener no chance of breathing with his murderous bars, especially when linked up with NY heavyweight Rome Streetz and Rigz of underground Rochester crew, Da Cloth, "Ghetto Gospel". Although only nine tracks deep (eight if you take away the Scratch spoken, "Knowledge Is Power", which still deserves a listen), Planet Asia and DJ Scratchator delivered the goods with King's Dominion, and ranks up there among his best work that includes Rule Of Thirds, his collabs with Apollo Brown Anchovies and Sardines, The Medicine, Pain Language with DJ Muggs, and Black Belt Theater. Scratch showed he still is among the most underrated producers in hip-hop history but brought an animal out of Asia that is always welcomed. Here's hoping for more from these two together.
36. Westside Gunn
12
Production: Daringer, Conductor Williams, Cee Gee, Mr. Green, others
Guests: Stove God Cook$, ESTEE NACK, Brother Tom Sos, Elijah Hooks
Another entry into this list from Alvin Worthy, aka Westside Gunn. The ever-prolific businessman, wrestling promoter, art connoisseur, record label founder, and self-professed "curator" knocked us on our collective asses with his three-part Heels Have Eyes project scattered throughout the year. The only full-length album he delivered was the aptly titled 12, which is a continuation of his popular Hitler Wears Hermes series. Following up his very acclaimed 2024 offering, Still Praying, Gunn flexes his usual bars over more of the same gutter, ominous, and some of the most screwface-sounding production one could ask for. Nothing is raised to any higher levels here folks. He's not allowing the listener to be subjected to rocket science. The album is about what he knows the most about: bricks, fashion, the streets, and hustling, with some wrestler name drops scattered within the album and as song titles. What's notable about this album is that the album has only one solo cut on the album in the form of "Outlander". The rest of the album is guested by frequent Griselda collaborator, Stove God Cook$, new Griselda signee Brother Tom Sos, and Massachusetts underground notable, Estee Nack. Let's get this out the way: Brother Tom Sos definitely got next. The emcee/producer/singer/songwriter does his thing on the cuts "Health Science" and "Gumbo Yaya" to the point where he may easily be among 2026's most anticipated "new" artists. From there, Gunn & the gang take care of business on crazy cuts like "Adam Page", "055", and the visceral-sounding Daringer offering, "Veert". Never shorting his fiends on the coke rap with "Bury Me with A Stove", the track that is perhaps the most surprising is "Dump World", in which we get a surprisingly open and melancholy Gunn shouting out deceased friends and family, yet still finding time to flex his worldly possessions and his haters. Gunn may not be the breakout star Benny has become or the attitude that Conway embodies, but what he is in fact is the look and feel of Griselda. The luxurious gangsta that you silently hate but you deep down wish you could be him. With 12, Gunn only grows his legacy as one of the game's most hard-working emcees and moguls.
35. Evidence
The Unlearning Vol. 2
Production: artist, The Alchemist, Sebb, Conductor Williams, Graymatter, others
Guests: The Alchemist, Domo Genesis, Larry June, others
Always good to see "The Weatherman" drop a new one for the masses. The Cali representative had delivered a very formidable discography throughout his solo run apart from his former crew, Dilated Peoples. From his solo debut of '08, The Weatherman LP, all the way up to his most recent previous project, Unlearning Vol. 1 in 2023, Evidence and his "Mr. Slow Flow" delivery is as talented of a producer as he is a writer, and isn't afraid to be open, honest, and vulnerable. With Unlearning Vol. 2, Ev continues his theme of learning new lessons about himself and life in general. With the majority of the album being without hooks, we have Ev just rhyming. Nothing pretty, just dope. Self-reflection is highly apparent on cuts like "Plans Change", the woozy sounding, "Different Phases", and "Top Seeded". He gets raw and the most open on the Conductor-crafted, Blu-assisted, "Stay Alive", in which they rap about persevering through pain, but also on "Rain Every Season", he and his Stepbrother, Alchemist, get motivational and basically points out to seize moments even when it's uncomfortable (Ev's verse especially points this out). Arguably, Unlearning Vol. 2 is the most tightly and consistently packed album since 2018's fantastic, Weather or Not, and definitely a coming-of-age album for Ev. His Unlearning series sheds the gimmick of his "weather" themes, and go more into self-discovery as Michael Perretta, and more efforts like this will keep Ev in people's mouths as one of hip-hop's most unapologetic and transparent emcees.
34. Lloyd Banks
AON: Despite My Mistakes
Production: Cartune Beatz, George Getson, others
Guests: Styles P, Ransom, Ghostface Killah
It's never a bad time for the one-time "Punchline King" to make his presence felt. Former G-Ubnit soldier, Lloyd Banks, has been on a tear over the past few years since making his triumphant return in 2021 with Course of The Inevitable, and has since been dropping album after album, mixtape after mixtape. All of which have been a return to sound, if not even better, like he was still in the early to mid 2000s. This year, he dropped two mixtapes. The first being the continuation of his All or Nothing series, Despite My Mistakes. The second one being the latest in his Halloween Havoc series, The Six Of Swords, and it bumped like one would expect it to. For this latest installment of AON, Banks is every bit as gritty and hungry as we had been used to within this series. The last installment of AON, Live It Up, was an unapologetic rhyme feast showing his enemies how it's done properly, while the first one, Failure's Not an Option, was showing cats that he didn't need Curtis or the Unit to be his own profound talent. He raises the stakes even more with this third installment. He starts out strong with the neck-snapping "Determination", in which he displays starvation on the mic and shows how he remained undeterred in his approach to becoming someone big in the game. The very next track, "If I Wake Up", has him displaying the cautionary aspects of those that claim they with you but really are plotting your downfall. Throughout the album, the centerpiece lies within mistakes he's made along the way to becoming one of the game's most in-demand emcees over the past two decades. If Lloyd knows about anything, it's the importance of grabbing the listener's ears by any means lyrically but also allowing the listener to let the punchlines and witty pen structure breathe. He displays this trait on cuts like the ominous sounding love letter to hip-hop, "Art of Rap", "Rolling", and "No Info", in which all these cuts display Banks' lyrical charisma by putting words together cleverly to bring out his points per bar. A fine example comes from this bar from "Art of Rap": "At 19, had my young gun, just put the mac on the freeway/always alert, don't get left ready/but DJ if you're sleeping on me, go to your deathbed on your b-day." He continues to motivate by dropping jewels that resonate on other mean cuts like "The Grudge", "Perfect World", and "Traumatized", in which on the latter, he exclaims that the game made him jaded, but it also made him that much hungrier to be the best he can be and then will be ready to leave the game. He gets assistance from Styles P (the title track), Ghostface ("Endangered Innocence"), and Ransom ("1982"), but as a whole, Banks goes for dolo and that suits him just fine. Production here is fairly consistent throughout much like his prior album entries over the past few years, linking with the likes of George Getson and making a household name of Cartune Beatz. Don't expect a ton of clean, radio-friendly beats here. This is mainly haunting, minimalistic, and snapping, all for which Banks maintains ferocity within the entire scope of the album. In terms of his AON series, Despite My Mistakes is a step up from his previous, Live It Up, and with the theme of inner growth, rising above the negative, and weathering storms, Banks does a thorough job of doing all of the above.
33. Chance The Rapper
STAR LINE
Production: artist, Darkchild, Smoko Ono, others
Guests: BJ The Chicago Kid, Do Or Die, Jamila Woods, Lil Wayne, Smino, Joey Bada$$, Jay Electronica, Jazmine Sullivan, others
Over the last seven plus years, one polarizing emcee has been Chi-town's Chance the Rapper. At one time, he was seen as one of hip-hop's brightest up-and-comers based upon his acclaimed 2013 mixtape, Acid Rap. From here, this rolled into a pretty good collaborative effort with The Social Experiment for Surf. However, things went to the moon for Chancellor Bennett when he dropped highly revered mixtape, Coloring Book. Going from making music while high off LSD to embracing more of a spiritual tone, Coloring Book marked a pronounced benchmark in his career, as this not only marked him working with the likes of fellow Chicago native, Kanye West, as well as Lil Wayne, Jay Electronica, and even Gospel heavyweights like Kirk Franklin. This also marked the first time a mixtape won a Grammy for Best Rap Album. Relying more on his faith and less about fluff, the mixtape showed a sign of personal, spiritual and musical maturity. In 2019, Chance was finally ready to deliver his debut full-length album, The Big Day, which was a conceptual album based upon his real life wedding to his then wife, Kirsten. While the concept and imagery was wholesome, uplifting, and at times very spiritually grounded being based around God and family, it was critically mixed and was clowned in the streets. it didn't help when he got divorced a few years later assumedly based upon a leaked video of Chance getting down in a rather sexually energized manner during a Caribbean Festival. With his rep going downhill quickly and him becoming almost a laughing stock, it was time for Chance to get back in the studio and bringing out his best. He announced the start of working on his next full-length album, Star Line Gallery, in 2022. With teaser singles such as the Lil Wayne and Smino-collaborated, "Tree", "The Highs & The Lows", "Buried Alive", and the surprising collab with the legendary DJ Premier for "Together". Based upon these cuts alone, heads were starting to anticipate a very promising comeback for Chance. With the album, now renamed Star Line, going for the rollout, Chance dropped the tremendous, Gospel-influenced cut, "Just A Drop", featuring the ever allusive aforementioned Jay Elec, with the remix with longtime Chi-town legends, Do or Die. Would the rest of the album hold up as effectively? In a word, absolutely. Chance's melodic rap sounds confident, yet open and honest in all fullness. The album starts out dope with the aforementioned Do Or Die-assisted, "Ride", as just hearing Do Or Die back on mainstream wax brings fans back to when they were handling business well with their platinum album, Picture This, back in '96. It stays fun and not very heavy on cuts like the previously mentioned "Tree", as well as "Drapetomania" and the battle of the sexes cut with Young Thug and Tiacorine, "Gun In Yo Purse". However, this is still an album that comes right after his divorce so obviously we get a lot of introspection from him on various tracks. He angrily confronts the modern megachurches on "Letters", while addressing the lack of male role models in his life growing up on "No More Old Men". On the poignant, "Link Me In The Future", he imagines himself reuniting with deceased loved ones, while the socially conscious "The Negro problem" addresses issues within the community such as the healthcare system and the legal system. He puts his feelings and thoughts on full display concerning his life post-divorce on stirring cuts like the Vic Mensa-assisted, "Back To The Go" "Pretty", and the emotional closer featuring fellow Grammy Award winner, Jazmine Sullivan, "Speed Of Love" in such vulnerable and honest delivery that one doesn't hear too often in today's modern rap. While not quite the new career measuring stick this was speculated to be, Star Line is an exciting and worthwhile return to form of Chance. Blending all the elements that made him a star such as soul, consciousness, jazz undertones, charm, vulnerability and spirituality, Chance has been through a lot of critical abuse and personal trials and tribulations. Out of those valleys come critical breakthroughs and Chance delivered one that he can be tremendously proud of and gave us his best overall effort since Coloring Book, and that's saying something.
32. Reuben Vincent & 9th Wonder
Welcome Home
Production: 9th Wonder
Guests: Ab-Soul, Dinner Party, Kelly Moonstone, Marco Plus, Heather Victoria, Jalisa, Raphael Saadiq, others
Charlotte native, Reuben Vincent, has been a student of 9th Wonder and his Jamla family since he was in high school a few years ago. His debut, Myers Park, showed a young and gifted emcee with promise. Although no real distinctive style or sound with him, he still had a talent that would do nothing but continue to mature and get better. As time passed, albums such as Boy Meets World and 2024's Love Is War were albums that further showed his skills with the pen and how much of a future he had as an emcee and artist in general. Earlier in 2025, he and 9th delivered a teaser project for their full-length coming later in the year called Hit Me When You Get Home. The mixtape was dumb dope and presented some of 9th's best work in some time. If this mixtape was any indication of how their full-length would be, we would be in for a treat, and indeed we did get that treat. Vincent's third full-length, Welcome Home, is a love letter to his hometown, but also a return to his love of the game and where his passion came from in the first place. The opening cut, "Homecoming", is a very fine opener to bring the listener into his world of remembering his roots over a snapping R&B sampled groove provided by the Grammy Award winner. Vincent has a personal connection to God and he makes this clear on cuts like "Day By Day" and the Heather Victoria-assisted, "So I Pray", while also appreciating the loveliness of a good solid relationship with charming tracks like "Anything" and the syrupy "Sweet & Good", with Wale-assisting him on the funky "Get It Girl". The album's closer, "In My Life" has Reuben eloquently summarizing his life through all of its ups, downs, and in-betweens over Gap Band's signature cut, "Yearning for Your Love" that Nas, Heavy D (R.I.P.), and Paris all rhymed over as well throughout the years. Another highlight is "Queen City", in which he floats over a reworking of Donell Jones' famed hit, "Where I Wanna Be" and he reminds himself that he must be rooted to what he knows and who he is in very relatable manner. We've witnessed Reuben Vincent grow from a young boy emerging to a young man continuing to elevate his talent. With big bro, 9th Wonder. guiding him as an artist and lyricist, Welcome Home serves as his best outing yet. His need to always be connected to his roots comes across as genuine and sincere, while also realizing that the rap game can be crazy and hectic. As long as he has the right people and right leadership helping him, Reuben will be just fine, and this album is another indication of the growth of which he has elevated towards.
31. Westside Gunn
Heels Have Eyes 2
Production: Cee Gee, Conductor Williams, Denny LeFlare, DJ Muggs, Harry Fraud, others
Guests: Benny The Butcher, Stove God Cook$, MIKE, Brother Tom Sos, Skyzoo, AA Rashid
Earlier, we reviewed the first of Gunn's Heels Have Eyes series, and on this second edition, we have a full-length album. While the EP of the first one was dumb dope enough, he goes even further with this second installment. He still mixes vivid street narratives with numerous wrestling references and fashion references as well. The owner of 4th Rope Wrestling and clothing is second to none when it comes to beat selections, as he tends to go towards the dusty percussion, lo-fi grittiness, and ominous samples. Cuts like the Benny-assisted, "Powerhouse Hobbs", "Heel Cena", and "Glowrealah" all put you back into 2018 Griselda in such a nostalgic yet still highly relevant way. He's not interested in making music to make you think, rewind, or even feel. He's braggadocio and spits bars dedicated to bricks and AK-47 stick ups. Period. Cuts like the Skyzoo-guested "Aunt Gina", the Stove God-blessed, "Brickolai Volkof", and the Conductor Williams-crafted, "Mandela" follow the same pattern of mixing the lavish life with being a kingpin, while the DJ Muggs-crafted, "Demna Left Balenci" is more on the legs of luxurious fly shit than F Beams. For the second of the three-part trilogy, Gunn sticks to the formula that has gotten him his acclaim: coke narratives, gritty street storytelling, and being a boss that stays draped in the finest linens. This won't reinvent any wheel, but because it's him, he knows he doesn't have to. For Heels Have Eyes 2, Gunn is what he is best: himself.
30. Boldy James & V DON
Alphabet Highway
Production: V DON
Guests: N/A
The second of Boldy James' 2025 catalog to get highlighted amongst the best of the year was his collab with in-demand producer, V DON, Alphabet Highway. While Boldy does sound good and comfortable over Nicholas Craven's chipmunk soul and occasional drum-less production, it's V DON's menacing soundscapes that Boldy is more custom fitted for. V DON is known for working with the likes of CRIMEAPPLE, Ransom, Eto, Flee Lord, Estee Nack, and Willie The Kid, this is their first collab together, and is as excellent as what you would imagine if you followed both artists. One could tell from the first single, "Split the Bill", that this was going to work out just fine. He maintains his street presence on very strong tracks like "R.S.N.S." and the haunting piano-driven, "Without Mention" over menacing, sinister production. While Boldy doesn't necessarily steer far away from his usual depiction of bricks, guns, and street allure, every now and then he has some concepts that are more personal and lines that are more useful in an introspective sense. In this case, "Daylight Savings", would be that cut, as he addresses struggles, pain, and haters and goes to the bottle to get away from it all. Obviously in a sense of paranoia, he feels suspect and questions who all he talks to, as they may be the feds on "Entrapment", while he's a bit cockier and more self-assured, despite those same feds, on "Dr. Demento". With other dope tracks like "Finishing Touches", the trap stylings of "Mrs. Porter", and the importance of staying true and loyal on "Smacking Foreigns", Alphabet Highway shows a very cohesive and tight chemistry Bo and V DON have. following up his earlier collab with Chuck Strangers, Token of Appreciation, was not an easy task, but he and DON sure as hell did so, and did so emphatically.
29. Rome Streetz & Conductor Williams
Trainspotting
Production: Conductor Williams
Guests: Method Man, Jay Worthy
NYC underground phenom, Rome Streetz, has become an emcee that many of the emcees he grew up listening to (including the likes of Nas, Jay, and Buckshot) consider him among the elite of the game. From his underground efforts such as his Noise Candy series and Streets Keep Callin' Me to his collaborative effort with DJ Muggs, Death & The Magician, and his exceptional Griselda debut, Kiss The Ring, Streetz is becoming a very in-demand emcee and for very good reason. His lyrics and delivery rival a combination of two other NYC legends: the late Big L and Raekwon in terms of excellent penmanship and distinctive wordplay and gritty narratives that are as vivid as they are real. His last effort, the 2024 Daringer-collaborated Hatton Garden Holdup, was as gritty and grimy as anything he has ever ripped the mic over, as Daringer provided his signature ominous and sinister sound in grand fashion. In 2025, he got up with fellow Griselda in-house go-to (just like Daringer), Conductor Williams, for the highly anticipated follow-up to Hatton Garden Holdup, Trainspotting. Conductor provided several of Kiss The Ring's most outstanding production, and there was simply no reason for Streetz and Conductor to not get up with each other. From the onset, the first single, "Rule 4080", shows the magnitude of this collaborative effort as Rome schools the listener about the shenanigans of the music industry min an updated lyrical version of Q-Tip's iconic line about this particular "rule" in '91. The soulful, yet woozy, sampling over a thumping percussion gives a small preview of what was to come with the rest of the album. Rome is at another technical peak with his wordplay and delivery throughout this album. Cuts like "Electric Slide" and "Runny Nose" go hard over his signature psychedelic boom-bap and hypnotic, yet woozy and warped, textures and matches excellently with Rome's shit talking and in-your-face rhymes, as do other cuts like the savage beast that is "Connie's Revenge" and the extra grimy "Blood On Your Boogers", but if you're expecting anything remotely leaning in towards an introspective, reflective, or vulnerable piece within this album, think again. Rome is on his grizzly here, and along with other cuts like the Method Man-guested, "Ricky Bobby", "99 Attributes", and the Jay Worthy-assisted, "10 Toes", Trainspotting marked quite the combination between Rome's tenacious rhymes and Conductor's colorfully exotic production. While it can be argued that Daringer's production for Hatton Garden Holdup was probably more suited for this bit of street-lore rhymes and vivid imagery, Conductor's was not very far off at all, in fact many can also argue this may be Conductor's most overall crazy production project as a whole. Rome's name stock is steadily climbing, as is Conductor's, and one can hope we get more from these two together.
28. Saba & No I.D.
From The Private Collection Of...
Production: No I.D.
Guests: Raphael Saadiq, Kelly Rowland, Madison McFerrin, Ogi, BJ The Chicago Kid, Eryn Allen Kane, others
The youthful, yet old soul, insight from Chi-town's Saba is quite intriguing and impressive. His ability to tap into real issues and relevant cultural topics have him beyond his peer group in a lot of ways. Mix that with a very good pen game and his double-time melodic stylings and we have a classic midwestern star on our hands. While he was somewhat known with his PIVOT GANG crew, as well as his debut album, Bucket List Project, it was his outstanding 2018 offering, Care For Me, that garnered Saba tremendous acclaim. The album was a real and human look at grief, depression, anger, and hope all brought together by the unfortunate death of cousin, and PIVOT GANG member, John Walt, and officially placed Saba on a lot of people's collective radars. Following up an album of that incredible magnitude would not be easy, but in the case of 2022's Few Good Things, it came very close. Not nearly as grey themed as Care For Me, it still hit on a central image of appreciating the simpler things in life and valuing them. Aside from a PIVOT GANG album in 2019, You Can't Sit with Us, we didn't get a lot more music from Saba. However, that changed when we started getting talk about a collab effort with Chicago production legend and Grammy Award-winner, No I.D., for a joint album. No I.D.'s discography of who he has linked up with reads as a who's who such as Nas, Jay-Z (4:44), Killer Mike for his modern classic, Michael, of 2024, and of course, Common, with whom he had been working with since Com's debut, Can I Borrow a Dollar, in '92. Not to mention his own solo debut, the heavily slept-on, yet excellent effort, Accept Your Own & Be Yourself: The Black Album showed that he could handle a mic on his as well. The leaks of "Head Rap" and the especially impressive, "How to Impress God", were causing steam to heat up about this possible effort. Originally slated to be a mixtape, this effort ended up becoming a full-length, and after dropping "Weight of The World", the official announcement came that the album, From the Private Collection of Saba & No I.D., was real and was coming. Once it hit, the album received a lot of acclaim and rightfully so. The aforementioned singles were enough to be excited, but they didn't do anything but scratch the surface. We get a great idea of how the remainder of the album will turn out with the opener, the BJ The Chicago Kid and Eryn Allen Kane-assisted, "Every Painting Has A Price", in which we have Saba detailing his upbringing and his goals to be in the rap game, but also details perils that he's had to overcome, including his own mental health. This kind of introspection is both open and confident. He doesn't shy away from his insecurities nor his struggles, but he also takes the time to smell his own roses and acknowledges his skilled abilities. The short, yet to the point, "Stop Playin' Wit Me" is a humble brag of sorts that displays his comfortability of who he is, even to the point of not going outside unless it's with a robe on with slippers. He keeps up this confidence and almost braggadocious appeal on other cuts like "Acts 1.5", but is not afraid to go the charming, romantic route on cuts like the bopping collab with Raphael Saadiq and Kelly Rowland, "Crash", "Stomping", and the Ibeyi duet, "Reciprocate". When it comes to his complicated life, he uses allegory and metaphors to deliver his points in clever fashion at times. Case in point would be the Ogi-assisted, "Big Picture", which has Saba using photography references to critique his life, especially with the fame. By the time we hit the closing cut, the Ogi, Smino, and Love Mansuy-collaborated, "A Few Songs", Saba's unapologetic self-awareness also bleeds over into an honest opinion of how his life has gone and a shoutout to his home of the Chi, which raised him, whether good or bad, and cultivated him into the man and emcee he has become. With From The Private Collection Of Saba & No I.D., Saba sounds as confident and self-assured as we've ever heard him. From the somber, yet amazingly gripping, vibes of Care For Me to rediscovering his identity and sense of self on Few Good Things, he has emerged as a young emcee that has the world in his hands and is not afraid to tackle everything that comes with it at his own pace and in his own vision. As for No I.D., his knack for soulful loops, melodic textures, and tremendous usage of various instruments has placed him among the most consistent and influential producers of the past thirty years. Hopefully, this is just the first of several collabs to come from these two distinctive Chi-town representatives.
27. MIKE
Showbiz!
Production: artist, Thelonius Martin, Shungu, others
Guests: Surf Gang, Venna, others
Not a lot of emcees today out of NY have been on the kind of bubbling momentum MIKE has been on. Known for his often misinterpreted "lazy"-esque delivery and a commanding baritone, MIKE has delivered some very damn impressive albums that range from fairly abstract to deeply personal, much like contemporaries such as Earl Sweatshirt, Navy Blue, Wiki, and MAVI. Such albums like 2018's War with My Pen, 2019's depressing, yet very, very good Tears of Joy, 2021's Disco!, and especially his breakout album, the simply tremendous Burning Desire all showed how much better MIKE was getting that aforementioned pen, and more confident with his writing and storytelling. Although he varied up his sound at times with producer Tony Seltzer with the Pinball series that had him exploring the NetherRealm of trap production, MIKE's overall sound would vary from soulful samples to left-brained, abstract instrumentation. The previously mentioned Burning Desire was very evident of this. His acclaim was raised even more when he collaborated with fellow NY spitter, former Ratking emcee, Wiki, for the Alchemist-crafted Faith Is a Rock in 2023. At the beginning of 2025, MIKE decided to drop his ninth album, Showbiz!, to much anticipation and subsequent acclaim. Much like Burning Desire and his previous album, Beware of The Monkey, he varies with different sounds and samples that he could verbally glide over with his systematic rhyme structure while getting, at times, painfully introspective to resonate with the listener. The opening single, "Bear Trap". is filled with emotional roller coasters, as he struggles with retrospective wisdom stating, "Dreams of getting rich, I was poor then/now I don't pray for shit except more strength". He bouts of somber openness continues with the likes of "Man in the Mirror", "Watered Down", and "The Weight (2K20)", but also professes to the listener that a lot of people couldn't be able to handle the stresses he faces as a daily entertainer traveling to live a dream. One such track that exemplifies this is "Lucky", which has him detailing how much he overcomes mentally just to live the dream, while on "Clown of The Class", he goes after those that think this hip-hop game is just that...a game. With "Burning House", MIKE maintains his dedication to this hip-hop artform while people tend to want to leave when it gets too hot (pun intended), however, "You're The Only One" has him exploring his grief over his mother again from Tears Of Joy while letting the listener know that his life is definitely more than money, but instead contains moments of moodiness, regret, and that there's some street in him, reminding us: "Don't let this quick life fool you, I don't live right." Over mostly woozy and jazz-inspired samples, MIKE goes through day-to-day processes with Showbiz! and clarifies how much this game can be as superficial as it can be lucrative. While battling his own bouts of grief, depression, and inner turmoil, he also finds moments of confidence, pride, and the will to keep going on. After all, that's how life is at the end of the day, right?
26. Boldy James & Chuck Strangers
Token Of Appreciation
Production: Chuck Strangers
Guests: N/A
Mr. 2025 himself, Boldy James, was on a roll this year. More hits than misses, Boldy was every bit as prolific as he has ever been in his career. One album that was of particular discussion was his collaborative effort with Pro Era emcee/producer, Chuck Strangers, Token Of Appreciation. Originally leaked on YouTube as a lost Alchemist-collaborative effort with no known title, it turned out that Strangers was the one on the boards, but that Uncle Al was responsible for the mixing and engineering. Although we are more than familiar with the outstanding work Boldy & Al do together with their albums of M.1.C.S., The Price Of Tea In China, Bo Jackson, and Super Tecmo Bo, we never heard Boldy handle his business over Chuck's excellent production, which was why many felt that this production was very much done by Al, due to the similarity of the production being alongside the type of music Alan The Chemist would create in the lab, which is a very great thing. The first single, "Whale Fishing", is a crazy track filled with a sped-up soul sample over a drum-less track in which Boldy gets on his 227-vibe filled with street allure and fearlessness. The rest of the album doesn't fall far behind at all, in fact in a few cases, it actually supersedes it. Cuts like "Lop Sided", the soulfully-drenched, "UPS", and "Big Paws On A Puppy" are full of Boldy soliloquies and narratives that showcases his necessity to remind people that he's still that dude in the streets, but isn't afraid to get into a reflective mode at times, especially on "Thank God" where he gives it up to the Most High for protecting him even in his foul living as well as "Global Telling", where he goes so far as to express how proud his mother is of him and his life protectory and career. While not forsaking his penchant to be a bricks salesman on the sick "3rd Little Piggy", he also reminds the listener that the sky's the limit on the fantastic closer, "Bird's Eye View". When matched up with acclaimed efforts Boldy has done this year such as his two with Nicholas Craven, V DON, and Real Bad Man, Token Of Appreciation with Chuck Strangers doesn't get mentioned as much as it should. It was just a year ago many believed the album was constructed by Alchemist and were acclaiming it all over the place, but it simmered when it found out that Chuck was in fact the one behind the boards. In any event, this album certainly ranks among the best efforts Boldy has dropped this year and for those that weren't in the loop about the sound-making abilities of Chuck Strangers, here's some advice: go back and explore his discography and catch yourself up, as both an emcee and producer. You'll see why many compared this production to that of Alchemist's and for good reason.
25. Apollo Brown & Bronze Nazareth
Funeral For A Dream
Production: Apollo Brown
Guests: Eddie Kaine, Love Jones
When it comes to producers from the D (Detroit, that is), nobody is more aligned with the Detroit sound than the late, great J DIlla. Heralded amongst the greatest hip-hop beatsmiths of all-time, Dilla left a legacy that few have even been able to be in distance with. However, in the case of the likes of Black Milk and Apollo Brown, they have made for worthy apprentices to the heir of Dilla Dawg. In the case of the latter, his boom-bap soul has lent its niche to everyone from Skyzoo (the incredible The Easy Truth) to Guilty Simpson (Dice Roll), Joell Ortiz (Mona Lisa), Planet Asia (Anchovies and Sardines), O.C. (Trophies), Ras Kass (Blasphemy), and Philmore Greene (Cost Of Living). In 2025, you can add two more names to this already impressive list. The first being Bronze Nazareth and the other being Ty Farris (you'll see the review and ranking of Farris later on). With the former, the one-time Wu-Tang affiliate and Wisemen member (R.I.P. Kevlaar 7), he and Apollo grew up together in the D. Bronze has stripes in the game with albums such as his most noted piece, The Great Migration, as well as his collab with Roc Marci, Ekphrasis, and Termanology for Things I Seen. The time seemed right for these two to make a full-length together, and it damn sure delivered in the form of Funeral For A Dream. Apollo doesn't fall short of haunting samples and thick percussion on cuts like "Banshee Walk", the philosophical "Blue Albacore", and "Wheels Of Misfortune". Even when Apollo goes drum-less, he shines likewise on the cuts "Right There", which delves into Bronze describing a friend he has that had the world in his hands and screwed it all up with stupid decisions, and "The Quiet Years", which is a testament to making it and overcoming. Both are tracks all of us can relate to in some sort of fashion. On deeper cuts, the melancholy vibes take over and they have Bronze at his most honest and raw. With "Meeting In The Clouds", he dedicates the somber track to his deceased brother, Kevlaar, and holds him down as a true sibling should, while "Enough Lord" has Bronze showing the wear and tear of his life and how frustrated he has become over a snapping track with a fitting gospel sample going along with the thick drum kicks. While Bronze slightly lightens things up in terms of subject matter on cuts like "Smorgasbord" and "Lavender", Funeral For A Dream counts as yet another big win for Apollo and shows Bronze's talents behind the mic just as much as one would expect from him behind the boards. Could this be considered Bronze's best effort to date? Absolutely. Have we seen the best of what Bronze can bring still? Chances are we may be just getting started, especially with albums from he and Apollo like this one.
24. Skyzoo
Views Of A Lifetime EP
Production: Camouflage Monk, The Other Guys, Conductor Williams, Cartune Beatz, Thelonious Martin, Tuamie, others
Guests: N/A
It wouldn't be a dope year without the lyrical craftsmanship of Brooklyn born and bred, Skyzoo. Throughout the span of two decades, Skyzoo has amassed among one of the most impressive discographies amongst his peers. Not a single album has been underneath above average and tends to outdo a lot of his contemporaries best works. From simply tremendous offerings such as The Salvation, Cloud 9: The 9 Day Theory with 9th Wonder, In Celebration Of Us, Music For My Friends, The Easy Truth with Apollo Brown, Retropolitan with Pete Rock, All The Brilliant Things, and his highly acclaimed 2023 effort, The Mind Of A Saint that had him playing the role of Snowfall's main character, Franklin Saint, Sky has been simply undefeated. His last full-length project, 2024's Keep Me Company, continued this incredible run that few can only dream of keeping up with in terms of quality material throughout. One could only imagine what else Sky can present to the masses that will keep outdoing his previous projects. Just before his birthday hits (Christmas Day), he wanted to deliver an EP for his loyal and devoted fans. This project, Views Of A Lifetime, continues to present topics that most of your average nine to five father, hustler, and hip-hop connoisseur can easily relate to. Seen as an extension of Keep Me Company, the effort has Sky delivering bars that seem as such like the Camouflage Monk-crafted opener, "Tags At The MOMA", where Sky is hustling to make ends meet, whereas the very next track, "Pardon Me", has him up and on his feet as a man and as an emcee. While spitting about subjects that are more personal such as the blissful, "Love Day" and the dedication to a former flame of some kind, "Hope & Pray" that come from places of respect, love, and peace. Of course, Sky has to keep it hip-hop, and it gets no more hip-hop then his admirable attempt at recreating one of his heroes, Nas', most significant cuts, "Nas Is Like" with "Sky Is Like". With DJ Grazzhopper providing the production and cuts, shouts to him doing his best Preemo impersonation on the boards and the scratching, as Sky was blistering this track in much the same way his hip-hop role model did the original. The closer, "Half Bloom" has him talking about how much more he's had to take on and how much he feels he has obligations and responsibilities that tend to drain him. With the Conductor-crafted, "Devotion", the bumping "The Soloist", and the dumb dope "The Wager" filling in the rest of the nine-track EP, Skyzoo keeps showing how very needed he is within the culture. This new effort of Views Of A Lifetime, keeps up the subject last left on Keep Me Company in terms of growing up in a new environment and new world while reflecting on the world that he knew, Sky is one of those few artists that could be considered an emcee's emcee. One that takes you on the same ride as him and continuously making it about the culture at the same time. Just as he considers Nas is his hip-hop hero, you can best believe he's someone's as well.
23. Errol Holden & Roc Marciano
Roc Marciano Presents...Mulberry Silk Road
Production: Roc Marciano
Guests: N/A
When Roc Marci discovers someone, they tend to have star written across them. Albeit these cats may already have been known locally or even regionally, look at what Marci did for Stove God Cook$. Cook$ is among the most in-demand emcees out here today, especially within the Griselda camp, and primarily Westside Gunn. His debut effort with Marci, Reasonable Drought, is still heavily regarded as an underground classic and one of the greatest coke albums to exist in modern hip-hop. Marci may have hit another jackpot in Errol Holden. The Harlem native, and proud Five Percenter, has been modestly bubbling in the NY underground for some time now with EPs and mixtapes that have been praised for its no-holds-barred street imagery and Holden's very structured multisyllabic rhyme patterns, much like Marci. With a standout mic presence, a sharp pen game, and a rhyme scheme that is cut fresh from the Marci cloth, Errol Holden linked with Marci and signed on to his PIMPIRE label and also acquired a distribution deal through the highly exalted, Roc Nation. We get our first taste of their chemistry with Errol's full-length debut, Roc Marciano Presents...Mulberry Silk Road. Marci is behind the boards on this one, and if you've ever peeped Holden's discography, you'll notice quickly that this sounds and production on this definitely resemble past efforts such as Supreme Magnetic, the dedication to his deceased father, Joe Frog, and Hans Zimmer. The album's ever distinctly soul samples, dark chords, and occasional drum-less production all stand out here and Holden's spits with the zest of a hungry young fighter wanting to show he can hang with the heavyweights even though he's in a couple of divisions underneath. You couldn't tell based off tracks like "Dip Dip Diver" and "Visvim Vandal" that he's not playing around. With his street saturated gun talk at work, his almost rapid-fire, multisyllabic scheme almost makes you wonder how strategized his breath control really is. Trying to pack so many words and rhymes into a single bar or two is crazy hard, yet some people can make it a distinctive trait of their rhyme style. Holden brings this to a science, as well as his ultra-gritty storytelling, such as the case on cuts like "Jerry Buss", "Comanche War Paint", and the oddly titled, yet no less menacing, "Rod Lavers With The Stussy Hoodie". With other outstanding cuts like "Allah's Perfection", "Perhaps In The Next" "Brazilian Butt Lifts N Puff Lips", and "Caviar On The Bone Marrow", Errol Holden's fiery and very tightly packed lyrical scheme is on full display and over some of the most haunting and ominous production you'll hear all year, Mulburry Silk Road is a sleeper that shows Marci damn sure has an eye for NYC talent, if nothing else. Easily comparable to Reasonable Drought, this has the makings of the next big underground classic that will talked about for years to come. Although Marci only produced one track, the rest of the album literally sounds as if it came from the Marci sonic structure handbook. Holden is on the rise with him being a part of Big L's posthumous Harlem's Finest album, but trust, we haven't even begun to see how ridiculous this emcee will keep becoming. Hold on to your jewels and keep that Glock tucked in the waist.
22.Conway The Machine
Can't Kill God With Bullets
Production: Daringer, Conductor Williams, The Alchemist, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, AraabMuzik, Beat Butcha, Timbaland, E. Jones, others
Guests: Roc Marciano, Tony Yayo, KNDRX, G Herbo, Lady London, Heather Victoria
Much like Griselda head honcho (and brother), Westside Gunn, and cousin, Benny The Butcher, what would a year without Conway be like? It's doubtful you'll ever get that experience, as The Machine has been among the most prolific emcees over the past decade. Every year he has dropped at least one full project, and all or most have been sizzlers. A very potent discography that consists of monsters such as The Devil's Reject, 2016's Reject 2, The Blakk Tape, From King To A God, the absolutely outstanding offering of 2023, God Don't Make Mistakes, its follow-up, Won't He Do It, and 2024's SFK (Slant Faced Killa). All of which have received lots of acclaim and showed that Conway could certainly hang with any top emcee out here. Ready to unload more bullets upon the listeners, he delivers Can't Kill God With Bullets, a sinister, yet open, follow-up to SFK, and man does he deliver. After the thumping J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League-produced, "Lightning Above The Adriatic Sea", is a victorious cut that has him confidently explaining how much he's proud of what he's accomplished and that he's still not done. This cut, along with the cuts they did on Won't He Do It, make one really anticipate the collab album, KING, in 2026 (hopefully it'll drop). Afterwards, the single, "BMG", has him solidifying the impact of the Black man within culture and society. Ever confident and sure of his pen game, he comes through hard on the surprisingly dope Timbaland-produced cut, "Crazy Avery) (whether or not it's an AI beat by him is still up for debate) and the lead-single, one of two Conductor-crafted, "Seventeen5ive". However, Conway wouldn't be true to himself if he wasn't on his gangsta grizzly. He demonstrates his rugged, cold-hearted persona on chilling cuts like the Daringer-blessed, "The Painter", the trap-sounding collab with G Herbo, "Nu Devils", and the ominous, JR Swiftz-crafted, "Otis Driftwood", however, unlike most other albums from him, the album isn't fully drenched in violence, coke bars, gun references, and retaliation. In fact, the latter part of the album is where he's at his most introspective. The crazy dope, Apollo Brown-concocted, "Never Sleep", has him reflecting upon his ill ways and how, at times, he express remorse for them, while the hitting "Hold Back Tears", has him somberly expressing how much he misses the fallen in his life. He closes the album expressing what success has meant to him in both the good and the not so good on the Uncle Al-blessed, "Organized Mess" and the snapping, yet very soulful, "Don't Even Feel Real" showing his gratitude, humility, and sometimes unpredictable lifestyle he's garnered over the years. With other dumb dope blows to the body like the Roc Marci-assisted single, the Conductor-crafted, "Diamonds", the Tony Yayo-assisted, "Hell Lets Loose", and "Persian Nights", Conway has delivered his best overall project since God Don't Make Mistakes. That's certainly not a knock whatsoever on SFK nor Won't He Do It, but one can tell that the same focus and patience he had to deliver the album of his career with GDMM is relevant to CKGWB, and when it comes to his success, don't even think The Machine is anywhere close to slowing down. In fact, with rumors of a LULU 2 with Uncle Al, Reject 4 (his much discussed REJ3CT has been leaked to the public with INCREDIBLE acclaim), the aforementioned KING with J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, and possibly Hall & Nash 3 with Gunn all in 2026, get comfortable with Conway, for he isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
21. Boldy James & Real Bad Man
Conversational Pieces
Production: Real Bad Man
Guests: Conway The Machine, dreamcastmoe
As you can already tell, Boldy delivered on the promise that he would be among the busiest emcees of the year, and with earlier reviews and rankings of aforementioned projects of Criminally Attached and Alphabet Highway. Following up Alphabet Highway, he continued his overall excellent momentum with reuniting with acclaimed west coast producer, Real Bad Man, for Conversational Pieces. These two had previously worked with each other on Killing Nothing and Real Bad Boldy, both of which received good acclaim. RBM's brand of deeply immersive and psychedelic soundscape mixed with cinematic samples and soundbites have worked tremendously with the likes of Elcamino, Pink Siifu, ZelooperZ (his Dear Psilocybin album with RBM was among the most underrated releases of the year), and Willie The Kid for his Midnight album. It's no surprise RBM provides the same type of hypnotic, woozy noir for Boldy, and it worked big time. Although the first single, the dreamcastmoe-crooned "Come Back Around", comes off as decent at best, don't let this deter you. it gets better. A lot better. RBM is a master at the much-scoffed drum-less production, and the opening track, "Class Clown" demonstrates this very well. Although "Cutthroats" isn't necessarily drum-less, the snare drum of this and the avant-garde sample makes Boldy go in, while the El-P assisted- "It Factor" has a live instrumentation feel with an effective samples. You won't get a whole bunch of varied topics with this album, as coke rhymes, hustling, and it isn't expected either. The haunting keys of "ITT Tech" has a bit of trap stylings while Boldy lets the listener he's THAT hustler, and he's not having it, while "Say Less" has him spitting those street bars over a dusty instrumental with a briefly chilling sample attached. He collabs with fellow Griselda-affiliated soldier, Conway the Machine, for "Fear Of God", and go bar for bar detailing how much they're about that cheese over an atmospheric jazzy track, but Boldy gets a bit more personal on the title track but is no less street over an elegant key and string track with a snare drum underneath. Other winners include "Tap The Brakes Twice", "Aspen", and "Burn In Hell", in which all feature overall engaging production and hard Boldy verses. It's not hard to put this project among his top efforts of the year, as Conversational Pieces results as the best collaborative effort between these two artists. Boldy doesn't reinvent the wheel subject-wise, but RBM may have delivered one of his single most varied and eclectic sounding albums to date, even with ZeelooperZ' Dear Psilocybin album. As this year comes to a close, Boldy needs to be mentioned within MVP talks in terms of quality consistency throughout the year, and with Conversational Pieces, he may have helped craft one of his truly best moments.
20. The Alchemist & Hit-Boy
GOLDFISH
Production: artist
Guests: Havoc, Conway The Machine, Big Hit, Jay Worthy, Boldy James, Jonathon Hulett
Two of the most prolific and acclaimed producers of the past decade have been two of Cali's legit finest, Hit-Boy and The Alchemist. Although Uncle Al relocated to NY, he still calls Beverly Hills home. Little rumblings of a full-length collab between these two incredible artists happened when they came together for the EP, Theodore & Andre, in 2024. Hearing both producer-emcees rhyme over each other's tremendous production was a throwback to the likes of Jaylib's underground treasure, Champion Sound. After the already monstrous year Uncle Al has had working with everyone from Yasiin Bey to Erykah Badu, Armand Hammer, and Freddie Gibbs, he still made room to collab with Hit-Boy, who hasn't had a lazy year himself working with the likes of Splash Daddy and working on his solo album, Software Update, which will emerge soon. These two promised us a full-length, and we got one in the form of GOLDFISH. With an accompanying movie starring these two, as well as the likes Danny Trejo and others, these two go blow for blow on the boards and the booth, and the results are excellent. Hit-Boy's snapping [production and effective samples combined with warm and fuzzy grooves underneath hypnotic loops and soulful melodies make both emcees step their respective games up. The first single, "Business Merger", is evidence of how much of a energy these two have together lyrically. Over the very dope H-B instrumental, both guys spit about how two big names in the came together to become a force to be reckoned with, and they definitely are. They don't stop there. Far from doing so. The follow-up single, the Havoc-assisted, "Celebration Moments", has these two taking time to smell their respective roses over a very fitting, slow melodic Alchemist track, as does the Boldy James-assisted, "Not Much". Conway goes for dolo on the menacing, "Mick & Cooley", but anytime Al and Conway get together, it's ridiculous. Just look at their past crazy effort, LULU, for a full example. As for other standouts, the best ones are those that have them in introspective mode and opening up some. The quintessential example of this is "Ricky", as Hit-Boy spits about his tumultuous upbringing in comparison to Al's fairly simple and uncomplicated upbringing other than the occasional domestic disputes between mom and dad. Over a slow, melodic and slightly haunting piano loop, storytelling mode is the zone here, and Hit-Boy, especially, does a great job letting us in about how his upbringing played a role in to the man he has become today. Also, on "God Is Great", both cats rhyme about how grateful they are to be in the ;positions they're in and how motivated they still are to keep being great. With "Home Improvement", both speak about their vulnerabilities and what they must improve upon to be better men, fathers, emcees, and the like, while "Walk In Faith" channels "God Is Great" a lot here, both musically and thematically. With other sizzlers such as "Show Me The Way", "Doing My Best", and "Recent Memory", The Alchemist & Hit-Boy have crafted a gem in GOLDFISH. This album is basically very symmetrical. An album that relies on its simplicity and for the joys of just being that damn good. These two Grammy Award winners are big parts of what makes a lot of today's sound so incredible, and these two together are as outstanding together as they are separate.
19. R.A.P. Ferreira & Kenny Segal
The Night Green Side Of It
Production: Kenny Segal
Guests: AJ Suede, ELDON, others
Wisconsin native, R.A.P. Ferreira, has been quite the fixture in the underground/abstract jazz rap circuit for over a decade. The former member of Hellfyre Club (which also included the likes of Open Mike Eagle and fellow abstract enigma, Busdriver) has released a number of acclaimed materials throughout his tenure within the subterrain. Under his previous name, Milo, he delivered one of his most acclaimed and revered efforts in 2015 with, So the Flies Don't Come. Produced by highly respected underground beatsmith, Kenny Segal, the album was filled with jazzy and psychedelic sounds underneath Ferreira's spoken word-like lyricism and impressionistic imagery. He continued with the almost as excellent, Who Told You To Think?!?!!!???! two years later, along with multiple other projects with some of the most head-scratching titles known to hip-hop mankind (titles such as Budding Ornithologists Are Weary of Tired Analogies and WHAT THEM DOGS DON'T KNOW THEY KNOW are a couple that come to mind). In 2020, he assumed the new rap name, R.A.P. Ferreira and delivered another delightful project with Kenny Segal along with his group The Jefferson Park Boys, Purple Moonlight Pages, to more well-earned acclaim and props. Ever the prolific artist, Ferreira reunites with Segal to deliver his second of two projects this year in the form of The Night Green Side of It. His earlier work of 2025, OUTSTANDING UNDERSTANDING, was certainly an eclectic arrangement of sounds with heavy hypothetical bars along with personal allegories that resonate as tightly as anything he has put out over the past few years. With this effort, he continues this momentum, only over some of Kenny Segal's most psychedelic and woozy jazz samples he has done all year. Ferreira's themes mostly revolve around pain, survival, trying to find peace, and an overcast of melancholy reverberance. From the first single alone, "By the Head", Ferreira is zoning in on relatively human aspects of sadness and depression as he states, "Sky gray, are you sick God, or pissed off?" and it sets the tone for the rest of the otherwise incredible sounding cut. He gets caught up in Alexithymia (a neuropsychological disorder that makes it impossible for sufferers to be able to verbally express their confused feelings) on the ambiguous "Naming the Feeling", while on "Ruby's Grandchild", he reemphasizes his ability of being an emcee and all of his complexity. While he properly, yet uniquely, breaks down his self-anointed gifted lyrical gifts on cuts like the intro cut, "Prince Of Peace" and the duality of "Blood Quadrant", he gets vulnerable and open on the sonically fantastic, "Credentials", in which he dives into areas from defending his public persona to being a father and mourning his own grandfather. However, he hits his apex with the very introspective and honest, "The Night Dreamer's Flu Game", in which he tackles suicidal ideation, depression, and the need to overcome his mental struggles in such a conceptual yet confessional way that it's hard not to root for him in some ways. Another almost spellbinding cut is "Defense Attorney", in which he basically is standing before God defending his lack of hope for human existence citing examples such as school bombings and hospital massacres and the loss of children's innocence over unbelievable production from Segal. The closer is "Real Jazz", which features a verse from his former alter ego and performer, Milo, in which Ferreira, for all intents and purposes, is passionate and floated over some warped jazz live instrumentation that ranks among Segal's finest moments. The cut is laced with rambling thoughts that could likely be very ADHD-based, but all of them still come to an eventual point and we get Ferreira closing the cut out shouting out his albums of, So the Flies Don't Come, Purple Moonlight Pages and this one as well. With all the eclectic and conjectural rhymes from R.A.P. Ferreira and the smoky, multicolored jazz samples and bits of live instrumentation from Segal makes The Night Green Side of It arguably Ferreira's most abstract and sonically intriguing effort to date. Even with the public issues between him and his ex-wife, as well as dodging off possible rumors of other legal matters, Ferreira was able to shake them off to deliver a deep and layered album that provided the listener with even more of his complex world masked by unique and standout talent.
18. Apollo Brown & Ty Farris
Run Toward The Monster
Production: Apollo Brown
Guests: Mickey Diamond, Top Hooter
Detroit verbal murderer, Ty Farris, has a great reputation for his lyrical abilities and straightforward bar delivery. Primarily known for underground favorites such as his No Cosign, Just Cocaine mixtape series, his excellent collab with tremendous Mutant Academy producer, Graymatter, Sounds That Never Left My Soul, the equally mean collab with dumb dope Denmark-based producer, Machacha, Malice At The Palace, and his earlier in the year effort, Timing Of A Tarantula are examples of his great work ethic and his dedication to presenting those in-your-face narratives and ice cold deliveries that put him among the ones to watch in the game. Just months after dropping Timing Of A Tarantula, he gets up fellow Detroit native, the ever so hot soundsmith, Apollo Brown, for their first collaborative full-length effort, Run Toward The Monster. Following Brown's earlier effort in the ridiculous effort with fellow Michigan native, former Wu-Tang affiliate, Bronze Nazareth, for the previously reviewed, Funeral For A Dream, Brown practically kept that same energy with Run Toward The Monster, and it definitely paid off. From the inspiring opening soundbite from whom he presume is The Honorable Louis Farrakhan, Farris goes full in with tracks like "No Celebrations", the Mickey Diamond (another dope Detroit emcee)-assisted, "Authenticity", and "Traffic" all talk about the never-ending passion to succeed and never stop grinding to be the best and standing your ground. There's an eye of the tiger with Farris all throughout this album, and one exemplary track that covers this is the fantastic "Beautiful Struggle", which details how much he has felt like giving up at times but how in the end it's all worth it and how he wouldn't trade none of his grind in for anything else. He sees himself as someone that's a booth and street veteran on "CTRL ALT DELETE", and therefore has knowledge of things that the average person couldn't see or relate to and therefore his mind never sleeps, because after all, to quote the great prophet Nasir Jones, "Sleep is the cousin of death". Although he shows his nonstop dedication to the booth on "Sacred", he also shows his ambiguity on street dedicated cuts like "Young Rebels" and "Street Patriots". Without a doubt Run Toward The Monster ranks among the top Farris albums to date, if not his total best effort. As for Brown, it's just another example, just like with Funeral For A Dream, Brown needs to be included within the discussion of most consistent and most soulful producers in all of hip-hop. You can't go wrong with neither one of these two individually, but together? This album answers all questions.
17. Knowledge The Pirate & Roc Marciano
The Roundtable
Production: Roc Marciano
Guests: Roc Marciano
Roc Marci affiliate, Knowledge The Pirate, has a fairly reputable name with him. The Harlem native has actually been a part of the game since the mid-90s, but reemerged in the 2010s with Marci and pretty much reinvented himself with a whole new flare of ferocity and bars. Albums such as Black Caesar, Hidden Treasures, and the especially dope Wolves Don't Eat With Shepherds. Known for dropping jewels within his bars for mental consumption as much as regular street narratives themselves, Knowledge is as advertised when it comes to his name and his imagery. With the first of two released projects in 2025, The Roundtable, Marci mans the boards exclusively, and Knowledge brings his usual themes of five percenter ideology, hustling, and street education. Marci's brand of painfully soulful, most times drum-less, production with sweet, yet sinister, samples fit tremendously underneath Knowledge's storytelling and jewel droppings. He shines the brightest on tracks where he schools on discipline, loyalty, and survival on stellar cuts like "Eating Etiquette", "Servitude", and especially "Golden Rules". The best example of his calm, yet no less impactful, delivery and schooling is the outstanding "Food For Thought", in which this drum-less piece is only matched by Roc's use of a magnificent vocal sample that is used all throughout the track to the point where it tends to slightly outshine Pirate's street wisdom. If you listen closely, however, he's rapping like every bar is a chess move. There are winners and losers in this game. Which one will you be? He delivers personal jewels and words of caution on the cut "Young Thugs" and manages to slide in some first-hand accuracy on "Addicted To Danger". With the closer "Receipts", Knowledge makes sure that the album closes with the listener understanding Knowledge is far from a rookie to this game of life and the streets. As a whole, Marci's production is simple, not complex, and consistent. The soulful loops, mostly drum-less production, and fitting samples of vocal wailings are right in line with what we've been accustomed to from him. With the exception of cuts like "Ride Wit A P" and "Takes A 10" is more snapping in nature than other cuts on the album, along with the bassline work of "The Outfit" is just ugly...in a great way. Knowledge has delivered his best all around album with The Roundtable, and while so much of it has to do with his very talented pen game and cool, yet chilling, delivery, Marci's tightly packed production takes up just as much space, thus showing why these two together can't miss.
16. Recognize Ali
Back To Mecca 3
Production: Anu EL, Karbine
Guests: DJ Grasshopper, Tone Spliff
Grimy NY native, Recognize Ali, has been a fixture in the underground realm for a number of years now. His multiple full-lengths, EPs, and mixtapes throughout the past decade have been known for their notoriously grimy sound fixtures that are drenched in nineties gunpowder. With quite the dumb dope discography that consists of bangers like his series of collabs with underground production heavyweight, Stu Bangas, Guerilla Dynasty, his collab with Bronze Nazareth, Season Of The Se7en, his three efforts of 2024, Underground King III, A Good Word & A Gun, and As You Sew, You Shall Reap, and his earlier in 2025 contribution with QB legend, Tragedy Khadafi, The Past, The Present, & The Future, it's obvious his album put out is becoming quite prolific. Along with the aforementioned collab with Khadafi, Ali dropped the third installment in his much heralded series, Back To Mecca, which has been seen as his best series as a whole besides Guerilla Dynasty. If absolute RUGGEDNESS of the nineties is your cup of tea, this will quench every type of thirst you have. The dusty percussion and straight boom-bap kicks define this particular installment as much if not more than the previous two. Once the vibes of the intro "How Y'all Feel Out There" are finished, we go straight into the raw as hell kicks from "Mathematical Destruction" complete with effective and fitting scratches from DJ Grazzhopper, followed by the musty markings of the speaker blistering "Bring The Ruckus" and the gutter b-boy aesthetic of "Word Is Bond". His passionate delivery is front and center more than usual on this album, and with cuts like "Locked & loaded" and the dark musings of "Lite Work", Recognize is clearly stuck in a time portal that is bringing up images of prime Black Moon, Mobb Deep, CNN, and Gangstarr. He brings a similar ragamuffin-type flow like Buckshot, ironically, on the Black Moon-sounding, "Don't Play", and also causes screw faces to emerge on other razor sharp cuts like "Realness", "Nutty By Nature", and the closing masher, "One Time 4 Ya Mind". As very underground nineties cliched as this album is, it still works and works well. Recognize Ali knows the importance of the golden age niche and Back To Mecca 3 exemplifies everything those that were into early Wu-Tang, Mobb Deep, Biggie, Onyx, and Black Moon would salivate over. This may arguably be the best of the trilogy thus far.
15. Westside Gunn
Heels Have Eyes 3
Production: Daringer, Denny LeFlare, Cee Gee, others
Guests: Benny The Butcher, Brother Tom Sos, Stove God Cook$, Rome Streetz
We hit the third installation of Gunn's Heels Have Eyes series, and this one is arguably the meanest of them all, at least in terms of production and cohesiveness. The previous two HHE efforts have been every bit the signature gritty and grimy sounds that we've been accustomed to for the last nearly decade. With HHE3, he continues to keep that momentum and even add a little but of extra flare to this album in terms of it's gutter sound. From the opening "Josh Bishop Intro" (BTW, Josh Bishop is a wrestler that wrestles under Gunn's 4th Rope Wrestling promotion), the neck-snapping begins with the Benny-assisted, "Free Roleys" and then the Stove God-featured, Daringer knocker, "Mankind", and "Eddie Bauer" are classic Gunn with thick percussion and ominous samples. Griselda's head tycoon is all about the fly gangsta motif, and cuts like "Tiffany Blue" and the Rome Streetz-assisted "Tito Santana" exemplify this, but also maintains his street runner who has no problems with extenders and plastic rocket launchers on "Babas" and "R Truth". Gunn went three for three with his Heels Have Eyes series this year. The fact that these efforts followed up quite the sizzler in the aforementioned 12 earlier this year, Gunn is a mogul, an entrepreneur, a wrestling promoter, curator, and damn sure a visionary for his brand Griselda. You never know what to expect next from the Flygod, but whatever it is, it's going to be golden, and that's word to Westside Pootie!
14. Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
Alfredo 2
Production: The Alchemist
Guests: Anderson.Paak, JID, Larry June
For the past five years, heads have been waiting for a sequel to the outstanding collaborative album between production legend, The Alchemist, and Gary, IN's finest, Freddie Gibbs, Alfredo. The Grammy nominated album hit acclaim across every board, blog, and publication, as it showed with Gibbs' impeccable technical deliveries over Al's painfully soulful samples that delivered a new level boost for Gangsta Gibbs that his collabs with Madlib, Pinata and Bandana, set a standard for. Fast forward to 2025 and both Uncle Al and Gibbs have evolved even more since their debut collab effort. Al has cemented himself as one of the game's all-time legendary production wizards and Gibbs has delivered high quality efforts including $ouls $old $eparately, as well as last year's You Only Die 1nce. With as busy of a year as Alan The Chemist has had working with the likes of Yasiin Bey (we still need that FORENSICS effort), Erykah Badu (see prior comment), Mobb Deep, Larry June & 2 Chainz, Evidence, Armand Hammer, and the aforementioned album with Hit-Boy, he managed to fit Gibbs in to construct Alfredo 2, the long-awaited sequel to an already career benchmark effort for both artists. Would they replicate the magic of their first edition? Well let's dive in. From the first single, "1995", this is already a super positive step in the right direction, as Gibbs has his typical fiery technical rhyme scheme over a meticulous soul loop as if this was left off the first Alfredo. As this cut is a sequel of its own of Alfredo's "1985", it contains much of the same gritty bravado only the cut is divided into two parts musically. The first half is a smooth soulful drum-less package, while the second part is an excellent guitar loop that brings even more of a fool out of Gibbs on that mic in which he goes after people biting his style. While he excels in his kingpin hustla status on tracks like "Skinny Suge", "Lemon Pepper Steppers", and the immerse density of "Mar-A-Lago", it's when he lets the listener in that we get some of best work. The track, "Lavish Habits" has him examining the heights of being famous, but also the paranoia and anxiety with who's against him and who's for him. There's an ounce of depth here that really makes his tension legit and relatable. Also, on "Gas Station Sushi", he briefly salutes his late homie, Mac Miller, and mentions that he's contemplating hanging it up (oh yeah, he threw a slight jab at Curren$y on here too as he did with Benny The Butcher on "Empanadas"). Gibbs and Uncle Al definitely picked up where Alfredo left off with Alfredo 2. Maybe a bit grimier, maybe a bit rawer and a bit more unapologetic, but to say this a ridiculous follow-up to the first one would be an understatement.
13. Ransom & Conductor Williams
The Uncomfortable Truth EP
Production: Conductor Williams
Guests: J. Arrr
Jersey's own lyrical powerhouse, Ransom, has had another prolific year of heat in 2025. He had a very decent effort with Dave East earlier in the year with The Final Call and guested on various projects from the likes of Che Noir and Recognize Ali to Lloyd Banks and his aforementioned Despite My Mistakes. This year, Ransom delivered two of the most heatseeking efforts of his career with the first one being with always legendary DJ Premier, The Reinvention, and the second one being another legend in the making, Conductor Williams, just four weeks later with The Uncomfortable Truth. Conductor's style of soul samples with some psychedelic, woozy textures has become a calling card for Conductor, and Ransom does just fine over this production. This was evidenced over the thunderous "Bomaye", in which Conductor provides a fitting sample for Ransom's monstrous technical lyricism declaring his Muhammad Ali stance as the greatest. From here, Ransom is just in a zone. Cuts like the soulful reverbs of "Blood on The Coliseum Floors", the menacing "Human Animal" (that "Only a shark knows the taste of a piranha's flesh line is MURDA), and the J. Arr-guested "Temple Run" are exemplary cuts that highlight Ransom's comfort of being able to annihilate bars over the meanest production selections, and can come up with witty and effective wordplay effortlessly. The Kendrick Lamar-tones of J. Arrr return for the wooziness of "Flowers & Tombstones", but Ransom still shows who the star here is, while speaking on obtaining your flowers while you're still here. He gets deeper in tone and imagery with his own version of Jay-Z's "Song Cry" with "Late Replies", but the closer "Trigger or Trigga" ends things viciously over a powerful choir vocal sample as he addresses trigger words and their effect on the Black community. Ransom and Conductor delivered quite the animal with The Uncomfortable Truth, and while the "truth" is that Ransom is arguably among the top five emcees over the past decade and Conductor is becoming in the conversation for top five producers in the game today, none of this should be "uncomfortable" unless you're wack in any of their respective fields. Stay tuned for the other Ransom effort on this list, but this alone was flammable.
12. Che Noir & The Other Guys
No Validation
Production: The Other Guys
Guests: Ransom, Skyzoo, Von Pea, Jae Skeeze, 38 Spesh, others
Buffalo emcee, Che Noir, has delivered another very dope year of quality material. On average, this young TRUST artist drops around four to six projects per year, and all range between dope to stellar. This is another year of bumpable material for Che with albums like The Color Chocolate 2 and Seeds Of Babylon being great examples, and her collaborative effort with fellow Buffalo native and former Drumwork artist, 7XVETHEGENIUS, Desired Crowns, is especially crazy. Perhaps the best example of Che's standout talent this year is her collaborative effort with rising production duo out of D.C., The Other Guys. The OGs are best known for their outstanding work on Skyzoo's album, The Mind Of A Saint, they provide Che with some of her best production work to date, and considering how unbelievable her collab with Apollo Brown, As God Intended, was, that's saying a mouth full. Their style of boom-bap drums with samples of jazz works wonders with Che's deep yet unmistakable delivery. The opener, "Incense Burning" starts things in the best of directions with Che rhyming over one of the better beats of the effort, while cuts like "Sugar Water" and the Jae Skeeze-assisted, "Moroccan Mint" have Che slicing bars like a twenty year vet. Never one to downplay her street experiences, she cuts deep on the 38 Spesh-assisted, "Smooth Jazz", while her collab with Ransom and Skyzoo, "Katastwof" reminds us of the importance of vision and belief in self. This view of humility and being grounded, yet relying on self-confidence continue on the Skyzoo and Von Pee-assisted, "Dollar Tree" and the dumb dope, "Ego Trip". She ends with the clever ode to Rugrats character, "Suzie", which has her detailing a woman that possesses the same childish ways as the character herself. Che Noir is definitely among the elite emcees from upstate New York, and No Validation is another testament of this notion. With The Other Guys further displaying their snapping production abilities, Che nor The OGs truly need, indeed, no validation from anyone.
11. Roc Marciano & DJ Premier
The Coldest Profession EP
Production: DJ Premier
Guests: N/A
What's a year without the genius of the revitalized NYC underground sound, Roc Marciano. Needless to say, anything Marci touches becomes among the most excellent around. From his 2011 monster debut, Marcberg, to his even meaner follow-up, Reloaded, to other fantastic outings like Marci Beaucoup, Behold A Dark Horse, his collab with DJ Muggs, KAOS, Mt. Marci, and his most recent solo outing, Marciology. Not to mention his two CRAZY efforts with The Alchemist, The Elephant Man's Bones and The Skeleton Key, which rank among his most outstanding efforts. As if Marci hasn't made enough underground folk heroism as it is, the word got out that he and the god among insects himself, DJ Premier, would collaborate for the first time ever. Not just for a song, but for an EP, which is quite enough. The EP, The Coldest Profession, dropped with the first single, "Armani Section" and over some thick percussion and a vocal sample mixed with Preemo's signature chorus scratching which incorporated Lil' Kim's "You wanna buy diamonds and Armani suits" part of Junior M.A.F.I.A.'s "Get Money" fit tremendously underneath Marci's multisyllabic rhyme structure that revolves around his fly sense of fashion. The rest of the effort is as crazy as advertised. The very next track is the snapping "Prayer Hands", which has him spitting that pimp shit like how Superfly or Huggy Bear would do in their days, while "Good To Go" may arguably be the hardest beat on the entire album with Preemo constructing a hard drum percussion with menacing piano keys while scratching some EPMD in the chorus and Marci bringing that hard street godfather flow. He continues his pimp stylings on the thick bassline funk muses of "Glory Hole". The cut "RocMarkable" sounds like something the late, great Guru could easily glide over in those Gangstarr days, but Marci sounds almost as hand-in-glove while the closers of "Travel Fox" and "Executioner Style" end the effort slicker than a can of oil on a marble floor. Marci can just blend with everybody, and as with The Coldest Profession, he passed the ultimate test of bringing the goods with the almighty Preemo, and passed quite successfully. Some have scoffed at the fact that this didn't measure up to the two Alchemist collab albums, but folks, name another producer that could make Marci's imagery of pimp slapping, ho-strolling, and bitch-better-have-my-money narratives better than Preemo? The fact is that this is quite the combo, and as you'll see later, Preemo had even better heat to come, and from this effort, that's saying a hell of a lot.
10. JID
God Does Like Ugly
Production: Childish Major, Thundercat, Boi-1nda, Vinylz, Lex Luger, Jay Versace, others
Guests: Clipse, Westside Gunn, Don Toliver, Ty Dolla $ign, Ciara, EarthGang, 6LACK, Vince Staples, Mareba, others
The evolution of Atlanta's JID has been nothing short of awesome. Regarded as one of the game's most incredibly technical spitters in all of hip-hop, the cool, yet fiery, lyrical bullet sprayer has had quite the discography over the last several years. Signing to J. Cole's Dreamville after his dope effort, DiCaprio, JID has been steadily growing in his appeal and his fanbase, not to mention being a very in-demand guest rhymer as well. Collaborating with everyone from Eminem to Westside Gunn, JID became a star in front of our eyes on the silent. His Dreamville debut, The Never Story, put himself in a bigger spotlight under the guidance of Cole and the results were quite dope, as was the just as cold DiCaprio 2. However, it was his third release, The Forever Story, in which JID officially arrived as the star we saw him eventually become. While serving us his best technical offerings and going crazy over more ambitious and varied production, he was also more personal and open in terms of subject matter. His primary focus was his family and his upbringing, but other topics such as Black identity and hood struggles. Capitalizing off this newfound stardom, he delivers God Does Like Ugly (which was ironically the original title for The Forever Story), in which this is every bit as ambitious and bumping as its predecessor. JID explores the good, bad, and complicated all throughout this album, and most results hit and hit hard. Take for example the Gospel-tinged, "Glory", which contains vocal backings from a choir out of Memphis, JID realizes his walk as a man even through the burnt feelings of his angst and grief dealing with his brother in prison. He conjures the introspective and social commentary on the Clipse-assisted, "Community", which has the VA brothers flexing their lyrical stances on what the ghettos of AmeriKKKa have been to our...well...community. JID does a hell of a job keeping up with No Malice and Pusha, but ultimately, they provide the most accurate and vivid depiction of everyday life in the hood, and it comes off practically flawless. He likewise keeps this momentum of hardship and blunt realities on the Vince Staples-guested, "VCRs", which has both these incredibly talented young emcees speaking on survival and how to navigate through the obstacles they face every day as Black men. Plus, on the head-nodding duet with singer Jessie Reyez, "No Boo", these two have a basic argument on wax that's as relatable as any complicated relationship out here, especially when it comes to posting beef on social media. However, not everything is heavy, which is a great thing. The bump goes up...WAY up...on cuts like "WRK", the Pastor Troy (remember him)-assisted, "K-Word", and the adrenaline-fueled "On McAfee", featuring young upstart, Baby Kia whose verse is quite ferocious. Also, he takes to the old booty bass days of Luke and Poison Clan on the Ciara and EarthGang-featured, "SK8", which is an instant body mover, as well as "For Keeps", in which he details his life as a father. On one cut, however, we get a myriad of sounds, lyrical delivery, and stylistic crossovers with "Of Blue". The cut is separated by three different beat selections and stylings. The first one features singer and songwriter, Mareba, singing very angelically over a sweet melody that sounds like it could easily be placed on an Elevation Worship or Hillsong Music album, but then, we get funk, soul, and jazz all in one on the second part with him recycling Pastor Troy's chorus (of sorts) from "Vice Versa" and the bump is unfathomable. The third piece is as knocking as the second and closes the cut very impressively. JID may not break any new ground per se with God Does Like Ugly, but he also doesn't need to. This Grammy nominated album continues to show JID as one of the A's most excellent overall talents and writers, not to mention straight up emcees. His star power continues to excel and the more we learn about him, the more we know the layers will be exciting to view and hear. His late grandmother (who's behind the title of the album) is looking down very happy towards her grandbaby.
9. Clipse
Let God Sort 'Em Out
Production: Pharrell Williams
Guests: Nas, Pharrell, John Legend, Kendrick Lamar, Tyler The Creator, Stove God Cook$, The Dream, Ab-Liva
It's been over 15 years since we've heard anything from the Thurston brothers, aka Pusha T and (No) Malice, collectively The Clipse. The Virgina-bred brothers introduced more stylized and accessible means of the coke rap genre with their dumb dope debut, Lord Willin', in '02 exclusively produced by The Neptunes (pre-Chad Hugo splitting from Pharrell). The album spawned an all-timer in "Grindin'", but also delivered other thumpers such as "Virginia", "When's The Last Time", and "Hot Damn". The album was enough to earn them a gold plaque and an official full welcome into the game. Their follow-up, Hell Hath No Fury, dropped four years later to even more acclaim. The album was darker, more focused on the streets and hustling, and less on blatant accessibility, despite The Neptunes providing exclusive production on this one as well. Many compared Hell Hath No Fury to the likes of Mobb Deep's Hell On Earth and Nas' It Was Written in which it's debated that the sophomore effort may be even better than the classic debut. The singles of "Mr. Me Too" and "Womp Womp" were arguably the most radio-accepting cuts on the entire album, as hustling, drugs, and paranoia dominated the themes of the album. Their final album together happened to be Til The Casket Drops, which dropped three years later, and was almost every bit as great as their prior two albums. This would be the last Clipse project for over a decade, as Malice became No Malice due to him giving his life to Christ and embracing Christianity. His solo efforts, notably his solo debut, Hear Ye Him, was filled with enough good joints that showed he still has substantial bars only with less coke references and more vulnerable and honest rhymes while embracing and praising God. Pusha, meanwhile, was becoming a beast of his own linking up with Kanye to be the president of G.O.O.D. Music and dropping tremendous efforts like his mixtape offerings of Fear of God and Fear of God II: Let Us Pray. Both led the way to his debut full-length, My Name Is My Name, which received well-rounded acclaim and showed Pusha's talent without his brother and vice versa. His follow-up, King Push: Darkest Before Dawn, was every bit the bumper his debut was with his collab with Jay-Z, "D.D.A." being the most rotated of all the tracks on this album. However, it was his follow up in 2018, Daytona, that made a Pusha a star if he already wasn't before, as this became arguably his biggest and best overall project as Kanye provided some of the best production work he had done in years at this time. His last album, 2022's It's Almost Dry, had him reuniting with Pharrell and his brother on a track and was easily as crazy as Daytona with Kanye and Pharrell providing all the album's outstanding production. With his brother on a track, whispers were that they were getting back together for a project, and in 2024, rumors were confirmed, as they were working on their album, Let God Sort 'Em Out. The album finally dropped in '25, and with the teaser cuts of "So Be It", "Ace Trumpets", and "M.T.B.T.T.F.", it was clear we were in for something special, and we definitely had expectations met and surpassed. With Pharrell taking over the entire production duties, and being featured on a few cuts as well, if Lord Willin' ever sounded grown and mature, this is what it would sound like. In fact, maybe even closer to Hell Hath No Fury. We get less coke rhymes than ever before, and way more introspection and personal bars, as cuts like the Gospel-tinged collab with John Legend, "The Birds Don't Sing", "All Things Considered", and the closer, "By the Grace of God". It's clear that No Malice still infuses his spiritual rhymes within the album, but he also does so in a non-preachy way and more of a Lecrae-meets-Chance The Rapper type lyrical imagery. The streets aren't totally ignored, however, as the Stove God Cook$-assisted, "F.I.C.O." definitely demonstrates. One particularly interesting cut is the Tyler The Creator-collaborated cut, "P.O.V.", in which Pusha and Tyler throw darts at certain emcees and talent that they have issues with (while Drake and Jim Jones have been speculated, it hasn't been confirmed), while No Malice stays away from all that and stays on his introspective and spiritual route. Even the almighty Nas shows up on the snapping "Chandeliers", which is the other half to the title track which also is one to reflect on. These guys approach this album not in the same way they did with Lord Willin', in which they realize it's not about competition anymore. Not amongst themselves nor amongst their contemporaries. This confidence, mixed with a renewed chemistry and a clearer vision of their successes, resulted in Let God Sort 'Em Out to quite possibly being the best album of their careers, solo or together. It's apparent both men take subjects such as God, the deaths of their parents, and the coldness of the music industry to heart and it's reflected all throughout this album, while still showing these younger jacks out here to never ignore them when it comes to conversations about the best duos in hip-hop over the past twenty years because Clipse deserves to be right up there with anyone else.
8. Navy Blue
The Sword & The Soaring
Production: artist, Child Actor, AniMoss, Chris Keys, Sebb, others
Guests: Earl Sweatshirt
Cali native, Navy Blue, is well known for his introspective and dense lyricism. One that has been known for a delivery that's as relaxing as it is almost on the verge of a full depressive episode. More poetic than saddening and triggering, Blue has an aesthetic that revolves around a bleeding heart met with a very talented pen and steady delivery. His full-length debut, Ada Irin, was a promising look into the mind of a young man coming of age over reflective and harmonic production. His follow-up, Song Of Sage: Post Panic!, double down on this and the results were simply fantastic. Regarded as one of the best albums of the half decade, Navy was becoming an artist that delivered very evocative music while not being afraid to let us in to his occasionally dark areas and internal conflicts. His next couple of albums, Navy's Reprise and the Budgie-produced, Def Jam debut Ways of Knowing, had Navy weaving in and out of sublime, yet not quite as melancholy production, and in such we heard more life come within him. Although feeling somewhat restricted in sound, Navy had a look of that loner that's more of an observer than an extrovert and he was very comfortable with that, but you could tell something was diluted. In came 2024's Memoirs In Amour that brought him back to an unfiltered, stripped back approach to letting his feelings off and out for the listener. Definitely heavier than previous material (and that's saying a lot), Navy dove into feelings of regret, inner torment, depression, and shame. He struggled to find optimism within any of it although he surely tried at certain times of the album. However, in 2025, Sage has brought forth his emotional and refreshing album possibly of his career with The Sword & The Soaring. This album deals with sorrow and grief in very human and real aspects (you'll hear this later with De La Soul's breathtaking return album, Cabin In The Sky), but you'll also hear a young man finding peace within the pain and a purpose to acknowledge the heartbreak yet realize that not does life go on, but through it, meaning comes about. On cuts like "God's Kingdom" and the lead-single, "Orchids", self-discovery is the key. In all their candor, Navy Blue put it best on the latter in which he states repeatedly, "With so many losses, we gotta win." To a degree, that helps the listener relate very much to him in all forms of grief. With "Illusions", he tackles finding strength despite the difficulties of doing so day to day. An element we hear on several tracks here in various forms, while on the gripping, "Here & Now", he examines the duality of pain and healing in such an intimate way that one could swear he was spitting from his own diary. Meanwhile, the simply gorgeous "Sunlight of The Spirit" has him discussing his walk with God and how his spirituality helps him make it throughout his daily struggles and travels. The other noteworthy aspect of this album is the absolutely beautiful soundscapes throughout the album. The likes of Child Actor, Sebb, Chris Keyz, as well as himself, deliver production that is filled with strings, harps, and otherwise almost heart-wrenching production that fits the aura of this effort. Perhaps this is the most exemplified on the drum-less track, "Sharing Life", in which he produces this simply divine track that truly incorporates what he has been steadily stating throughout this project. Looking back on the toughness of his life growing up with trauma and death but reminiscing on how his family helped him deal with it all and how it ended up impacting him as a man in truly one of the most captivating moments in Sage's career. Very similarly is the prior track, "Soul Investments", in which Sebb delivers a fitting guitar lick to match Blue's imagery of seeing his deceased father within his children and him realizing that his Father is in fact still with him. This is in somewhat in comparison to the confessional "If Only", in which he talks to both his mother and father about his childhood and how certain moments of his life were a lot for him to handle but that he has made peace with it all. With the untimely and shocking death of Brooklyn emcee, Ka, in 2023, this still haunts and greatly affects Navy, as we hear certain lines and deliveries echo Ka almost hauntingly. On the only collaborative cut on the album, the Earl Sweatshirt-assisted, "24 Gospel", Blue and Earl touch on perseverance mixing with sorrow and mental health challenges. Still confused and hurt by Ka's passing, he still makes it to where he's balancing as best he can. Earl's delivery is very similar ton how we would hear him on his simply stellar, Some Rap Songs, as he could relate very well to what Navy is experiencing. Folks, The Sword & The Soaring is a look into Sage the man, while hearing Navy the emcee in such a profound and sonically rewarding way. As human as this is artistic, Navy Blue has delivered an album for the soul just as much as the speakers. With him, the true measure of a person isn't how much you grieve but how one can find purpose within the perils, and Navy Blue elegantly and courageously finds that space that two things can be real at the same time. It's not out of the way to call this album the most emotionally stirring album this year and belongs in the same atmosphere as other melancholy classics such as Saba's Care For Me or 2Pac's Me Against The World (see De La Soul later), and after everything Navy has gone through these last few years in his personal life with familial death and death of friends such as Ka, Navy remains more determined to find his perfect imperfections, which is the true measure of peace.
7. Ransom & DJ Premier
The Reinvention EP
Production: DJ Premier
Guests: N/A
When one mentions fierce and highly respect emcees currently killing it right now, one name that immediately comes to mind is Jersey's Ransom. One of the game's most prolific emcees over the past decade, Ransom has quite the discography, mainly collaborating with the likes of Nicholas Craven, V DON, and other tremendous names. Earlier, we covered his excellent collaborative effort with Conductor Williams, The Uncomfortable Truth. His use of sharp wit and way above average rhyme schemes and word play made him glide over the unorthodox yet tremendous stylings of the Grammy Award-winning producer. However, when word got out that he was collaborating with arguably the GOAT of this hip-hop behind the boards, DJ Premier, all trumpets and horns went out as we were likely about to embark on something special and expectations were obviously very high. The EP, The Reinvention, is as raw, unfiltered, and bumping as you'd expect from any Preemo project. Very reminiscent of Preemo's last pet project with Royce Da 5'9" as PRhyme for both of their albums, Ransom was no holds barred with his pen game, and just based off the initial cut, "Amazing Graces", the piano-laced cut has Ransom dropping tons of fire in ways that make you reminisce about PRhyme and make you anticipate their next project. The same could be about the next cut, "A Cut Above", in which Preemo incorporates strings to compliment his unfairly knocking bassline. While he continues his battle hungry rhymes on "Chaos Is My Ladder", he gets more into subject depth with the cuts "Survivor's Remorse" and the title track, in which he gets introspective talking about his struggles to get to his risen point within his life and his career and shouts out those that have been around to see him prosper. This is also heard on the ugly faced, "Forgiveness". While we definitely wish this effort was longer, what we did get was a nasty reminder of why Preemo is who he is and why belongs on every emcee and listener's Mount Rushmore of hip-hop producers and deejays, while Ransom is clearly becoming your favorite rapper's favorite rapper with another example of why he's such an exceptional emcee. With The Reinvention, these two show a chemistry that takes one back to the nineties with its impeccable boom-bap flair a little differently than the aforementioned The Coldest Profession effort, but certainly a monster album and one of the best, if not THE best, Ransom effort to come out to date.
6. PremRock
Did You Enjoy Your Time Here?
Production: Child Actor, Sebb, E L U C I D, Controller 7, Jeff Markey, Blockhead, Fines Double, Small Professor, others
Guests: billy woods, Cavalier, AJ Suede, Curly Castro, Pink Siifu, others
In a time where systems at play are trying to force us to conform in areas that we're uncomfortable with, not used to, or never planned for, the anxiety and paranoia of it all makes one doubtful of a hope and future we can't see or determine. When it comes to Backwoodz Studio artist, PremRock, he explores this concept in a cleverly abstract, yet highly engaging, piece of work entitled, Did You Enjoy Your Time Here? Trying to survive in a consistently changing world without enough time to digest the changes you had to settle with is one that most neurodivergents hate: the concept of frequent change and how time keeps being linear. The deep, left-brained chamber that is the PA native's leading weapon explores how there's no such thing as permanent in this existence. From the opening tack alone, "Angel's Share", you can already tell this is going to be a heavy dose of theoretical idealism mixed with sobering realities that will either fly over your head or totally immerse you in his thought processes. In this cut, he contrasts procreating as a blissful moment, while also adding duality to it by him stating he's surviving because he hasn't procreated. Being able to see the complimentary angles of that concept is what makes PremRock, well, PremRock. The ability to see two sides of the same coin while never ignoring the juxtaposition within the subject matter. This continues with cuts like the self loathing, yet very relevant, "Doubt Mountain", the robbing-the-poor-to-get-their-kicks-in ode "Plunder", and the metaphysical aspects of "Void Lacquer". One particularly interesting cut is "California Sober", in which Prem explores the rocky and disoriented stages of a shrinking relationship that subsequently has no finality or any type of resolution, except that he's at an acceptance with there being no finale. Things get bleaker with the billy woods-assisted, "Receipts", in which there's more of a harrowing look at the decaying world around both of them that they still have to find their ways through knowing the existential cost on the inside. Production-wise, this album is filled with psychedelic textures and cleverly used samples with either drum-less melodies or dusty percussion that fits an atmospheric ambience that creates both chaotic tranquility or a peaceful chaos; either way, they're one in the same. Whether it's the dreadful feelings of the aforementioned "Receipts" or the gritty, yet very effective, horns of the ever thought-provoking, "Love Is A Battlefield Simulation", or even the lo-fi avant-garde soul of the Cavalier-assisted, "A Good Man Is Hard To Find", in which both emcees explore the concept of time being passed in relevance to internal and mental distance, The album is evocative throughout the entire piece. Also, the ambiguity of "Potemkin Village Voice" is one of mixing the ideal with the actual, which in and of itself is something we as humans tend to fight daily at times. It has been four years since his last solo album, Load Bearing Crow's Feet, but it certainly places himself as even more evolved, but even more observational and introspective. While he tends to be at a healthy competition, both lyrically and thematically with his ShrapKnel partner, Curly Castro (who makes a strong appearance on the album as well), Prem delivers one of the year's most provocative and abstract efforts of the year with Did You Enjoy Your Time Here? This album is a very fitting title, as it serves as a variety of subjective meanings, but truthfully, there's no right or wrong here. Whether musically, in life, your career, or your ambitions, the question remains the same. With PremRock, it's clear he's still trying to figure it out, but sounds damn good doing so.
5. Mobb Deep
Infinite
Production: Havoc, The Alchemist
Guests: Nas, Clipse, Big Noyd, H.E.R., Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Jorja Smith
When the hip-hop world lost Albert Johnson, aka Prodigy of Mobb Deep, in 2017, it easily ranked among the saddest and most shocking deaths ever in hip-hop. P was a legend. An influential emcee whose gift of macabre and vivid street narratives and chilling threats made anyone who listened get an idea that he wasn't the one to cross. Along with partner-in-rhyme, Havoc, Mobb Deep became arguably the most respected and impactful duo out of NYC in the mid to late nineties. While their 1993 debut, Juvenile Hell, was decent at best, it was 1995 when they presented one of the game's most iconic and sinister classics, The Infamous. Led by an all-time anthem in "Shook Ones Pt. 2" and followed up with the just as memorable "Survival of The Fittest", QB's most infamous officially became a whole new level since their teenaged, troublesome tyke days of Juvenile Hell. With nearly a million units sold, Mobb Deep had arrived, and arrived with tons of momentum. Little did we know they were just starting. They followed this monument up with '96's Hell On Earth, an even darker and more ice-cold sounding album in which many feel P was in a lane all by himself lyrically at this time. Along with Havoc's boneyard sounds of vocal wails, stunning organs and pianos, harps, and knocking basslines, it's been argued that this was to Infamous like It Was Written was to Illmatic, in which the follow-up was either as legendary, or even better than the prior album. Too raw for the radio, they tuned it just a tad different for their '99 monster, Murda Muzik by making it an equal balance of more radio play yet staying true to their customary gritty sound thanks to cuts like "Quiet Storm" (especially the heavily rotated remix with Lil Kim), the Nas-assisted, "It's Mine", and "A'ight Then". This album officially saw them break the million copies mark and put them as not just platinum artists, but triple platinum artists. Nobody was more in demand at this time than the Mobb give or take the likes of Nas, Busta Rhymes, or Eminem. Once the Jay-Z beef started, they started to lose some steam as albums like Infamy, Amerika'z Nightmare, and their G-Unit debut, Blood Money, sounded musically and lyrically uninspired and not on the same level as their prior three powerhouses. While they did make a better attempt on their last album, The Infamous Mobb Deep, there was something still missing. There was a sound of nihilism and grimy stories that would make Martin Scorsese applaud. Mix in their multiple solo efforts and even a brief beef between the two and the aura of the Mobb was becoming iffy. When the world lost P, we knew there had to be more offerings from the two and we couldn't just leave their legacy as nineties juggernauts and that was it. Thanks to Nas and his Legend Has It series through Mass Appeal, P's estate allowed Hav, Nas, and Uncle Al to create what could rightfully be their final album, Infinite. No kiddies, these are not already heard and recycled verses from P that have been floating around on mixtapes for almost two decades. These are never before heard recordings that never saw the light of day until now. Quite honestly, the mixing and engineering of this album is so profound, it literally sounds like P was in the booth right with Hav during this process. While Guru sounded like he had a few verses in the bag, yet some stuff still sounded copied and pasted on Gangstarr's final album, One of The Best Yet, P's verses all sound surprisingly very fresh and crisp. All it takes is just peeping the first single, "Against the World" to listen to how "alive" P sounds with a focused Hav. While the end of the track leaves listeners in chills as he shouts out Hav saying "I love you. See you on the other side", this isn't the first time we get reminded of P's passing and almost prophetic bars of his time being up soon. Until then, we get doses of classic Mobb on cuts like "Gunfire", "Easy Bruh", and the Clipse-assisted, "Look At Me". P gets especially bleak on "Mr. Majik", in which he compares himself to a magician and being able to make enemies disappear. The Mobb chemistry continues on other dumb dope cuts like the crazy rework of BDP's "Jimmy" with "The M, The O, The B, The B" with their longtime unofficial third member, Big Noyd, the Alchemist-laced, "Taj Mahal", and the grimy "We The Real Thing". However, it's when we get personal where this album shines with the Mobb. The haunting collab with Nas, "Pour The Henny" has a verse from P that's as prophetic as it is saddening, while the Raekwon and Ghost-assisted, "Clear Black nights" has P more reflective bars that isn't quite as heavy as "Pour The Henny", but nonetheless just as somber as a fan listening. They also go the love route on the surprisingly dope collab with vocalist Jorja Smith and yet another assistance from Nas on "Down For You", while the remix with H.E.R. hits just as hard. If this truly is the final Mobb Deep album, Infinite is exactly the swan song the duo needed. This is the closest thing we've legitimately gotten to their treacherous trio of The Infamous, Hell On Earth, and Murda Muzik. From P's ridiculous bars to Havoc and Alchemist bringing back a nineties vibe that sounds very relevant today (don't you dare sleep on Hav on that mic either folks), Infinite reminds us of why the Mobb are among the architects of that gritty, hardcore east coast sound that made them legends and heroes of the "violent nigga rap shit" era. P can rest well knowing that Hav will forever carry the Mobb flag proudly and still making folks know that there's no such thing as halfway crooks.
4. Nas & DJ Premier
Light-Years
Production: DJ Premier
Guests: AZ
It's an album that's been 30 years in the making. Since Nas dropped the immortal blueprint for hip-hop known as Illmatic in April of '94, most people that were, and are, deep heads of the album were especially drawn to the joints DJ Premier crafted in the forms of "NY State of Mind", "Memory Lane", and "Represent". Since then, these two truly legendary talents have worked together on the few Nas albums from It Was Written ("I Gave You Power"), I Am... ("Nas Is Like", NY State of Mind 2"), Nastradamus ("Come Get Me"), and Stillmatic "2nd Childhood"). After several albums of no collabs between them, Nas reunited with Preemo on Preemo's contribution to the Hip-Hop 50 series with the old school feelings of "Beat Breaks". it just felt right. It just felt that we were way overdue for a full project from these two. With Nas showing his official GOAT status during his exceptional run with Hit-Boy for the King's Disease and Magic series, heads have still yearned for a joint project between the two. In 2024, Nas dropped a crazy cut called "Define My Name", crafted by Preemo, and at the end of the track, they have a conversation which ends with Nas saying "It's time, Preem. It's finally time." Heads everywhere collectively cried tears of joy as our long-lost dream of these two doing an album together was FINALLY going to happen. Ranking among the most anticipated albums in decades, the wait was almost over. Once Nas and Mass Appeal dropped the Legend Has It series, all the other projects, though mostly tremendous and high valued efforts, were the appetizers compared to the full entrée that was their LONG-awaited collaborative album, Light-Years. With no promotion single nor a bunch of advertising, it wasn't needed. This was THE album we had waited on for so long, and it finally arrived. Now the big question was, "Was this worth the wait?" Let's dive in. The opening cut, "My Life Is Real", is him doing a king reintroduction of who he is how his life was never written (not in the way Memphis Bleek used to say on "My Mind Right"), but instead his life was true over a dope piano loop, while he gets a little funkier with "Git Ready" and the tremendously stripped back "Pause Tapes" all have different sounds that fit a vibe in which Preemo wanted a back-to-basics approach to the production, while Nas made it exactly what he's about: lyricism. Preem gets more menacing on cuts like the third installment of "NY State of Mind" and "Madman", with equally hard bars that reminded us of his ability to get gritty and non-joking. Of course, it wouldn't be him if didn't go into his thinking closet for something innovative. In this case, it was the superb "Nasty Esco Nasir", in which Nasir is having a battle in his head between his prior personas of Nasty Nas and Nas Escobar. The stark differences between the two are apparent, and at the end, Nasir ultimately had control over both of them and veered more into his own man that was/is a philanthropist, multimillionaire, investor, and every other title he named. He's earned them all, not to mention Grammy Award winner. Also, he takes us through the roots of where he came from musically on the knocking "Welcome to The Underground", while explores the importance of time on the infectious sampling of the Steve Miller Band's "Fly Like An Eagle", "It's Time". Never one to not give props to any type of fitting audience, he gives it up to graffiti artists on the dumb dope "Writers", gives more than enough flowers to all women in hip-hop on "Bouquet", and provided encouraging wisdom and jewels on the sequel to Life Is Good's excellent "Daughters", "Sons (Young Kings)". In what could also be considered a nostalgic, feel-good moment, he reunites with the first guest appearance he ever had on Illmatic, criminally underappreciated AZ on the thick "My Story, Your Story", which reminds us of why they were, and still are, such a dynamite duo (since we finally got a Nas/Preemo album, can we FINALLY get Together We Stand Alone, their much rumored collab album that was supposed to hit in '97?) With other crazy knockers like the sequel to Stillmatic's "2nd Childhood", "3rd Childhood", "Shine Together", and the hip-hop addiction knocker, "Junkie" completing this effort, Nas and Preemo finally made our dreams come true and crafted TRULY something for the culture. For any hater that thinks this would be Illmatic 2, 3, or whatever, move past that notion. Light-Years is a back-to-basics, stripped down lesson in what TRUE hip-hop is: beats, rhymes, the community, and the culture. Nas is all that and then some. So is Uncle Preem. These two iconic hip-hop wizards delivered new career benchmarks for both with this album, and there won't be any room for napping on this wall to wall blistering and highly needed effort.
3. Armand Hammer & The Alchemist
Mercy
Production: The Alchemist
Guests: Earl Sweatshirt, Pink Siifu, Quelle Chris, Cleo Reed, others
The ever ambiguous, yet immensely talented duo of superb writers ELUCID and billy woods reemerged this year together not long after woods' astonishing effort, GOLLIWOG, answering rumors of another collab album with Alchemist. These rumors were confirmed, as Alchemist officially announced the follow-up to their ungodly debut collab album, HARAM, in the form of Mercy. Where HARAM had Uncle Al absorbing himself in the cryptic and brooding world that is Armand Hammer, Mercy has Armand Hammer meeting him halfway, as Alchemist presents them with an almost as paranoid world soundscape, only with more of an accessible, yet no less sonically gripping, route of ominous keys and psychedelic ambiences. The first single, "Super Nintendo" has them reminiscing on more fair days where there were less stress and chaos compared to today, over a brilliant Casio keyboard loop that is very reminiscent of old video games like Super Mario World, Super Metroid, and Super Castlevania that is both highly appealing and engaging. This may honestly be among the most lighthearted cuts on the album, and even then, this is filled with confessions and personal revelations. From here, it's paranoia, chaos, and the cryptic bars there within from two greatly obtuse lyricists that bring you into their very unique, yet complex, ideologies. The cut, "Peshawar", is haunting piano key looped track that serves as an ethereal backdrop to the pair's look at a society depending more on technology than human experiences. The cut, "Glue Traps", is metaphorical for not being able to move higher or get ahead in this Western world as a Black man, and ELUCID and woods such a magnificent job painting the sequences of captivity and being stuck. Meanwhile, cuts like "Moonbow" and "U Know My Body" are so morose in their content that one would think these emcees have slight bits of pessimistic depravity towards the human race, yet are very observant and uniquely dissonant, especially the harrowing bars on "U Know My Body", which is NOTHING like what one would conjure based upon the title. Darkly abstract bars are as clever as ever, while still remaining alarming and cautious, and this point is evident on otherwise outstanding cuts such as "No Grabba", "Scandinavia", and the murky-themed, "Nil By Mouth". Frequent collaborator, Earl Sweatshirt, stops by with his slinky drawl, yet no less tremendous wordplay, on "California Games", but it's the Pink Siifu-assisted, "Crisis Phone" that shows the volatile crescendo that the duo relies on to leave the listener feeling anxious, claustrophobic, and suffocating. The cut, "Longjohns" with another frequent collaborator, Quelle Chris, and Cleo Reed, very much mirrors this as well with feelings and visions of a destroyed and decaying culture within today's world. Alchemist supplies them with enough avant-garde, yet heavily melodic, psych jazz that makes this not as much of a horror flick as HARAM, yet still as aesthetically dizzying. If the duo's last effort, the tremendously ambitious and widely acclaimed, We Buy Diabetic Test Strips, was the book of the lost, frenzied, and uncomfortable, Mercy may very well be the epilogue, as it seeks refuge between the reluctantly accepting murky world they're navigating through and the need for clarity and light at the end of this never ending dark tunnel. While considering past outstanding efforts from them such as Paraffin, Shrines, and the robustly paranoid, Rome, this album falls in line with them all only on more jaded levels. Let's face it folks: Armand Hammer aren't here for your enjoyment and fluff. They have insight to the erosion of human civilization and it's up to you take heed or get swallowed up. Speaking of the bleak and brooding...
2. billy woods
GOLLIWOG
Production: The Alchemist, Messiah Muzik, Kenny Segal, Conductor Williams, Sebb, El-P, Preservation, Sadhugold, Ant, DJ Haram, Steel Tipped Dove, others
Guests: E L U C I D, Bruiser Wolf, Despot, al.davino, Cavalier, others
It's very, very hard (if not impossible) to size up a subpar, or even average, billy woods project. Every project from the New Yorker (by way of D.C.) is somehow a mixture of fascinating doom, optimistic pessimism, and facetious hope with a demoralizing society. With him being the offspring of two intellectuals (mother being a literature professor), it's only natural that woods has a vast array of highly qualified knowledge that will cause provocation and intrigue alike. Known for excellent albums such as Known Unknown, Today, I Wrote Nothing, History Will Absolve Me, and later fantastic efforts such as Terror Management, the Preservation-collaborated Aethiopes, and the two amazing efforts with Backwoodz in-house producer, Kenny Segal, Maps and especially the eerie Hiding Place, all exhibit woods compelling talent of using his pen to illustrate a world in disarray while using dark humor and occasional tongue-in-cheek references that provide discomfort and useful information similarly. Aside from his Armand Hammer projects with ELUCID, woods has enough paranoia within his rhymes to cause a psychotic social breakdown, and we may have just gotten it in the form of GOLLIWOG. a reference to the criminally racist rag doll with blackface depictions. With the cover having this rag doll lost in the woods (you might say), it could be symbolic of a caricature of a Black man trying to exist in a world filled with mystery and fear not knowing how much longer he has to survive. Within this album, we have woods exploring this mantra with some of the most unsettling and uncomfortable imagery he has ever delivered. Considering Hiding Place and Aethiopes, this is even heavier than those albums, and from the jump with "Jumpscare", a brooding, dense cut produced by another Backwoodz producer in Steel Tipped Dove that has him in search of trying to find himself despite the white man's ever allusive shadow always not far behind him. The general theme of this album is one of horror. Not in the form of entertainment, but of harsh realities that confront you and makes it known that this will not be a settling ride to be on, but you're forced to endure just like he has to. With "STAR87", he tries to find a way out of his past torments by using a looped ringing phone as its backdrop, while on the short but eerily hypnotic, "Pitchforks & Halos", woods imagines himself in a slavery-era time period where he is also comparing that time period to the music industry in one of the most imaginative ways heard to date. He dives into different levels of mental and intellectual depravity at times, exploring cultural and community torture that impacts him in such sensationalized fashion it's almost as if he is the main character in his own psychological thriller. On the Alchemist-crafted, "Counter-Clockwise", he explores insomnia and sleep deprivation through his own mental images, but on "Misery", he details a love triangle between him, a woman, and her husband, in which she's creeping behind his back but is also a succubus or vampire of sorts that he just can't resist. Although one of the few humorous moments on the album, this still fits the horror theme of the album. This gets turned in a complete 180 with the bone-chilling "Waterproof Mascara". The emcee plays a spirit of sorts observing a woman whose children had been physically abused and the lingering trauma that affected everyone involved in unfortunate mental health challenges. With some of the most eerie lyrics of the entire album in terms of imagery, the production matches it with Preservation's usage of a drum-less sample using a crying woman as a loop to create perhaps the most haunting and atmospheric cut on this effort. The psychedelic paranoia of "Golgotha" is matched only by the hallucinogenic atmosphere within the production courtesy of Messiah Muzik, and it's the over sensationalized, yet truly relevant, macabre image that propels woods into doing modern day horrorcore that made albums like Gravediggaz' underground classic, 6 Feet Deep such a treasure, only with more socio-awareness and historical suffering, which for our community is a horror movie in itself. He continues driving home abstract narratives with clever idiosyncrasy bars on stellar cuts like the fantastic "Cold Sweat", which is divided into two parts. The first part has him having unsettling nightmares about the music business and imagining himself "dancing on a desk for record execs". The second part of this cut is the most interesting, as woods plays the role of an apartment tenant who's subsequently holding his landlord hostage as the landlord is trying to sell the building but it's woods that is holding the power over the landlord; thus, revealing a flip of the slave/slaveowner story. It wouldn't be a woods album without an ELUCID featured track or two, and in this case, we have the harrowing psychedelic sounds of "All These Worlds Are Yours", "Lead Paint Test" (which also features Quelle Chris), and the powerful , "Dislocated", in which the Armand Hammer boys constantly accentuate the point that "they can't be located, they can't be located", which is a look at how Blacks are often traumatized so much we tend to camouflage ourselves in time and history while emphasizing survival. With other incredible cuts like the bumping El-P-produced, Despot-blistered, "Corinthians", the al.davino-assisted, "Maquiladoras", the Bruiser Wolf-featured, "BLK XMAS", and the MF DOOM-saluted "Born Alone", woods has constructed a masterpiece of an album that shows why he's not only one of the game's most allusive emcees, but one of the most gifted and imaginative writers the game has ever produced. Using history and current racial and societal climates as horror imagery is as real as it gets. Only billy woods can eloquently conjure these images while throwing in dark humor and occasional sarcastic whims to demonstrate a far darker and surreal picture. The real horror isn't within the creative imagery of the mind, but the actual experience of history that we, as a culture, have had to withstand. When it comes to painting pictures of the paranoid, traumatized, hopeless and Afro-pessimistic, woods crafts these images better than any revered painter. With GOLLIWOG, this is his best example yet.
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1.. De La Soul
Cabin In the Sky
Production: artist, Supa Dav West, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Nottz, Jake One, others
Guests: Nas, Common, Black Thought, Bilal, Q-Tip, Yummi Bingham, Slick Rick, others
What else can you say about the legendary hip-hop act known as De La Soul? These one-day Rock & Roll Hall of Famers from Long Island are within hip-hop royalty. From the moment Posdnous (Plug One), Trugoy the Dove (Plug Two), and DJ Maseo (Plug Three) incorporated a hippy, bohemian, yet soulfully abstract style that showed the magic they were capable of on their seminal 1989 debut, 3 Feet High & Rising, which sprung the instant classic, "Me, Myself & I". Thinking people considered them as soft or punks, they killed the "D.A.I.S.Y. Age" and made a very bold statement with the simply brilliant follow-up, De La Soul Is Dead, showing that they're not just happy, flower power emcees. They actually can rhyme and presented stories revolving around classicism, racial identity, fakeness in hip-hop and child molestation resulting in murder on the fascinating, yet chilling, "Millie Pulled a Pistol On Santa". With the follow up albums of Buhloone Mindstate and '96's outstanding Stakes Is High, we heard mixtures of jazz, Afrocentric rhythms, and straight up boom-bap while they further demonstrated how consistently their quality was in lyricism and music taste in terms of production value. Their approach to non-gangsta rap and overall, a grounded outlook on the world and the culture has always been their refreshing appeal. These four albums showed it in spades and are considered their epic four. That's not to say that subsequent albums like Art Official Intelligence, AOI: Bionix, the underappreciated, yet highly dope, The Grind Date, and the Grammy nominated, And the Anonymous Nobody weren't special themselves, but the aforementioned four were and remain their calling cards. Unfortunately, things turned heartbreaking for the crew, as Dave tragically passed away from CHF in 2023. A year after they were finally able to get their catalog streamed onto DSPs after years long battles over getting samples cleared, the charming Trugoy took his last breath. One would think this would be the end for the Long Island duo, but much like brothers-in-rhyme, A Tribe Called Quest when they lost founding member, Phife Dawg, they chose to keep the name alive. As part of Nas & Mass Appeal's Legend Has It series, De La was on the roster for their first album since And the Anonymous Nobody, and their first since Dave's passing. They finally return with their ninth album, Cabin in the Sky, a look at life through the eyes of the remaining two members as they express grief, sorrow, and sadness over their fallen brother while also examining the joys and pride of life that makes us all relate to them in such human and vulnerable fashion. The opening intro alone is enough to produce a tear or two as the "teacher" of the classroom, veteran actor Giancarlo Esposito, does a roll call, and when he gets to Dave, there's no answer as the track starts to have an echo fade of him calling out for Dave to no reply. What follows is the very enjoyable, Dave-produced, "YUHDONTSTOP", which has vibes of Buhloone Mindstate with its sharp horns even with a Dave soundbite at the end to keep people remembering that, in Pos' words, "Even the two will always be three". From there, the first of three DJ Premier tracks appears in the form of "Sunny Storms", in which we have Pos dropping encouraging wisdom all throughout the minimalist Preemo track, and then the first track featuring Dave, "Good Health", which exemplifies the infectious grown man chemistry that made De La the legends they became in the first place. Invoking memories of 3 Feet High & Rising, cuts like "Will Be" and the young love breakup ode, "Just How It Is (Sometimes)" will cause the over forty crowd to have goosebumps and butterflies alike as to how much the sound took them back to 1988 with the feelgood sounds and elements of disco and bubblegum pop. Another lighthearted cut is in the Q-Tip/Yummi Bingham-assisted, "Day in the Sun", which could easily be a mid-Spring long highway drive cut. We get back to reflective on the Killer Mike-assisted, "A Quick 16 For Mama", in which Pos and Mike tributes their deceased mothers, while Maseo provides stirring adlibs for the cut. Once we hit the latter half of the album, we hear more emotional and vulnerable rhymes from Pos more consistently. One cut that exemplifies this is the Pete Rock-crafted, "Different World", in which Plug One examines his journey over the loss of Dave but trying to find peace through the pain. Another wonderful example is the Bilal-crooned "Palm of His Hands", in which Pos bravely examines his own mortality and hopes that his son "treats a woman better than he treated his mother." Over a fantastic Pete Rock cut complete with very fitting piano keys and Bilal's tremendous, yet minimalist, singing, gives this such a punch. As we reach the end, we get Dave's solo cut, "Don't Push Me", in which Esposito cleverly tosses to "the cabin", in which Dave spits with his usual quirky, yet addictive, style that made us fall in love with him. Only for the track to slowly fade out with Dave's echo fade trailing away with gorgeous harps in arguably the most sobering and tear-jerking moment on the album and Esposito fittingly saying, "Thank you Dave" to close out the album. With other excellent cuts such as the Premo-powered collab with Black Thought, "ENN EFF", the very dope collab with frequent collaborator Common and the iconic Slick Rick on the hook, "Yours", and the outstanding "Patty Cake", it's safe to say De La has presented perhaps the best overall album from them since Stakes Is High, but that's just surface level. De La showed on Cabin in The Sky that they're not only those OGs that truly represent the need to bridge the gap between this generation and their generation in terms of current relevancy with their foundational acclaim much like Slick Rick did with Glory earlier this year. On top of this, hearing Pos craft perhaps the most introspective writing of his career for obvious reasons is both gripping and refreshing. It could be very easy to make this a somber album commemorating Trugoy, but doing so would defeat De La's purpose from the offset, thus disappointing Dave's own legacy within the group. Dave is clearly the spiritual driver of this ride, and with spiritual, emotional, reflective, and feel good concepts all throughout, it could be argued that the magnificence of Cabin In The Sky should belong on the same pantheon as their legendary first four releases, as this is an amazing reflection of all their celebrated albums mixed with a current credibility only De La can bring. Best believe, chillin' up in that "cabin in the sky", David Jolicoeur is happy as can be while proudly consuming his favorite dessert in the world, yogurt (thus Trugoy-yogurt backwards). We forever love you Plug Two!
It's clear that 2025 was not only one of the best years of the decade so far, but one of the best years of the past couple. Between Nas' overall admirable and revered attempt to pout true legends on rightfully earned pedestals to breakout efforts from the likes of Reuben Vincent, JID, and Jay Worthy, this year has been such a memorable one. This year showed that vets can still deliver just as hard as the younger generations and then some. If you didn't have ridiculous amounts of fun throughout this year with the incredible amount of beyond high quality music that emerged this year, you've had your head in the sand on purpose. It's not hard to see that the 20s has shown to be the craziest decade in...well...decades. Here's to seeing what 2026 has in store, including new efforts from the likes of Ludacris, Common/Pete Rock, T.I., JID/Metro Boomin, more Boldy James efforts, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, and a D12 reunion. 2026 will most definitely have its work cut out for it, as the past three years alone have been among the best years in many, many years. Let's see what happens. Until next time folks!
Honorable Mentions
Big L- Harlem's Finest: The Rise of the Forgotten King
Benny The Butcher- Excelsior EP
Benny The Butcher- Summertime Butch 2 EP
Boldy James & Real Bad Man- ADU 2
Jay Worthy- Once Upon a Time Pt. 1 & Pt. 2
The Game & DJ Drama- Every Story Needs A Trailer
Xzibit- Kingmaker
Mac Miller- Balloonerism
Aesop Rock- Black Hole Superette
Aesop Rock- I Heard It's A Mess There Too
Big K.R.I.T.- Dedicated to Cadalee Biaritzz Vol. 1
Busta Rhymes- Dragon Season: The Awakening
Busta Rhymes- Dragon Season: The Equinox
Che Noir & 7XVETHEGENIUS- Desired Crowns
7XVETHEGENIUS- Self 7XVE 3
Che Noir & Superior- Seeds of Babylon
Che Noir- The Color Chocolate 2
2 Chainz, Larry June, & The Alchemist- Life Is Beautiful
Smif-N-Wessun- Infinity
Domo Genesis & Graymatter- SCRAM!
Domo Genesis & Graymatter- World Gone Mad EP
Raekwon- The Emperor's New Clothes
Ghostface Killah- Supreme Clientele 2
V DON- Send For...
Fly Anakin- The Forever Dream
Fat Ray & Black Milk- Food From the Gods
Benny The Butcher & B$F- Illtone Vol. 1: The Outcome
CRIMEAPPLE & V DON- Bulletproof Chicken
CRIMEAPPLE- Jaguar On Palisade 3
T.F. & Khrysis- The Green Bottle
ESTEE NACK & Giallo Point- PAPITAS 2
Curren$y & Harry Fraud- Never Catch Up
Napoleon Da Legend & Giallo Point- F.L.A.W.
Fines Double- Espijimo
Hus Kingpin- Portishus 2
MindsOne- Stages
Josiah The Gift & Machacha- The Happening
Eddie Kaine- Crown Me Kaine
Eddie Kane & RIM- Welcome To Stuyville
Lord Sko- PIFF
Slik Jack & Vincent Pryce- Everybody's Gotta Pryce
Big Cheeko- Coulrophobia
Henny L.O. & Ewonee- Fougere EP
Planetary, King Syze, & Reef The Lost Cauze- Murderers Row
Raz Fresco & Futurewave- Stadium Lo Champions
AHNKLEJOHN & Cookin' Soul- The Michelin Man
AHNKLEJOHN- Give Grace
AHNKLEJOHN- Grace Given
Previous Industries- Evergreen Plaza EP
Tha God Fahim & Nicholas Craven- Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap Vols. 5-20
Recognize Ali & Stu Bangas- Guerilla Dynasty 3
Willie The Kid & Real Bad Man- Midnight
The High & Mighty- Sound Of Market
Vega7 The Ronin & Machacha- The Ghost Orchid
UFO Fev & Body Bag Ben- Thousand Yard Stare
UFO FEV & Big Ghost LTD- Ghost of Albizu's Revenge
Crisis- The Art Of...
Vinnie Paz- God Sent Vengeance
Slick Rick- Victory
R.A.P. Ferreira- Outstanding Understanding
Lupe Fiasco- GHOTTING EP
Mickey Diamond- Diamond Cutter
Nowahh The Flood & Giallo Point- The Anomaly EP
Flee Lord & Eto- RocAmeriKKKa 3
Mani Coolin & Graymatter- I'll Take the Blame
Daniel Don & Futurewave- Baggage Claims
Daniel Son & Body Bag Ben- Brown Body Bags
Open Mike Eagle- Neighborhood God's Unlimited
Apathy- Mom & Dad
Daz Dillinger- Retaliation, Revenge, & Getback 2
Daz Dillinger- Retaliation, Revenge, & Getback 3
Tyler The Creator- Don't Touch the Glass
Pro Dillinger & Futurewave- Dirtwave 3
Saigon & Buckwild- Paint the World Black
Joell Ortiz- Love, Peace, & Trauma
Jay Electronica- A Written Testimony: Leaflets EP
Jay Electronica- A Written Testimony: Power at The Rate of My Dreams EP
Vic Spencer- Trees Are Undefeated
OT The Real- The Wars I've Won
Mike Shabb- Public Enemy Number One
Lloyd Banks- Halloween Havoc VI: The Six of Swords
Oh No- Nodega
Your Old Droog- Anything Is Possible EP
Slaine & Statik Selektah- A New State of Grace
Niko IS & J. Rawls- The Optimist's Son
Reason- Everything In My Soul EP
JasonMartin & Mike & Keys- Mafia Cafe
Bun B & Statik Selektah- TrillStatik 5
Joey Bada$$- Lonely At the Top
Wale- Everything Is a Way
Gabe 'Nandez & Preservation- Sortilege
Bruiser Wolf & Harry Fraud- Made By Dope
Knowledge The Pirate- Before Common Era
Some of the best cuts to emerge this year are here on this playlist. Bump these loud and hard!
Armand Hammer & The Alchemist- "Super Nintendo" (production: The Alchemist)
Conway The Painter- "The Painter" (production: Daringer)
Nas & DJ Premier- "It's Time" (production: DJ Premier)
Mac Miller- "Mrs. Deborah Downer" (production: artist, Thundercat)
Busta Rhymes- "Letter To My Children" (production: artist, Roc Marciano)
T.F. & Khrysis- "Line It Up" (production: Khrysis)
MIKE- "Showbiz!" (production: Laron Wages)
MIKE- "Miss U" (production: DJ Blackpower)
Larry June, 2 Chainz, & The Alchemist- "Life Is Beautiful" (production: The Alchemist)
Roc Marciano & DJ Premier- "Armani Section" (production: DJ Premier)
Westside Gunn & Busta Rhymes- "Long Live J Dilla" (production: Karriem Riggins)
ANKHLEJOHN- "Thank The Lord" (production: MVZONIC)
Estee Nack & Giallo Point "ICEBULLETTHEORY" (production: Giallo Point)
Westside Gunn feat. Stove God Cook$, Estee Nack- "BOSWELL" (production: The Standouts)
The Underachievers- "Have Nots" (production: Issa Gold)
Brother Ali- "Ocean Of Rage" (production: Ant)
Brother Ali- "Under The Stars" (production: Ant)
Logic feat. Oddisee- "Pipeline" (production: Oddisee)
Black Milk & Fat Ray- "Elderberry"/"Talcum Powder" (production: Black Milk)
Westside Gunn feat. Stove God Cook$- "ADAM PAGE" (production: Denny LeFlare)
RJ Payne & Erick Sermon- "The Uppercut" (production: Erick Sermon)
Smif-N-Wessun feat. SWEATA- "Namaste" (production: 9th Wonder)
Smif-N-Wessun- "Elephant in The Room" (production: Khrysis)
Napoleon Da Legend & JR Swiftz- "Raining Sledgehammers" (production: JR Swiftz)
Napoleon Da Legend & JR Swiftz- "Pride" (production: JR Swiftz)
Napoleon Da Legend & JR Swiftz- "Death Star Lazer Beam" (production: JR Swiftz)
Napoleon Da Legend & Giallo Point feat. Invizible Handz- "Unforgiving" (production: Giallo Point)
Napoleon Da Legend & Giallo Point- "Motivation" (production: Giallo Point)
Josiah The Gift & Machacha- "When The Pen Hits" (production: Machacha)
Slik Jack & Vincent Pryce- "Go Shorty" (production: Vincent Pryce)
Boldy James & Chuck Strangers- "Bird's Eye View" (production: Chuck Strangers)
Chuck Strangers & Graymatter- "Marigold" (production: Graymatter)
DurtyDiggs feat. Planet Asia- "Omniverse"
Maze Overlay feat. Maya Angelou- "In the Beginning" (production: Slang Hugh)
Busta Rhymes feat. Symba, Stacy Barthe- "Brain Dead" (production: Jokey)
ANKHLEJOHN & Cookin' Soul- "Feel the Breeze" (production: Cookin' Soul)
billy woods- "Misery" (production: Kenny Segal)
billy woods- "Waterproof Mosquera" (production: Preservation)
Recognize Ali & Stu Bangas- "Most Dangerous" (production: Stu Bangas)
Curren$y & Harry Fraud- "Checkpoints" (production: Harry Fraud)
Previous Industries- "Adriana Furs" (production: Child Actor)
Saba & No I.D.- "How to Impress God" (production: No I.D.)
PremRock- "Fever Dream" (production: Fines Double)
PremRock feat. Cavalier- "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" (production: ELUCID)
Willie The Kid & Real Bad Man- "Cold Michigan Nights" (production: Real Bad Man)
Boldy James & V DON- "Lemon Head Delight" (production: V DON)
Crisis- "Top of The Food Chain" (production: artist)
Raz Fresco & Futurewave- "Cyanide" (production: Futurewave)
Westside Gunn- "GORO" (production: Harry Fraud)
Sirrealist- "Sometimes I Pray" (production: Python P)
Lloyd Banks- "Rolling" (production: Heiro-Wayne)
Boldy James & Real Bad Man- "Class Clown" (production: Real Bad Man)
Boldy James & Real Bad Man- "It Factor" (production: Real Bad Man)
Knowledge The Pirate & Roc Marciano- "Food For Thought" (production: Roc Marciano)
Knowledge The Pirate & Roc Marciano- "Golden Rules" (production: Roc Marciano)
billy woods- "Counterclockwise" (production: The Alchemist)
billy woods- "Make No Mistake" (production: Messiah Muzik)
billy woods- "STAR87" (production: Conductor Williams)
Xzibit- "Genesis" (production: Koach)
Tha God Fahim & Nicholas Craven- "Tha Unfathomable Horror" (production: Nicholas Craven)
Rome Streetz & Conductor Williams feat. Method Man- "Ricky Bobby" (production: Conductor Williams)
Rome Streetz & Conductor Williams- "99 Attributes" (production: Conductor Williams)
Rome Streetz & Conductor Williams- "Connie's Revenge" (production: Conductor Williams)
Daniel Son & Futurewave- "How It Goes" (production: Futurewave)
Slick Rick feat. Nas- "Documents" (production: artist)
Clipse- "Ace Trumpets" (production: Pharrell Williams)
Clipse- "M.T.B.T.T.F." (production: Pharrell Williams)
Benny The Butcher feat. Westside Gunn- "Jasmine's" (production: Daringer)
Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist- "1995" (production: The Alchemist)
Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist- "Jean Claude" (production: The Alchemist)
Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist- "Skinny Suge II" (production: The Alchemist)
Bronze Nazareth & Apollo Brown- "Enough Lord" (production: Apollo Brown)
Bronze Nazareth & Apollo Brown- "Meeting in The Clouds" (production: Apollo Brown)
Domo Genesis & Graymatter- "World Gone Mad" (production: Graymatter)
Napoleon Da Legend- "Mackandal" (production: artist)
Clipse feat. Stove God Cook$- "F.I.C.O." (production: Pharrell Williams)
Roc Marciano & DJ Premier- "Prayer Hands" (production: DJ Premier)
Roc Marciano & DJ Premier- "Good To Go" (production: DJ Premier)
Evidence feat. The Alchemist- "Rain Every Season" (production: The Alchemist)
Evidence feat. Blu- "Stay Alive" (production: Conductor Williams)
Evidence- "Top Seeded" (production: artist)
JID feat. Clipse- "Community" (production: Mario Luciano, Frankie P)
JID feat. Mereba- "Of Blue" (production: Christo, Mereba, Trybishop, Childish Major)
JID- "Glory" (production: Lex Luger, Beatnick Dee)
Jamil Honesty & JR Swiftz- "4EVANYCE" (production: JR Swiftz)
Your Old Droog & Madlib feat. Killer Mike- "The Edge" (production: Madlib)
Che Noir & The Other Guys- "Sugar Water" (production: The Other Guys)
Che Noir & The Other Guys feat. 38 Spesh- "Smooth Jazz" (production: The Other Guys)
Jamil Honesty & JR Swiftz feat. Jay Royale- "94 Nas the Chip Toothed Era" (production: JR Swiftz)
Mobb Deep- "Against the World" (production: Havoc)
Jay Electronica- "Abracadabra" (production: artist)
Jay Electronica- "@RealCandaceO...Tell Us More" (production: artist)
Chance The Rapper feat. Rachel Robinson- "Letters"
Jay Worthy feat. Westside Gunn, Dave East, Ab-Soul- "The Outcome" (production: The Alchemist)
Mobb Deep feat. Nas- "Pour the Henny" (production: Havoc)
Mobb Deep- "Gunfire" (production: The Alchemist)
Mobb Deep feat. Nas, Jorja Smith- "Down For You" (production: Havoc)
Mobb Deep feat. Raekwon, Ghostface Killah- "Clear Black Nights" (production: Havoc)
Westside Gunn- "MANDELA" (production: Conductor Williams)
Ransom & DJ Premier- "Amazing Graces" (production: DJ Premier)
Ty Farris & Apollo Brown feat. Top Hooter- "Flawless Victory" (production: Apollo Brown)
Armand Hammer & the Alchemist feat. Silka, Cleo Reed- "Calypso Gene" (production: Apollo Brown)
The Alchemist & Hit-Boy- "Ricky" (production: The Alchemist)
The Alchemist & Hit-Boy- "Walk In Faith" (production: The Alchemist)
The Alchemist & Hit-Boy- "Show Me the Way" (production: Hit-Boy)
Errol Holden & Roc Marciano- "Allah's Perfection" (production: Roc Marciano)
Reuben Vincent & 9th Wonder- "In My Life" (production: 9th Wonder)
Reuben Vincent & 9th Wonder- "Sweet & Good" (production: 9th Wonder)
Reuben Vincent & 9th Wonder- "Queen City" (production: 9th Wonder)
Planet Asia & DJ Scratch- "Not Allowed" (production: DJ Scratch)
Errol Holden & Roc Marciano- "Rod Lavers with The Stussy Hoodie" (production: Roc Marciano)
Navy Blue- "Orchards" (production: Child Actor)
Ransom & DJ Premier- "Chaos Is My Ladder" (production: DJ Premier)
Westside Gunn- "BABAS" (production: Balam)
Lloyd Banks- "The Eye Test" (production: Cartune Beatz)
Big L feat. Method Man- "Fred Samuel Playground" (production: Conductor Williams)
Armand Hammer & The Alchemist feat. Earl Sweatshirt- "California Games" (production: The Alchemist)
Navy Blue- "Sunlight of The Spirit" (production: Child Actor)
Navy Blue- "Fight On" (production: artist)
Navy Blue- "Illusions" (production: akabluesky)
Navy Blue feat. Earl Sweatshirt- "24 Gospel" (production: AniMoss)
Navy Blue- "Sharing Life" (production: artist)
Armand Hammer & The Alchemist- "Peshawar" (production: The Alchemist)
Armand Hammer & The Alchemist- "Nil By Mouth" (production: The Alchemist)
Ty Farris & Apollo Brown- "CTRL ALT DELETE" (production: Apollo Brown)
Ty Farris & Apollo Brown- "Street Patriots" (production: Apollo Brown)
Recognize Ali- "Realness" (production: Anu EL)
Che Noir & 7XVETHEGENIUS- "Town Ballroom" (production: Khrysis)
Ransom & Conductor Williams- "BOMAYE" (production: Conductor Williams)
Ransom & Conductor Williams- "Trigger or Trigga" (production: Conductor Williams)
Conway The Machine feat. Roc Marciano- "Diamonds" (production: Conductor Williams)
De La Soul- "YUHDONTSTOP" (production: Trugoy)
De La Soul feat. Gina Loring- "Different World" (production: Pete Rock)
De La Soul feat. Nas- "Run It Back" (production: Supa Dav West)
De La Soul- "Don't Push Me" (production: Trugoy)
R.A.P. Ferreira & Kenny Segal- "Naming The Feeling" (production: Kenny Segal)
R.A.P. Ferreira & Kenny Segal- "Apricity" (production: Kenny Segal)
Daniel Son & Body Bag Ben- "Brown Body Bags" (production: Body Bag Ben)
Skyzoo- "Sky Is Like" (production: DJ Manipulator)
Skyzoo- "Tags at The MOMA" (production: Camouflage Monk)
Skyzoo- "The Soloist" (production: The Other Guys)
Big K.R.I.T.- "Elevated" (production: artist)
The Game & DJ Drama- "Quarter Zips x Matcha" (production: Mike & Keys)
Erick Sermon feat. M.O.P.- "Sidewalk Executives" (production: Erick Sermon)
Nas & DJ Premier- "NY State Of Mind III" (production: DJ Premier)
Nas & DJ Premier- "Writers" (production: DJ Premier)
Nas & DJ Premier- "Nasty Esco Nasir" (production: DJ Premier)
Nas & DJ Premier- "Madman" (production: DJ Premier)
Conway The Machine- "BMG" (production: Sndtrakk)
Conway The Machine- "Otis Driftwood" (production: Daringer)
