Top 10 Hip Hop albums of 2018
In 2018, hip hop officially acknowledged the new “mumble rap” as a dominant commercial force. Artist of all genres use modern day hip hop to receive success and accolades. Grammy nominations includes artist like: Post Malone, Cardi B, 21 Savage, and Travis Scott, which is a huge difference than the average: Drake, Kendrick, Kanye, Eminem, Jay Z. Does this make hip hop music bad or good? Well that’s up to you and your opinion, but as for me it was extremely hard narrowing down a coherent list without separating the two styles of hip hop. Below is the official list of what I believe are the best hip-hop albums in 2018, based on production, lyricism, commercial success, controversy and sound.
Black Panther album, Kendrick Lamar
In 2018, Black Panther became the second highest selling motion picture in the history of film and collaborating with Kendrick Lamar the hottest hip hop artist solidified a platinum selling album. However, not only in sales is what makes this album great, the versatility and quality exceed hip hop standards. With singles such as: “All the Stars” and King’s Dead, Black Panther eliminates an untold paradox that we only listen to “movie songs” while watching the movie.
Everything is Love , The Carters
Here we go again, two living iconic legends; HOV and Beyoncé. At this point alongside others, these two have an established fan base, so anything either one releases will be an instant success. However, their rank isn’t what make Everything is Love one of the best albums of 2018. The single “Apeshit” is a major club hit, but this album is needed because audiences see their two favorites taking a stand for what they believe matters, what I believe matters too. Today people are afraid to speak out against the unpopular perspective the Carter’s voice their position in the Black lives matters movement, and to be the two most successful artist of the generation, their impact and voice matters.
Rapper Xxxtentacion made the biggest headline of 2018, because of his unfortunate and unexpected death. However before X passed ? was one of the best orchestrated albums I’ve ever listened to. ? contains genre diversity, incorporating punk, rap, rock, and Latin, in a function that cohesively describes how X was feeling.
In 2018, rapper J. Cole finally let go of his pride. Not only did he constructively conform to the modern-day sound with KOD, but he also collaborated with other artists. The album proved that Cole could keep up lyrically and musically in hip hop. KOD was an emotional response to the industry, leading up to an unexpected interview with the young rapper Lil Pump. Musically, J. Cole was one of the most talked about artist of hip hop in 2018.
Beerbongs & Bentley's, Post Malone
Post Malone is the underdog of the industry; every time you try to count him out, here he goes with another hit single. Beerbongs and Bentley’s was no exception, this sophomore album was the perfect follow up to his successful debut Stoney. The song “Rockstar” like White Iverson instantly went viral with little promotion. Post Malone has had the best follow up album since Drake or Kendrick, which is why he has a well deserving spot as one of the best hip hop albums of 2018.
Post Malone is the underdog of the industry; every time you try to count him out, here he goes with another hit single. Beerbongs and Bentley’s was no exception, this sophomore album was the perfect follow up to his successful debut Stoney. The song “Rockstar” like White Iverson instantly went viral with little promotion. Post Malone has had the best follow up album since Drake or Kendrick, which is why he has a well deserving spot as one of the best hip hop albums of 2018.
Tha Carter V, Lil Wayne
Tha Carter V was the most anticipated album of 2018, both the older and newer generation were excited to finally see Lil Wayne get his freedom. With an ongoing battle for ownership over a label that became the blueprint of today’s music, Tha Carter V was Lil Wayne’s peace, that we all were happy to see. With all drama behind its release, Tha Carter V met its expectations in both lyricism and production. Aside from the commercial success of the single “Uproar,” songs like: “Mona Lisa” and “Hittas” proved that Weezy still got it
Tha Carter V was the most anticipated album of 2018, both the older and newer generation were excited to finally see Lil Wayne get his freedom. With an ongoing battle for ownership over a label that became the blueprint of today’s music, Tha Carter V was Lil Wayne’s peace, that we all were happy to see. With all drama behind its release, Tha Carter V met its expectations in both lyricism and production. Aside from the commercial success of the single “Uproar,” songs like: “Mona Lisa” and “Hittas” proved that Weezy still got it
Next to Kanye West, Tekashi69 has been one of the most controversial artists of 2018. Since his debut single Gummo, Tekashi’s album Dummy Boy was anticipated. Although the album received a negative response from most critics, it makes the best album list because of its surprisingly commercial sound. Almost every song on the album is catchy and I believe that if Tekashi wouldn’t have gone to jail for racketeering, audiences would’ve given a different response. Tekashi is the “bad guy” right now so the media are going to continue with bad reviews for press sake, but Dummy Boy is a hit album for the young generation.
Cardi B as an artist broke records with Invasion of Privacy in 2018; solidifying her as the dominant female rapper in the music industry. Invasion of Privacy went 2x platinum, with every song as a single that charted on Billboard. The marketing of Cardi B left no room for mistake with a perfect execution of when, what, and which song to release at the time.
Atlanta get a win with the drip season in full affect. This dynamic duo created a drip wave in 2018, starting with the single Yes Indeed, featuring Drake. Although the song put the two on the map, it wasn’t until this album Drip Harder released with the lead single Drip Too Hard that puts them on the best hip hop of 2018 list. The single peaked at #4 on billboard and is RIAA certified platinum. Besides the numbers, this album is certified dope, the follow up single Never Recover was impressive, and overall Drip Harder was well balanced and a good representation for trap music
After reading the list many of you are probably wondering: where is Drake, Travis Scott, Migo’s, Eminem, Pusha T? Although all the artist was heavily considered in the list, it boils down to the quality of songs and the amount that I listen to. Truthfully, I only listen to “Sicko Mode” in Astroworld, when in fact the album contains 17 songs. Daytona received outstanding reviews simply based on the controversy behind the album, when in fact Pusha T has done nothing different from his previous work. I only know Kamikaze off Eminem’s album. Last but certainly not least, Drake’s Scorpion did amazing numbers and probably had the biggest singles of the year, however the overall album was extremely long and repetitive. In comparison to the Drake that we are accustomed to, Scorpion simply did not do it.
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