Stereogum's 40 Best Rap Albums of 2017

In the two years since *To Pimp a Butterfly*, we’ve hung on Kendrick Lamar\'s every word—whether he’s destroying rivals on a cameo, performing the #blacklivesmatter anthem *on top of a police car* at the BET Awards, or hanging out with Obama. So when *DAMN.* opens with a seemingly innocuous line—\"So I was taking a walk the other day…”—we\'re all ears. The gunshot that abruptly ends the track is a signal: *DAMN.* is a grab-you-by-the-throat declaration that’s as blunt, complex, and unflinching as the name suggests. If *Butterfly* was jazz-inflected, soul-funk vibrance, *DAMN.* is visceral, spare, and straight to the point, whether he’s boasting about \"royalty inside my DNA” on the trunk-rattling \"DNA.\" or lamenting an anonymous, violent death on the soul-infused “FEAR.” No topic is too big to tackle, and the songs are as bold as their all-caps names: “PRIDE.” “LOYALTY.” “LOVE.” \"LUST.” “GOD.” When he repeats the opening line to close the album, that simple walk has become a profound journey—further proof that no one commands the conversation like Kendrick Lamar.

The L.A. rap collective’s second album of 2017 is a victory lap for their brand of gonzo boasts and unbridled creativity (or, as they put it on “QUEER,” “Spaceship doing donuts/It’s written I’m the POTUS”). Rage and joy go hand-in-hand on songs like “GUMMY,” a tough-as-nails G-funk bruiser, while “JUNKY” is a harrowing tour of the psyche’s dark side. “SWEET,” though, is an effervescent celebration of being at the top of one’s game, with each rapper twisting his voice up “like licorice” over an effortlessly irresistible beat.

“WE IN YEAR 3230 WIT IT,” Vince Staples tweeted of his second album. “THIS THE FUTURE.” In fact, he’s in multiple time zones here. Delivered in his fluent, poetic flow, the lyrical references reach back to 16th-century composer Louis Bourgeois, while “BagBak” captures the stark contrasts of Staples’ present (“I pray for new McLarens/Pray the police don’t come blow me down because of my complexion.”) With trap hi-hats sprayed across ’70s funk basslines (“745”) and Bon Iver fused into UK garage beats (“Crabs in a Bucket”), the future is as bold as it is bright.

By the time he was awarded a spot in XXL magazine’s 2017 “freshman class,” Aminé’s name had been mispronounced so regularly that he wore a shirt on the issue’s cover ridiculing the most common mistakes. For the record, it’s “Ah-MEE-nay,” and even after his breakout hit “Caroline” fades, we’re likely to be hearing it for some time. The Portland, Oregon, rapper’s debut beams with versatility, his styles ranging from dancehall toasting to modern R&B to cafeteria table bars. The guest list is likewise diverse, including Offset, Kehlani, and hip-hop’s own “uncle” Charlie Wilson, who appears numerous times.

DC rapper GoldLink continues the forward momentum that turned heads on his 2015 mixtape *And After That, We Didn’t Talk*. *At What Cost* unspools like a film, transitioning seamlessly from late night to early morning. “Crew” pictures GoldLink stunting hard with Brent Faiyaz and Shy Glizzy. He can body a club track (“Meditation”) and shock listeners with a surprise ending. The fatalism that marked “When I Die” is back on “Pray Everyday (Survivor’s Guilt),” the realest song about self-medication since Kendrick Lamar’s “Swimming Pools.” *At What Cost* connects soul with noir, inward-facing narratives, chopped, off-kilter beats, and nocturnal moods.

Sinatra. Vandross. Thugger. Young Thug gets in touch with his inner crooner on this mixtape, touching on R&B, dancehall, even country. There are sublime music beds and acoustic guitar flourishes (“Me Or Us,” “Family Don\'t Matter”)—he’s clearly having fun accessing new levels of expression as guests like Snoop Dogg, Lil Durk, Future, Millie Go Lightly, and Jacquees serve as able foils.

21 Savage, Migos\' Offset, and Metro Boomin have all worked tirelessly, if only occasionally together, to become some of hip-hop’s most in-demand collaborators. *Without Warning*, an album whose release lives up to its name, is a return to the MCs’ trap-music roots (after having achieved a fair bit of pop appeal). The whole of it is dark and dense with highlights like the admonitory “My Choppa Hates N\*ggas” and “Run Up the Racks,” a song whose muffled keyboard chimes cast an eerie pall over brags of ill-gotten income. The woozy Offset solo outing, “Ric Flair Drip,” is one of the few more jubilant moments.

On *1992 Deluxe*, Princess Nokia bloodies eardrums with steady word combinations, illuminating the Big Apple\'s African and Nuyorican diasporas. Self-identity and self-preservation are major themes. She manages stress levels (“Kitana”), gives a shout-out to rebel girls (“Tomboy”), and recalls her come-up (“Goth Kid,” “G.O.A.T.”). There are nods to current trends with a skittering hi-hat or two, but *1992 Deluxe* is a rugged, underground affair—all baggy pants and Timbs—capable of making a mid-\'90s backpacker weep with reverence.

With the first song of his 2014 masterpiece, Dark Comedy, Open Mike Eagle reintroduced himself by defining his style: “I’m bad at sarcasm so I work in absurdity.” On that album, Mike deconstructed our overstimulated and over-surveilled society with ease and caustic wit. But what do you do when the world warps and bends into a shape so absurd that it can no longer be exaggerated? Brick Body Kids Still Daydream is a searingly political record for systolic political times. It chronicles the life cycle of the Robert Taylor Homes, a housing project on the South side of Chicago that was demolished completely ten years ago. Families that had lived under the same roof for three generations were forced to scatter, condemned by bureaucrats and faceless cranes and public indifference. Mike Eagle brings the Robert Taylor Homes back to life--literally, with arms and eyes and a head like the dome of a stadium--and fights until the last brick is made to crumble. As always, Mike slips in and out of various grey areas; on the opener “legendary iron hood,” he raps, “you think it's all good, but it's really a gradient.” The nostalgia (“95 radios”) is a little bit painful, the triumph (“hymnal”) comes through painstaking, incremental work. Everything needs to be earned, even the radio signals that are picked up through tinfoil wrapped on children's hands. The thesis becomes fully formed on “brick body complex,” where the hook is a towering statement of identity: “Don't call me ‘nigga,’ or ‘rapper,’ my motherfucking name is Michael Eagle.” But this is not a departure from the man-as-building conceit--the flesh and blood and brick and mortar are inextricable. In case there was any ambiguity about the political and cultural forces that lead to the Robert Taylor Homes’ eventual destruction, Brick Body Kids Still Daydream ends with perhaps the most powerful song of Mike Eagle’s catalog to date. “my auntie’s building” is a tour de force. “They say America fights fair,” he raps. “But they won't demolish your timeshare.” This is the point: the decay and eventual destruction of public housing--and of the physical lives of Black Americans generally--has been normalized in a way that should be grotesquely absurd. “They blew up my auntie’s building / Put out her great-grandchildren / Who else in America deserves to have that feeling? / Where else in America will they blow up your village?” Production comes courtesy of Exile, Toy Light, Andrew Broder, Illingsworth, DJ Nobody, Kenny Segal, Caleb Stone, Lo-Phi, Elos, and Has-Lo, who produces and guests on “95 radios.” “hymnal” also features a superb turn from Sammus, who maintains the same rhyme scheme throughout her defiant verse. As grave as the album’s stakes are, it's still anchored by Mike Eagle’s irrepressible sense of humor. (His live comedy show, The New Negroes, is upcoming via Comedy Central.) “no selling” is a hilarious take on practiced indifference, and “TLDR” bridges the economic gap with withering wit: “If you was rich and ‘bout to be broke, I can coach you / ‘Cause I can show you how to kill a roach with a boat shoe.” Eagle has earned rave reviews in Pitchfork, the LA Weekly, and wherever brilliant, avant-garde rap is appreciated. Brick Body Kids Still Daydream is his most overtly political work to date, and puts to use all the dazzling technical skills he's perfected over more than a decade at the forefront of rap’s underground. In chaotic and increasingly fractured times, it has a few crucial things to bring to your attention.

who told you to think??!!?!?!?! is about boundaries and permissions. the artist creating their own license to ill. what it means to answer a call that never comes. the process of flaw turned idiosyncrasy turned style. that old transmutation spell, the happening as one perfects tricks and in turn masters magic. to set the elenchus upon itself, to begin a poet and end a rapper agency that is what makes the rapper an exceptional artist, beyond a poet. in years gone rappers once focused on getting Free who told you to think??!!?!?!?! is a return to form. -RF

It feels right that Future’s first self-titled release allows his different personas to grab the mic: Depending on the track, he’s the party starter, the ladies\' man, the hustler, or the hedonist. *FUTURE* pays homage to the ATL rapper’s roots (and now-legendary string of underground mixtapes) with plenty of 808 boom, warped synths, and jittery rhymes. When his lyrics look back on the experiences that shaped him—especially with tracks like “Feds Did a Sweep” or “When I Was Broke”—it\'s a hypnotic glimpse into the mind of Atlanta’s trap king.

Parts of Oddisee’s latest confront Trump’s America: “How you gonna make us great when we were never really all that amazing?” But the DC rapper sees little renewed cause for concern: “I’m from black America/This is just another year,” he raps on “NNGE”. Not that the familiarity of oppression blunts his fight. Over funky, soulful tracks, he addresses the sexism (“Hold It Back”) and police brutality (“You Grew Up”) that stifle his simple hope: “I just wanna be free.”

The prolific MC, producer and musician Oddisee’s new album ‘The Iceberg’ is a plea for humanity to dig deeper in search of understanding and common ground. His third release in just 12 months, ‘The Iceberg’ is a distillation of stereotypical tropes in hip-hop and beyond, 12 tracks about money, sex, politics, race and religion that appear superficial until his multi-dimensional lyrics unfurl to expose the complexities of individuality and identity: how we see ourselves and how others see us. Deeply soulful, and shot through with jazz, Go-go, gospel, thick r&b and hard beats, the album is a timely, poetic statement. ‘The Iceberg’ is out February 24 on Mello Music Group. Lead single “Things” acts as a mission statement for the album, a deep dance groove with lightning-quick lyrics about “things” he’s going through. Says Oddisee, “"We all go through the trials & tribulations of life. Why is it we feel the need to individualize our shared experiences? If only we could see our concerns as others do, maybe they wouldn't be so serious." Oddisee World Tour March 2 – Paris, France – La Place March 3 – Lyon, France – Bizarre! March 4 – Nantes, France – Stereolux March 6 – Bristol, UK – The Lantern March 8 – Manchester, UK – Gorilla March 9 – Dublin, Ireland, The Sugar Bluc March 11 – London, UK – Islington Assembly Hall March 13 – Munich, Germany – Ampere March 14 – Erfurt, Germany – Franz Melhose March 15 – Berlin, Germany – Gretchen March 16 – Hamburg, Germany – Mojo Club March 17 – Cologne, Germany – Gloria March 18 – Stuttgart, Germany – Im Wizemann March 19 – Frankfurt, Germany – Zoom March 22 – Nijmegen, Netherlands – Doornroosje March 24 – Rotterdam, Netherlands – Bird March 25 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso March 26 – Brussels, Belgium – Ancienne Belgique March 30 - Milan, Italy - Biko Club April 7 - Sofia, Bulgaria - Sofia Live Club April 8 - Bucharest, Romania - Arenele Romane April 10 – Vienna, Austria – Grelle Forelle April 11 – Warsaw, Poland – Stodola April 18 – Philadelphia, PA – Theater of Living Arts April 20 – Washington, D.C. – 9:30 Club April 21 – Raleigh, NC – King’s Barcade April 23 – Atlanta, GA – The Loft April 26 – Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s April 27 – Dallas, TX – Dada Dallas April 28 – Austin, TX – Empire Control Room May 1 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater May 5 – San Diego, CA – Music Box May 7 – San Francisco, CA – The Regency May 9 – Eugene, OR – WoW Hall May 10 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre May 11 – Seattle, WA – Neumos May 12 – Vancouver, BC – Biltmore Cabaret May 13 – Spokane, WA – The Big Dipper May 14 – Boise, ID – Neurolux May 17 – Omaha, NE – Slowdown May 18 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry May 19 – Milwaukee, WI – Shank Hall May 20 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall May 21 – Indianapolis, IN – The HiFi May 26 – Detroit, MI – Arab American National Museum May 27 – Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace May 30 – Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall May 31 – New York, NY – Highline Ballroom

2 Chainz is a hit maker, but *Pretty Girls Like Trap Music* shows there are deeper ambitions afoot. His production arm is strong—Mike WiLL Made-It, Murda Beatz, and Mike Dean all put in work. He speaks his mind, dissing the government and “mumble-rap” while Nicki Minaj references her Remy Ma beef on “Realize.” Pharrell leaves his platinum imprint on “Bailan.” Then 2 Chainz puts his life story out there on the revelatory “Burglar Bars”—the realest song he’s ever cut.

Tough talk and rhymes from *Love & Hip Hop*’s breakout star.

BROCKHAMPTON call themselves a boy band, but take that with a grain of salt: With “HEAT,” the L.A. rap collective’s first album of 2017 opens with a grinding beat and the ominous admission, “I hate the way I think/I hate the way it looms.” It’s not all so aggro: “GOLD” is a breezy ode to self-love over a golden hook, while the spacious, springy “BOYS” lets the crew’s rappers show off their range of flows—playful, slinky, menacing, and above all, seductive.

An unsparing indictment of everything. A scratched CD-R ode to the crew of the last nuclear submarine. ROME, the new album by ELUCID and billy woods as ARMAND HAMMER, is the sound of rats in the walls, fleeing. Terrifying, hilarious, chaotic, sleek, violent, implacable, ROME is a feast of words, a stylistic demolition derby over-production both layered and spare. Those tracks come courtesy of August Fanon, Messiah Musik, Kenny Segal, JPEGMAFIA, Fresh Kils and High Priest (Antipop), while appearances by Quelle Chris, Mach Hommy, Denmark Vessey and Curly Castro add to an already potent mix. ELUCID and woods are two of the most vital voices in the genre- as distinct as they are complimentary- at the height of their powers. VINYL & CD physical versions will be available on Nov 24, 2017.

Quelle Chris fucks with himself. Most of the time. Honestly, it might depend on when and where you catch him. That’s to say that the Detroit representative is like the rest of us—surfing on waves of self-confidence, enduring periods of self-doubt, and searching for a sustainable balance. The primary difference between Quelle and us is that he’s supremely gifted at rapping and producing. He’s funnier too—in the way that the best comedians are deceptively complex and prone to bouts of melancholy. His new album, Being You is Great, I Wish I Could Be You More Often, is one of the most poignant, self-aware, and hilarious rap albums in recent memory. We should probably offer him some flowers, a case of expensive liquor, and cover the bill for the group therapy session. For the Mello Music Group release, Quelle assembled a veritable hip-hop Justice League: Roc Marciano, Homeboy Sandman, Denmark Vessey, Jean Grae, Elzhi, Cavalier, et. al. Then there’s the production, mostly handled by Quelle, but aided by crucial assists from MNDGSN, Iman Omari, Chris Keys, Swarvy, and Alchemist. Despite the preponderance of talent sharing the stage, the guests bend to the world that Quelle created. A darker shade of psychedelia, as if Madvillain gobbled anti-anxiety pills instead of psilocybin. Or maybe a fraternal drunken twin to Open Mike Eagle’s “Dark Comedy.” The title comes from a real-life discussion about the difficulties of consistency. How each of us are subject to both our own bad spirits and bursts of inspiration, those unavoidable Serotonin and dopamine peaks and valleys. Being You is Great is an attempt to catalog those moods. It’s about learning to love, or at least recognize, the best and worst of one’s self. It’s about loneliness and comfort. Learning to hate love and learning to love hate. Sequenced so that extreme confidence follows casual despair, the pendulum swings back and forth, mirroring our own emotions and validating something that Nietszche and Ray Bradbury once claimed: “we have art so we won’t die of truth.” If hip-hop is filled with everymen and superheroes, Quelle Chris has done something quietly radical. This record is almost too human—full of the sublte revelations that only come to you later in life, when you realize that heroes make plenty of errors, and anti-heroes often have merit. It’s not an exuberant celebration of human life, nor is it a politicized condemnation of what got us here. It’s a record with beats that will make you bob your head and tap your feet, and clever lyrics that will make you laugh and scrunch your face. But most of all, it’s a record with a tremendous reserve of empathy. Something that captures the wonder and madness of being human. Something relentlessly honest. Something great.

Straight outta Sacramento, Mozzy adds to his street-hero status and critical acclaim. *1 Up Top Ahk* (slang for loading a rifle) unfolds with a self-awareness rarely seen in gangsta rap. As beats lurch in the background, Mozzy unfurls PTSD scenarios and hyper-detailed rhymes, like “My future was never for certain/We had to use dish liquid for detergent” on “Afraid.” Tracks like “Fall Off” and “Mandated” are at once mournful, lyrically rich, and simmering with stress, cementing a case that Mozzy’s among the realest rappers in the game.

A week before he released *Bulletproof*, Young Dolph was reportedly the target of an assassination attempt. *Thinking Out Loud* itself comes two weeks after Dolph was shot multiple times, but little beyond the title lets his adversaries off the hook. Through his signature Memphis drawl, Dolph enjoys the spoils of his stardom openly, punctuating a celebration of excess with moments of cautionary wisdom (\"Believe Me\") and narrative introspection (\"While U Here\"). \"Drippy,\" with its new-age trap production, is most revelatory in its seesawing between stoic reflection and gnashing flex. It would seem that not even bullets will slow Young Dolph\'s ascent.

*2wice* marks Indiana rapper Freddie Gibbs’ first offering since being acquitted of sexual assault in 2016—a charge that could’ve landed him in jail for 10 years. The material here is accordingly reflective, tempering Gibbs’ street operas with musings on potential (“Crushed Glass”), parenting (“Homesick”), and growing up (“Alexys”). As always, Gibbs’ raps are low-key but expertly constructed, the work of a guy confident enough to know he doesn’t need to show off.

Future and Young Thug are kindred spirits, but working together has been rare, usually coming at the behest of a third party. As two of Atlanta\'s most prolific and creative MCs, they share a fearless approach to melody and intonation, and on SUPER SLIMEY, both relish the chance to run with someone on the same level. SUPER SLIMEY is dense with bars. The turbo-charged \"Three\" is as much duel as collaboration, and on “200,\" they split their respective verses between singing and rapping, with very little stylistic overlap. But when Future somehow finds new ground with his sleep-deprived rasp on \"Group Home,” it becomes clear these rappers have stretched their voices in just about every direction possible.

After years of strong guest features and acclaimed mixtapes, North Carolina MC Rapsody comes into her own with her ambitious second LP, *Laila\'s Wisdom*. Backed by a slew of vintage samples and soulful live instrumentation, Rapsody flaunts unhurried flow, consummate storytelling skills, and a knack for memorable choruses on songs like \"Pay Up,\" revealing her frustration with deadbeat dudes over slinky electric guitar and the swirling \'70s funk of \"Sassy.\" Longtime compatriot Anderson .Paak delivers the hook on the languid \"Nobody,\" and Kendrick Lamar, Rapsody\'s original cosigner, elevates the woozy, psychedelic \"Power.\"

The Mississippi MC’s ambitious third album is split between his stage persona and private life—the first half opens with “Big K.R.I.T.”; the second, “Justin Scott.” Fittingly, K.R.I.T.’s Southern rap purism is at its most personal here: “Price of Fame” explores the disconnect between success and true happiness. But the mood lifts on trunk-rattlers like the T.I.-featuring “Big Bank” and space-funk slow-burner “Aux Cord,” an homage to soul legends from Parliament to B.B. King.

After seemingly coming out of nowhere, Your Old Droog set the internet aflame in 2014 with his self-titled debut EP, catching the attention of bloggers all over the web from New York Magazine’s Vulture to NahRight. Before long, conspiracy theories started and people began to posit that Droog was another older, legendary New York rapper in disguise. Profiled in The New Yorker, Droog (meaning “friend” in Russian) set the record straight about who he was: a twenty-something Ukrainian immigrant who fell in love with hip-hop when he arrived in South Brooklyn as a small child. The timbre of his voice resembled that of a hip-hop legend but Droog’s content had more to it than street dreams or observations from a project window. His music reflected his own unique life experience as he referenced everything from sports, to crime, to Seinfeld and C-Span in his rhymes. He was an intelligent hoodlum with a stand-up comedian’s sense of humor—unafraid to be as self-deprecating as he was self-aggrandizing. On his critically-acclaimed debut, the Your Old Droog LP, he vowed to “bring back storytelling” and now on his sophomore album, PACKS, Droog delivers on that promise. In addition to the raw rhyme displays on songs like the Alchemist-produced, “Winston Red” Droog flexes his narrative muscles both comically (“My Girl Is A Boy”) and dramatically (“G.K.A.C”) on this new album. For instance, the single “You Can Do It (Give Up)” is an ode to practicality over fantasy told in three vignettes. Co-produced by Edan, and Y.O.D. himself “You Can Do It (Give Up)” is almost the bizarro version of Biz Markie’s “Vapors.” The reclusive Edan also produces and appears on the raucous posse cut “Help” with Ratking frontman Wiki. The three MC’s trade bars over an explosive beat that is as inspired psychedelic rock as it is hip-hop. Droog also shares mic duties with fellow rap iconoclasts Danny Brown (“Grandma Hips”) and Heems (“Bangladesh”) and, for good measure, comedian Anthony Jeselnik lends his dark humor to skits between songs. Besides the return of Droog’s go-to production partner El RTNC, PACKS also features production from platinum producers ID Labs (Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller) and 88 Keys (Watch The Throne, Action Bronson, Mos Def). The sum of it all is an album that stands out from the predictable offerings of mainstream rappers today. PACKS is a project for fans of hip-hop’s fundamentals and those who are interested in the progress of the artform. Finally, an album from a new artist that rap fans can truly believe in.