Every December, hip-hop debates tend to get a bit contentious. End-of-year discussions regarding the best rap albums often turn into heated in-your-face spats. In 2017, we were fortunate to be able to debate between a bountiful supply of releases from top-tier acts, including Drake, Future (twice), Kendrick Lamar, JAY-Z and more, as well as sizzling breakout efforts from burgeoning acts such as Joey Bada$$, Vince Staples, and J.I.D.
The only downside? We had to omit several powerhouses from the list because of their decisions to drop at the tail-end of the year. So, if youâre looking for Big Sean and Metro Boomin, Eminem, or Jeezy, sorry to burst your bubble, but they were too late to the party.
Take a look at Billboardâs top 20 rap albums for 2017 below.
20. Gucci Mane, Mr. Davis
Itâs hard to think of a redemption story in music more triumphant than Gucci Maneâs over the past two years, following his release from federal prison in May 2016. For someone so mind-bogglingly prolific, Mr. Davis is somehow Gucciâs only official album of 2017 (DropTopWop being deemed, technically-speaking, a mixtape) and itâs his most ambitious, feature-wise, since probably 2010âs The Appeal, with features from Nicki Minaj, Monica, Rico Love, Big Sean, The Weeknd, Chris Brown, Ty Dolla $ign, Migos, ScHoolboy Q, A$AP Rocky, Young Dolph and Slim Jxmmi from Rae Sremmurd.
One of Gucciâs greatest skills these days is his versatility and ability to slot into any situation and make it his own â which, coupled with his newly-positive attitude about himself and the world around him, often finds him wrapping happy-go-lucky lines around themes with which heâs more generally associated. Case in point, from âMake Loveâ â âYou talkinâ crazy/ Iâm tryna book BeyoncĂ© for my wedding day/ Iâm the type of nâa spend a million on a wedding cake/ Nâas hate but hesitate, they hate to see ya elevate/ I just left out the gym Iâm âbout to take a swim and meditate.â â DAN RYS
19. A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, The Bigger Artist
Early on his career, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodieâs penchant for melodic bangers had him penciled in as a surefire prospect in rap. With two Platinum-certified singles in âTimelessâ and âDrowningâ tucked away in his resume, Boogie shifted gears and turned up the aggression on his debut album The Bigger Artist. First, he gleams on the cavernous intro âNo Promises,â and later teams up with his Highbridge brother Don Q for the party-ready single âSomebody.â Watch out Aaron Judge, because this Bronx native is ready to bring the crown back to New York by himself. â CARL LAMARRE
18. 21 Savage, Issa Album
Even before 21 Savageâs debut album was released, he had already established himself as a formidable presence and a voice to be reckoned with in the hip-hop landscape, thanks mostly to his Savage Mode EP with Metro Boomin last year. In a way, thatâs what set Issa up to be one of the more surprising albums of the year â at a point in his career where most artists would be working to establish themselves and what they have to offer, Savage was already beyond that, which gave him the opportunity and the space to experiment.
There is plenty of his patented detached street-tale narration here, but thereâs also a DJ Mustard beat, a smattering of love songs, a commentary on the Black Lives Matter movement and his first-ever production, âBank Account,â both one of the best Savage songs of his career and his biggest hit to date as a lead artist, peaking at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August. Savage caught the zeitgeist in such a way that there was only one album that came in higher than Issa on the chart the week of its release: JAY-Zâs 4:44. Life could be worse. âD.R.
17. Vince Staples, Big Fish Theory
Staples has developed a reputation as a bit of a criticâs darling, a fantastic lyricist whose projects are singularly-focused in their vision, with the knock on him being that sometimes that vision is so refined that his albums can be tough nuts to crack. Thatâs what makes Big Fish Theory such a great release from the Long Beach native: It has a range and breadth to it that goes well beyond what anyone had previously associated with him, particularly on the bouncy funk of âBig Fishâ â a song that wouldnât be out of place on a YG album â as well as the swirling âBagBakâ and the deep-space drone of â745.â One thing that will never change is Staplesâ lyrical wizardry; there are few rappers around who can so clearly deliver an idea with such consistency. â D.R.
16. 21 Savage, Offset, Metro Boominâ, Without Warning
Itâs foolish to deny: 21 Savage and Offset leveled up this year. You need not look further than âGhostface Killers,â opening salvo on Without Warning, the duoâs full-length collaboration with producer Metro Boomin. Offset positively skates, putting the chorus on his back by providing sound effects and adlibs, while also spinning off memorable lines like, âAll your pockets on hurting, nâa you can be my servant.â
And then 21 enters like the villain in the second act. If youâre still writing off the 25-year-old Atlanta native as a affectless stoic, just listen to how he delivers the phrase âhit stick.â Itâs one of the best rap performances of the year. Heâs got wordplay, too, piling on shrimp references, but each time framing the word in a different way. And thatâs just the first track, with highlights âRap Saved Me,â âRic Flair Drip,â âStill Servingâ all to follow, turning what couldâve been dismissed as a novelty collab LP into one of the yearâs most exciting releases. â ROSS SCARANO
15. Playboi Carti, Playboi Carti
Itâs high praise to say that so-and-so floated on a particular song, that they found a flow that made what they did to the beat feel as marvelous as air travel. The thing about Playboi Cartiâs debut mixtape is that it floats entirely, like a movie space station with the gravity machine turned off â nothing is pinned down. From the gorgeously produced Harry Fraud opener, âLocation,â to the closer, âHad 2,â the experience is thoroughly weightless. Carti took the adlib ;to new heights on his debut, largely eschewing verses and bars â and with producer Piâerre Bourneâs backing, he made his self-titled experience singular in 2017, the ultimate statement in style over everything. â R.S.
14. CyHi The Prynce, No Dope on Sundays
Undoubtedly one of the craftiest lyricists on G.O.O.D. Music, CyHi The Prynce hushed his foes with his ambitious, long-overdue debut album No Dope on Sundays. Armed with a punishing flow, CyHi ruminates about his dark days in the trap with gruesome war stories, rapping âFrom where the gangstas die young and the rats die faster/ So when my shooter spread, this Mac lives shatter on the hard-hitting intro âAmen.â When he isnât spewing sinister bars, CyHi spends time wreaking havoc on rap beats with his G.O.O.D. Music buddies, most notably Kanye West on âDat Side.â: âGot two bitches bumping clits, thatâs a cat fight/ Iâm ridinâ with the stick, thatâs that act right,â With his debut project finally officially out, CyHi proves that he can rise to the occasion any given Sunday. â C.L.
13. Rick Ross, Rather You Than Me
You would think at some point in Rick Rossâ career that his deafening ad-libs and impeccable ear for production would slip a notch. For his ninth album, Rather You Than Me, Ross adroitly handpicks his features, ranging from his MMG cohort Wale (âTrap, Trapâ Trapâ), to veteran R&B crooner Raphael Saddiq (âApple of My Eyeâ) to prolong his reign as rapâs biggest boss. His regal presence is clearest on the blistering âIdols Become Rivals,â where Rozay instantly punctures the heart of Birdman with callous disregard for his foul business practices (âDamn, Stunna, I loved you, nâa â hate it came to thisâ). â C.L.
12. J.I.D. â The Never Story
With a sing-song style and tone reminiscent of Anderson .Paak, J.I.D is one of the most talented additions to J. Coleâs Dreamville roster. His debut, The Never Story, was released to insufficient fanfare in March, letting the 27-year-old Atlanta native become an artist that listeners can feel like theyâve discovered. Over warm production, more Dungeon Family than Metro Boomin, J.I.D lets the world in on his story, his blues. Standout tracks like âHereditaryâ and âAll Badâ find J.I.D in a particularly melancholy pocket; on the latter, he explains to a girlfriend, âIf Iâm trying to tell the truth, itâs all bad.â Luckily for the listener, it sounds very good. â R.S.
11.Future, Future
The first of Futureâs back-to-back history-making LPs this year showcases the more famous side of his split personalities â the drugged-out trapper pouring lean, popping Xans, toting Dracos and swimming in cash and women. Itâs that aggressive superstar draped in ice that he portrays so well, and that has created a cottage industry of imitators in his wake. If HNDRXX is the album you put on in your headphones, then Future is the one that carries the party; though âMask Offâ got all the headlines and deserved accolades, itâs songs like âGood Dopeâ and âSuper Trapperâ that probably fit more seamlessly into his overall catalog, while the closing one-two punch of âWhen I Was Brokeâ and âFeds Did a Sweepâ make this album more of a complete package than many give it credit for. â D.R.
10. Big K.R.I.T., 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time
All Big K.R.I.T. wanted was to receive the same respect as his fellow peers. After watching J. Cole and Mac Miller morph into full-fledged superstars, K.R.I.T curtailed his deal at Def Jam in 2016 and took a chance on himself on the independent route. The result? His comeback album 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time. The double album allowed K.R.I.T. to touch base on love, depression, religion, his bouts with alcoholism and more. Thankfully, his pen game was smoother than ever, as displayed on âGet Awayâ and his Lloyd-assisted record â1999.â Donât sleep, this Mississippi boy has some flair, too. â C.L.
9. Joey Bada$$, All Amerikkkan Bada$$
In 2012, a brash 17-year-old under the rap moniker Joey Bada$$ wowed listeners with his lyrical dexterity. Five years later, the Brooklyn MC left fans enthralled with his politically driven album All Amerikkkan Bada$$. With Trump in office and African Americans being used as target practice by police at an alarming rate, Bada$$âs mission was simple: rattle the cages of America until someone heard his calls to action. First, he assumes the role of protagonist for the hopeless on the jazzy record âFor My People,â before denouncing Trumpâs presidency on âLand of the Free.â âWe canât change the world, unless we change ourselves,â preaches Bada$$ on the soulful single. With his sophomore attempt, itâs safe to say that Joeyâs attempts to make America great again were truly admirable. â C.L.
8. Rapsody, Laliaâs Wisdom
For those who miss the good olâ days when the boom-bap sound dominated hip-hop, Rapsodyâs new album Laliaâs Wisdom will inject throwback bliss into your everyday playlist. Thereâs a reason why Roc Nation snagged the North Carolina-bred MC: Rapsodyâs lyrical pedigree will make the toughest lyricists shake in their boots. (Ask Busta Rhymes â who dubbed Laliaâs Wisdom âThe best album Iâve heard not only from a female MC but in hip-hop periodâ â about her limitless potential.)
Tracks like âSassyâ finds the vivacious star slaying her competitors with clever lines like, âI like my t-shirts wit no sleeves/ Ainât gotta bare arms to show Iâm deadly,â while her Kendrick Lamar-assisted âPowerâ allows her to flex her lyrical muscles with TDEâs heavyweight champ (âSteph Curry projectile/I saw the goal from 8 milesâ). Because of her sizzling release, Rapsody not only gained two Grammy nominations â including one for best rap album â but countless new fans whoâd been yearning for that quintessential hip-hop flavor. â C.L.
7. Drake, More Life
Though Drake reveled after watching his fourth album Views shatter every possible chart record in 2016, the 6 God wasnât satisfied, charging up and releasing his 22-track playlist More Life the following year. In hopes of tightening his grip on the rap game, the Toronto MC delivered incendiary bars on âFree Smokeâ â (âI brought the game to its knees/I make too much these days to ever say poor meâ) â before flattening his peersâ confidence level on the projectâs outro track âDo Not Disturb.â When Drake wasnât deep-frying his foes for recreation, he was whipping up sweet-sounding records like âPassionfruitâ for everyone to sing along to. Because of his unquenchable thirst to win and win big in the music industry, Drakeâs quest for immortality gained more traction with More Life. â C.L.
6. Tyler, The Creator, Flower Boy
Easily Tyler, The Creatorâs most fully realized LP, even if it wonât be as influential as the initial Odd Future releases, Flower Boy is a pretty, wistful collection of songs about the difficulties of desire and the limits of language. The 26-year-old MC canât (or wonât) find the words to pin down what he wants, but his relentless search drives the set forward. Thereâs probably a specific boy at the center, and maybe he looks like â95 Leo, as Tyler says on âWho Dat Boy,â but Flower Boyâs power comes from what canât be articulated. Itâs an album about the tip of your tongue. â R.S.
5. Lil Uzi Vert, Luv Is Rage 2
Lil Uzi Vertâs hellacious run in 2017 came courtesy of his Billboard 200 chart-topping album Luv Is Rage 2. Though hip-hop purists were eager to ostracize Uzi for his unconventional skill set, he silenced pundits with his poignant, chart-crashing singles âX.O. Tour Llif3â and âThe Way It Goes.â The songsâ somber lyrics emanate from Uziâs floundering relationship with his ex-girlfriend Brittany Byrd and how their steamy love quickly went sour: âI donât really care if you cry/ On the real, you shoulda never lied,â he sings on âXO Tour Llif3.â When Uzi wasnât wallowing in despair, he managed to level up with anthemic records like âSauce It Upâ (Everyday Iâm ballinâ, so you know Iâm scorinâ/I feel so important, my pockets enormousâ) and his Pharrell-assisted âNeon Guts.â In a matter of 12 months, Uzi blossomed from a SoundCloud rapper to a hip-hop giant. â C.L.
4. Future, HNDRXX
Futureâs first foray into the pop realm, 2014âs Honest, was largely derided upon its release, though it has aged well as a catalog entry. But his now-legendary mixtape run, and more obviously the Drake-assisted joint album What A Time To Be Alive, proved that the Atlanta MC could cross over onto the pop charts by not changing a thing, bringing others into his sonic realm rather than stepping away from his 808s and reaching too far. (Of course, as he later proved, Future is too dexterous a rapper to count out in any realm.)
HNDRXX executes that, with guest turns from The Weeknd (âComin Out Strongâ) and Rihanna (âSelfishâ) â both resulting in deserved hits on the Hot 100 â but, as is often the case with Future, itâs the deeper album cuts that truly make this project stand out. Opener âMy Collectionâ sets the tone, while the mid-album run of âIncredible,â âTestifyâ and âFresh Airâ see him experimenting with melody and vocal effects in ways that are both unexpected and irresistible. This is the more sensitive side of Futureâs personalities, but heâs still not giving an inch. â D.R.
3. Migos, Culture
To those paying attention, Migos established themselves long ago as one of the more innovative, catchy and prolific groups on the hip-hop scene. Cultureâs great achievement was cementing that reputation, and bringing it to the masses. The highlights are many and come from all over the place: memorable hooks, clever and witty one-off lines, moments of lyrical dexterity, driving beats, bombastic delivery â itâs a constant and consistent onslaught of a trio of MCs stepping confidently into the prime of their careers. The highest praise that can be reliably placed on this album is that, across its 13 tracks, there are no misses. â D.R.
2. JAY-Z, 4:44
Who wouldâve thought when Hov first uttered the lyrics, âCanât leave rap alone, the game needs me,â on his 2001 Blueprint track âIzzo,â that 16 years later, we all would still be clamoring for another album. In the eyes of rap aficionados, Hov was the genreâs Clark Kent, because once he stepped inside the booth, the business attire vanished and Superman was instantly alive. In 2016, Jiggaâs powers seemed weakened after he was blasted by the media for his infidelity in his marriage to superstar wife Beyonce â whose blockbuster 2016 album Lemonade was served cold, as her candor and bitterness towards her rap beau stung and paralyzed Jiggaâs ego.
His response? A ten-track opus titled 4:44, which found the King of Rap on his knees, begging for his wifeâs forgiveness, with a vulnerability rarely seen from Hov in his earlier decades. Whether he was fighting against his pride on âKill JAY-Z,â uniting the culture on âFamily Feud,â or remedying his partnership with his Queen on the album title track, Shawn Carter showed the humblest version of himself fans had ever seen, but delivered with such singular skill that it was clear the âSâ on his chest was still lurking underneath. â C.L.
1. Kendrick Lamar, DAMN.
It can be a little dizzying to look back at the past half-decade of releases from Kendrick Lamar: a debut concept album that was near-instantly certified as a classic; a sophomore release that stretched the boundaries of what a rapper could do when locked in a studio with some of the best jazz-funk musicians of his generation; a collection of âouttakesâ from those sessions that ventured into the outer fringes of unbridled and unobstructed creativity; and, with DAMN., a tighter, punchier project that is both as deep as heâs ever gone, and maybe his strongest collection of songs front to back since 2011âs Section.80.
The genius of Kendrick Lamar is not in his rapping ability, which is unrivaled among his peers, and not even in his multi-faceted flows, constantly shifting delivery and preternatural ability to hear a beat and know exactly how to shape it to fit his whims. Itâs that in everything he does, no matter how straightforward it may seem, there are layers and layers to pull back, whether thatâs within a double-entendre, a snapped lyrical barb or in the possibility that this entire project might be a large, overarching allegory about his own death wrapped up in an extended Biblical apocalypse that is stuffed full of moral, emotional, political and societal self-examination.
DAMN. works so well because it doesnât demand that you follow along on the journey that he is laying out â as good kid, m.A.A.d city and To Pimp A Butterfly do to different extents â but presents itself as is, inviting the listener to delve as deeply as they dare. Fortunately, beneath each surface, there remain entire universes to explore. â D.R.