The 20 Best Rap Albums of 2023: Staff Picks

The For All The Canines buzz was as huge because the Tremendous Bowl. There was a rumored blockbuster look by Nicki Minaj. Lil Yachty championed Drake’s rapping, deeming it the perfect of his profession. And, in fact, the OVO demigod broke the eleventh hip-hop commandment and pre-anointed his album a basic. Regardless of hanging out on all three of these pre-release guarantees, The Boy nonetheless reminded us with Canines why he stays music’s final Goliath when battling half-pint mortals. Uncaged when in his R&B bag, Drake punctures hearts on the SZA-assisted “Slime You Out” whereas chopping his losses early on “Tried Our Finest.” Even when paired with the youth (Yeat, Teezo Landing, and Yachty), he camouflages himself and performs to his company’ strengths, making all of them standout options. And although indicators of the 6 God’s lyrical supremacy are a bit of sparse on FATD, he loaded up on bars for the album’s Scary Hours deluxe reissue — proving why ultimately, he’s nonetheless all the time well worth the hype. — Carl Lamarre

Regardless of clutching his first solo Scorching 100 chart-topper final yr, Harlow felt his grip softening. Although he sprinted previous the venerable six-figure mark within the opening week for his sophomore album Come House The Youngsters Miss You, Harlow endured criticism for his paltry showcase. Fueled by the hate, Harlow bulked up (bodily and lyrically) to launch his greatest challenge but with Jackman. The mini-set finds a nimble Harlow outfoxing his foes (“Frequent Floor”), contesting for the throne (“They Don’t Love It), and talking on his doubts (“Questions”). With Jackman, Harlow rewrote his wrongs and stays on the trail to being considered one of hip-hop’s main males. — C.L.

As he continues to mourn the demise of his cousin and mentor, Younger Dolph, this yr, Key Glock resumed his tasks as considered one of Memphis’ prime gamers with the searing sequel to his 2018 challenge Glockoma. The identical brash, headstrong Glock who was Dolph’s working mate on their Dum & Dummer collection is an unrelenting opponent, as confirmed on “Sucker Free” and “No Hook.” Glock shines greatest in his ode to the apex predator, “Randy Orton,” as he morphs into The Viper and vows to “whack an opp each month.” — C.L.

2 Chainz and Lil Wayne quash the concept rap is a younger man’s sport with Welcome 2 Collegrove. With 50 Cent serving because the album’s narrator, the 40-something MCs excel as a deadly tag group, throwing countless alley-oops on the expense of father time. Not solely do they applaud BBLs on their Bangladesh-produced membership banger “Presha,” however they peel again their powerful exterior when cruising alongside Usher on the grown and horny observe “Transparency.” Regardless of these gaudy wins, Wayne and Chainz are at peak type when standing apart a few of their friends, Benny The Butcher (“Oprah & Gayle”), Fabolous (“P.P.A.”) and Rick Ross (“Can’t Consider You”), proving why age is merely only a quantity in rap. — C.L.

A Billboard R&B/hip-hop Rookie of the Month honoree final yr, Detroit mainstay Babyface Ray adopted up his 2022 breakthrough album Face with this successful subsequent chapter in his musical and profession evolution. Summer season’s Mine finds the rapper considering life and staying true to his artistry within the wake of his rising profession trajectory. On the melodic “Donda Bag,” he notes, “Ayy, my title good, my face clear, my pockets full, my individuals straight.” Then he leans extra introspective on tracks like “I Can’t Rap Foreva” and “Life Filled with Lies,” during which he acknowledges, Yeah, I’m within the proprietor field / however nonetheless bought ties with the hood … / You see ’em hatin’ on me / It’s a full-time job.” Nonetheless intact and simply as compelling: his nonchalant but gritty supply. The 16-track set additionally consists of cameos by frequent collaborator and fellow Detroiter Veeze and Westside Gunn. — Gail Mitchell

If he’s to be believed, And Then You Pray For Me shall be Westside Gunn’s final solo album for a protracted whereas. Because the co-founder and stylistic figurehead of the Buffalo-bred rap group, Griselda, Gunn has been on a marathon run. He’s dropped a deluge of mixtapes and albums and govt produced acclaimed tasks from guys like Mach-Hommy and Range God Cooks. Laborious to argue that anybody labored tougher than him to deliver unnerving road rap again to the mainstream. With out him, would Drake have tapped Conductor Williams to assist make the Scary Hours deluxe pack sound the way in which it does? Debatable.  

What’s inarguable is that Gunn delivered his greatest solo effort earlier than bowing out. And Then You Pray For Me mixes Griselda’s beloved heat soul samples lovingly chopped to help coldhearted coke capers with extra of-the-moment tendencies. The result’s an album that options each a RZA beat for the ages (“Home of Glory”) and a few of the greatest Tay Keith beats (“Kostas,” “Steve and Jony”) not discovered on a Lil Child, Drake, or Moneybagg Yo album. Lyrically, Gunn does his factor, bleating out memorable one-liners and giving area for collaborators like Range God to shine. If this actually is his final album it’s one to be happy with—however we pray it’s not. — Damien Scott  

Rod Wave has quietly been one of the vital constantly dominant rappers relating to albums. This yr, he earned his third consecutive Billboard Scorching 200-topping LP with Nostalgia – a file that marries good samples with Rod’s signature bluesy entice balladry. This time, nonetheless, there’s a robust undercurrent of hope that programs all through the file. On “Name Your Mates,” he proselytizes the significance of forgiveness and reconciliation, and he breathes new life into Fitzgerald’s basic Nice Gatsby novel with a track (“Nice Gatsby”) that explores the devastation of getting in the way in which of your personal love story. Alongside the way in which, Rod ties the entire thing collectively by borrowing from a Paramore basic – he flips “Ain’t It Enjoyable” for “Loopy” — and leaving his audiences with couplets of resilience and encouragement in “Again Lit.” He’s made a killing immersing himself in a whirlpool of his emotions, however Nostalgia hints at a unique – and doubtlessly brighter – subsequent act for the Florida celebrity. — Kyle Denis.

Who’s bought subsequent is a continuing chorus within the music business. However stepping ahead to reply that query on the rap entrance in 2023 was Veeze. The Detroit rapper launched his Navy Wavy label — additionally the title of his breakout 2019 debut mixtape — in partnership with Warner Information this yr. Gaining nationwide props along with his Scorching 100 bow in 2022 as a featured visitor with fellow Motor Metropolis peer 42 Dugg on Lil Child’s “U Digg,” Veeze launched Ganger in June. On the 21-song set (No. 1 on Heatseekers Albums and Unbiased Albums), the raspy-voiced rapper underscores why his refreshing originality and genuine storytelling have change into drawing playing cards for a steadily rising fan base. Apart from widespread “Not a Drill” and “GOMD” and its remix with Lil Uzi Vert, Ganger boasts the tracks “Recent,” “Secure 2” and “Amusing” (on the album’s deluxe version) plus assists from Lil Yachty, Lucki and fellow Detroiters Babyface Ray and Icewear Vezzo. — G.M.

San Francisco’s Larry June continued to lift the bar — and declare extra followers — with this follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2022 album, Spaceships on the Blade. Partnering for the primary time with veteran producer The Alchemist (Nas, Snoop Dogg), June discovered a fellow inventive muse whose participating beats and sonic touches are the proper accompaniment to the rapper’s laidback stream and purposeful lyricism. The album, which peaked at No. 9 on High Rap Albums and No. 4 on Unbiased Albums, options visitor assists from Huge Sean and Wiz Khalifa, amongst others. Key cuts embrace “89 Earthquake,” “60 Days” and “Summer season Reign” that includes Ty Dolla $ign. — G.M.

One of the crucial promising rappers to return out of Atlanta prior to now few years feels like an amalgamation of the perfect rappers to return out of Atlanta over the previous few years. Like his Opium stablemates, Lonely is a stylist before everything. His lyrics and stream work primarily to additional the general aesthetic of a man who’s so forward of his time and competitors that he can’t be bothered to expound on what it took to get him there. All we have to know is that he’s flyer and will get extra money than you and anybody you understand. And, although the album may stand to lose about 5 to eight tracks, he’s in a position to drive that time residence repeatedly with out it turning grating or boring. Don’t consider him? Take a hearken to the title observe, the guitar-drenched “fly shit” or the Ken Carson-assisted “cash & intercourse.” — D.S.  

For his first post-Astroworld full-length challenge, Travis Scott let time do its factor. The idea of Utopia had been percolating amongst the Travis Scott fandom years earlier than the deadly 2021 Astroworld crowd crush, so the file followers in the end acquired clearly underwent a collection of evolutions. The result’s a mixture of tracks that recall the broodier moments of Scott’s early catalog, manufacturing that spanned influences from deep home and psychedelia to boom-bap and entice, and subliminal peeks into the state of Scott’s post-Astroworld psyche. For many of his profession, Travis Scott has been a clean canvas for followers to challenge their rage on, a model earlier than a lot else. On standout observe, “My Eyes,” nonetheless, he sheds that corporatized snakeskin for just a few moments of real vulnerability: “I replay them nights, and proper by my facet, all I see is a sea of folks that experience wit’ me / If they simply knew what Scotty would do to leap off the stage and save him a baby,” he raps somberly. — Okay.D.

4 years after his debut solo album Father of 4, Offset got down to set up himself as a solo star —following the breakup of the beloved entice trio Migos (and the unlucky demise of Takeoff) and out from below the limelight of his estranged spouse and fellow MC Cardi B — on his sophomore set, Set It Off. He slides on Boi-1da’s skittering beat on the Miami playlist important “Skyami,” will get into his melodic bag on the gangsta love track “Dissolve” and effortlessly defends his lofty place on the hard-hitting minimize “Huge Dawg.” However flashes of vulnerability, like when he raps, “Man, I might be mendacity if I say I ain’t miss the three” on the Metro Boomin-produced “Night time Imaginative and prescient” or “Why I lose my brother to bullets? Why I lose my grandma to most cancers? Why me, God? I want solutions” on the Travis Scott-assisted “Say My Grace,” reminds listeners that Offset isn’t impervious to ache. He’s utilizing it as a catalyst for a inventive reset, and showcasing his musical and lyrical vary to additional cement his legacy within the rap sport. — Heran Mamo.

Infallibility is usually a rap superpower. Not for Noname. On the follow-up to her 2018 debut, the Chicago-born rapper goals at almost all the pieces and everybody value speaking about. She shoots at Jay-Z, Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, the NFL, Rihanna, Disney, and a bunch of different beloved establishments. You’ll count on her to spend all the album capturing down from a golden pedestal, rapping from on excessive to allow us to plebians know the way simpleminded and gullible we’ve been. As a substitute, Noname spits these bars proper down right here on earth and takes time to goal at herself. She admits her faults and concurrently explores the questions that come up from them. It’s a heat, wonderous, and elegantly rapped album. One which reveals immense progress and promise in equal measure. Sundial makes clear Noname’s power comes from inside and is ever-growing. — D.S.  

The pair of younger and gifted U.Okay. rappers be part of forces on Cut up Resolution, a perfect-for-summer four-track EP that was launched on Dave’s twenty fifth birthday and the day after Central Cee’s twenty fifth. The mix of Dave’s acutely aware and intelligent lyricism and Cench’s lightning-speed supply brimming with U.Okay. road slang make for a successful formulation. Their verses steadiness gritty storytelling about surviving their harsh realities (“Again then I bought chased by feds, I ran out of breath and I wished to vomit/ I hit that freak, she put me in cuffs, it triggered my trauma, I inform her to cease it,” Dave raps on the reflective opener “Trojan Horse”) with vivid imagery of their newfound riches and luxe way of life. The Latin-tinged melodic drill smash “Sprinter” grew to become the longest-running No. 1 rap single in U.Okay. chart historical past with its nine-week reign, cementing Dave and Cench’s legacies throughout the pond whereas notably increasing their attain exterior U.Okay. rap’s borders. — H.M.

Few stars can rival the breakout yr that Sexyy Pink is having, and even fewer can say that they delivered a challenge as constant and gloriously ratchet as Hood Hottest Princess. Launched by the off-the-wall runaway hit “Pound City” and that includes follow-up hits “SkeeYee,” “On the lookout for the Hoes,” and “Hellcats SRTs,” Hood Hottest Princess is a manifesto of all of the deliciously hood, ghetto fabulous vitality that programs by way of each Sexyy’s inimitable impulsive ideas and her faultless beat choices. Parlaying the gritty home get together really feel of Boosie and Gucci’s most beloved hits for Gen Z, Sexyy’s breakout mixtape is the type of top-to-bottom assortment of bangers that feels distinctly free from the trimmings of up to date hip-hop commercialism. Close to the top of the yr, the St. Louis rapper repackaged the mixtape with eleven new tracks that additional expanded each her sonic profile and songwriting hallmarks by means of successful collaborations with Summer season Walker, 42 Dugg, and Chief Keef. — Okay.D.

Doja Cat pivoted from pop again to rap for her fiery fourth studio album. Eschewing options, the artist carried Scarlet on her shoulders — and demonstrated she was greater than as much as the duty. Because of the left-of-center earwormy pattern of the Dionne Warwick basic “Stroll on By” and Doja’s frank lyrics (“You may’t discuss no s–t with out penalties/ B–ch, I’m in your s–t should you ship for me”), “Paint the City Pink” notched the artist’s second Scorching 100 No. 1 and the tally’s first rap chief in over a yr. However there’s extra … like “Demons,” her nod to haters who’ve deemed her the satan. Or the love-vibed “Agoura Hills” and “Consideration,” a present Grammy nominee for greatest rap track and greatest melodic rap efficiency. Rapping with mature assurance and take-that finesse, Doja Cat proved her versatility is not any fluke. — G.M.

For his first full-length studio album since returning residence from a year-long jail stint, Gunna flew fully solo and delivered a few of the greatest and greatest songs of his profession. Past “Fukumean” —the summer season smash that grew to become his highest-peaking unaccompanied entry on the Billboard Scorching 100 — Gunna bought introspective and confessional. The guitar-laced “Again to the Moon” finds Wunna waxing poetic concerning the convoluted devolution of sure relationships, whereas the sobering “Flip Your Again” instantly addresses each the rumors surrounding his present connection to YSL and his seemingly countless seek for peace regardless of all his success. Confessional but effortlessly clean, a Present & a Curse isn’t simply Gunna’s greatest album, it’s one of many strongest LPs throughout genres this yr. — Okay.D.

With silver nails in his hair, eyeblack, soccer shoulder pads, and an eccentric rockstar type, Teezo Landing emerged as considered one of rap’s most enjoyable newcomers in 2023. Following his opening stint for Tyler, the Creator’s Name Me If You Get Misplaced Tour, the 31-year-old MC scored options on Travis Scott’s Utopia and Drake’s For All of the Canines. His proximity to mainstream rappers is stunning but refreshing for somebody who makes something however mainstream rap, as indicated by his extremely experimental debut album, How Do You Sleep at Night time? Throughout 14 tracks, Teezo delivers a funk quantity with guitar riffs and helium-pitched “Wee!” ad-libs on “Temper Swings,” whereas on “Too Straightforward,” Isaiah Rusk lends a hand on the storage punk anthem that boasts 2 Dwell Crew-esque chants and heat R&B melodies. The oft-kilter jams all fall below his “rock & increase” style. Drake gave Teezo the final word cosign when he described his album as “a few of the greatest music ever.” Teezo lives as much as that A-lister-fueled hype, and his unrelenting charisma, paired along with his unorthodox artistry, proves Teezo has a really vibrant future forward of him. — H.M.

After giving followers a style along with her breakout 2022 single “Munch (Feelin’ U),” Ice Spice dished out extra delectable hits along with her debut EP Like..? She proudly wears her crown on “Princess Diana” (and invitations queen Nicki Minaj on the highest 10 remix), flips Diddy’s “I Want a Lady (Pt. 2)” for her first Scorching 100 hit with the Lil Tjay-assisted “Gangsta Boo,” and introduces phrases like “baddie pal” and “smoochie” to the popular culture lexicon—all whereas breathlessly bouncing off RIOTUSA’s boisterous drill manufacturing. With Like..?, Ice Spice proves she’s no one-hit marvel however a persistent hitmaker with robust pop sensibilities who has rapidly ascended the charts and onto main phases throughout the globe, rightfully incomes her title as Billboard’s 2023 R&B/Hip-Hop Rookie of the 12 months. — H.M.

Killer Mike has lived many lives. The Atlanta native bought his begin as an Outkast understudy, then moved on to signal with T.I.’s Grand Hustle label proper because the Rubber Band Man snatched the crown as King of the South. He then linked with indie producer El-P to knock out his final solo album R.A.P. Music after which type what would change into the important darling indie duo, Run the Jewels. Between all of that he in some way discovered time to change into a well-regarded political pundit.  

To interrupt down how, precisely, the person born Michael Render can include all these multitudes, Killer Mike tapped No ID to supervise the manufacturing of an album that operates, in his phrases, as an origin story. James Baldwin as soon as stated, “Persons are trapped in historical past and historical past is trapped in them.” On Michael, the ATLien works to make sense of each the world that made him and the world he’s made.  

It’s richly produced and expertly rapped, flowing from heart-aching, soul-tinged tracks like “Motherless” to ruthlessly fashionable works just like the Future and Andre 3000-featured “Scientists & Engineers.” He touches on a large number of topics: abortion, black solidarity, the political previous and current, lack of household, drug utilizing and drug promoting—the previous informing the unbelievable “One thing For Junkies.” Within the palms of a lesser artist, an album spanning this many subjects and conditions would run the danger of feeling disjointed or, worse, dispirited. However Mike holds all of it collectively. It feels just like the album he was born to make. — D.S.