Team 2018: Top Rap Albums

1- Evidence - Weather or Not – On his third solo album, Evidence once again comes with the weather theme and it rains or reigns as tops this year.  Production from Alchemist, Premier, Babu and others including Ev himself.  Guest spots abound, including a stellar appearance from Mach Hommey on “Sell Me This Pen”. Others include Jonwayne, fellow Dilated Peoples member Rakaa, and Slug on the standout track “Powder Cocaine.”

2- Royce Da 5’9 – The Book of Ryan – Autobiographical rhymes have long permeated rap music, but Royce takes it next level on this release.  The album delves into his family life growing up, him and his father’s struggles with addiction, and his brother’s own struggles (the powerful “Protecting Ryan”.) Of course he still comes with his usual bar play on joints like “Caterpillar” with Eminem, and “Summer on Lock” with Pusha T, Fabolous, and Jadakiss.

3- Quelle Chris and Jean Grae – Everything’s Fine – The overriding theme of the “everything’s fine” mantra is that truly in life, rap music, politics, whatever, it’s not fine. The cohesiveness of the two MCs shines throughout, as well as cameos by Your Old Droog (“Scoop of Dirt”), Denmark Vessey, and Big Tone, as well as comics like Michael Che and Hannibal Buress.  An array of dope beats throughout, including the West Coast flavored “House Call.”

4- Armand Hammer – Paraffin – Building on previous releases from Backwoodz, Paraffin continues with raw raps, dense and abstract sounds, and listener thoughts being provoked. As usual billy woods is on his grind, rapping about everything and anything under the sun, shit even things not under the sun.  As always, Elucid comes through particularly on the incredible "Fuhrman Tapes". Production from a handful of beatmasters who vividly bond the duo’s rhymes to the tracks.

5- Homeboy Sandman & Edan – Humble Pi – Two of the more creative characters in the genre do the Wonder Twins activate thing and we are the beneficiaries.  Edan handles production on all seven tracks, and we get his normal near-psychedelic meets Boom Bap beats.  Conversely Homeboy Sandman handles most of the MC duties.  His effortless flow shines through on the campy “Never Use the Internet Again” and the EP highlight of “The Gut.”

6- Crimeapple + Big Ghost Ltd – Aguardiente – A one producer and one MC project can be so aligned that it literally feeds off itself track after track.  That’s this joint.  Throughout this album, the pair make you feel that Tri-State spirit with a dark, almost mafia like vibe.  Crimeapple raps with that edgy attitude on the latter part of the album on the highlight "Five Chechnyans - Hammers & Swords" and the banging “Gorillas” with Benny and Milano Constantine.

7- Blueprint – Two Headed Monster – Rhyming and producing?  Doesn’t happen much in the game anymore, so when Blueprint pulls it off flawlessly on Two Headed Monster, notice is taken.  From the jump-off “Set it Off” to the soulful “Masterpiece” Blueprint is in full control.  Guest spots from some of the underground’s vets lend to the overall vibe: “Health is Wealth” with Supastition and Mr. Lif and the stand out “Night Writers” with Slug and Wordsworth.

8- Westside Gunn – Supreme Blientele – Griselda has become a fixture on these lists, a fixture attached with rusty nails dipped in embalming oils.  Cue the grimey beats, the story telling and wordplay, as Westside along with a legit all-star team of producers checks all the damn boxes.  Statik Selektah takes a turn on the upbeat “Westside”, while Daringer handles throughout with the lead off “Gods Don’t Bleed” featuring Benny and Jadakiss. 

9- Sean Price & Illa Ghee – Metal Detectors – Sometimes brevity isn’t good, but sometimes it’s great, in this EP’s case it’s eight rapid fire Brownsville slaps to the face…definitely good.  Sean lives on through his music and this effort keeps his light shining.  We find Sean’s frequent target still being served: wack rappers. “I’m Hannibal Lecter, you Hannibal Buress, worthless piece of shit rapper, pop the piece at you” he simply states on the raw “2Pac by the Locker”.

10- Cypress Hill – Elephants on Acid – Legends in Hip-Hop come back with their first album in nearly a decade and it affirms said legendary status.  DJ Muggs, coming off a blazing year, completely burns these beats down with a hallucinogenic blend of rock, drums, record static, sitars, and blunts.  Of course, B-Real and Sen Dog are ever present as well, tracks like “Band of Gypisies” and “Warlord” seamlessly joining with signature interludes and instrumentals.

11- Czarface Meets Metal Face – Our favorite rap super hero Czarface (Inspectah Deck and 7L & Esoteric) meet up with MF Doom in their ongoing quest to save underground Hip-Hop.  They’ve achieved their stated mission on this album, a mix of comic book segues, Boom Bap, and of course potent punch lines. The lead single “Nautical Depth” stands out (“Flow like DiCaprio, wolf of all beats”) as well as guest appearances from Vinnie Paz and Open Mike Eagle.

12- Daniel Son & Futurewave – Pressure Cooker – Hailing from Toronto, the pair come through with an album of rugged and raw no frills rap.  Futurewave handles production throughout, which perfectly melds with Daniel Son’s unique flow and wordplay.  A high point is the grimey collab with Saipher Soze on “Stained Lo” (“pour a cup of Henny and sit down, my only mission kill the king and get crowned”) and the heavy finale “Grace Slick” with Raspy.

Others receiving votes:

Zilla Rocca – Future Former Rapper

Rapper Big Pooh - RPM

PRhyme – PRhyme 2

Action Bronson – White Bronco

Conway – Everybody is F.O.O.D 

Meyhem Lauren – Glass