Production: 9th Wonder & The Soul Council With DAMN Kendrick put all doubters to rest with the notion of him not being the best rapper alive – as it’s apparent he runs laps around most in the game with this Grammy-nominated album. He progressed, musically, from good kid‘s slick boom bap to Butterfly‘s jazzy, soulful funk to DAMN‘s boom-trap to switch up his sound. Lyrically, he misses no step whatsoever, but musically this is more of a straightforward listen than Butterfly or even his exquisite lost tapes album of 2016 untitled unmastered, and perhaps his most accessible effort to date. This peace he’s seeking is costing him his sanity and his faith in humanity. While Butterfly had him being the conflicted voice of his community trying to find his balance of stardom and humanity, while trying to find himself spiritually, DAMN is his “fuck it” record. City, and the simply breathtaking masterpiece To Pimp A Butterfly, the pressure was on to deliver yet another benchmark for Hip Hop, and goodness did he ever with DAMN. Duckworth that hasn’t already been said? He’s been called a modern-day genius, a modern legend, the voice of this generation, and all these titles are well earned.Īfter the monster success of the stunning major label debut good kid, M.A.A.D. Production: Sounwave, The Alchemist, Mike WILL Made It, DJ Dahi, Terrace Martin, 9th Wonder, BadBadNotGood, Cardo, others This may arguably be K.R.I.T.’s most cohesive and complete project to date and without a doubt his most ambitious. The Justin Scott side is deeply personal and autobiographical, as he bares his complete soul on cuts like “Bury Me In Gold” and “Drinking Sessions”. side is filled with trunk rattlers and shit talking, done in a slickly confident, extroverted way. Now dropping his first full-length project since his departure, he gives us 4eva Is A Mighty Long Time – a phenomenal double album that shows his on-stage persona and his true self on separate discs. His projects Live From The Underground and Cadillactica were critical darlings but went highly underappreciated by the label and he split. Was Here and Return Of 4eva, and they were enough for Def Jam to scoop him. delivered some of the most acclaimed mixtapes to ever emerge from the South, including K.R.I.T. It’s sometimes incredible what freedom can do for one after being pigeonholed by a major label. Production: artist, Mannie Fresh, Organized Noize, DJ Khalyl, others This has been a great year, and it’s time to break down the best. New stars such as Cardi B and Lil’ Uzi Vert have become part of our consciousness, no matter if it’s for fifteen minutes or for fifteen years, while artists such as Rapsody, Kendrick Lamar, and Jay-Z have put out career and genre-defining music that will be talked about for decades to come. What has also been prevalent has been the amount of politically charged rhetoric mixed with spiritual inquiries about growth and people’s place in these changing times. Musically some very rich and intriguing projects emerged, while the sudden and dizzying appeal of “mumble rap” has become the new go-to style of rap for a lot of the younger demographic. This is many people’s favorite time of year, as we dissect the best from the worst, the legendary from the wack, and the promising from the doubtful.Ģ017 has been a melting pot of a year. What’s up all?! It’s been a long time since we’ve connected but I’m back for something that’s always anticipated this time of year.