The 50 Best Rap Albums: 2023 Pt. 1

 

Written By: The Linx Staff + Contributors

        

We know your Spotify and Apple Music libraries are packed to the gills with Pharaoh Sanders albums thanks to Andre 3000 exposing you to ambient jazz, a playlist of Carti IG reels uploaded directly to your phone, as well as one of the 30 Milwaukee albums that have come out over the last year that you swear you’re gonna run through on the drive home from work and never do, and all the Stinc Team material you’ve been itching to dig into since you discovered who 03 Greedo and Drakeo The Ruler are. Because of that we decided to listen to as many rap albums as humanly possible over the last 12 months to try and filter out the muck and show you the most exciting and well put together rap albums of 2023. The "rap is dead" conversation that gets rehashed every 8 years or so reared up again as mainstream rap stalled out creatively and new micro-communities online work to find footing to push their heros to big stage (if there even is a big stage to put upon anymore). Rap is fine, it'll always be fine, and just because the genre saw a boom in chart/streaming success for the last 5 years and now things are leveling back out to how they were for the genres previous 45ish years doesn't mean we should be alarmed. Some artists had multiple albums worthy of being on our own Top 50 but we chose to limit it to one album per artist (unless you're in an official group, then that group project is eligible as well as solo works. Apologies to Faith Is A Rock, Quaranta, Debbie's Son and Can't Feel My Face Too for having a better sibling come out side by side). There's also a ton of albums that couldn't make the cute because they were just too far on the side of R&B or jazz or something else overall to be a true rap album (s/o Love Sick, Sixtape 3, Leather Blvd., and Memory Lane 2). If you want to close your ears to things that don’t immediately fit into the radio and Rap Caviar zeitgeist go ahead, but for music fans there’s a swath of new albums every day that can change your life.

Honorable Mentions: The Next 9

59. ALLBLACK - Born To Score

58. Paco Panama - The Matrix

57. Theravada & Zoomo - Waste Management

56. DJ Drama - I'm Really Like That

55. Popstar Benny! - University!

54. 41 - 41 Ways

53. Papo2oo4 & Subjxct 5 - Pap On P.E.D's

52. OsamaSon - Osama Season

51. Blockhead - The Aux

Self-Released

50. lojii & Alexander Spit - $TARTER_PACK

Built as a sepia toned biome of crackling vinyl and dancing piano keys, lojii steps back out after 2 years of slow dripping singles for a punchy solo effort produced by LA based workhorse Alexander Spit (already producing a full album for Sideshow earlier in the year). Rapping like a laid back older brother to the world, lojii takes time out to reminisce on the simplicity of childhood while still kicking lifestyle raps that makes every aspect of simple living have a deeper moral core. “Quit fucking up the rotation just let the world spin / my cup spilling like the flood that cleansed the worlds sins” works as the hook for “the rotation”, turning smoke circles and glasses of liquor into biblical acts of bounty. The most angelic elements of this tape come from the home cooked Spit beats, each sounding like distant memories synthesized down into perfect loops. Nothing is every too complicated yet nothing is ever too simple, and such is life if you choose to take everything in stride. The soft swirls peaking around a motivational speech on “life_coach_interlude” make it seem like a message spit from a holy messengers voice between the clouds, striking you to keep going for another day. - Anthony Seaman

Best Song: $uite

Best Beat: away_game

For Fans Of: ZekeUltra, Demhjiae, Ovrkst.

One Line: A smokey sermon for anyone needing a reason to keep pushing’ for another days come up.

Drumwork / EMPIRE

49. Conway The Machine - Won't He Do It

Conway The Machine, who at this point should be revered as an All-Time underground heavyweight, happened to put together a refreshingly decent effort in Won’t He Do It As always the room to grow is in the realms of making memorable hooks (if any at all) and broadening his utility belt of flows and cadences, but his bars are more inspired than they have been in years. Won’t He Do It, of course, gives Conway some space to operate and highlight his golden attribute; bully bars. On tracks like "Flesh Of My Flesh", "The Chosen", "Brick Fare", and "Tween Cross Tween", he's at his full powers, providing a heaping fix of rapid punches chained together like Tekken combo moves with an undeniably braggadocios, straight-to-the-point flow. Throughout the project,  as a listener, you will stumble upon pockets of vulnerability, and commendable transparency and it will be hard not to develop somewhat of a connection to Conway’s authenticity, wit, and believability. - Tristen Swanson

Best Song: Brucifix

Best Beat: Tween Cross Tween

For Fans Of: Your Old Droog, Vic Spencer, 38 Spesh
One Line: “Squeeze at your cap then peel it/ Then pee on your hat like a Phillie's fitted/ In Miami with the heat in the bucket I'm Jimmy with it” is a standout line and a perfect summation of the kind of time Conway is on.

Self-Released

48. Hi-C - L3FT 4 D3AD

This is the part of the article where every person over about 25 years old is going to stop and say, “hmmm let me follow along and save some of the Best Song recommendations and check them out as I read or later today”. This also may be the part where everyone becomes so fucking confused as to what they’re hearing that they never read this website again. Fine. Go ahead, stay in 1997. The future is here and it’s a crunchy blown out heap that is as mesmerizing as it is confusing. The lineage of lo-fi rap begins with cheap equipment from the dawn of rap evolving into a conscious effort to make stuff so abrasive that the song becomes sound design more than a curated sing-along piece of art. Tempo changes, pitch shifted robotic vocals, anime soundbites, gnashing 808’s, snares and hi hats pirouetting from every corner of the mix. It’s a deranged capsule of tread music transmuting into something for slasher movies and warm up sets at Yung Lean concerts. This isn’t music you go to to turn your brain off, it’s the score to your brain burnt out after cramming a term paper day of off an Adderall and 2 Red Bulls. His lyrics are after thoughts, rarely coming in with anything thought provoking outside of the jabs at sexual predators within rap’s underground scene. What is something to be respected is the ability to still find melody in the tight crevices left behind from beats that suffocate any possible decibel range. Working within the crammed confines of his own production and beats from a consistent team of beatmashers (Jack Frost, 6slacker and Sophitia to name a few) the flows are impressive rhythmic stutter steps. He doesn’t fight to be heard within the beat, instead he becomes a rapping cyborg; equally embedded into the music as an instrument but still very much trying to release his thoughts about designer clothes and stealing our girlfriends. If Juice WRLD and Lil Peep were bringing a grunge era to hip-hop, Hi-C is skipping steps to tug post-metal to our Soundcloud pages while challenging what the limits of rap even are. - Anthony Seaman
Best Song: PaRAn01D
Best Beat: NaTUraL B0rN K1lL3rz
For Fans Of: Nettspend, Bladee, Bear1Boss
One Line: Is it rap? For sure. Is it hyper-pop? Maybe. Is it a secret third thing? More than likely. Have I already broken the lone rule of this category?

Lex Records

47. Fly Anakin & Foisey - Skinemaxxx (Side A)
The flagbearer for everything important in Virginia rap for the last near-decade has been Fly Anakin. He’s been the face of the Mutant Academy collective (Ohbliv, Tuamie, Big Kahuna OG, Henny L.O., and so on) and their 90’s indebted underground psychedelia, dabbling in the grandest feats of lyrical dexterity while also penning the purest songs of his cohorts (and arguably the entire analog loving side of the underground spectrum). When he leans into his raw rap skills few walking the Earth can touch him. His voice is a serrated sword, slicing through the shimmering chops from the mind of one of the Academy’s greatest talents, and the maestro for the entire effort, Foisey. So many in this lane will find any reason to not tack a hook or even a 2nd verse on a beat, but at this point that’s not challenging enough for Anakin. Even making a jaw dropping rap album is something he’s done so many times over (Backyard Boogie, Emergency Raps Vol. 4, FlySiifu’s) that he has to stand even farther on a creative ledge to garner his own interest. Given, Lex isn’t a major like Atlantic or Interscope, but so many underground hero’s have gotten involved in a label situation and watched their creativity falter, yet Anakin is in many ways becoming a more curious artist than ever. The Skinemaxxx suites follow a young protagonist (named GoQuan) through a typical school day leading to his discovery of softcore porn on cable. The skits are packed with inside jokes and quotes from within the vast Mutant Academy lore, with members contributing their acting skills along with verses across the project. The humor is equal parts witty and crude, the raps are amazing, and the beats could be carried through any era of rap and still smack new life into you.
Best Song: Blicky Bop
Best Beat: Bonnet Music
For Fans Of: Redman, Flatbush Zombies, Ghostface Killah
One Line: A gossamer utopia where classic old school peer pressure and childhood angst still live on.

Top Dawg Entertainment

46. Reason - Porches

Reason is the best system QB in all of rap today. It may sound like a backhanded compliment, but it takes a certain kind of ego death to allow such a role to be carried out to this level. Every beat maker is on top of the game or peaking at the right time (Hollywood Cole, Supah Mario, Vinylz, FnZ), every feature dims their light for the sake of casting the perfect shadow within the scenery (SiR, Kalan.FrFr, Doechii) and outside creatives laid out a presentation for the album to be understood in cohesion (video director madeby.james, creative director Meek). Murder, deception, regret, what it means to be family, and self-doubt all tally upon one another to build a tower too tall to not tumble. Acting as a vessel for the stories and accompanying scenery orchestrated by the Ghosts of Traumas Past takes skill. The skill to not over step, a near tortured restraint. Even when his J. Cole Jr. flows feel stiff; his charisma never lacks, bringing earnest emotions into tales deserving of such passion. Sure, there’s more turnt up single bait tracks disguised as pieces of the storyboard (“Bussin’!”, “You Betta”), but you also get toned down poems that if published as a novel would be true page turners (“Too Much!”, “I Don’t Trust You!”). The true star of the show is engineer Keitel Jr. who with a surgeon's touch intertwines voicemail interludes, subtle nature foley, and dozens of features and backing vocalists into a fully autonomous musical bed. TDE has found a way to create a sonic aesthetic where dozens of real life trials are thrown into a pot, slow cooked, and presented as bursting cinematic events. Porches fits that aesthetic to a tee and falls into a category of Double Life albums; the kind of album that takes a whole life's worth of living to build up stories for and another life's worth of parsing to gain enough understanding as to what it all means to be boiled down for public consumption. - Anthony Seaman
Best Song: Too Much!
Best Beat: Call Me!
For Fans Of: Lute, late career Nas, Pivot Gang
One Line: If any album on this list were to be turned into a limited series for Hulu this would be my first pick.

Big Enough Home

45. Radamiz - Gnashing, Teeth EP

Worldly perspective and wisdom of a well read adventurer seep out of every verse from Radamiz’ catalog. Mobilizing through underground circles by the beat of his own drum has brought interesting twists into his career, but doing anything traditional would be counter to his core. On the intro “Hero’s Journey (Spray)” He flys on and off the traditional 4 bar meter, creating herky jerky patterns that are abrasive yet hypnotizing. Your brain is trying to process and look for some form of pattern that doesn’t exist. The same mesmerizing swirl is present in the production where shimmers of extra vocals or mistimed chops pinch you right as you drift into a dream state. Being able to fight the unconscious want to be in a simple repetitive loop rhythmically is as hard as trying to live that way in life. Couplets shoot out his pen freely, there aren't any hooks across the EP to hold back his free flowing thoughts. The closest one comes to materializing is on “My Whole Life (Speedboat) where he takes on a more contemporary bounce, letting continents and vowels blur into one another as they tumble from his mouth. It’s a lot of dope rapping for the sake of dope rapping, but buried in there’s cheat codes to life that give the same feeling of finding a sloppily written note in a thrifted jacket pocket. “Big Pharma” is his most vivid rhyme where, alongside Wiki and a rare Dom McLennon feature, he recounts his first time holding a gun and his theory on how those who are successful come to power. - Anthony Seaman

Best Song: Big Pharma

Best Beat: New Faith

For Fans Of: Ab-Soul, Mach-Hommy, Chuck Strangers

One Line: A go-to palette cleanser to remind yourself what curiosity in a rapper sounds like.

Briss Dont Miss

44. Huey Briss - Flowers Before The Grave

Within every room, whether it be a networking event or friendly kickback, there’s people who want to be noticed. The gaudiest of clothing, the loudest voice, the most unbelievable stories aren’t just their persona for the night, but how they get people to buy into them. Half of those people are straight up lying or borrowing pieces from people who really have it like that, and the other half are overselling exactly what they’ve done. Huey Briss wouldn’t be caught dead acting as either of those people. Listening to his raps you get the picture not of a stereotypical rapper with millions in the bank, but rather a small town guy hustling to get it with his soul and pride intact. So many of his records are subtle dedications to his family; a young child, aging parents, deceased homies. None of their sacrifices are in vain, all acting as the ultimate alley-oop for Huey to pull his family to a land of milk and honey. On the title track alone he tracks his journey from charismatic weedman to entering smoke sessions with stars from his wildest dreams. He still wakes up and ties his Chuck Taylors one at a time like you or me, so why not strive in your life the way he does? Aspirational in his raps reminiscent of a smoked out Rick Ross, he not only details the way his life has changed but is manifesting retirement and dream cars. Easy, breezy, but layered with all the minute details that show someone had a passion stitching together the seams. - Anthony Seaman

Best Song: 2416 Pasadena Ave.
Best Beat: Hot Take Pt. 1 (Dawn)

For Fans Of: Curren$y, Rick Ross, Stalley
One Line: Motivation soundtrack for your daily wake 'n bake. 

Human Resources

43. Lancey Foux - BACK2DATRAP

Every image of Lancey live in concert looks like a cutscene from Metal Gear Solid or a screencap from Ridley Scott’s next great intergalactic battle royale. Dawning crossbody bullets, mesh shirts, leather and more muscle definition than Apollo Creed is the UK’s 1-man army to challenge the endless stockpile of distorted psychedelic rappers. As a true fan of the art of modern hip-hop he’s parsed through sub-genre after sub-genre honing in on whatever makes it great and perfecting it. For 12 tracks he engages with the complexities of rage music; every overcompressed 808, every domineering clap-snare combo, every ad-lib, is manicured into a symphony of havoc. There’s never a moment with Foux where you question how true he is to what he’s crafted. Flexing as an overseas native comes naturally, because everything someone from Atlanta or Chicago would brag about in their neighborhood is just another day to an upper class kid in Europe. Border hopping for lunch, international women, rare fashion pieces; that can be a taken for granted Saturday for someone with a little money across the pond. Most musical chameleons have moments where they venture too deep into their chosen color, sticking out amongst the locals like a sore thumb. This is never the case with a hyper-disiplined Lancey, who holds himself to a standard above who he's trying to enter in conversation with. - Anthony Seaman
Best Song: Last Breath
Best Beat: Mob Boss
For Fans Of: Thouxanbanfauni, OsamaSon, Homixide Gang
One Line: This is what everyone thinks A Great Chaos is. 

10K Projects / Dolo / Capitol

42. Ice Spice - Like... (Deluxe)

New York’s newest sensation Ice Spice has proven the naysayers wrong in 2023, scoring a number of hit features and branching out from the NY Drill sound. You can really hear how she’s honed her craft compared to her earlier music; her delivery varies a little more, the transitions between flows (difficult flows at that) are smooth, and she's started utilizing the airiness of her voice more. “How High” is a pop foray that works well and showcases a new flow for Ice that is almost like Fabolous on “So Into You”, but Ice is at her best where she’s comfortable. “Deli” is a club rattling anthem that will turn any party into the house from Aristocats. The hook is so infectious, the beat is like a military march, the sample echoes in the back like a siren; it’s perfect. The "OnTheRadar Feestyle" is a move I wish more artists would do, if your freestyles are great throw that on a deluxe, the mixtape is dead anyway. All these elements combined with strong hits like “In Ha Mood” and cuts like “Gangsta Boo” make for a very solid complete package. - G.N. Jones

Best Song: In Ha Mood

Best Beat: Deli

For Fans Of: Vayda, Anycia, Flo Milli

One Line: If anyone decides to make a documentary on Baby Phat and doesn't use half this album along with Ashanti's Greatest Hits you should be stoned in a public forum.

Alamo

41. Lil Durk - Almost Healed

When you’re from a place that creates fear you either learn to suppress it or become it. The Chicago drill sound of the ‘10’s has been co-opted by major cities around the world and acclimated to those climates. The UK meshed garage and grime into drill, New York City has already 3 subgenres within itself. But the classic Chicago sound that used Lex Luger and Southside productions as its foundation was built into a cavernous tunnel of disturbing megalomania. It’s still a blunt, hyperactive, at times drenched in auto-tune, style that recounts first person experiences from kids forced to live like child rebel soldiers. Lil Durk was a foundational member of the scene and has since lived 100 lives creatively helping the playbook balloon as he worked within the major label system, only to be spit right back out by it, clawing today to new heights. The last few years have seen him rise from middling local hero to a banner artist of the genre. Drake songs, an album with Lil Baby; most would be happy to finally retire on top. Instead on this album he’s investigating new sounds to break him from the rap world to full blown pop star (working multiple times with country mega-star Morgan Wallen, Billboard chart topper with J. Cole, and an intro from R&B legend Alicia Keys) and makes up for these failed experiments with the most potent songs of his career acting as the albums core. The heartbreak songs have a heightened guttural pain, and the more aggressive tunes are his paranoid nightmares personified. The Southside produced “Before Fajr” is Durk delivering lines about taking fentanyl and overpowering opponents in a ghoulish controlled tone. “Same Side” is a high octane chase scene. “300 Urus” is the slow creep of a hitman behind a target before delivering their final blow. Chaos in any form doesn’t bother him, he can find comfort in it still the way he always has. - Anthony Seaman

Best Song: Sad Songs

Best Beat: B12

For Fans Of: NoCap, Roddy Ricch, EST Gee

One Line: It’s the all-encompassing representation of his artistry he’s been trying to get right for 10 years.

430 ENT Deathless

40. Robb Bank$ - I Dnt Txt Back, I Dnt Call

Striving for perfection in an imperfect world leads to a hundred mishaps. Tied between an endless stream of voicemails and ignored Facetime calls, South Florida’s best kept secret struggles to parse through heartbreak while pursuing stardom in this cutthroat rap game. This year has seen him refocused on his core values; pouring out his diary over hypnotic beats. “Jade (5 Missed Calls)” is a POV into dealings with an equally toxic lover, while “U Must Love Me (8 Missed Calls)” has risen up the rankings into one of the crown jewels in Robb’s catalog. Not only does “U Must Love Me” gives him a chance to fully strip away the bulletproof heartbreaker persona and take accountability for his cheating to an unknown lover. Old friends Nuri, IndigoChildRick and Skinny MooXe pop up across the production credits while his untouchable chemistry with Tony Shnnow on continues with fellow Floridian Seddy Hendrix on "Iron On Me". In interviews he's spoken of attempting to separate himself from the his last era, shedding away the Sir Griffith and all-around Berserk worshipping alter-ego that led him down a more experimental hole for a more honest representation of himself as a man. For 9 songs Robb opens himself up in a way that isn’t as emotional or forward thinking as past works, but feels more intimate than anything he’s attached his name to before. No character to hide behind, no passwords to seal his secrets.  - Anthony Seaman

Best Song: U Must Love Me (8 Missed Calls)

Best Beat: Jade (5 Missed Calls)

For Fans Of: Future, Atmosphere, Brent Faiyaz

One Line: The weight of being moderately famous and having hoes is just too damn hard to carry sometimes.

Neighbourhood / Live Yours

39. Dave & Central Cee - Split Decision EP

It’s hard not to be cynical about collab projects nowadays. Usually it’s an industry mainstay and an up-and-comer and the project is good for maybe 3 keepers. Split Decision is one of the exceptions. It’s only 4 tracks, yes, but hear me out. We find Dave, a rapper who’s achieved “UK J Cole status” (someone in London legit described him to me as that in 2018), and Central Cee, an upstart who has been having a helluva last two years, attacking 4 songs with the chemistry of a duo that’s been together for years. Strong song concepts and well thought out verses make this EP so great; Trojan Horse establishes the dynamic with in and out verses and no hook. Our "25th Birthday" invites Cench into the introspective Birthday series Dave has, "UK Rap" shows them as two monoliths in their spheres and heralds Cench’s global ascension over a thunderous drill beat. But "Sprinter" is the lynchpin. Cench repurposes an old Skepta hook as part of his hook, furthering the bridging of two generations, and the verses are tongue-in-cheek punchlines that are so confident and off the wall you can’t help but laugh. “With bae through thick and thin, she’s already thick so we’re halfway there,” and Central Cee being cheap enough to use a girl’s Netflix are the types of bars you can’t help but laugh at. - G.N. Jones
Best Song: Sprinter
Best Beat: UK Rap
For Fans Of: JME, RMC Mike, Digga D
One Line: Tea and crumpets raps are becoming more Americanized by the month and this is the perfect mesh point.

Self-Released

38. Autumn! - Midnight Club

Rappers have always been drawn to the punk rock ethos; a fuck you attitude, blacked out or leather clothing, and merciless energy. In aesthetics this has worked out wonderfully. See the fashion of Run-DMC, Lil Uzi Vert, Kanye West. But when the music collides, more ends up on the Limp Bizkit side of the spectrum. Rock and rap have the musical relationship of oil and water (even songs with Led Zepplin breakbeats need to be distorted to all hell just to properly fit into a hip-hop song). Younger generations of songwriters using rap as their foundational genre have toiled with rock and R&B less via sampling and more by vocal delivery. Bubbling in underground circles the last few years alongside his Slayworld comrades, the artist formerly known as twinuzis has taken a focus to being in front of the mic instead of behind it, easing in and out of whichever genre he feels inclined toward that day. His catalog has ballooned in the last 3 years but Midnight Club is by far his most expansive gift to the world. Somehow the scintillating gleam of plugg and melodic Soundcloud rap has found a way to set these universes side by side into something just as beautiful as the sum of its parts. Warped Tour bands are toiling in the studio trying to create drum fills as simple and effective as the ones on “Cocaine Diamonds!” or “4Gseller”. Blown our rage beats, illuminating plugg chords and pop punk melodies shift in and out of one another, sometimes within the same track. "Chanelly & Birkin!" layered in emotional stream of conscious croons, interrupted only by Clams Casino inspired micro chops and the bellowing hums of low-end tones. Compared to those in his cohort whose focus gravitates around the excess of drugs and money, most of this album is about triumph and spiritual awakenings in the aftermath of heartbreak. Yes, his diamonds are the coldest and his money is the longest, but records revolving around the flairs of fame are delivered like class requirements. He becomes more geared up reflecting on how his perseverance into the unforgiving world of music paid off. - Anthony Seaman
Best Song: Cocaine Diamonds!
Best Beat: Faith!
For Fans Of: Summrs, SoFaygo, Yeat
One Line: Without question, it's from end to end the best produced rap album of the year.

Self-Released

37. Tony Shhnow - Love Streak

You get the same feeling listening to Tony that you do chowing down on carnival foods. You don’t understand you need a fried oreo until you’ve had one. It’s off putting in theory, jaw dropping once you accept it, yet irreplicable anywhere else but in the shadow of a ferris wheel and a man with prison tats counting the seconds til his next cig break. The cadences and flow are drunken stumbles upon one another, overlapping less eloquently than the patented Hoodrich Pablo Juan flow but more mellow than the doomsday demonstrations by RXKNephew. It helps that the production is such a perfect curation of smooth jazz samples, letting Tony be as uncorralled as he wishes to be in open plains. His attempts at creating a velvety enclosure to fit the “love” theme is the equivalent of a guy putting remote controlled LED lights in his room to “set the mood”, but his earnest quest to follow through makes it seem much deeper. “Reminiscence” has an angelic Shelley fka DRAM hook splitting an argumentative sex rap, while "Need" is the kind of down-on-your-knees complicated "please love me" anthem that could fit on any Bloodstone album. A million rappers talk about how much they hustle and trap for what they have, but Tony's is in it for the love of the game more than any material flex. - Anthony Seaman

Best Song: Sometimes Pt. 2

Best Beat: Don’t B Affraid

For Fans Of: 3AG Pilot, G Herbo, Lucki

One Line: Slow jams for killers and hundred dollar billers.

Hz Global

36. Da$h - Skrewface 2

Hot off the heels of what’s arguably his best work, and an excellent collaborative album with fellow rapper Ankhlejohn and producer LookDamien!, Da$h manages to stick the landing and complete the threepeat with Skrewface 2. It’s interesting that he chose to make a sequel to the 2015 EP, but in practice it makes sense. Skrewface was assembling a team of producers he had tangible relationships with, and its successor is no different. The credits on Skrewface 2 include a host of extremely talented underground producers, damn near vets at this point, like Chuck Strangers, chasethemoney, Plu2o Nash, and Tony Seltzer (who’s been having a great year,) but it also continues Da$h productive relationship with LookDamien! Skrewface 2 isn’t as dark or weird as some of his older stuff, but it carries on the clarity and focus of Da$H newest stylings. “Don’t confuse it, this aint music, this my life on top of a beat,” and “talking ‘bout some losses they’re just lessons that you need to learn,” are the types of couplets that showcase an older, more retrospective Da$h as opposed his brash, younger self. After a decade plus, Da$h is a vet, and you can hear everything he’s overcome in the music. - G.N. Jones
Best Song: Game of Love 
Best Beat: Vicious Psychle
For Fans Of: $ha Hef, Danny Brown, Robb Bank$
One Line: It's dark, it's damp, it's cold, and it feels like home.

Outer Note

35. Oddisee - To What End

The era of post-Soulquarians internet backpack rap that bows to Tribe, Ye and Outkast birthed the likes of Little Brother, J. Cole, Wale and most impressively the DMV’s own MC/producer Oddisee. His career has intentionally been kept low key so that controlling his destiny is never met with heavy resistance. Toeing the line between coffee house jazz and street corner cyphers Oddisee re-establishes his place as an OG in an underground space that’s shifted from earth tones and MCP’s to hoodies and Pyrex. Holy hooks from himself and a stable of overlooked masters (Bilal, C.S. Armstrong, Olivier St. Thomas) glide over the starry keys while his verses compress memories of the good ole days and adventures through adulthood from mental short film into verse form. An album about self-improvement, social awareness and the beauty of an upper middle class lifestyle in the wrong hands is easy to roll your eyes at while you throw it in the dirt. Overly positive raps can bring any record to a screeching halt when mishandled, but that normally happens when someone who isn't truly about what they preach steps to the pedestal. Oddisee has been hip-hops' coolest guidance counselor for nearly a decade; there’s awkward moments and over explanations, but it comes from someone who talks with you, not at you, about the little things in life that matter most. - Anthony Seaman

Best Song: Choices
Best Beat: Many Hats
For Fans Of: Black Milk, Skyzoo, Talib Kweli

One Line: The kind of rap you play in a really cramped book store in the winter time sipping a $7 coffee.

Money By Any Means Inc. / EMPIRE

34. Lloyd Banks - The Course Of The Inevitable III: Pieces Of My Pain

Pieces of My Pain is the third project added to Lloyd’s rejuvenating late career The Course Of The Inevitable trilogy. This installment in the series carries on the theme of a long, cold, and dark winter night that is accompanied by a 40oz bottle full of regret. The Punchline King has aged well throughout the shifting times, now not only molding punchlines for shock, but lacing in a dose of wisdom in every spewed couplet. This project is another indication that Banks is currently rapping in a space that he always wanted to. He has officially drifted into the lane he always meant to master; “Grown Man Bars”. After 20+ years standing in front of the mic his voice has become weathered, tattered like a breaking flag, adding new texture to this more mature evolution of Lloyd. Banks has thrived in his veteran role at this stage in his career because he is finally fully removed from the pressures of being forced to be a commercial act like when he was younger running alongside 50 Cent and the rest of the G-Unit hitmakers. In my opinion, he sounds comfortable while still restoring the PLK aura on grimey boom-bap beats. All around, this is a solid effort from Banks as he still delivers flashes of his old wits but is upgraded with the right amount of introspectiveness and maturity.  - Tristen Swanson
Best Song: Pieces Of My Pain
Best Beat: Red Alert

For Fans Of: Styles P, Fabolous, Chino XL

One Line: The Punchline King has greys in his beard, but a hunger to keep perfecting his greatest skill.

Smoker's Club Records

33. Marco Plus & The Smoker's Club - Joints

Seeing a group of guys huddled around in a circle freestyling off one another is no different than watching Harry Potter training montages. The best freestylers tap into a force that words aren't strong enough to describe. It’s a flow state, tapping into the infinite. Some say it’s God taking over trying to get her own bars off. This master state is where Atlanta’s Marco Plus nestles into and thrives. Blog Era diehards will recognize the Smokers Club name attached to the project and find a disciple of a scene that embraced hip-hop's favorite millennial stoners (Wiz, Curren$y, Joey Bada$$), carrying their Zippo branded torch through a new generation. The texture of his voice and delivery is that same paint splattered Carhartt canvas that backpackers and graffiti taggers have adored for generations, soundtracking their toils through big cities with raps just as colorful as Marco’s. Outside of this cutting tone his best feature is that he doesn't play too cool to care. You hear the hunger, a maniacal cageyness baked in like he's trying time and again to stomp on to a tier of greatness that is currently just out of reach The kind of palpable passion that gets you just as excited to listen as he is to spit. All the boxes lyrically are checked; entendre, alliteration, breaking down and rebuilding words to phonetic levels, bucking time signature. Like any charisma packed artist drenched with passion he brings a tribe with him of likeminded rappers. Like the cover art detail Wow Gr8 of EarthGang, Silky Southern, Chris Patrick, Ben Reilly, and TRVP Shawn are a who’s who of southern stalwarts and bubbling stars banding together to try and outwit Marco, mostly falling just short. With “Gamblin’ Souls” Chuck Strangers concocts a steaming noir colored beat, synthesized out of a restless lucid dream for himself, Marco and the Kush God himself Smoke DZA to fill. “86 Avirex Freestyle'' may be the peak of his rapping on the entire tape. On the horn filled A section Young Money founders and Gucci Mane get shout outs, while the "lo-fi beats to study to" B section is an aggressive call out to his competition. - Anthony Seaman

Best Song: hiiiasf!

Best Beat: Gamblin’ Souls

For Fans Of: JID, Isaiah Rashad, Nickelus F

One Line: The subtle joy of a hot box freestyle session laid down for a full album.

Equity Distribution

32. Lord Sko - United Palace

Every few years a new rap wonderkid pops up to remind us how pure and fun it can be to just say shit that sounds cool even if it’s a word salad. Lord Sko takes it a step farther by detailing his adventures through the Concrete Jungle that is NYC with a Newport and 40oz in hand like generations of Yankees have before him. The joys of teen debauchery (cutting class, flirting with girls, a joint or 3 to pass the time) mixed with beats that could have made the back half of Stunts, Blunts and Hip-Hop are welcomed as a breath of fresh air in contemporary underground NY scene that’s either hyper-violent or so far left that song structure is scoffed away. Paying the ultimate homage his towns history with his album cover, reusing the same type style and stance of a young Big L from his classic debut Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous. One that his manager, said was approved first hand by members from L's D.I.T.C. crew. In his easily distinguishable stuffy nose tone he delivers a flow that makes any tempo seem like a cruise through the park. He's toying with words and painting out his days letting loose in the city as they’re meant to be; carefree and vibrant. - Anthony Seaman

Read more about Lord Sko in our October edition of Another Link To The Chain here.
Best Song: Malice At The Palace
Best Beat: Enterprise 
For Fans Of: Big Daddy Kane, Black Thought, Big Pun
One Line: Joey Bada$$’ 1999 for Zoomers.

Influenyce Enterprise

31. Rome Streetz - Noise Kandy 5

“Real hip-hop” representatives have had their wildest dreams come true over the last 7 years. Westside Gunn’s FLYGOD was the Big Bang in the creation of the Griselda-verse, a subgenre of cocaine and boom bap obsessed middle aged guys who finally have an outlet for all their Scorcese indebted crime tales to finally be told. The Griselda-verse is a vast, cold, unforgiving cosmos where the projects still have posters dedicated to the spirit of Nino Brown and the ticket buying demographics are 94% male. Most of the artists within it pray to the alter of Griselda Records, but Rome Streetz is one of the chosen few to have been an official member. Everyone within it has their own niche talent to display the same 5 rotating concepts, and for Rome it’s the fulfilling lyrical tricks that in a less focused MC’s hands could sound like battle rap cosplay. It's the same hallowed style the Conway The Machine has built a reputation on but Conway was a brute, bludgeoning what little soul was left out of Daringer beats. Meanwhile Rome's slender voice can change speeds at ease, shimmying from pocket to pocket like a cat burglar around motion detecting beams. On the 5th installment of his hallmark Noise Kandy series Rome has broken into another level, where comedy, alliteration, internal rhymes and even anthemic hooks take him from a spunky punchline guy into what we once thought Conway had a ceiling to become. For every mention of fentanyl and powder covered scales there’s an oscillation in tone between dead eyed killer to sinister puppet master. Is there Joker level mania like Stove God Cook$ carries? No, but for brief moments the numbness that someone from such a bloody universe needs to wield to survive cracks open, letting personality invigorate such cold production. He hasn’t sold out into mainstream musicality with force like his Griselda comrades, choosing instead to stay in the dirt he idles within, molding it to clay with the tools at hand. - Anthony Seaman
Best Song: Heart Break Hotel
Best Beat: Fastactionvenon
For Fans Of: Lloyd Banks, Jadakiss, Cassidy
One Line: Minimum 2 wheelchair guys and 5 stab wound survivors will be present at every Rome show 'til the end of time.

Part 2 and Part 3 of our 50 Best Rap Albums list will be posted over the next 2 weeks.

Until then, check out our all encompassing, probably way too long, Best Of 2023 Playlist on Spotify.