The 50 Best Rap Albums: 2023 Pt. 2

   

Written By: The Linx Staff + Contributors

The second level. The fleshy fulfilling piece of the list where every project is closer in ranking to one another than a simple number might seem. Everything here is great, and most of them are hyper specific albums that hone in on a sonic playground. Much like any given playground on any given day you can see dozens of individuals riding the teeter totter and zooming up trees with such slight nuance from one another that staring at it from afar it might wash past you. Some kids focus on speed, trying to run laps across the jungle gym to the slide, just to zoom down it quick enough to activate a zap that only comes from childlike whimsy meeting the friction of government grade plastic. Some kids aim for height, taking to trees and swing sets to toil in the skies for the first time. The occasional child will test their agility on the monkey bars, looking to slip on and off each rail with ease like our ancestors once got tired of doing forcing evolution into modernized beasts who pay taxes and build parking garages. The point of this over arching metaphor is to understand that all these individuals had the opportunity to be like any of their counterparts, existing with all the same tools at hand. But instead saw an open world and chose to be the most heightened version of themselves, looking to push whatever attribute they value most in themself to the limit.

Glass Window Entertainment / 4PF

30. Rylo Rodriguez - Been One

One thing that will never get old in this rap thing is sports references. If you were a sports head at any point, then you’ll easily appreciate the left field, yet fitting punchlines that are packed with a warbling southern drawl carrying this project. The cleverness is appreciated and the placement of his references isn’t forced and flows seamlessly throughout the songs. It's almost like a side quest to tally them up or catch them while they are happening. Some of my favorite picks were “I was out in Houston, I went to readin' our old (Texans) texts”, “I don’t give a fuck where we at, Ben Simmons, I ain’t playin’ nowhere”, and “I thought you got past (pass) that, your actions givin' Matt Ryan". Been One contains a lot of bright spots and taps into pockets of emotional versatility that fits alongside so many rappers of his generation, and continues to be a draw for me into his growing catalog. “Free Game”, “Taylor Port Junkie”, and “Equal Dirt” add an extra layer of substance to Rylo’s work, demonstrating his ability to carry through with a theme while not compromising his quest for new pockets and flows. Every song continues to build upon his legend, and show what makes him valuable in the grand lanscape of Southern singer-rapper hybrids. - Tristen Swanson

Best Song: Equal Dirt
Best Beat: On Da Floor
For Fans Of: YTB Fatt, Kodak Black, Real Boston Richey
One Line: Boiled peanut raps for the soul.

10K Projects

29. Summrs - Stuck In My Ways

On this list alone there are multiple artists accused of sex crimes, weapons charges, aggravated assault, all the way down to petty social disturbances, and those are only the crimes that made it to media outlets. Summrs has been accused of multiple crimes and has flooded the market in an attempt to make people forget. Autumn! (who’s on this list as well) is from the same circle with similar grievances called against his name and following a similar tactic of flooding out music. For Autumn there’s a glowing review, but Summrs in many ways has been the poster boy of their scene. One burning from the inside with abusers gaining and losing and gaining and losing fanfare in a never ending cycle that restarts with every fresh burst of screenshots and photos from women claiming abuse hitting the internet. How do we talk about artists who time and again are accused of awful things? Personally, I don’t have a lot of answers to the questions following this, but these are ones I think we all have to at least acknowledge when dealing with artists like Summrs, and hopefully y'all can find your own answers. Are their collaborators deserving of blame for keeping them relevant? Their show promoters? The people designing their cover art? For standing by and actively getting money from a singular person who has allegedly committed sexual assault and grooming of minors, do they also have to get their names tarnished by association? Should we be shamed for listening as fans of music? Should we all just listen to ambient music instead? Is the album even good enough to garner such questioning? Frankly it’s one of the best collections of hollow ear candy since Dua Lipa caught fire. The production is full of plugg at it’s finest, handcrafted section to section with complex twinkling drums mixed down immaculately to every hertz. We as fans can separate the art from the artist if we so choose, but in actuality it doesn’t matter what stage of the morality Olympics we can get to internally to enjoy some songs when controlling our dollars, social media engagement and time spent streaming is what would out these people from the music world. Instead of ignoring art made by people who possibly are awful human beings, we’d rather make it be known who the person is and challenge fans to ask where their lines are, because everyone involved has already chosen a side. Now where do we go from here? - Anthony Seaman

Best Song: Relying On Roxy
Best Beat: Miles On You
For Fans Of: Playboi Carti, Ken Carson, and every other underground Soundcloud child with a mugshot or list of allegations.
One Line: How much candy do you have to eat before you hate yourself for not eating the fruit in your fridge?

Giant Music

28. Cash Cobain - Pretty Girls Love Slizzy

Nothing is more lonely than being a pioneer. You’re rolling solo in the great wilderness, touching plants no man has imagined, seeing the sky from an angle no one before you ever has. In the Drill universe, NY Drill has a short lifespan but has been a catalyst for expansion sonically that no other city has quite pinned down. At it’s core the music is aggression personified. Paranoid, powerful, and direct. Pop Smoke made it something palatable to casual rap fans, Ice Spice sprinkled together nonchalant attitude and feminine energy, now Cash Cobain is injecting stoic lust and melody into the equation. Sexy Drill as it has been dubbed is just as bouncy and scattered as traditional drill sounds. From his laptop to our headphones the OVO 40 indebted patches and pitched R&B samples are used as a foundation to take the sting out of the most violent genre in America, to become the background score for late night smoke sessions and dimly lit hookah lounges. The same ubiquitous sensuality that radiates from Jodeci deep cuts or contemporary afro-beats are the only comparable auras to the brash horned out yearnings of Cash Cobain. What separates sexy drill from either of these worlds is that their is no love, or even the effort to create an illusion of it. “You can ask Pitchfork i’m really that horny” is the standout bar of the entire tape, because it’s a mission statement that he’s lived by with no fluff to soften the message. As a rapper Cash fits somewhere between Don Toliver (who made the best R&B album of 2023) and the mellower side of Lil Durk. It’s the closest clash against the barrier of R&B and hip-hop since T-Pain was the biggest artist in the world, and he does it with a casual mastery of both sides. Will he ever bar you to death? No, cause the hoes ain’t here for bars. Instead he’s building tension by shooting couplets at you between 808 thumps, each one a different piece of game for every woman he gets within hearing distance of. - Anthony Seaman

Best Song: Not No Xanax 2
Best Beat: Nice N Slow
For Fans Of: Pretty Ricky, Ice Spice, PnB Rock
One Line: All those risky text messages you've ever typed and deleted of risk of coming off to strong finds a new home in his songs.

RCA

27. Young Nudy - Gumbo

It’s a simple formula; get the best beats, be as cool as possible, and be so charismatic your fans don’t even second guess the fire and brimstone within your words. Giggling in the face of every weapon formed against him, Young Nudy continues his immaculate run of mixtapes with his newest iridescent buffet of songs. While Dr. EV4L and Rich Shooter saw new personalities form into alternate beings within his artistry, the spirit of Gumbo is a formless fusing of mischievous tricks into every serving. Instead of narrowing in on one idea, he leans into the gumbo mentality; taking everything in the cupboard and making twisted magic with it. Hell, the highlights of many of his past projects have been songs named after food, so why not try to capture the magic for one full tape? The success of “Peaches & Eggplants” and its video took Nudy into a new realm of popularity, breaking him from cult hero to Billboard and mixshow mainstay thanks in part to the growing fame of older cousin 21 Savage bringing more eyes to the family’s newest hustle. The ode to ass shaking harnessed horndog fun that Cash Cobain makes a living off and showcased the goofball hiding behind a street demon. Shooters and the many ways they’ll find you are still a main form of conflict resolution throughout the lyrics, but luckily the amount of shrooms and weed he’s consuming these days keep him at ease. For such violent subject matter, there isn’t something more breezy and easy to put on and not force a skip on this whole list. It's a perfect song suite that doesn’t overthink a moment. More and more syrupy half-sung-half-rapped melodies have crept into his range as a vocalist metabolizing as “Passion Fruit” and “Portabella”. Go-to producer Coupe has outshined themself yet again, producing 10 tracks on the album with no misses. Even when Pi’erre Bourne dishes out a bouncing circus with “Pot Roast”, nothing Coupe fades to the back. Stringing together this many concise and high spirited affairs separates him from being just another street rapper. For Nudy songs aren’t just pawns to be used as means to a greater end (touring, merch, etc.), he’s a true creative that has spent years blunted in traps and unmarked vehicles all over the East Side of Atlanta and can tell you that story 10,000 different ways. Lights are shining brighter than ever on his works, and he’s using it to power into a more exploratory figure. - Anthony Seaman

Read more about Young Nudy and "Peaches & Eggplants" from our Songs Of The Summer article here.
Best Song: Passion Fruit
Best Beat: Shrimp
For Fans Of: Key Glock, 50 Cent, Gucci Mane
One Line: My go-to album for every party or car situation this whole year.

Tase Grip / Break All Records

26. Phiik & Lungs - Another Planet 4

Between every word in a verse is the slightest millisecond to process what was just said. It’s the reason we write sentences like this andnotsomethinglikethis. For clarity, for flow of reading, that space is needed. Phiik and Lungs have thrown that school of thought in a garbage disposal and reimagined the world in their own exaggerated image. They’re twin electrons whizzing faster than human understanding can process, ripping through those measly spaces we think we need so much. In their first full length presentation in the Another Planet series, breath control and flow are abstract concepts and actual long shot bars are the standard. You hear flecks of Action Bronson's most imaginative spirit (“first date was made awkward / the hash made everything weird / outpatient alcoholics out in the park before the meeting trying to stash beers”) enough to keep things playful, despite nothing they create being an inch short of serious craftsmanship. There’s few songs that go heavy on percussion to let the duo be shining stars of the show. When fireworks peel off into the night sky, the last thing you want is a rainbow or a group of trees blocking your view. Vocal loops and screeching strings created the kind of animated duress that only exists in Scooby Doo chase scenes. Just take a moment to soak up the comic book mischeif on the album cover (the best cover of the year in my book s/o Chop) For most rap fans this will be your most challenging listen this calendar year, hearing two heightened forces meet their equal in a sparring match where the respect is always palpable. These two are kindred spirits, devising new ways to amaze.  - Anthony Seaman
Best Song: When I Needed Someone
Best Beat: Worse Off Than Drug Addicts
For Fans Of: Busdriver, Al.Divino, Koncept Jack$on
One Line: The mechanical expertise of late career Eminem without the weight of a 50 year old mans’ personality ruining the show.

Columbia

25. Tyler The Creator - Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale EP

One of Tyler, The Creator’s greatest strengths is how great a student he is. He’s able to synthesize his influences, and after doing his calculations he screams “EUREKA!” and has new music. Much like Kanye West, he’s understood the need to evolve and morph, establishing and leaving behind different eras and styles that remain in present in the music’s skeletons but has otherwise been left behind. Thankfully, we got another 8 tracks of what’s arguably Tyler at his most honed and well practiced. The Estate Sale follows the mixtape feel of the original album, with “Heaven To Me” being a sped up version of John Legend’s Heaven beat. “Boyfriend, Girlfriend” is a summer jam that’s perhaps humbly called a demo with one of the best YG verses in years. “Dogtooth” is a breezy song that makes reference to the classic Loiter Squad Scared Straight skit. “Wharf Talk” is a modern reimagining of “Frontin’” with A$AP Rocky delivering an effortlessly smooth, almost Slick Rick-like verse. This deluxe is full of songs that feel like a summer cookout, but “Heaven To Me” and “Sorry Not Sorry” are the kind of very personal songs we’ve come to expect from him. “Heaven To Me” is one of his most genuine songs ever, from the handheld mic to the lovely future he imagines for himself both now and years ago, and “Sorry Not Sorry” acknowledges all his eras not only in his delivery and style, but the lyrics. It’s raw, real, and flawed but guess what? He’s not sorry. - G.N. Jones

Best Song: Sorry Not Sorry

Best Beat: Wharf Talk

For Fans Of: Pharrell's solo rap projects, Cam'ron, Slick Rick

One Line: The type of music to make you buy leather goods and complain about thread counts.

Columbia

24. Glokk40Spaz - Took The Biggest Risk

The leaders of the last generation of Atlanta kings always had one leg in a hyper-expressionistic scene while the other was swallowed by the trap-fueled streets. These sides have mostly splintered to where there is now no bridge. That was until Glokk40Spaz began his mixtape tear in 2022. Took The Biggest Risk isn’t the gold medalist in this spark of releases (Don’t Get Took Off 3 is a masterpiece) but it’s the perfect entry point for fans of the hyper destructive crash dummy tunes that got Ja Morant benched and the bouncy future trap ATLSensei and Popstar Benny! have made careers out of. Guns, drugs and crime are his happy place, and the technicolor swirls of plugg and glo beats dupe you into thinking that it’s a world you could survive in too. It’s not until that same themes are hollered over a blown out rage soundtrack (“Different Goals”) that you see his dreamworld is a warzone for the general population. Bits of ATL giants rear their heads in his raps; overlapping flows like Pablo Juan, the punchy similes of 21 Savage, the joyous destruction of PeeWee Longway. Atlanta vaulted to the mantle of rap royalty not because of individual mega-hits, but rather a continuous excellence that was self referential. Though just as quickly as this new spark to Atlanta was lit, it was dampened with his most recent return to jail for aggravated assault, robbery and weapons charges this summer. So much so that despite this being his major label debut, only a lone single and near zero promotion was done by the label. He's spoken from behind bars about a large vault of music being in trusted hands while he awaits trial and possible sentencing, but more than anything we're hopeful he'll be able to reap the benefits in full as a free man. - Anthony Seaman

Best Song: 3rd World

Best Beat: I Got A Army

For Fans Of: NBA Youngboy, Babydrill, Chief Keef

One Line: If you did everything he said in his lyrics you would get 5 stars in GTA in record time.

Loma Vista

23. Killer Mike - MICHAEL

There’s this false narrative that there is a difference between the South and the Deep South, where the experiences of someone in Arkansas would be viewed as different from someone in Virginia. In actuality it becomes a difference between rural, city, and suburban southerners. Killer Mike is from Atlanta, a place that has always been a Mecca for black business, but a few miles in either direction the busted city pavement becomes red clay roads and boiled peanut stands fast. Growing up he saw the dilapidated struggles of communities separated from a greater township, and rich people who looked just like him. Amongst he and all southerners is a fear or DNA level respect of God that every choice is born from. To him, his chosen purpose is to be an artist and for 20+ years he’s been an underground staple that’s seen the highs alongside Outkast and the lows of pushing mixtapes to gas stations along the chitlin circuit. With No ID helming the ship Mike has decided to minimize the decades of bravado, cash counting, and neo-liberal black capitalist rhetoric to show the man behind the preacher spirit in an MC’s shell. As a student of the game who owes his life to the music he’s finally giving his most prized possession back; himself, in the form of an operatic rap sermon. He’s in the beginning stages of vulnerability, casting light on stories that only existed between him and those involved from deciding to abort a child as a teen to befriending drug addicted family members while serving them their medicine of choice. Drilling across every organ run he calls out the transgressions of days past, asking for forgiveness to the Lord for every sin he committed to become a reborn soldier for the spirit of his fellow man. Over and over his rampant passion breaks through your being with a near mechanical control of his words. - Anthony Seaman
Best Song: Something For Junkies
Best Beat: Motherless
For Fans Of: Scarface, Chance The Rapper, Bun B
One Line: The chest pounding sibling to Jay-Z's 4:44

Manifest / GoodTalk / Good Money Global 

22. That Mexican OT - Lonestar Luchador

For years The Mexican OT has toiled away on the indie circuit trying to break into the larger Southern rap discussion by being a mimic. A gifted mimic, but a mimic nonetheless. Whether intentional or not the DNA of DaBaby and Kevin Gates overrode the singular genius that lied inside him. After a national breakout with Song Of The Summer contender “Johnny Dang”, the world was reintroduced into a mature creator who finally cracked his own code. As OT and rising stand up star Ralph Barbosa play commentators to the wrestling match of a lifetime you see the true crude comedic core that makes his music so magnetic. While the Texas rap has been stereotyped into car worshipping, lean sipping simplicity, there’s a deeper cultural context that exists that has been swept away. With modern country melodies, dexterous vocal tricks and trunk rattling drums marinated overnight into one another you can see a path forming for OT that others have yet to capitalize on while giving a tour through the last 24 years of his life. Morgan Wallen and Kane Brown monopolized the Billboard charts with hip-hop inspired country ditties, a formula that has now been flipped on its head; what if rappers used the topline melodies the way the gold ole boys have co-opted our low end? “Breannan” is the best proof of concept, a heartbreaking recollection of being crossed by a woman. As much as melody is wielded to perfection, it isn’t a crutch to make up for lack of traditional rap skills. “Groovin’ (Remix)” is a horn filled boom bap jam, “Cowboy In New York” is a Mobb Deep repress, and “Opp Or 2” is a candy coated dogfight with Maxo Kream. Lonestar Luchador is a one stop general store for whatever your heart desires. Regret, red clay blues-rap, and half-serious gleeful power vocals can be found on the same shelf right next to Slim Thug indebted jewelry tunes and regional Mexicana. - Anthony Seaman

Read more about That Mexican OT and "Johnny Dang" in our Songs Of The Summer article here.
Best Song: Johnny Dang
Best Beat: Barrio
For Fans Of: Riff Raff, PeeWee Longway, BigXthaPlug
One Line: Every purchase of a physical copy should come with an airbrush tee shirt and an oversized belt buckle.

Quality Control / Motown

21. Quavo - Rocket Power

The bedrock of Atlanta has been shaken to near destruction of the last 2 years between the YSL trial, the deaths of Lil Keed and Trouble, and rappers who were set to be kings falling short of expectations. But before Keed, before Young Thug, before 21 Savage, before Metro Boomin, before Lil Yachty, there were the Migos. Takeoff, nephew of Quavo and cousin (but not really cousin) to Offset was murdered November 1st of 2022, and had long been called the soul of the group and the reason the trio even began rapping. In dedication to his late nephew Rocket Power is as close to true reflection and pain that a partying hitmaker like Quavo can muster. Much like the cosmos that the cover pays homage to (in part referencing the intergalactic joyride Takeoff was on for his The Last Rocket album cover) his sophomore solo effort has a base level of darkness but the diamond like glitter of stars keep hope alive. BNYX’s darkwave trap beats are prominent on the album, finding Quavo at the right moment to utilize them. The vulnerability from an artist who has made a name off a cartoonish presentation of a jewelry obsessed rap crooner is shocking and brings new depth to a career that was always a good time, but shallow at its core. In many ways it’s the rap equivalent of the way Jonah Hill went from comedic ham to a more serious thespian type with elite comedic powers ala Moneyball and Wolf Of Wall Street. The core of themselves is being a fun guy and still exists in everything they do, but the world around it is much more tense and realistic than ever. Dedications to Takeoff are on nearly every song, alongside praises for the family and friends around him today keeping him in high spirits through the toughest time in his life swap out the Gucci Man pastiche of long days bagging drugs and longer nights in parties.  - Anthony Seaman

Best Song: Mama Told Me

Best Beat: Fueled Up

For Fans Of: Juice WRLD, Young Thug, NAV

One Line: Everything around Quavo is crumbling, and for the first time he’s speaking of what he’s really feeling, not just living through.

Kemosabe / RCA

20. Doja Cat - Scarlet

Eminem was probably the last pop mega-star to so openly speak out about frustrations with not only fan culture at large, but taking aim at the para-social relationships their top .005% Spotify streamers have with them specifically. The stans that flood comment sections about her alt-right dating history, associations with abusers like Dr. Luke, and her new “demonic” persona have caused her to become so frustrated to the point she wanted to make a rap album to create a cushion from the pop zeitgeist and the devotees attached. She can calls them out with a subtle comedy that takes the edge of her rawest emotions, but will just as quickly say fuck it and delivery blunted venom for them to sip on. Her core values of pop-R&B songwriting still collude with her rap persona in nearly every song, keeping a porous membrane between these fragments of herself. Being extremely online is the foreground for her persona as well as her consumption and presentation of music. From her breakout hit “Mooo” to being in racial chat rooms showing feet, being tapped into the world wide web has done everything positive and negative for her, including fuel inspiration stylistically across this digital rap-pop hybrid album. “Agora Hills” is a perfect record for a myriad of reasons, but at the peak of the iceberg is her channeling the snappy “too cool to care” eye rolling it-girl character that Kilo Kish perfected when Terry Richardson photoshoots were peaking on Tumblr. “Often” sounds like a B-Side from The Internet’s Ego Death, “Love Life” is a cadence not far removed from Tyler The Creator. There's sprinkles of boom-bap traditionalism, and even a tongue-in-cheek takes on contemporary rap. To make a project to spur people who are living life too deeply on their phones by embodying aesthetics that were born and bred solely on desktops is an ironic generational beef that is merited and a long time coming. Honestly everybody should just go for a hike in the woods, and do it while playing “Balut”. - Anthony Seaman

Best Song: Agora Hills

Best Beat: Shutcho

For Fans Of: Odd Future, Kilo Kish, Nicki Minaj

One Line: An album for anyone who knows what A/S/L means and could code a music player into their Tumblr page.

Wikiset Enterpise

19. Wiki & Tony Seltzer - 14k Figaro

There’s been a resurgence in trend of one rapper+one producer projects in hip hop recently and it’s nice to see collabs that are a bit more out of left field. Wiki and Tony Seltzer are a match you wouldn’t think of, but one that makes sense in practice, like french fries dipped in a milkshake. Tony pulls glitchy, stuttering beats that sound like they could have fit on Ratking’s wonderful 700-Fill mixtape, which is funny considering longtime Wiki and Ratking collaborator Remy Banks also makes an appearance. Wiki being in his natural habitat frees him up to reminisce about the Polo that defined his childhood, the fried ice cream he used to eat (over a Raekwon sample with the weirdest of the Bruiser Brigade’s weirdos ZelooperZ), and make the connection between the cherry-eyed frog on the cover to his own metamorphosis. It’s like sitting with a friend, drinking and remembering the good ol’ days.  - G.N. Jones

Read more about Wiki and 14k Figaro from our November edition of Rapper Of The Month here.

Best Song: RL

Best Beat: Purity

For Fans Of: Papo2oo4, Heems, WiFi Gawd

One Line: He once claimed to be the mayor of his town, but now he's acting as a watchful tour guide through it.

RRR Music Group

18. YL - Don't Feed The Pigeons

Joe Budden has historically been one of the worst dressed rappers to ever step foot on a red carpet, and his most infamous look is probably him wearing the Houston Rockets foot-sketball jersey. Blacked out Yankee fitted to the side ala T.I., long sleeve fleece underneath, it’s an all time head scratcher of a choice. Everything YL stands for is the exact opposite of that yet so deeply indebted to that time period. Oversized tees, fitted caps, rare throwback jerseys, you name it. When Fabolous was actually cool he would have shopped in YL’s closet as a return for YL running off with the calculated cool guy persona he built many a hit song off of. For 19 tracks the Chelsea native revisits every sound he’s already trained within, now with the edges sanded down to perfection. It's an elegant and silky effort, where anything too gaudy is stripped away in the style of a big tent pop album; there's just the perfect amount of interesting parts in motion but it's never overbearing. "Last Man Standing" is the sepia toned transition tunes playing behind a morning montage of a stoner prepping to leave his home. This aim for angelic subtlety becomes more clear when Ankhlejohn barrels in on "Nothing Changed". It's a rare pebble in the shoe moment within a project that makes its bones on smoothness. While rarely lifting his voice, the life and times of New York’s most dashing nostalgist lives over a buffet sampler of the undergrounds most known unknowns. Roper Williams, JUNIE., Zoomo, and Eyedress are headliners in the credit section, all of which have been work horses across the internets analog adoring rap scenes, giving their smoothest selections for this career spanning project.  - Anthony Seaman

Best Song: Tearz
Best Beat: Open Arms

For Fans Of: Slum Village, Lord Jah-Monte Ogbon, Fly Anakin
One Line: That feeling when you're on an airplane and the seatbelt lights ding on showing the flight is at a cruising altitude and you open the window for the first time to see the beauty of the little world beneath you.

Wavy Gang / Empire

17. Babyface Ray - Summer's Mine

Babyface Ray is the hometown hero the way only a stud running back in the SEC can truly relate to. After grinding through different generations of Detroit sounds, collaborating with every player in the city's historic rap scene, the last few years saw him come out as the people champ. He’s your favorite Detroit rapper's favorite Detroit rapper. After releasing the companion projects FACE and MOB in 2022, forcing his stardom spread nationwide, Summer’s Mine feels like a low stakes victory lap, a pace Ray strives in. While the previous albums were attempts to branch out and test the limits of himself as an artist, Summer’s Mine lets the simple joys of great beats and a whole lot of playalistic shit talking take the lead. Getting back to his bread and butter, “All Star Team” and “Skateland” hit hard on classic sweaty electro samples while Ray take the opportunity to flip them into 2 minute flex sessions. “Bosses Linking With Bosses” is a bare knuckle brawl with mega-star in the making and Wavy twin Veeze. “Donda Bag” is a stormy reminder of the kingdom he built for his family and enjoying the spoil from his years of hustling. Though he alludes to the idea that being a rap star is just a pitstop in his journey on “I Can’t Rap Foreva”, for this moment there isn’t a voice in Detroit that echoes from the charts through the streets like Ray. - Anthony Seaman
Best Song: Luh Tyler Flow
Best Beat: Donda Bag
For Fans Of: Payroll Giovanni, ALLBLACK, CEO Trayle
One Line: A victory lap for arguably the most popular torchbearer of the Detroit scene.

Cactus Jack / Epic

16. Travi$ Scott - Utopia

It was revealed in an article from NoBells that Utopia, an album that has supposedly been slow roasted in Travi$’ laptop as he refocused on self-producing and traveled the world before eventually ducked away after the deaths and maiming of dozens at his Astroworld festival, that 10 tracks had been confirmed leaks from Kanye sessions dating back to the Yeezus era. Some cadences and beats stayed the same, though extra layers were draped over the leftovers to give it the Travi$ spin. As a standalone piece it pales in comparison to every full length effort from the Houston superstar, yet still holds enough subversions to keep it interesting. In the universe that has been orchestrated bellowing reverb and jarringly blank patches of production let every sound breath with purpose. Being a great writer has never been Travi$’ strong suit (the man has time and again shown he has the depth of a shot glass) yet as a performer he’s mastered the balance between producer, instrument and vocalist. The Dave Chappelle and Yung Lean lead “Parasail”, and the Frank Ocean indebted and Sampha featuring “My Eyes” exude the most emotion of any songs in his catalog. Every sound or vocal modulation is either pushing or pulling tension in the direction of verses that are either hedonistic galivants across the globe or even cursory mentions of internal “demons”. What was meant to be the ultimate comeback proved exactly what Travi$ Scott the entity means to people; indifference to the person who has shown time and again indifference on anything of merit, but interest in music that always ends up entertaining even if it is just amalgamations of things done by people so much more talented than him. - Anthony Seaman
Best Song: My Eyes
Best Beat: God’s Country
For Fans Of: Metro Boomin, Donda-era Kanye West, SAINt JHN
One Line: The Uncanny Valley version of Kanye’s 2016-Present catalog.

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

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