Just realized there was not really a "best of" thread...

There was this mid-year check-in:
https://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=5&topic_id=3046934&mesg_id=3046934&listing_type=search

My listening was very sporadic in quantity this year but I've just started trying to put together a list. I'll come back soon to share.


-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

Uncle Murda - Grimey

https://youtu.be/DJB2TS673t4?si=xsZhVGbfy7xaZ8cU

I still haven’t checked for a lot of 2024 albums but I did find a few gems like the one above

https://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=4&topic_id=13515090&mesg_id=13515090&page=

Mine...No real order...

Glass Beams "Mahal"
Paten Locke "Dance on my Grave"
Nala Sinephro "Endlessness"
Common & Pete Rock "The Auditorium Vol. 1"
Jessica Pratt "Here In The Pitch"
Brother Ali "Love & Service"
Masta Ace & Marco Polo "Richmond Hill"
Mabe Fratti "Sentir Que No Sabes"
Aaron Frazer "Into the Blue"

...and still trying to catch up on a lot, great year...

Integrity is the Cornerstone of Artistry...

Elucid- Revelator
Cavalier- Different Type Time (Cine is good too, just haven't had as much time with it)
Common- Auditorium
Kendrick- GNX
Blu- Out of the Blue
Rap Ferreira- First to Make Contact When we Dap
Ab Soul- Soul Burger (shit is really good...getting slept on. Might be his best album to me)
Lupe- Samurai
Schoolboy Q- Blue Lips
Mach Hommy
Nappy Nina- Nothing is my Favorite Thing
Hester Valentine- make me, make me
Let the Dirt Say Amen- Jesus Lightskin Superstar (might have dropped late last year but oh well)
Tokyo Cigar- All the Scars were Gorgeous

I can't listen to the new KA yet.

Blu's other albums were also really good, but Out of the Blue was the best to me. I like when he leans into his weird side.

I KNOW I'm forgetting some.

Common/Pete - Auditorium Vol. 1
Blu and Exile - Love (the) Ominous World
Kendrick - GNX
Skyzoo - Keep Me Company
Kooley High/Tuanie - All Infinite
Mach-Homme - RichAxxHaitian
LL Cool J - The Force
Redman - Muddy Waters Too
Freeway/Jake One - Stimulus Package 2
Benny the Butcher - Everybody Can’t Go

I probably forgot something. There’s still albums from artists that I like, that I haven’t listened to yet. Vince Staples, ScHoolboyQ, Rome Streetz, Ransom/Conway, Cunninglynguists….i haven’t listened to any of those. Probably more that I forgot or didn’t realize dropped too.

Conductor Williams -Conductor We Have a Problem Pt. 3

I enjoy the whole album, but Hell in a Hellcat with Elzhi is so dope. Really makes me anticipate their collab album.

Boldy James/Conductor - Across the Tracks
Sean Boog/Rob Viktum - Neuroscience
Dogg Pound - WAWG

Thank those for contributing but this place at the very least always could talk about music.

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

But yeah, we usually have a lot more chiming in on these type of posts.

And every time it happens, we lose a few more folks.

And since there aren't many of us left, any absence is pretty visible!

I still need to add to this post here, though. I'll do that this weekend.

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

Here are some of the hip hop albums I've liked this year. What I've listened to the most are probably Mach-Hommy and Cavs albums.

Mach-Hommy - #RICHAXXHAITIAN
R.A.P. Ferreira & Fumitake Tamura - the First Fist to Make Contact When We Dap
Cavalier, Quelle Chris & Denmark Vessey - Death Tape 2: We Gon' Need Each Other
klwn cat & Sunmundi - Lived and Born
Blackchai - Year Wandering
Roc Marciano - Marciology
Cavalier - Different Type Time
Akai Solo - Only The Strong Remain
Previous Industries - Service Merchandise
Navy Blue - Memoirs In Armour
Mavi - shadowbox
Ka - The Theif Next To Jesus
E L U C I D - REVELATOR
Cavalier & Child Actor - CINE
K-The-I??? & Kenny Segal - Genuine Dexterity

I really like his stuff.

Sault - Acts of Faith
Sonny Miles - Gamma
NxWxrries - Why Lawd?
Rae Khalil - Crybaby
Potato Head People - Eat Your Heart Out
Bilal - Adjust Brightness
BeMyFiasco - Pretty Little Love
Nicolay - Terra Firma
Khal!l - HEART: Melodies of the Eternal Flame

Me and OKP Squeeg recently published the first two parts of our best of 2024 podcast. We recorded it later than intended, but they're still worth listening to. Even though most of the rest of the year sucked, music in 2024 was absolutely awesome.

Part 1: Our top 5 songs of 2024
https://www.mixcloud.com/returntozero/the-2024-returnies-pt-1-our-favorite-songs-102-142025/

We each count down and play our five favorite hip-hop songs of the year.

Part 2: Top 10 albums of the year.
https://www.mixcloud.com/returntozero/the-2024-returnies-pt-2-our-favorite-albums-103-142025/

Counting down each of our top 10 albums. We play a song from each, so it adds to the episodes length.

Check them out and give them a listen.

-----------------

www.albumism.com

Checkin' Our Style, Return To Zero:

https://www.mixcloud.com/returntozero/

Favorites / What I listened to the most, though not qualitatively the best:

NxWorries - Why Lawd?
Larry June - Doing it for Me
THe Smile - Wall of Eyes
Khruangbin - A La Sala
Sonny Miles- Gamma
SiR - Heavy
Beyonce - Cowboy Carter
Rapsody - Please Don't Cry


My old boy from the Point, but I'm from Southwest

I gotta go back to Rapsody, I think I only listened once and it didn’t really grab me, but I should give it more time.

I like a lot of the Beyonce album too.

I'm trying to set myself up so that I have an almost done list and just need to see where December ones line up but still took me a while to get to this.

Common & Pete Rock - The Auditorium, Vol. 1
Aaron Frazer - Into the Blue
The Marías - SUBMARINE
Kendrick Lamar - GNX
Omar Apollo - God Said No
Blu & Exile - LOVE (the) OMINOUS WORLD
Jorja Smith - falling or flying: reimagined
Michael Kiwanuka - Small Changes
Lucky Daye - Algorithm
Killer Mike - Michael & The Mighty Midnight Revival: Songs For Sinners & Saints
SZA - SOS Deluxe: LANA
Lupe Fiasco - Samurai
Sinead Harnett - BOUNDARIES
Skyzoo & The Other Guys - The Mind of a Saint (Deluxe)
Tyler, The Creator - CHROMAKOPIA

Honorable mentions, I was going to include these and dropped them in the end
Skyzoo - Keep Me Company
Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk

Little Homies by Vince Staples is probably my favorite track of the year. Good album but not quite good enough.

“The Thief Next to Jesus” by Ka
“Different Type Time” & “CINE” by Cavalier
“The Stimulus Package 2” by Freeway & Jake One
“Love (the) Ominous World” by Blu & Exile
“Hatton Garden Holdup” by Rome Streetz & Daringer
“RICHAXXHAITIAN” BY Mach-Hommy
“Marciology” by Roc Marciano
“Please Don’t Cry” by Rapsody
“Blue Lips” by Schoolboy Q
“Keep Holly Alive” by Mutant Academy
“Nothing is my Favorite Thing” by Nappy Nina
“Richmond Hill” by Masta Ace & Marco Polo
“You Only Die 1nce” by Freddie Gibbs
"GNX" by Kendrick Lamar,
"Grxce" by Grand Nationxl
YUNG MORPHEUS & Alexander Spit "WAKING UP AND CHOOSING VIOLENCE"
CRIMEAPPLE & Apollo Brown "This, Is Not That"
City Slikka & Mysterious Gaines "Stained Glass"
LARUSSELL “From Vallejo With Love”
BLK ODYSSY “1-800-FANTASY”
Rae Khalil “Crybaby”
NxWorries “Why Lawd?”
Mk.Gee “Two Star & The Dream Police”
Jack White “No Name”

This was a really great year for hip-hop. And the list of albums reflects that. My #1 and #2 were clear, but damn near everything after that was REALLY close. There are two albums that didn't make my top 10 that at one point I was sure were going to be #1. So, esssentially, the gap between #1 and #30 (in terms of quality) isn't that big.

Okay, so first, the top 30:

Freddie Gibbs – You Only Die 1nce
Vince Staples – Dark Times
Blu & Exile – Love (the) Ominous World
Your Old Droog – Movie
Gangrene – Heads I Win, Tails You Lose
Kendrick Lamar – RNX
Common & Pete Rock – The Auditorium Vol. 1
Kurious – The Majican
Ka – The Thief Next To Jesus
Roc Marciano – Marciology
Mach-Hommy - #RICHAXXHAITIAN
Masta Ace & Marco Polo – Richmond Hill
Previous Industries – Service Merchandise
Boldy James & Conductor Williams – Across the Tracks
Ab-Soul – Soul Burger
DJ Muggs & Raz Fresco – The Eternal Now
Talib Kweli & J. Rawls – The Confidence of Knowing
Midnight Sons – Money Has No Owners
Roc Marciano & Alchemist – Skeleton Key
Rapsody – Please Don’t Cry
Freeway & Jake One – Stimulus Package 2
Blu & Evidence – Los Angeles
Dillon & Batsauce – What Have We Done
Big Hit, Hit-Boy, and Alchemist – Black & Whites
Cavalier – Different Type Time
Apathy – Connecticut Casual Chapter 2
Larry June – Doing It For Me
Alaska & Steel Tipped Dove – Reverberations of a Dead Man’s Ego
Chris Crack – Online Shoplifting
Paten Locke – Dance On Your Grave

Here's another 20, many of which could have easily made the top 30:

LL Cool J & Q-Tip – The Force
MC Lyte – 1 of 1
MC Juice, All Natural & Georgia Anne Muldrow – CALIsthenics
Tha Dogg Pound – WAWG
Stress Eater – Everybody Eats!
Lu Chin Chen – Dangerous Solution
Apollo Brown & Crimeapple – This Is Not That
Brother Ali & Unjust – Love & Service
Rome Streetz & Daringer – Hatton Garden Holdup
Schoolboy Q – Blue Lips
Marv Won – I’m Fine, Thanks For Asking
Fashawn & Little Vic – Carte Blanche
Boldy James & Nicolas Craven – Penalty of Leadership
Bruiser Wolf – My Stories Have Stories
Lupe Fiasco – Samurai
Moses Rockwell & Plain Old Mike – Regular Henry Sessions
Blu & Shafiq Husayn – Out of the Blue
Hus Kingpin & 9th Wonder – The Super Goat
Cavalier & Child Actor – Sine

Plus another 25 that I liked quite a bit:

Elcamino & Real Bad Man – The Game is the Game
ANKHLEJOHN - Pride Of A Man
Westside Gunn – Stay Praying
Conway the Machine – Slant Face Killah
Heems & Lapgan – Lafandar
Eddie Kaine & Big Ghost Ltd. – Last Exit to Crookyln
ShrapKnel & Controller 7 – No One’s Planning to Leave
Jay Worthy & DJ Fresh – The Tonite Show 2
Kooley High – All Infinite
Awon & Phoniks – Golden Era 2
Real Bad Man & Lukah – Temple Needs Water, Village Needs Peace
Tyler, the Creator – Chromacopia
Skyzoo – Keep Me Company
Elucid – Revolator
Mutant Academy – Keep Holly Alive
Da Beatminerz – Stifled Creativity
JPEG Mafia – I Lay My Life Down For You
Ol’ Burger Beats – 74: Out of Time
Sleepingdogs – Never Gonna Dance Again
Grafh & 38 Spesh – God’s Timing
Tha God Fahim & Cookin Soul – Supreme Dump Legend: Soul Cook Saga
Big Hit, Hit-Boy, and The Game – Paisley Dream
Kurious – Mystery Mixtape
RJD2 – Visions Out of Limelight
A$AP Ferg - DAROLD


Finally, 10 really dope EPs:

Blu & Roy Royal– Royal Blu
Abstract Museum & Guilty Simpson – Block Runners
Oddisee – And Yet Still
The Alchemist – Genuine Article
Da Buze Bruvaz – Da Trigga Twinz
Blueprint – Falling Down
Guilty Simpson & Kong the Artisan – Giants of the Fall
Tha Eastsidaz – Still Easty
Smoke DZA & DJ Relly Rel – You’re All Welcome
H4zardous – Locally Sourced

-----------------

www.albumism.com

Checkin' Our Style, Return To Zero:

https://www.mixcloud.com/returntozero/