Two months ago, I tweeted: “Best year of hip-hop. EVER. #2024.” and the Internet’s feisty commentators tore me up. Pardon my excitement and wild proclamation, but I haven’t felt this good about the state of rap music since life before the pandemic. The 2020s have stunk — until now. What’s not to love today? Older rappers like Nas are showing and proving that great lyricists don’t have a retirement age. The historic, long-awaited showdown between Aubrey “Drake” Graham and Kendrick Lamar Duckworth lived up to the hype and transcended it. Plus, I’ve lost count of how much terrific content Future and Metro Boomin can cook up.
Still, everybody can’t get a trophy. It’s time to recognize the best of the best. I dare you to disagree. Ha! Spoiler alert: No Ye. No Q. No Vince Staples. No J. Cole on my albums list. You got a problem with that? Turn that frown upside down and turn the music up. Here’s the best hip-hop songs and albums of 2024, so far.
10. Nas & DJ Premier — “Define My Name” (Mass Appeal)
Three decades since working together on his classic debut, Illmatic, Queenbridge’s finest reconnects with Preemo for some classic Big Apple boom bap. Hopefully the promise of a future full-length project between the hall-of-fame duo comes to fruition.
9. Bossman Dlow — “Mr. Pot Scraper” (Alamo/Sony)
One of hip-hop’s most celebrated freshmen, Big Za has got plenty of digestible dope boy raps, but this one is the best. He’s a hustler, baby.
8. Anycia — “Back Outside” Feat. Latto (Anycia/UnitedMasters)
What’s better than one good Atlanta female MC? Two. Newcomer Nene gets a big assist from ATL Birthday Bash headliner, Latto. The fellas better pay attention — you don’t wanna piss these ladies off.
7. Cash Cobain — “Fisherr” Feat. Bay Swag (Giant)
Bronx-bred rapper/producer, Slizzy takes his sexy drill NY sound nationwide with this irresistibly catchy, tender ode to young love. Should you play this one multiple times? For sure.
6. 21 Savage — “Redrum” (Slaughter Gang/Epic)
Murderous material made by a mad man? Yeah, that’s a pretty good summation of Savage’s haunting anthem, which pays homage to the horror classic movie, The Shining. And I still can’t believe that’s Usher at the end, gettin’ his “Vincent Price on Thriller” on.
5. Sexyy Red — “Get It Sexxy” (Open Shift/Gamma)
It’s a rallying cry to act ratchet as Ms. “Pound Town” stomps all over producer Tay Keith’s kinetic track. Whoop! Whoop!
4. GloRilla — “Yeah Glo” (CMG/Interscope)
Suffice it to say, this self-affirmation selection slaps. Who can resist cheering along to this assertive chorus? Go, Gloria!
3. Drake — “Family Matters” (OVO/Universal Repubic)
Before ultimately losing his intense exchange with rival Kendrick Lamar, Drizzy captivated with this sonic triumvirate of lyrical warfare. Too bad that he probably foreshadowed another K Dot Grammy triumph.
2. Future & Metro Boomin — “Like That” Feat. Kendrick Lamar (Wilburn Holding/Boominati/Epic)
Over Metro aka hip-hop’s best producer’s best beat, Compton’s most wanted deads all comparisons to Aubrey and Jermaine and declares his dominant position. There can only be one.
1. Kendrick Lamar — “Not Like Us” (Kendrick Lamar/Interscope)
It’s a diss song and a hit song. Over DJ Mustard’s masterful canvas, King Kendrick simultaneously ends hip-hop’s greatest beef and empowers the West Coast hip-hop scene. A true victory lap.
10. Mach-Hommy — #RichAxxHaitian (Mach-Hommy)
Hip-hop’s most mysterious MC delivers a musically diverse magnum opus that commands your attention from beginning to end.
9. Flo Milli — Fine Ho, Stay (‘94 Sounds/RCA)
Anchored by her biggest single, “Never Lose Me,” Flo defies sophomore jinx pressure and captivates with her most compelling body of work to date.
8. Benny The Butcher — Everybody Can’t Go (5 To 50/Def Jam)
With a co-sign from West Coast icon, Snoop Dogg, this Griselda spitter subtly takes his signature gritty raps to new heights. Growth is good.
7. Rapsody — Please Don’t Cry (We Each Other/Jamla/Roc Nation)
You can’t handle the truth? Too bad. Marlena Evans bares her mind and soul on this sprawling but still soothing soundtrack.
6. Bossman Dlow — Mr. Beat The Road (Alamo/Sony)
A ferocious force from Florida, Dlow delivers a riveting, raw mixtape that moves him one step closer to mainstream exposure.
5. A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie — Better Off Alone (Highbridge/Atlantic)
New York’s most consistent MC of the past seven years releases his best album and you all lame out? Don’t let the low numbers fool you, The Artist is on his A-Game here.
4. Gunna — One Of Wun (YSL/300)
Although his career remains riddled in controversy as long as Young Thug is on trial, Gunna remains musically unfazed, following his should’ve-been-Grammy-nominated 2023 album, A Gift & A Curse, with a melodic masterwork that only he could put together.
3. 21 Savage — American Dream (Slaughter Gang/Epic)
Fresh off his successful collab album with Drake, Her Loss, Savage subtly addresses his immigration saga and delivers his most cohesive collection of music.
1. TIE: Future & Metro Boomin — We Don’t Trust You + We Still Don’t Trust You (Wilburn Holding/Boominati/Epic)
How can I choose? Same foundational premise: “The elimination of Drake.” Ha! But the execution is pure flawless excellence on both sides. We Don’t uses Mobb Deep’s Prodigy as a muse, as the two Atlanta heavyweights set their mark in hip-hop history. The follow-up, We Still Don’t, hearkens back to 2017’s HNDRXX as Pluto proves his singing can be just as potent as his rhymes. The aftermath of these two releases still resonates, as it single-handedly led to the Kendrick-Drake showdown. Future and Metro did the impossible. Then they did it twice.