The 20 best hip-hop albums of 2021
Our list of the 20 best hip-hop albums of 2021 includes (L to R): Row 1: Lil Nas X, Polo G, Tyler, the Creator, J. Cole, Nas. Row 2: Little Simz, Meek Mill, Isaiah Rashad, Czarface & MF DOOM, Backxwash. Row 3: Vince Staples, Wale, Your Old Droog, BROCKHAMPTON, Aesop Rock and Blockhead. Row 4: Frank Waln, JPEGMAFIA, Injury Reserve, DMX, Ho99o9.
There’s still a pandemic, but we can’t wallow in the negative; life is short so let’s focus on the positives. Here are the 20 best hip-hop albums in 2021 that made the ride a little easier, with the likes of Lil Nas X, J. Cole, Nas, Polo G and Tyler, the Creator.
While Lil Nas X doesn’t top this list, he made one of the biggest statements, providing countless doubters wrong. A bunch of these also made out overall best albums list, too. But let’s not spoil the surprise.
20. Meek Mill – Expensive Pain
The superficial veneer of success as a means to attaining happiness is a sentiment many artists have touched on this year. Meek Mill speaks on issues of trust pertaining to friends and family as he finds himself getting richer, while contending with conflicting desires to use his fortunes to support those closest to him. It’s a difficult catch-22 for anyone to contend with. Considering the turbulence of the last few years that Meek has dealt with, it only makes sense that the toll on his mental state was considerable.
Favorite Line: “All of my money is new, all my money is blue/ Riddle me this, I’m supposed to go get money/ And keep doin’ favors, and give all my money to who?” — “Blue Notes 2”
19. Frank Waln – In the Key of Lakota
Frank Waln brutally lambasts the sustained systemic cruelty of European colonialism and racism that continues to affect indigenous people to this day on In the Key of Lakota. He incorporates native instruments throughout the album’s production, while speaking to the injustices that indigenous people face. He doesn’t mince words. This is true resistance music in every sense, as Waln also extends solidarity to the people of Flint, Michigan, as well as Palestinians.
Favorite Line: “Some call it reservation, some call it concentration/ Concentrating the trauma of genocide up in a nation/ The system murders us, call it premeditation” — “Concentration Camp Blues”
18. Isaiah Rashad – The House Is Burning
The ambient, dreamlike quality of TDE legend Isaiah Rashad’s highly anticipated sophomore album swallows listeners whole as they enter his mind. The album details Rashad’s struggles with trauma, substance abuse and more. It’s a clear metaphor for his tormented state, and many will find kinship with his complex and brooding prose right now.
Favorite Line: “Yeah, I tell a bitch eat it like Doja Cat/ You see the wrist, whip it like Bouldercrest/ I got a crib bigger than Budapest/ And the shots ain’t bringing my soldier back” — “Headshots (4r Da Locals)”
17. Ho99o9 – Ho99o9 presents Territory: Turf Talk, Vol. 1
Ho99o9 (pronounced Horror) has been leading the way in punk-rap, fusing genres in ways few other artists have been able to match. There are elements of industrial and electronica, to boot. This newest release is a smorgasbord of collaborations with rappers and punk artists alike, including Pussy Riot. These guys have rubbed elbows with everyone from JPEGMAFIA to clipping, and they seriously deserve more recognition.
Favorite Line: “Fuck that he say, she say, we say shit/ Judgment day y’all suck a dick/ Cheetah shirt, black nails, hair slicked back like DJ Quick/ Now didn’t yo mama tell you don’t play with fire/ Pop shit, see you in person, you a god damn liar” — “Mind Yo Bizness”
16. Backxwash – I Lie Here with My Rings and My Dresses
Backxwash returns with another intense release that expands upon the themes of last year’s God Has Nothing to Do with This Leave Him Out of It, and brings a more of a wrathful energy. She examines issues of social isolation and displacement that many trans people have experienced as a result of rejection from their family and peers when coming out. She continues to invoke religion, seeing it as a ball and chain for the pain with which many trans people grapple.
Favorite Line: “I wonder if I’m in love with the shame/ Numb it away, but I always got somethin’ to say/ Back then I took a bump in the face/ To feel dead like my government name” — “TERROR PACKETS”
By the Time I Get to Phoenix came as a mission of grief following the passing of Injury Reserve’s Steppa J Groggs in 2020. But with the majority of the album complete, MC Ritchie With a T and producer Parker Corey persevered in releasing it. From the abrasive production to the politically charged and panicked lyrical content, the album captures the chaos and misery that colored the hellish circumstances of 2020.
Favorite Line: “Auntie say she can go for four years and come back just breaded/ Said they’re payin’ folks to keep it clean and everyone fed, shit/ Oh, you gon’ wait on some Bruce Wayne-ass —, on some Alfred shit/ Nah, more like Geoffrey Butler, haven’t you seen Fresh Prince kid?” — “SS San Francisco”
The Off Season sees J. Cole stepping back to look inward while sharing his observations on street life and its impact on the people involved. The album deals with the guilt and anxiety experienced by those who live with violence firsthand, as J. Cole delivers his own equivalent of a Dostoevsky novel.
Favorite Line: “This shit pop off, I learned to duck under the canopy/ ‘Til it cool off, they marked a—right in front of me/ Told him to come off his chain for tryna floss/ Died over a cross just like the start of Christianity” — “p u n c h i n ‘ . t h e . c l o c k”
13. JPEGMAFIA – LP!
JPEGMAFIA is out for blood on LP! with vicious lines of attack that can catch anybody. The experimental hip-hop heavyweight spares no one as he skewers his peers and public figures alike. He even interpolates Britney Spears’ “…Baby One More Time.” Due to some licensing issues, there are two versions of this album out there—online and offline. That said, either one is an absolute treat for those looking for something to grit their teeth to.
Favorite Line: “I know why you hate, ’cause you don’t feel safe in your own apartment/ I know why you hate, ’cause you know you lame even though you’re balling/ I see the bitch in you—I know that’s common/ The money can’t change how a bitch—started” — “TIRED, NERVOUS & BROKE!”
It’s almost time to say goodbye to hip-hop’s favorite boy-band, BROCKHAMPTON, which released its penultimate album. The album isn’t afraid to address the emotional weight of loss that the members of the band have struggled with, while also delivering some razor-sharp social and political critiques throughout. It would be nice to see the members go forward with successful careers of their own; something akin to Odd Future.
Favorite Line: “All-American self hatred runs deep/ White boys all I see whenever I sleep/ — think I think these thoughts on purpose/ But I knew ’bout *NSYNC ‘fore cash could rule me” — “DON’T SHOOT UP THE PARTY”
11. Vince Staples – Vince Staples
Vince Staples has been hard at work between writing a graphic novel and developing a Netflix series, while continuing to release new music. This concise LP packs it in as he raps about his past and present ties to the streets, and how it colors all aspects of his life. It should definitely hold fans over until he follows up with the previously announced Ramona Park Broke My Heart.
Favorite Line: “Yeah, I’m on PCH going south, blower on the seat/ With the windows down, music loud, let ’em hear the beat/ When it’s quiet out, I hear the sound of those who rest in peace/ Tryna drown the violence out, but let ’em say that they want beef” — “TAKE ME HOME”
10. Czarface & MF DOOM – Super What?
Like Injury Reserve, Czarface had already completed the recording of Super What? prior to MF DOOM’s death last year. Thankfully, we have another masterpiece chock-full of comic book bars, sure to make underground fans’ heads spin with geeky glee. The album offers up a healthy dose of classic East Coast boom bap bangers to which you can nod along. The villain may be gone, but his spirit continues to live on.
Favorite Line: “Fiend picked the lock, squat, shit was a foreclose/ Villain, more racks than triple X pornos/ One fall through the crack, he comin’ back to get all those/ The lying, straight faced, stay in tact with a long nose” — “DOOM Unto Others”
9. Lil Nas X – Montero
Few artists have been as wildly marketable as Lil Nas X is today. He’s a master troll who understands how to make heads turn on a dime. But he has more than proven his chops for artistic complexity, as well. From the wildly catchy “Industry Baby” to the sentimental “Lost in the Citadel,” the versatility Lil Nas X is on full display as he successfully bounces from sound to sound and proves he’s a tour-de-force in hip-hop. If we’re being honest, many rappers wouldn’t have the gall to go in on even half of the crazy stunts that have made it impossible to ignore this album, between the “Satan Shoes” and the lascivious videos. Little Nas X has got it going right now.
Favorite Line: “You’s a meme, you’s a joke, been a gimmick from the go/ All the things that you do just to get your face to show/ Oh, you think you big shit, big pimpin’, let me know/ Ain’t the next big thing, you the next to go” — Lil Nas X sings on “One of Me”
8. DMX – Exodus
DMX’s impact cannot be understated. Following a rough last few years, he was gearing up for his biggest release, however. Exodus encompasses all the complexity we’ve come to love from DMX as he touches on family, mental health, street violence and religion while dropping some of the grittiest and hardest bars we’ve heard all year.
Favorite Line: “Sometimes I can’t manage all the shit in my head/ I was promised the world but I got the dirt instead/ Turn the light, I was bred to shed blood/ It’s always gonna be ‘Fuck you, —, What?’” — “Hood Blues”
7. Tyler, The Creator – Call Me If You Get Lost
Tyler is becoming an “artist’s artist,” building on his style through storytelling, lyrical content and sonic evolution. The same guy who made the shocking and provocative Bastard and Goblin has moved on to the introspective Flower Boy, Igor, and now, Call Me If You Get Lost. Tyler manages to encompass his entire career with this most recent entry, balancing old and new styles in a sophisticated manner.
Favorite Line: “Internet bringin’ old lyrics up, like I hide that shit/ What’s your address, I could probably send you a copy, bitch/ I was canceled before being canceled was with Twitter fingers/ Protestin’ outside my shows, I gave them the middle finger” — “Manifesto”
On the follow-up to a 2012 mixtape, Wale goes hard on Folarin II. He airs his grievances with his rap peers, calling out those putting up fake fronts left and right. There’s a sort of jadedness to it all, and Wale is blunt with his prose, calling out the kayfabe and the illegitimate criticism that permeates hip-hop. It’s a different kind of brutal honesty that feels refreshing. While most MCs are trying to open up, Wale is trying to call out.
Favorite Line: “I do not fuck with white people who silent/ I do not fuck with white people who quiet/ I do not fuck with white people who see it/ Don’t say it, I’m sayin’ they racist compliant.” — “Tiffany Nikes”
5. Nas – King’s Disease II
Four hundred years ago Blaise Pascal observed how, on a long enough timeline, humans are bound to eventually ponder the meaning of their own existence. Perhaps this is the “King’s Disease” that has taken the focus of Nas’ attention for the last two years. On the sequel to the critically acclaimed 2020 album, Nas continues to contemplate his impact as an artist, going so far as to address his old beef with Tupac. When you’ve been on top of the game as long as Nas has, you have a lot to ponder.
Favorite Line: “Too many young gods beef over nothin’/ When you get money, you know that it’s comin’/ Sayin’ they homies, but they ain’t a hunnid/ We the most hunted” — “Rare”
4. Your Old Droog – Time
Your Old Droog delivers a nuanced concept album about the massing of time, delving into the abstract idea and its relationship to humanity as a whole. There are a million and one sayings about time, but we all never seem to have enough of it. Droog discusses nostalgia, memories and even delves into his own personal history. Comedian Anthony Jeselnik makes another series of hilarious appearances as a time-traveling radio show host.
Favorite Line: “Criminal minded in the deli/ Back then I only know KRS from dissin’ Nelly/ 7:30 Like my bitch selly/ All I wanted was a gold Jesus piece and a pelly” — “Lost Time”
3. Aesop Rock x Blockhead – Garbology
It’s always a pleasure to get a glimpse into the bizarre world of Aesop Rock, an artist who can write 10,000 words about the bathroom wall graffiti at a local dive bar. Here he reunites with longtime friend and collaborator Blockhead. Garbology is a welcome return to form for these seasoned underground veterans. Conceived as the result of grief and an attempt to break a creative dry-spell, the end result is a complex and colorful collection of songs including everything from eulogizing lost loved ones to political critique and analyzing Aesop’s artistic evolution.
Favorite Line: “I can’t stop sweating/ People at the store say “I think that man’s melting”/ The fan’s not helping/ It’s probably a job for Abraham Van Helsing/ I woke up on fire and speaking a dead language backwards/ Several octaves deeper than his average” — “Oh Fudge”
Polo G went completely mask-off with his struggles on Hall of Fame, between the disingenuous interactions that come with celebrity to finding no easy fix to his trauma. Perhaps it’s an ironic statement about the fronts that people put up to hide how they’re feeling, and how society in turn encourages putting up these fronts so as to not break the illusion of everything being OK. Polo G is genuine when covering the pain from the trenches to the vapid and indulgent elements of fame that exacerbate these issues as they fester. It’s a stinging critique of the industry that creates such circumstances, as well as the people who mindlessly consume it all with impunity.
Favorite Line: “Potential wasted, couldn’t stay in his lane, he ain’t know his niche/ Might catch him at the red light tryna load his blick/ Every day a gamble with your life, all we know is risk/ From the Windy City where you bound to see the coldest shit” — “Epidemic”
1. Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
It can be hard to open up to others, yet we expect artists to do it again and again. The brutal honesty on display by Little Simz on Sometimes I Might Be Introvert takes opening up to another level. The vulnerability Simz reveals regarding her own insecurities, family trauma and overall disconnect from the people around her adds a layer of depth that feels untouched in the age of deeply contemplative and self-examining rap albums. Bar for bar, she proves to be a lyrical heavy hitter, and as she indicates on “Speed,” she’s merely pacing herself.
Favorite Line: “—know I got this shit on lock/ —think they’re coming for my spot/ Don’t you know you’re dealing with a boss?/ I make winnings out of any loss” — “Speed”
Follow editor Tim Hoffman at Twitter.com/hipsterp0tamus.