Favorite Albums Of 2023

To quote the icon, Prince Rodgers Nelson, “Albums still matter, like books and black lives, albums still matter”.

Simply put, this piece is dedicated to my favorite albums of the year. No matter how hard major labels and DSPs try to devalue the importance of a complete body of work, there are few things in our culture more important than a really good album.

On Top Of The Covers- T-Pain

T-Pain does your favorite artists songs better than your favorite artist does and he made an album to prove it. On Top Of The Covers was the perfect project to drop at the top of this year and his cover of “War Pigs” is easily a top five song played for me in 2023. Not only did Pain do justice to both Sam covers, Smith and Cook, but he even made “Don’t Stop Believing” a tolerable song for those of us who are not white people from Boston. At some point I’d be willing to bet we get On Top Of The Covers, Volume 2, as the list of songs there are for T-Pain to blaze is limitless.

For Motivational Use Only, Vol 1.- Curren$y, Jermaine Dupri

Another year, another dope project on the boards for Curren$y. The Curren$y and JD pairing is so natural; I’m surprised it took this long to happen. The entire project is an homage to Dupri, one of Hip-hop’s biggest pioneers, and its legendary stuff that Curren$y, who himself has evolved into one of the game’s best Artist/CEO’s, can call in JD to executive produce the whole thing.

Masego- Masego

Masego has been on the rise for a minute now and I think it’s fair to say this self-titled album is his highest anticipated project since the debut. This Masego project is high quality music from start to finish and even if there were no lyrics, the instrumentation and arrangements on this record alone makes it one of the better things I’ve heard all year. It’s been easy to keep Masego in rotation all year because it’s the kind of music the makes the everyday house task like folding clothes or doing dishes more enjoyable and we always need that!

Mumble Rap 2- Belly

Belly is a natural song-maker who has penned a lot of for your favorite artist’s hits, however his solo catalog is one of the more under-appreciated. I loved Mumble Rap and his prior project, See You Next Wednesday, very quickly became my favorite project from an artist who is flirting with entering “doesn’t-miss” territory. Mumble Rap 2 is an impressive lyrical display from an artist who has mastered painting pictures with words and is easily some of the best song writing I’ve heard all year.

Victims & Villains- Musiq Soulchild, Hit-Boy

We might assume Musiq Soulchild has reached the “legacy act” stage of his career, but he clearly hasn’t. After 20 years of making amazing records, I love seeing Musiq get with the best young producer in the game to make something this inspired and original (side note; is there anything Hit-Boy can’t do!!?). R&B music has been on a hell of a run for the better part of a decade and I love to see when legends like Musiq Soulchild are free to release projects that not only contend with the better projects from current R&B stars, but actually raise the bar.

Love Is War- Reuben Vincent

Reuben Vincent is one of the few newer artists committed to keeping a dying sound alive and it’s never been more needed. 9th wonder has assembled the Avengers of MCs over at Jamla Records and Rueben’s debut project is timeless music that grows on me with each play. The Rapsody feature on “February 13th” is excellent and the Katt Williams flip for “Trickin” is just brilliant. For the final touch, getting an icon and Hip-hop’s greatest engineer, Young Guru, to mix the entire project is a privilege few artists have access to and as a result, the excellent sound quality on every record is evident. To execute all of this on a debut album speaks volumes about the potential Reuben has as a true artist and whenever he decides to drop his sophomore project, the expectations will be high.

Since I Have A Lover- 6lack

6lack has been one of the better R&B acts for at least five years now and Since I Have A Lover is one of the most complete albums of the year. While talented enough to commit to fully doing one of the three, 6lack’s ability to seamless connect rap, rhythmic melodies, and traditional R&B vocals is what sets him apart from a lot of his contemporaries. “Playing House” and “Fatal Attraction” are some of my favorite records from this year and to no one’s surprise, Don Toliver and 6lack sound great together on a record. At 19 tracks and just under an hour listening time, the records are sequenced excellently, and I don’t find myself once hitting skip. This project is firmly cemented for me as an “R&B Album of The Year” candidate.

Fortune Favors The Bold- Dave East

No matter what the state of Hip-hop is, there will always be a place for East Coast, boom-bap, street rap, something Dave East has consistently delivered. “Still Here” gave me 2017 Dave East vibes, Coi Leray does a great Dej Loaf impression on her feature (as a Dej fan, I have to admit Coi kind of pulls it off), and the legendary Ghostface continues blessing this current generation with classic Wu bars. After more than 10 years in the game, Dave East has found his lane, and Fortune Favors The Bold is some of his best work.

CLEAR 2: SOFT LIFE EP- Summer Walker

No one in R&B is having a hotter run right now than Summer Walker. Apparently I missed Clear but this sequel is amazing and if this 28 minute project is just an EP Summer wanted to put out to clear the deck for another amazing album, I can’t wait to hear whatever comes next! This whole project is amazing front to back, but “New Type” is a standout to me not just because of the slight homage to one of Summer’s predecessors and the doula for her child, Erykah Badu, but also the rare appearance of Childish Gambino, combining with Summer to make a record that’s just perfectly Atlanta.

WON’T HE DO IT- Conway The Machine

Conway hasn’t stopped dropping projects all year, but WON’T HE DO IT is clearly the standout as Conway’s elite bars meet some amazing production start to finish. I love seeing that the more established Conway becomes as an artist the more intentional he’s being about prominently featuring his artist. Jae Skeese and 7xvethegenius are known commodities now, but the way Goosebytheway shines throughout this project is yet another example of Conway’s rare ear for music. Final note: lock in “Water To Wine” as a “Sleeper Record of The Year” for me.

Larger Than Life- Brent Faiyaz

Brent Faiyaz is one of the best artists in R&B today and I was happy to see him back with a fresh project after what I felt was a letdown with Wasteland. Prior to Wasteland, Brent is someone I had on my Does Not Miss List after starting his career three-for-three with *Sonder Son, Lost, and F*K The World. As one of the elites in R&B right now, I hold Brent to a higher standard and though plenty of people enjoyed Wasteland, this project felt like a response to anyone who was even a mild critic. Larger Than Life is an ode to late 90s, early 2000s R&B, is some of the best production I’ve heard all year (see the Timberland and Missy features leading off the album) and Brent does the perfect job of balancing a more traditional late 90s, early 2000s R&B sound with the new age “Trap & B” vibes of today. I mentioned the Missy feature, but “Last One Left” is one of my favorite songs from the year and like everything else from this year, Coco Jones smoked her feature on “Moment Of Your Life” which is another record I’d consider for R&B Record Of The Year.

And Then You Pray For Me-Westside Gunn

Westside Gunn is a masterful art procurer and as an artist himself, no one today does a better job of preserving a sound and feel that should never leave hip-hop. From beats reminiscent of the Wu-Tang, Mobb Deep era to songs paying ode to the 2000s southern mixtape era (I absolutely loved the drops by DJ Swamp Izzo and Trap-A-Holics… it felt like I was driving around in high school again) And Then You Pray For Me is an amazing sequel to Pray For Paris while at the same time baring no resemblance to its predecessor. As always, Westside’s greatest talent is his ability to let the feature artist be the star of the show. JID gave us a verse of the year candidate on “Mamas PrimeTime”, “Chloe” is my favorite Ty Dolla $ign record in over three years, and if it weren’t for Westside Gunn, I don’t know when we would hear from Stove God Cooks again. Every Westside album will have its own unique direction and sound but to do it at the volume he has (this was his eighth full project since just 2020) and still be batting .1000 is something very few have ever done. Westside Gunn’s impact is why I will continue to preach on any platform that he and Griselda are largely responsible for saving and now carrying a genre of hip-hop that I and many people my age still love.

I Left My Heart In Ladera- Terrace Martin, Alex Isley

Terrace Martin has been on quite a run since 2020 so pairing his production and song writing with Alex Isley’s incredible vocals was a can’t miss project. Both Terrace and Alex smoked this project and at just over 30 minutes and zero skips, it’s the perfect daily listen at the top of every morning or to wind down the night. I Left my Heart In Ladera starts off with an ode to Sade (who doesn’t love that) and seamlessly flows from record to record with “Glad I Found You” and “Only In The Moment” as my two favorite records from an extremely impressive body of work. The vocal arrangements throughout the album are amazing but the namesake title track, featuring Robert Glasper, feels like a modern-day R&B masterclass. 2023 was again a much stronger year for R&B than it was for Hip-hop and it’s projects of this quality from two stars like Terrace Martin and Alex Isley, both artist who had two of the better albums of last year as well, that typify why.

The Great Escape- Larry June, The Alchemist

No one spitting today sounds anything like Larry June and it’s that originality that makes him one of my favorite current artists. The Alchemist has found what feels like the third and now forth wind of his legendary career, and these solo produced projects he’s been dropping lately all sound immaculate. The Great Escape has stayed in heavy rotation for me all year and is in the running for Rap Album of The Year. From the album art to Alchemist’s masterful production, down to the authentic slick, laid-back, Cali-pimp talk, this project is about as perfectly put together as anything I’ve heard in a while.

Jaguar II- Victoria Monet

When Victoria Monet dropped Jaguar back in 2020, I felt like it didn’t get the recognition it deserved. Pandemic aside, because 2020 gave us R&B releases from top acts like Jhene Aiko, The Weeknd, The Dream, Kehlani, Teyana Taylor, and two icons in both Toni Braxton and Brandy, Victoria was easily overlooked in a crowded year. Well not this year, and not with Jaguar II, which for my money is the front runner for the best R&B project of 2023. Deciding to make this the sequel to a really good body of work set my expectations even higher than I already would have for an artist who always delivers. Pun intended here as her and Lucky Daye smoked their duet, the Buju Banton record makes me want to fly straight to Kingston, and last but certainly not least, Victoria is a legend in the game from this point forward as getting to work with Earth, Wind, & Fire in any capacity is god-level status.

MICHAEL- Killer Mike

Killer Mike has gone almost a full 10 years between solo albums so to say this album was highly anticipated is an understatement. MICHAEL is easily a candidate for Album Of The Year and plays like an audio museum for Atlanta Hip-hop. With odes to Outkast, Goodie Mob, Jagged Edge, D4L, Future, 2 Chainz, Young Thug, and 6lack, Killer Mike walks us through the last 30 years of Atlanta music & culture in a way few people can. There’s a lot to digest in this project but Killer Mike is one of the few MCs who can take us from fighting corrupt politicians to a Friday night at The Blue Flame from one track to the next.

Magic 3- Nas

I’m not using this piece to say Nas is the greatest MC of all time, but I’m also not not doing that. If his career only spanned from 2020 till now, he would have six of the best albums released during that time span with Magic 3 up there for me as an all-time great Nas project. Hit-Boy took the production notes from Magic 2 and came back even stronger with the finale to the trilogy where now I might argue of all six projects, the production on Magic 3 stands out the most. “Superhero Status” is an incredible sample flip, both “Based On True Events” records are the kinds of songs that makes Nas hip-hop’s greatest storyteller, and Lil Wayne officially solidifies his place as The Greatest Feature Artist of All Time with his display on “Never Die”. Nas’ ability to effortlessly tell new stories and perfect new flows all while remaining one of the flyest MCs on planet earth at the age of 50 gives him as legitimate a claim to the title, G.O.A.T, as any MC to ever pick up a microphone.

HERBET- Ab Soul

A project from Ab-Soul only comes but so often and so it’s something to be cherished and appreciated for as long as possible. HERBERT did drop at the very tail-end of 2022 but when dealing with an artist as voluminous with the depth of content as Ab-Soul is, it takes a full month of two worth of listening to this project in order to fully digest and appreciate its excellence. A full year later and it’s still my favorite rap album from the past year thanks to the elite production and lyricism from one of the best writers in the game. Songs like “MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE” and “MOONSHOOTER” give us the classic Ab-Soul feel but then songs like “POSITIVE VIBES ONLY” and “CHURCH ON THE MOVE” show an artist willing to evolve and create with the confidence that timeless music sounds good regardless of the era or climate. When it comes to quality control of the music product, TDE is the best label in the game and a project like HERBERT is the perfect example that you can’t rush greatness.

Nadie sabe lo que va a pasar mana — Bad Bunny

It comes as no surprise that the biggest star in music delivered one of the best albums from the year. Bad Bunny is the perfect reminder that at its essence, music is first a feeling and vibration. Nadie sabe lo que va a pasar mana is proof that if something is so sonically pleasing it can’t be denied, that lyrics and whether or not we understand all of them or not is not a prerequisite to liking the music. This album is borderline perfect and gives us a bit of everything from an artist who is helping redefine a new genre of music and breaking languages barriers while doing it. “BATICANO” is one of the albums many party anthems, a song like “GRACIAS POR NADA” shows Bad Bunny’s range as a song maker, and of course “MONACO” is easily one of the best records of 2023.