Top 12 Rap Albums of 2022 (So Far)
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The post Top 12 Rap Albums of 2022 (So Far) appeared first on Consequence.
Our 2022 Midyear Report continues with our favorite rap albums of the year so far. Find all of the lists of the best music, film, and TV of the year to date in one place here.
Typically, best-of lists end up with round numbers like 25 (or 30, in our case) in an effort to be all-inclusive and make sure not to miss anything. When it came time to select our favorite rap albums, however, we made a concerted effort to not pull any punches. After all, if a project doesn’t hold up after multiple listens, does it really deserve to make a shortlist?
By cutting out all the filler, we inevitably had to make some tough choices. After plenty of debate during which some albums received further consideration and the order of the list shifted a few times, we finally finished making all the difficult decisions and settled on 12 as the right number.
With the dust now settled, I’m happy to present a definitive list featuring one of the biggest stars in hip-hop, rappers that simply don’t miss, some of the most exciting new acts we’ve heard in recent memory, and artists who have been grinding in the underground for years.
These are the best rap albums of 2022 to date.
— Eddie Fu
New Music Editor
12. Latto – 777
With the release of her 2020 debut Queen of da Souf, the former Mulatto showcased her lyrical abilities while establishing herself as the next up from Atlanta. A subsequent stage name change hinted at her mainstream ambitions, and Latto followed up with the pop-leaning “Big Energy.” While the 777 lead single recently peaked at No. 3 thanks to a Mariah Carey-assisted remix, it’s not representative of the album as a whole.
Latto comes out of the gate swinging on the two-part title track by refusing to give up her crown before trading verses with 21 Savage on “Wheelie.” The rest of 777 offers a variety of sounds, as she moves effortlessly between rapping and singing while expanding from her trap roots. Along the way, she goes toe-to-toe with big names like Lil Wayne, Lil Durk, and Childish Gambino without ever being overshadowed. — E.F.
11. Benny the Butcher – Tana Talk 4
Benny the Butcher isn’t the same cat he was when the Tana Talk series started in 2004. He’s not even the same person he was when Tana Talk 3 dropped in 2018. The fourth album in the series ultimately asks, “Can you go back?” For Benny, the answer is emphatically “Duh!”
Armed with production from The Alchemist and Daringer, Benny pushes the series forward with his newfound fame and fortune, but roots it in the Griselda fundamentals that bought him those spoils. He touches on tried-and-true topics — guns, drugs, paranoia, commas in his bank account, and family — while advocating for peace not just in his community (“10 More Commandments”), but also within his own crew (“Tyson vs. Ali”). Growth looks good on the Butcher. — Marcus Shorter
10. Vince Staples – Ramona Park Broke My Heart
The title of Vince Staples’ fifth album is a dead giveaway. Vince’s latest project is more introspective, more somber, and a much more personal project than fans are accustomed to. And that’s not a bad thing.
“THE BLUES” typifies an album all about what makes Staples tick. Hearing someone say they’re never lonely because even their daydreams are haunted is chilling. Vince, like a lot of us right now, wants peace. But how does a rapper get that? At what point is making music just not enough? Ramona Broke My Heart chronicles a spiritual journey that ends not with a period but a question mark. — M. Shorter
09. Quelle Chris – Deathfame
“The idea of Deathfame in general focuses on the idea of what success is within the entertainment industry and how it realistically parallels the ‘common’ human experience,” explained Quelle Chris in our exclusive Origins feature for the single “So Tired You Can’t Stop Dreaming.” And while Chris may have never been a Top 40 pop rap artist (we doubt he has much interest in the prospect anyway), he’s achieved a certain “favorite rapper’s favorite rapper” underground cult status.
Deathfame runs through the many aspects of such notoriety — ego, anxiety, pride, longing for peace — all over Chris’ signature production. Blues keys, nostalgic melodies, and faux vinyl distortion accompany Chris’ insightful, sometimes comical musings. It’s a compelling, introspective project upholding the high bar of quality Chris has established thus far in his career. — Jonah Krueger
08. billy woods – Aethiopes
10 years after billy woods’ underground breakthrough History Will Absolve Me, the talents of the New York rapper are far from unknown. Subsequent solo albums like 2019’s Hiding Places and pretty much everything his ELUCID collaboration Armand Hammer have dropped thus far cemented as much. So is it surprising or not that woods continues his streak with Aethiopes?
The masterful record finds the rapper as esoteric as ever — “Sauvage” features a groove built on sounds seemingly ripped right out of a horror flick — and leaning into what makes the underground icon so uniquely engaging. If Aethiopes is anything to go by, naysayers looking for a billy woods miss likely have a second decade of disappointment awaiting them. — J.K.
07. Denzel Curry – Melt My Eyez See Your Future
After Denzel Curry focused on martial arts and therapy during quarantine, he realized that much of the music he had been making was catering to what he thought fans liked. Now free to figure out who he was as a person and artist, Curry set out to make an album based on interests like Westerns, samurai films, and anime while displaying his true personality and appealing to a wider fanbase.
With Melt My Eyez See Your Future, Curry doesn’t try to be perfect or master any one sound or theme. Instead, he tries to focus on what’s right in front of him, whether it’s opening up about mental health issues with more candor than ever before or tackling racial and social injustice in a more digestible manner than in the past. Meanwhile, the production moves outside of hip-hop to include influences like drum ‘n’ bass and jazz. By gazing inward, Curry succeeds in making his music accessible to a new audience. — E.F.
06. Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers might be Kendrick’s most divisive record to date, but it’s also unquestionably his most vulnerable. Turning inwards, he explores the psychological effects of intergenerational trauma, survivor’s guilt, depression, sexual abuse, and more, with a critical eye on our clout-chasing consumerist culture.
This introspective mood is emphasized through rich, yet minimalist production oozing with piano licks, strings, synth melodies, reverb, and engaging beat switches. Meticulously crafted by The Alchemist, Pharrell Williams, Sounwave, and more, the beats feature multiple layers working together to accent Kendrick’s message.
Although tracks like “N95” and “Father Time” go hard, ultimately the album feels like a cathartic therapy session, which is exactly what Kendrick intended. — André Heizer
05. Ché Noir – Food for Thought
“You gotta eat to live,” Ché Noir says at the beginning of Food for Thought, “And when I say eat, you know, I’m not talking about edible food, I’m talking about mental.” Thus begins an album-length interrogation of all the things that nourish us.
That doesn’t mean the album is full of cheerful backpack rap philosophizing; Ché Noir’s rhymes never stray far from the trigger, and she idolizes self-sufficiency to an almost paranoid extreme. But her ideas are always provocative and her flows stay irresistibly silky, so that after a tight 35 minutes, listeners find themselves simultaneously sated and hungry for more. — Wren Graves
04. They Hate Change – Finally, New
Artists talk about breaking down borders between genres all the time, but without a clear vision for doing so, actually achieving that goal is a Sisyphean task. Before releasing their debut album on Jagjaguwar, Tampa Bay duo They Hate Change made sure not to fall into the trap by defining a sound all their own. Describing it as “what full creative control sound like,” they blend more obvious genres like East Coast hip-hop, Miami bass, and drum ‘n’ bass with post-punk, prog, and krautrock.
And that’s just the production. Following in the footsteps of the likes of Camp Lo, Pusha T, and JAY-Z, neither Andre nor Vonne hesitate to talk their shit because they truly believe there’s no one else like them. In an exclusive Track by Track breakdown of Finally New, They Hate Change told us they set out to make an indelible impression regardless of whether it was people’s first or last time listening to their music. Consider the mission accomplished. — E.F.
03. EARTHGANG – GHETTO GODS
EARTHGANG have a lot on their mind as Black men in America — their mental health, their physical safety, their culture, and the future — making GHETTO GODS the hip-hop album for racial strife during a pandemic. While most artists look inward during this time, EARTHGANG focus their ATLien perspective outward. Their album spends less than an hour validating the feelings of the artists and their audience.
But it’s not all about introspection. There is still room for J.I.D and J. Cole on a Dreamville posse cut, Future shows up for his specific brand of toxicity, and “Amen” shows the boys are still hedonistic when appropriate. But living in Atlanta during a time of supposed racial reckoning clearly affected the duo in ways other artists might have tried to escape. GHETTO GODS is their best project so far as a result. — M. Shorter
02. Saba – Few Good Things
Not since Kanye West’s pre-fall Anakin Skywalker days has an artist so effortlessly captured the feeling of Chicago, specifically from June to August, when the Windy City reigns as the greatest burg on the planet — even tracks that traffic in danger sound like the sun is shining.
“Fearmonger” is about financial insecurity, but also the pride of self-sufficiency, while “One Way or Every N***a with a Budget” acknowledges that when you’re richer than your friends, money only goes one way, but goddamn it feels nice to have enough room for friends to “pop up on my couch.” Few Good Things is about the bravery of finding the good amongst the bad, and as a description of contents, the title is the understatement of the century. — W.G.
01. Pusha T – It’s Almost Dry
Pusha T’s greatness comes from perhaps the rarest trait of all: self-awareness. Let other rappers make fools of themselves moonlighting as R&B heartthrobs or doing weak impressions of a street corner Socrates. Let those who fancy themselves lyrical Michael Jordans strike out while playing the wrong sport. King Push knows he does a couple of things better than anyone on the planet, and he has made himself a legend through a relentless cultivation of his own unique gifts. As he crows on “Dreamin of the Past,” “Didn’t have to reinvent the wheel, just a better design.”
It’s Almost Dry is a coke rap masterpiece. From the first bubbling synths of “Brambelton” through the laid-back swag of “Neck & Wrist,” Push has wrung every ounce of inspiration from producers Pharrell Williams and Kanye West. The resulting soundscape captures the euphoria and excess of a lifestyle that enjoys more snow fights than bathroom bumps. There are no misses on the album, and meanwhile “Diet Coke” and “Call My Bluff” both have legitimate claims as the best song in Pusha T’s storied discography.
On “Let the Smokers Shine the Coupes,” he gives himself one of the all-time great nicknames: “Cocaine’s Dr. Seuss.” It’s perfect. Whether you’re talking about children’s books or pyrex poetry, both men spent their careers in a crowded lane and still managed to stand head and shoulders above their peers. In a genre full of cliches, Pusha T is a true original, and every coke rapper that follows will find their best efforts measured against It’s Almost Dry. — W.G.
Top 12 Rap Albums of 2022 (So Far)
Consequence Staff
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