Top Seven Hip-Hop Albums of 2022

Have you ever had trouble finding good music to listen to that is recent but just can’t seem to enjoy anything? Then this article is for you. All of the albums featured on this list are albums that have been released in the year 2022 that I consider to be the albums that have kept my attention for most of the year 2022. They are in no particular order, and I will be giving them ratings based on how good I think they are on a scale of one to ten. Keep in mind these are albums that I have listened to that came out this year and they are NOT the best albums of the year, they are simply ones I have felt the need to talk about this year because of how they have influenced me.

I NEVER LIKED YOU – Future (7/10)

Future is a Hip Hop artist who is already well into his career at this point in 2022. I NEVER LIKED YOU is in my opinion is one of futures best albums, although it still has its flaws it’s up there with DS2 and The WIZRD. The album starts of very strong with the track 712PM which is my favorite song off of the album has a very hypnotic beat that has antient Egypt vibes, the track also features some very toxic lyrics and lines that future flows through like butter. Just like the track 712PM the album continues to deliver quite a few bangers as well as melodic cuts, examples of melodic cuts are, PUFFIN ON ZOOTIEZ, WAIT FOR YOU, LOVE YOU BETTER, which feature future rapping about topics like his love life and his troubles which are what you would expect from one of these melodic cuts. So, there is definitely no lack of variety here making the album a more interesting listen but what are the problems this album has that does not make it a ten out of ten. The only problems I have with this album are Futures lyrics. There are many cringe moments on this album for example on the song I’M THAT N***** where he is doing super well on most of the track until he decides to drag it out the track and lead the listener into the horrible line where he says “Make her pee pee” you will have to listen to the full track yourself to get the whole content of the line because I’m not sure I have the courage to type the full thing out, this line alone makes me lose all hope in humanity. Although futures lyrics are odd, I do have to admit it has become a part of his music style which is why I think it’s more forgiving for future to say such absurd lyrics like this since he is not a lyricist in the end.

$oul $old $eperately – Freddie Gibbs (8/10)

The album $$$ is a more recent album this year that was highly anticipated by me and multiple people in the online music community. The record starts off with one of the best intro tracks in hip hop Couldn’t Be Done which samples the lyrics “They said it couldn’t be done” on loop and chopped up a little bit while Freddie raps over the beat with some good flows and character, The track then features a verse by Kelly Price whos singing is amazing, It is a very upbringing and excellent start to the album. The album quickly reveals its general theme with the hotel service calls that you hear at the beginning and end of most of the songs reminding us that $oul is $old $eperately. The first few song are good with the exception of the song Zipper Bagz, which I think is a very unique track but because of that it has a awkward hook that is not at all catchy. The song Too Much is right after Zipper Bagz and makes the album continue strong, It features Moneybagg Yo with an actually impressive verse and and flow. The album continues strong featuring slower songs with hotel lobby type beats that help support the theme of the album. The theme of the album is kept present through out the whole album and I find this to be a very good quality the album has but there is not a obvious story or conclusion to this theme which I think is one of the reasons this album has wasted potential. The reason this album is not a ten is because there are enough songs on the album that aren’t needed to help the theme or the sound of the album, and since there is a lack of album structure it feels more like a bunch of tracks that have a similar theme or sound but don’t build upon the concept the album is going for.

It’s Almost Dry – Pusha T (8/10)

Pusha T is back with more bangers since his last album DAYTONA and this time he has Kanye West and Pharrell Williams helping him out with the beats and the production. My expectations for this album were very high and I can’t say this album let me down at all. Every track on the album is amazing and Pusha T’s complex and sad lyrics fit perfectly with Kanye and Pharrell ‘s creative production and beats. The album expands further on Pusha’s problems with drugs and having been in the business of selling drugs, and features some of the best production I have heard this year. The only reason this album is not a ten is because there is not enough variety for how long it is. I believe the reason that DAYTONA was so amazing was because even though there was not so much variety It was shorter so over all it has an easier listen all the way through. Even with this album not being as good as it could be the album It’s Almost Dry Is still an amazing album and is a contender for album of the year.

Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers – Kendrick Lamar (8/10)

It should be a surprise to no one that I had very high expectations for Kendrick Lamar when he released this album, and although on the first few listens, I was skeptical I finally came around to see what this album really that makes it stand out just like all of his last records. If you are a fan of hip hop or rap in general, you should know that Kendrick Lamar is one of the best rappers of our generation and writes like a poet while still making engaging and good quality music. Kendrick Lamar’s albums so far have all had their own unique sound and theme to them, and he continues this streak with Mr. Morale. Even though Mr. Morale is not anywhere close to my favorite Kendrick record it certainly has its place and leaves a mark in his discography. I want to start off by saying that this album is super lyrically dense, and the main reason it is not a ten is because the general sound of the album and the enjoyability of the music and the production is lacking at times. The reason that this album is not a ten is because of the general sound of the record and because comparing this record to what we know Kendrick is capable of it will be held to a higher expectation. The album starts with the song United In Greif which features Kendrick talking about the five years he has been off the music scene and what he has had to grieve about, this song is one of the best on the album and is immediately followed up by a banger track called N95. N95 features a horn themed beat and really gives off Baby Keem vibes judging that Baby Keem is Kendrick’s cousin it would not surprise me if he was the one who produced the beat, and I’m quite positive that he did. The album features two disks one is the Mr. Morale disk and the other is the Big Steppers disk. The way that I see the two disks is that they are two sides of Kendrick in his current state, one is sadder while the other is angry or normal, it’s almost like what is perceived on the outside versus the inside. The best songs on disk one are Rich Spirit, Father Time and we cry together which is the most interesting son on the album because it is an argument between a couple, Kendrick plays the male, and the woman is played by Taylour Paige. The best songs on the second disk are, Silent Hill, Savior, Mirror, and Mr. Morale.

The Forever Story – JID (9/10)

The Forever Story by JID is without a question album of the year. This was one of my most anticipated albums of the year and the amount of joy that I had when this album was finally out was immeasurable. I listened to this album nonstop when it came out and at first, I was not that impressed but the more that I listened to the album the more I wanted to listen and the more I realize how impressive JID is and how easy it is to take his talent for granted as a listener. He has so much lyrical potential while flowing on the beat like it was meant for him to rap on. The Forever Story is the sequel to his debut album The Never Story and because of that it starts out with a new version of the intro that was originally on The Never Story. After the into to the album which is very short JID comes through with the Frist banger on the album, Raydar. The track Raydar starts off with a very strange but good beat that includes whistles and a sample of a referee calling a fault and then the number six, this is a reference to when JID was a football player and used to be his passion before he started rapping. The track then changes into a crazy eerie beat that he drops some very disturbing lines like “are you a cop or a N**** killer” The beat continues this way throughout the middle part of the track when it switches yet again into a smother beat that helps close out the track while JID rides the beat till the end. The album continues delivering bangers until toward the middle of the album where we get many gospel inspired songs that I was on the edge about at first but as I listened more, I realized just how versatile JID is with his music some of these types of tracks would be, Kody Blu 31, Sistanem, Can’t Make U Change, and Bruddanem. The album does not have a single skip and is pretty much flawless except for the fact that as a whole it does not seem to add up as the perfect album experience but if it were not for that this album would be an easy ten out of ten.

Her Loss – Drake + 21 Savage (7/10)

Her Loss is the most recently released album on this list, and I have been listening to it nonstop during the time I’ve been making this article. Drakes last two albums were very disappointing, so going into this album I was worried only 21 Savage was going to be able to keep my attention, but boy I’m glad that I was wrong. This album features Drake’s best material since his album If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. The album starts out with the track Rich Flex which has drake hyping up 21 Savage on the front end of the track. Drake hyping up 21 moves us into an epic 21 Savage verse That then is suddenly cuts off interrupted by drakes singing in the middle of the track, at first listen, having been someone who is not a fan of many of drakes singing albums, I was getting kind of worried it was going to ruin the song, when during that thought process, I got caught off guard and the beat drops into an eerie trap banger where Drake’s real verse starts. Drake I can’t express how amazing this track sounded first listen and every other listen after that. I could talk about every track in detail one by one but in order to save time and space I will tell you about the overall experience of the album. After Rich flex we get two more trap bangers, Major Distribution, and On BS one of which features yet another unexpected beat drop, at this point in the album the only thing you would be expecting is a beat drop because of how many have been presented but luckily the album starts to switch up on the song BackOutsideBoyz that sounds identical to a Lil Baby song. The album shifts into drakes more moody style, and even though I don’t like drakes singing that much these songs are a big improvement from what we received on Honestly Nevermind, examples of songs like these are, Spin Bout U and Hours In Silence. after the moody songs the album once again tries to deliver some bangers, and I say try because the song Circo Loco features an awful Daft Punk sample, The song is not produced very well since the sample sounds very drowned out and the high hats placed over the sample don’t do any good for the track. The song Broke boys after Circo Loco makes up for the disappointment though as it is my favorite song off the album. The album ends with multiple solo songs by Drake and one by 21 Savage as well as one Collab. So the album sounds really good,  but why is it not a ten? The album is not a ten for me because although I was impressed by the growth since Drake’s last album; it does not take much to do better than Honestly Nevermind. The album also features a lot of misogynistic lines and Drake calling out people for no reason, one could argue that this fits in with the theme and the over all setting of the album which I would agree with to an extent but it does not change the fact that this album could be the same or better without these absurd lyrics.