Ranking the best albums, mixtapes, and EPs of January 2017.
Sampha’s Process isn’t included because although it leaked early, the official album release date isn’t until February 3rd.
#17 PnB Rock – GTTM: Going Thru The Motions
- Ty$-lite
- On the intro, “Attention” PNB Rock raps,”Black diamonds with the white diamonds, yeah we call that shit segregation“Actually, that would be integration.
- I like “There She Go (feat YFN Lucci)” and the A Boogie features.
#16 Curren$y, Cornerboy P, T.Y. – Jetlanta (EP)
- Trunk music
- Not long enough to build much cohesiveness
#15 Bedwetter (Lil Ugly Mane) – Flick your tongue against your teeth and describe the present
- Feels more like the “anger” and “frustration” personified rather than a music album.
- Rage in music form
- I hope this guy is OK, he doesn’t seem to be in a calm place mentally
#14 Dutch Boy – When I’m Not Around
- Dark, muddy undertone
- Calls on a lot of old Drake flows and techniques
- “If You Knew” completely jacks Drake’s “How Bout Now” cadence.
- “West Ting” is a RIDDIM.
#13 Knwledge – WRT.PRT10.8_
- Interesting choice of acapellas to produce over
- Lots of East Coast street raps including what sounds like a verse from Uncle Murda and State Property
- Gutter raps over smooth chords and production; an intriguing mash
#12 Nick Grant – Return of the Cool
- Lots of instrumentation in the production
- Disciplined flows by Nick Grant, flows like a seasoned vet
- Not sure if the theme of “the return of the cool” connects, though
#11 wifisfuneral – When Hell Falls
- Original flows, which are rare to come by in today’s Rap scene
- Another authentic -feeling album
- There are times on this album, like on Isaiah Rashad’s The Sun’s Tirade, where the song creation sounds uniquely original to the artist, unlike peers and contemporaries
#10 Loyle Carner – Yesterday’s Gone
- UK album, raw emotion over boom bap production
- Mellow, at times somber storytelling
- This album feels very authentic to the artist
#9 Matt Martians – The Drum Chord Theory
- Spazzy, unorthodox from Matt Martian (of The Internet)
- Part of me is accustomed to hearing Syd over his production that vocally, this album doesn’t feel like enough
- Breezy, feel-good music
#8 Eric Biddines – The Local Cafe
- An open, honest album
- Filled with real-life situations and stories of the struggle
- Laid-back production
#7 Ty Segall – Ty Segall
- Contemporary garage rock
- More melodic than I’ve come to expect from Ty Segall
#6 Tory Lanez – Chixtape IV
- R&B tape for the ladies
- Every song samples a 90s R&B throwback
- Tory floats all over this with ease
#5 Migos – Culture
- boy band like chemistry (in a good way)
- cool double time flows, interesting take on Lord Infamous, 3 6 Mafia flows
- Album has hits that will last until Summer
#4 Tory Lanez – The New Toronto 2
- Rap tape w/ a few reggae vibes
- Lush production by Play Picasso
- Great artist/producer chemistry
#3 Mozzy – Fake Famous
- best street album this year by far
- hard hitting songs like Borrowed Time
- If you like street pastor type rappers like Young Dolph and Maino then you should love this
#2 Kehlani – SweetSexySavage
- Clean bass all over this LP
- Good sequencing/structure; the albums plays nicely front to back
- album title an ode to TLC’s CrazySexyCool?
#1 Gabriel Garzón-Montano – Jardín
- Overlooked release by the legends over at Stones Throw Records
- Was not expecting D’Angelo-type vibes from Montano
- Neo-soul and R&B rhythms all throughout this project