A beautifully sequenced body of work,After Hours flows from one song to the next with no skips, as Abel shows off his knack for world-building. RTJ4is also the most sonically daring project theyve released, moving from noisy experimental beats to a futuristic take on new jack swing. Everything that encompasses Big L for me, personally, and why hes one of my favorites, is definitely on The Big Picture., Logic: I remember being on a school bus and listening to Ms. Thats best showcased in the second half of Dough & Damani, after Bishop lets you know why he has to hold the gun. While Amin has always proven himself to be a deft lyricist and great beat selector, the best part of Limbo is his selective yet powerful use of the guest verse. And despite everything being in upheaval, the music immediately connected with fans. GOD level movements, ya dig? 98. On Christopher Walking, he makes a point of uttering the phrase King of New York, which was beginning to feel like a realistic title whenMeet the Woo 2arrived. That half is quite good, though, and is enough to counterbalance Meth's lackluster performances on beasts by Scott Storch and Kwam.

Elitists may scoff at the idea, but consider the power of Freddie Gibbs and Alchemists Alfredo.
The 100 Best Albums of The Complex Decade.

I think that obviously when RZA was producing those albums he was going for that raw sound. This list is ordered by the ratings Complex awarded albums throughout all. Even the producers interludes are well-thought-out, as they move us smoothly from one track to another. And the fact he brought Jigga along for the ride made this project well worth the wait. There is something about Tribe. His temperamental nature shines through as he teetersbetween flashing his luxurious lifestyle and his violent tendencies on songs like Dead Trollz.While YoungBoys paranoia and mistrust of outsiders is present all throughout the album, Top also shows inklings that the 21-year-old rapper wants to change his circumstances. Because 2 Chainz didnt truly break through to the mainstream until 2012, were just now witnessing when most rappers would enter their peak. Read on to find out which albums defined Kendrick Lamar's coming of age in hip-hop, and which artist was on such heavy rotation in his childhood home that he can't remember which songs were from which album. If you have the budget to hire Morgan Freeman to narrate your album, why not do it? Eric Skelton, Nas could never rap again and his legacy would be solidified, but hes still outside. Dido - No Angel (1999) is a great introduction to what she has to offer.

And he did. But amidthe challenges, there is a sense of hope that prevails as he looks to his newfound lifestyle among the palm trees in California. Youve got your food staples like PB&J, your hybrids like whiskey and cold weather, and your musical pairs like Pusha-T and cocaine. He moves freely from alt-rock sounds on Metal Wings to soaring melodies on Anti-Gravity to pure rap flows on HIT. Combining so many genres and sounds on a 14-track project could be chaotic, but he never loses focus here. Theres even a Kool Keith feature on here. That was the first album Id ever listened to. Complex Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. What he ended up with was another No. Kehlani didnt follow up an album calledSexySweetSavagewith a project of sad songs pining over a man. Guests include Ari Lennox, Chance the Rapper, and Buddy, but for fans of the old Spillage Village, the most fun moments of the record are when the OG wrecking crew unites to wreak havoc. You know exactly what youre gonna get with Run the Jewels, and on the fourth installment of the project, El-P and Killer Mike have turned in a monumental fuck you to oppressors, haters, and anyone with the bullshit. Can we really do anything more than once? When it comes to Savage Mode II, the answer is an emphatic yes. Bars like, Sometimes I was held down by the gravity of my pen/Sometimes I was held down by the gravity of my sin/Sometimes, like Santiago, at crucial points of my novel/My only logical option was to transform into the wind, tryto explain why this took so long. Even up until Welcome to Forever I was still finding myself and who I was., Logic: Wu-Tang was an enormous inspiration for the skits on my album.

We havent yet experienced the energy of Lil Uzi Verts Eternal Atake blasting from a festival soundstage, and we still have no idea what its like to hear Drakes Dark Lane Demo Tapes in a club at 2 a.m. For a big chunk of the year, most of us werent able to listen to new projects on our daily commutes. This year was highlighted by projects from artists like the Weeknd, 21 Savage, and Megan Thee Stallion. Em won his battle with drug addiction on the album prior to this one. These are the projects that resonated with us the most as we confronted a series of unprecedented challenges. I think thats one thing thats really hard when youre a student of the game and you grew up appreciating hip-hop, but you find out later because youre a part of a younger generation. Where the original Savage Mode was a minimalist affair with a stripped-back aesthetic and a single guest feature, 2020s follow-up takes full advantage of all the resources they hadat their disposal this time around. I just love the outsidenesslike when they're on the corner and the female cop comes and goes, Put your fucking hands on the wall. The ambiance of New York City, I love that. It was an awesome album and a really awesome time in my life., Logic: Forgot About Dre was the first time I had heard Eminem in my life. As individuals, Chloe and Halle are undoubtedly forces within R&B, but their deep sisterhood is where they find their strength. People always seem to be talking about how brilliant Ty is, but still, the recognition is never enough. Never mind that he gets guests like Kid Cudi, Post Malone, Kanye West, and more. In a year in which he released four soloprojects, Top is his best. With projects this high-quality and well thought out, theres no need to pray for anyone. His death in December of 2019 feels like a million years ago and yesterday at the same time, and while his departure is impossible to separate from Legends Never Die, its a testament to the team that put the album together that it stands on its own at all. You could sit here and debate who had the best verse out of Benny, Lil Wayne, and Big Sean, but its that whats a king to a God in the hook for me. Why cant it be easy? Miller wonders on Good News. Life may have been difficult for Mac Miller, but he left this album behind to make it a little bit easier for all of us. How they create records is that theyll just be in a room and jam out. His story makes it easy to root for him, and the consistent quality of his music just seals the deal. He pulls from his brooding, early-era mixtapeaestheticon songs like Snowchild and Escape From LA while also reaching for the mountaintop of pop success with radio-friendly anthems like Blinding Lights, Heartless, and In Your Eyes. Somehow, hes able to successfully scale his Trilogy-era soundup to an arena-size capacity by doubling down on his favorite tropesoverindulgence, toxic relationships, and drugsin a more refined way than hes ever pulled off. Eric Skelton, Fiona ApplesFetch the Bolt Cuttershas all the joy, chaos, and warped edges of a truly homemade product, but her songwriting ensures everyone will see themselves reflected in the music. It made me want to do that., Logic:"It Was Written is just my shit. And thats not even counting the tracks he added to the deluxe. While searching for New York State of Mind I found Illmatic. About 10 or 11? . For me it was a trip home from College Park, Maryland, to where he lives. Our editorial content is not influenced by any commissions we receive. Rapping from a perspective of a gun, that allowed me to rap from the perspective of my brother and my sister. The Clark Sisters recorded the song and album live at Bailey Cathedral Church of God in Christ in Detroit, Michigan. She can flat-out rap, and shes just as vicious and precise as she was a year ago. She further shows her versatility on Crown, which pairs a joyous gospel beat with hard-hitting lyrics about depression and self-doubt, as well as Songs About You, a breezy, neo soul-tinged record about manifestation and success. Him getting on the record and singing, and its a little out of tune, but we love Kanye because he not only depicts his vision and his way of thinking, but the emotion in his voice makes you feel like youre on the record., Logic: I think that was what we call arena rap, you know the whole stadium rocking with him. up in the city of Compton, he has an understandablepreference for West Coast rap, but his taste in hip-hop transcends geographical boundaries. The genre is ready for another shift and I think KeiyaA is the person the games been missing. I was just a 9-year-old kid when the album came out, and there was no way you couldnt know of or listen to Eminems music, because he was literally like the Drake.

Maybe thats why were just getting that debut studio now; who knows what this project would have sounded like years back. Weve never consumed albums like we did in 2020. Through finding the RZA I found Wu-Tang Clan, and through the Wu-Tang Clan I found Nas, Tribe, Big L, and everybody on that list., Logic: Late Registration is arguably my favorite Kanye album. Instead, they understood they had each reached new stages of their careers, and made the wise decision to execute everything on a much grander scale. Whether its in his music, or interestingmusic videos like the one he madefor Yo Perreo Sola, Bunnyknows how to make himself the topic of conversation, andhehas handled his new-found stardom with grace so far. Whoever said R&B is . I knew he was a talented dude.

The Guardian's 100 Best Albums of the 21st Century. I had some production for the brother, and I knew that if he did what he was supposed to do, we would put him right on the fast track, Roc told Complex. Six tracks later, onSlow Rushs centerpiece On Track, its nearly August and the knife has firmly twisted. 9 yr. ago These complex lists piss me off so here: Love - Forever Changes Nas - Illmatic System of a Down - Toxicity Wu-Tang Clan - Wu-Tang Forever Joy Division - Closer Dizzee Rascal - Boy in da Corner The Streets - A Grand Don't Come for Free Andre Gee, Lil Uzi Vert toldeveryonehe was going to treat 2020 like it was 2016 and make up for the musical hiatus he took while dealing with label drama. As a result, Ungodly Hour is a chillingly beautiful second project. A 20+ track, 80-minute hodgepodge of every genre the band has dabbled in before was inevitable. But today, were ranking the best albums of 2020 as we internalized them over the past 12 months. A Nudy Story is a breathtaking, richly detailed autobiography in which he recalls meeting and making peace with his estranged father, and affirms his loyalty to those whove stuck with him this long.

1 hit (Toosie), hundreds of millions of streams, and a handful of standout gems thatll hold us overuntil hisself-proclaimedlucky number sixth studio album drops. In a vacuum, its an immaculate body of work, and that alone warrants its place on this list. This year has been nothing short of a roller-coaster ride for Megan Thee Stallion, but shewas able to turn the attention back to her musicwith the release of herdebut studio album in late November. Its weird. Hit-Boy crafted a soundscape that fusesclassic elements with fresh flourishes, strongly accompanying Nas still top-tier lyricism on tracks like Car #85, Firm reprisal Full Circle, and Spicy with Fivio Foreign and ASAP Ferg. February 25, 2003.



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