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As the old saying goes, one either dies young or lives a long life to become an old head. More music enthusiasts than ever asked that eternal question, “Has rap fallen off?” Well, the answer is long. The genre is always complicated. It is continuously changing and 2023 has proved that it has been a transformative year for the genre. Stars like billy woods and MIKE dropped their projects that pushed into the mainstream as the hometown heroes including St. Louis’ Sexyy Red and Detroit’s Veeze reconstructed the genre’s geographic setup. Here are the top ten raps of 2023 for you –
1. ‘Sundial’ by Noname –
‘Sundial’ is the second studio album by American hip-hop artist Noname. It was self-released on August 11, 2023. It features guest appearances by Jay Electronica, Billy Woods, Eryn Allen Kane, and Common amongst others. On 15th May 2019, the artist broke the news about her second studio album which is being titled ‘Factory Baby’. The music project was expected to be launched in late 2021 but was later postponed. According to the rapper, she had faced a lot of trouble finding producers she could ‘genuinely connect with sonically’. Noname performed a few of the tracks at rapper Mike’s Young World III festival on 15th July. Well, following the release of the album, Jay Electronica was accused of anti-Semitism and of advising the war in Ukraine is an ‘a hoax’ for his verse on ‘Balloons’.
2. ‘Ganger’ by Veeze –
‘Ganger’ is the debut album by American rapper Veeze. It was released on 27th June, 2023 through Navy Wavy and Warner Records. The first album follows his 2019 debut mixtape ‘Navy Wavy’ and also features collaborations with Babyface Ray, Icewear Vezzo, Lucki, Lil Uzi Vert, and Lil Yachty. The album got acclaim from the critics and managed to secure its rank at 97 on the US Billboard 200. In the current era, it takes a lot for a highly anticipated album not to be criticized and dismissed by fans on its release night. Detroit rapper’s 2010s string of memorable features and singles wound a frenzied hype for his solo debut project. During the process, Veeze’s gritty production delves into the brilliant production of grooves like ‘GOMD’, ‘Broke phone’, and ‘It’s Not A Drill’.
3. ‘Maps’ by Billy Woods and Kenny Segal –
Well, is there any writer in the world creating better in miniature than Billy Woods? ‘Maps’ is a collaborative studio album by producer Kenny Segal and rapper Billy Woods. It was unveiled through Backwoodz Studioz on 5th May, 2023. The music project was introduced by two singles, ‘Facetime’ released on 12th April 2023, and ‘Soft Landing’ released on 3rd May 2023. The album also features guest appearances from Danny Brown, Aesop Rock, Elucid, Benjamin Booker, SharpKnel, and Samuel T. Herring. The concept album highlights Woods’ experience as a touring musician. He described ‘Maps’ as a ‘post-pandemic’ album as he was influenced to write it during the crowded touring schedule he had undertaken after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in Europe and North America. It portrays travel as an experience that can often guide to indignities and alienation but is also able to provide adventure and escape.
4. ‘Voir Dire’ by Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist –
‘Voir Dire’ is a long-awaited collaborative album between legendary producer The Alchemist and rap star Earl Sweatshirt. On earlier records, Sweatshirt and The Alchemist built independent rap classics such as ‘Loose Change’. The favorite duo returns on ‘Voir Dire’ along with a heavy dose of moody and atmospheric arrangement form of the Alchemist blended with the gritty rhyming of Sweatshirt, offering the best rap album of the year. To longtime followers, these launches felt like an update on the popular musician and offered a view into his ever-creative technical rapping capabilities.
5. ‘Hood Hottest Princess’ by Sexyy Red –
Now coming to this, ‘Hood Hottest Princess’ is the second mixtape by American rapper Sexyy Red. It was released on 9th June 2023 through Open Shift. The music project was supported by the singles ‘Born By the River’,’ Female Gucci Mane’, ‘Hellcats SRTs’, ‘SkeeYee’, and ‘Pound Town 2’. The project has received positive reception from the listeners and the critics as well. The mixtape features guest appearances from Nicki Minaj, ATL Jacob, Sukihana, and Juicy J. Walden Green of ‘The Fader’ reviewed ‘SkeeYee’ and called it the ‘song you need in your life today’ for the sleek vocals of Sexyy Red and instrumentation of Tay Keith.
6. ‘For All The Dogs’ by Drake –
It is the eighth studio album by Canadian singer and rapper Drake. ‘For All The Dogs’ was released via Republic Records and OVO Sound on 6th October, 2023. It features guest appearances from J. Cole, Yeat, SZA, PartyNextDoor, Litl Yatch, and several others. The Scary Hours edition of the album was launched on 17th November 2023, offering six additional tracks. The lead single of the album, ‘Slime You Out’ features American musician SZA and was dropped on 15th September, 2023, the track was produced by Drake himself and Noel Cadastre. The second single of the album ‘8AM in Charlotte’ was released on 5th October and was produced by Mario Luciano and Conductor Williams. However, ‘For All The Dogs’ received a score of 53 out of 100 based on 13 critics’ reviews.
7. ‘A Gift & a Curse’ by Gunna –
‘A Gift & A Curse’ is the fourth studio album by American rapper Gunna. The album was released via 300 Entertainment and YSL Records on 16th June 2023. The music project managed to gather generally positive reviews. Metacritic assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album got an average score of 68, depending on six reviews. In the United States, ‘A Gift & a Curse’ debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 chart, gathering attention in its first week, marking Gunna’s fifth top ten album in total with four of the five credited to him.
8. ‘A Great Chaos’ by Ken Carson –
Ken Carson whispers on ‘Jennifer’s Body’ as KP Beatz and Lucian’s cybernetic beat starts, stops, and starts like a crafting spacecraft that just needs a fine kick. ‘A Great Chaos’ is the third studio album by American rapper Ken Carson, launched by Interscope Records and Opium on 13th October 2023. The project is a follow-up to Carson’s ‘X’, their second studio album, and his third mixtape ‘Lost Files 4’, which consists of 18 tracks and features guest appearances from Lil Uzi Vert and Destroy Lonely. The project’s production was managed by multiple producers including TM88, F1lthy, Carson, and Lil 88. The lead single ‘I Need U’ was first previewed in December 2022. Moreover, the cover art of the album was designed by Nick Spiders.
9. ‘And Then You Pray for Me’ by Westside Gunn –
‘And Then You Pray for Me’ is the fifth and most probably his final studio album by American rapper Westside Gunn was released on 13th October, 2023 by Empire and Griselda Records. The project is a sequel to Gunn’s 2020 album ‘Pray for Paris’. The buffalo emcee seems to reprise his title as one of Hip-Hop’s greatest curators with carefully chosen production, features, and album artwork done by the late Virgil Abolh. The 21-track album is another magnificent album in the masterfully crafted catalog of Westside Gunn. All in the album has some brilliant tracks and is almost like a history lesson with appearances from DJ Drama, DJ Swamp Izzo, and Tapaholics.
10. ‘Burning Desire’ by MIKE –
‘Burning Desire’ is the sixth solo studio music project by the American rapper Mike. It was released on 13th October, 2023 via 10k. The album features guest appearances by Lila Ramani of Crumb, Larry June, Earl Sweatshirt, and Klein amongst several others. The project comes only weeks after the release OF HIS COLLABORATIVE STUDIO ALBUM ‘Faith Is a Rock’ with The Alchemist and Wiki. All the tracks are written by Michael Bonema. Mike produced all the tracks except ‘African Sex Freak Fantasy’ which was produced by Gawd and Laron produced ‘Snake Charm’.
Where there was some talk that this year disappointed in Hip-Hop but the genre is massive and multi-layered to criticize in broad strokes.
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