Top 10 Albums of 2021
What up one & all. Sky Bento here on the check-in once again. Big Bento Energy is most definitely in full effect. Hope you & yours are doing good & well, especially during this holiday season. Please protect your mental health and drink your water.
The year 2021 is finally over. Wow. Another year of highs and lows in the books. After the madness of 2020, most of the game’s heavy hitters decided to roll out and drop the projects they’d likely been cooking up all quarantine, eventually (looking at you, Kanye). But more than anything, this year looked like a transition, a torch-passing if you will. The new generation is here to stay and rap is changing yet again. In fact, this year signified that rap has already changed. Old and new continued to be sampled, mixed, and rearranged to craft the sound of the new decade. So without further ado, let me walk you through what felt like the best projects of the year from what I peeped.
As always, these are just MY opinions and do not reflect the views of TDN as a staff, brand or a m***********g crew. Feel free to crucify me on Twitter @plzsaythebento. Iight, let’s get to it.
10. The Melodic Blue, Baby Keem - Easily one of the most talked about new artists of the year, Kendrick Lamar’s cousin dropped his long-awaited debut album. Surprisingly this album contains the only Kendrick music we got this year, meaning it technically rounds out releases for the big three. Personally, The Melodic Blue wasn’t the major statement I was expecting from Keem, but as an artist/producer he certainly showed some promise. His raps are like a combination of his big cousin and Playboi Carti, but his production varies from Kanye West influences to Tame Impala. Really, it’s that production that made this such an endearing listen. The beats bring you into Keem’s world enough to give more emotional heft to the therapy session style bars Keem calls home. Hopefully he continues to build on and experiment with what’s displayed here.
Favorite Songs: “issues”, “lost souls (feat. Brent Faiyaz)” & “first order of business”
9. Fighting Demons, Juice WRLD - First things first, RIP Juice WRLD. Were he still alive to fully make this project himself, I’ve no doubt it’d rank higher. But as it stands, what we got was yet another showing of what Juice made his name off of with very little variation (save for the slow, open, cinematic production on “Burn”, courtesy of the legendary Metro Boomin). There are plenty of highlights, and the “Juice Speaks 2” freestyle/skit really show just how much of a generational talent was lost with his tragic passing. Like most of Juice’s work, the album’s mission statement is to help others struggling in the fight against, well, guess. There’s even a haunting skit of Eminem breaking down his addiction, and I feel like the album could’ve used one or two more warning stories like this from other artists who’ve also struggled with similar fights. Instead we got a decent selection of good Juice WRLD tracks, and while it’s not as well sequenced or gift wrapped as his first posthumous outing, Fighting Demons is another solid offering from the late king of emo rap.
Favorite Songs: “Burn”, “Juice Speaks 2”, “Rockstar In His Prime”, “Until The Plug Comes Back Around”, “Feline (feat. Polo G & Trippie Redd)”
8. Sixtape 2, Blxst & Bino Rideaux - 2021 XXL Freshman Blxst is my favorite new artist of 2021. Like Baby Keem, he produces his own music, but he has a much more signature style that reeks of his influences while also being all his own. The biggest knock against this project is that it might sound like one long song, but that also works to its advantage. From beginning to end, them West Coast late night Impala cruising soundtrack vibes never let up. It’s a very cohesive project and clocking in at just 29 minutes, it doesn’t overstay its welcome at all. This stayed on repeat for that reason when it dropped. Blxst & Bino make up two sides of the same coin. Blxst is the smooth-voiced prince of West Coast G-Funk flavored R&B (maybe king one day should Ty Dolla $ign ever slip up). Bino Rideaux is the harder, more rap friendly of the two despite his smoky voice being overly autotuned and processed to give it an almost Roger Troutman-meets-glitchy video game sounding vocal. Both are guaranteed to get at least one melody stuck in your head, and together they are greater than the sum of their parts. Let’s hope they continue to bring the best out of each other, and take that best to higher heights.
Favorite Songs: “Pop Out”, “One Of Them Ones”, “Accountable”
7. The Voice (Deluxe), Lil Durk - This the only deluxe on this list, so let’s rip the band-aid off right now. This project is way too long. That said, Lil Durk is the rapper of the year. He’s not the best rapper, but when we think back to what rap sounded like in 2021 we’re going to immediately hear a voice and a hero. Surprisingly, I found Lil Durk’s solo project more hard hitting than his collaborative album with Lil Baby. While the year may have started with Lil Baby bodying features left and right (including one on this very project) and even being claimed to have carried their project, Durk continued to pop up and bring you into his world which made me revisit this project more and more. He’s a lot more multidimensional than Baby. His relationship with India gives him the inspiration to float on more R&B styled production. He can go no auto and get authentic drill flows off (as one of the originators of the wave). But his bread and butter is of course the melodic pain music which is basically the hottest sound in rap right now (another wave he had a hand in bringing to mainstream attention since he burst onto the scene in 2014). With better executive production, Durkio could really deliver a clear concise body of work and grab the top spot on a list like this soon.
Favorite Songs: “Finesse Out The Gang Way (feat. Lil Baby)”, “Kanye Krazy”, “Not The Same”, “Backdoor”, “Stay Down (feat. 6LACK & Young Thug)”
6. King’s Disease 2, Nas - Nas shut up two completely different camps of naysayers with last year’s Hit-Boy produced album King’s Disease. One was the group of complainers that Nas picks bad beats, which Hit-Boy quickly disposed of. The other was the group of both Nas detractors and supporters, marveling at the fact that a Grammy award had somehow eluded the man. And depending one who and when you ask, King’s Disease 2 might be better than the first one. A smooth listen from start to finish with top-notch production. Nas is in rare form here, adapting amazingly to the new sound of rap. We don’t hear him forcing some auto-tuned melodies, but he does get off a triplet flow or two. As always, Nas’ pen excels at the autobiographical. His storytelling throughout this album is even smoother than it was the first time around, proving they’d tapped into a true creative synergy rather than catching lightning in a bottle. And with the pair dropping another full project at the tail end of the year, it’s safe to say there’s a lot more left in the tank.
Favorite Songs; “Death Row East”, “40 Side”, “YKTV (feat. A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie & YG)”, “Store Run”, ”Brunch On Sundays (feat. Blxst)”
5. The Off-Season, J. Cole - Originally dropping with no listed features made this one of the biggest moments in hip-hop this year. Returning to the basketball themes that made him an underground favorite early in his career, J. Cole is in top form here. I’d argue that this is the best rapping J. Cole has ever done. There’s no attempt to save a fallen generation in this one, no preachiness. But Cole’s sincerity lingers and gives his pen a potency we haven’t heard since the mixtape days. In his own words, he’s headed toward his retirement and planning it out intricately. He wants to go out at the top of his game rather than fizzle out. So he got back to treating rap like a sport, and rather than shooting free throws in the gym alone he brought along some friends this time. We got Cam’ron hosting the intro. We got a reunion with 21 Savage and a Morray chorus. We got one of the biggest surprises and best features of the year when Lil Baby shows up mid-bar on “Pride Is The Devil”. This is J. Cole’s best album to me, pretty easily. At a concise 39 minutes, the hunger never feels forced and is more present than ever before throughout The Off-Season. Let’s hope these last years of J. Cole’s career continue to be some of his best.
Favorite Songs: “a m a r i” , “p u n c h i n ‘ . t h e . c l o c k” , “p r i d e . i s . t h e . d e v i l (feat. Lil Baby)”, “t h e . c l i m b . b a c k”
4. Memory Lane, Shordie Shordie & Murda Beatz - I’m well aware I’m probably the only person putting this on their year end list, let alone ranking it this high. But I’ll be damned if this project isn’t still in rotation from start to finish like it just dropped. I think that’s helped by it not being this big triple A production from a cemented legend. Shordie Shordie’s Memory Lane could’ve worked as a debut album if it weren’t billed as a collaborative mixtape with Murda on the beat so it’s not nice. Despite the name, there’s really not much of a cohesive narrative throughout Memory Lane but there is still quite a lot of cohesion. More rappers should lock in with just one producer for a project. Shordie’s signature vocal styling is a hazy yet nasally East Coast rasp. Hella melodies. Hella background vocals. Think Lil Durk meets Max B (free the wavy one). Murda holds down his end on the production and while he doesn’t stray too far from his wheelhouse, it gives Shordie’s records this modern take on a storytelling vibe. A lot of these records would really feel at home in the background while we passing a joint around a campfire. And this is another project that doesn’t overstay its welcome either. From memories of betrayal, lost love and more, the ride is over before the 30 minute mark. This wasn’t my first time hearing Shordie Shordie, but this felt like a hell of a first impression and he’s definitely one of my favorite emerging artists now. I can’t wait to see what he does next.
Favorite Songs: “DOCTORS”, “LOVE (feat. Trippie Redd)”, “Same N****s”, “Stuck In Between”, “Close To Me”
3. Vince Staples, Vince Staples - Before 2021, I never considered myself a fan of Vince Staples’ music. Not that I didn’t like it or thought he wasn’t good or any of that. But knowing his personality from interviews and social media, the music just never matched or wowed me in any way. That was until him and Kenny Beats boiled his sound down to the essentials and made a compact, accessible version of a Vince Staples project, aptly self-titled. Vince has said himself he’s focused on making music to license for movies and television with previous projects. That cinematic philosophy still feels strong here, but the key difference is just how intimate the project feels. The stripped back, chunky yet fluid beats go crazy behind Vince’s matter-of-fact worldview. There doesn’t feel like a single lyric is wasted anywhere on the project and this is likewise another very short listen. Vince takes you through a day in the life in just 22 minutes. This is the most down-to-earth project of the year to me. There’s nothing flashy, nothing purposely unrelatable, it’s just Vince being Vince. It helps that he’s really good rapper with a gifted voice. The project is nothing Earth-shattering but it feels like a perfected version of exactly what it’s going for, bringing Vince’s life and thoughts into your speakers.
Favorite Songs: “ARE YOU WITH THAT?”, “LAW OF AVERAGES”, “THE SHINING”, “TAKING TRIPS”, “TAKE ME HOME (with Fousheé)”
2. DONDA, Kanye West - Donda. Donda Donda Donda. Where to start? While I don’t feel like doing the tired recap of the rollout, it’s impossible to separate this project from the spectacle that was hearing certain parts of the project for the first time (even if in some situations they’d be the last). Yeezy did it again though. DONDA is his best project in years. With a unifying theme in sprirituality and gratefulness, the profanity-free record brings together all of 2021’s favorites to deliver some career defining performances. Let it be known that Fivio Foreign had the greatest guest verse of the year on “Off The Grid” (also featuring Playboi Carti). Lil Baby & The Weeknd wash their sins away on “Hurricane”. Roddy Ricch takes us to church on “Pure Souls” with Shenseea. DONDA may not be the high watermark of artistic achievement in the long and winding career of Kanye West, but for an artist two decades in (and with all of the added turbulence of the controversies and mental health issues) the project is every bit of incredible as it should be. It’s a Kanye West album and for the first time in almost a decade, it feels like one.
Favorite Songs; “Jail (feat. JAY Z & Francis & The Lights)”, “Off The Grid (feat. Playboi Carti & Fivio Foreign)”, “Hurricane (feat. The Weeknd & Lil Baby)”, “Jonah (feat. Lil Durk & Vory)”, “Moon (feat. Don Toliver & Kid Cudi)”, “Pure Souls (feat. Roddy Ricch & Shenseea)”
Honorable Mentions: Alright you may have noticed there’s no Drake on this list (it’s obviously not number one if you’ve been paying attention). But I can’t do a top 10 albums list the year Drake drops and not mention the boy so… there you go. More importantly, I want to acknowledge that Griselda has had an incredible year. Mach Hommy’s Pray For Haiti, Westside Gunn’s Hitler Wears Hermes 8, any of the dozen Benny the Butcher projects, any of them could’ve popped up on this list. But for my personal tastes, the projects (while cohesive and aesthetically uniform) still feel like mixtapes or at least collections of songs primed to be thrown in a playlist on shuffle together. I know the lack of polish is kind of the whole point, and it’s really something Griselda has mastered, but I couldn’t in good faith put any of these projects in my top 10 albums list when they didn’t hit me as full projects like that this year. Finally, Kid Cudi’s Man On The Moon 3: The Chosen should’ve made this list but it did technically drop in 2020. If he did a deluxe like Durk, it likely would’ve knocked Juice & Keem down. But enough of all that. Let’s get into the obvious best album of the year. I mean, it’s not even close.
1. Call Me If You Get Lost, Tyler The Creator - Over the past few years, it feels like Tyler has kind of taken the torch from Kanye. Tyler the Creator is the most exciting artist in music right now, to me. And with this project, he also became my favorite rapper of this year. Call Me If You Get Lost is basically a commercial Gangsta Grillz mixtape. But it feels much grander than that despite sticking true to the gritty hip-hop origins of the medium. This is Tyler we’re talking about, so of course we get some other genres thrown into the mix, be it 90’s R&B on “WUSYANAME” which features an electrifying if unexpected verse from YoungBoy Never Broke Again, jazz rap on “HOT WIND BLOWS” with one of the best Lil Wayne features of the year in a year full of great Lil Wayne features, or even reggae on SWEET / I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE. But the main sound we get here is bar-heavy hip-hop, to the point where this project is actually why there’s no Griselda releases on this list. It’s all tied together with references to traveling and a theme of overall freedom. Even before he came out of the closet, Tyler has always been a beacon of artistic freedom. He simply creates on his own terms. After Flower Boy and IGOR it’s clear nobody does it quite like Tyler, so it’s great he decided to come back to straightforward hard-bodied rap for a victory lap. It was as true on the day it dropped as it is today. Tyler The Creator dropped the best album of 2021.
Favorite Songs: “CORSO”, “WUSYANAME (feat. YoungBoy Never Broke Again)”, “LUMBERJACK”, “HOT WIND BLOWS (feat. Lil Wayne)”, “MASSA”, “MANIFESTO (feat. Domo Genesis)”