Favorite Song: Jump Off The Roof
Features: Jhené Aiko, DJ Dahi, Kilo Kish, Joey Fatts, A$ton Matthews, Haneef Talib, Snoh Aalegra, Desi Mo, Daley
Genius Page

Summertime ‘06 could easily be described as conscious or lyrical, but it’s something more than that. S'06 offers a direct look into the mind of an observant kid stuck in the streets. This album manages to go through 20 tracks without ever feeling overly preachy or feeling like it’s glorifying the environment Vince came from. It simply tells it like it is in a straightforward, no nonsense, monotone that is captivating in its accounts of violence, addiction, love, racism, and desperation.
Vince has an undeniable talent as a rapper and, although it rarely shines through in his music, has managed to gain more mainstream attention through his great sense of humor.

Favorite Song: Tear In My Heart
Features: N/A
Genius Page

With Blurryface, Twenty One Pilots truly achieved mainstream success. Their all-over-the-place rap/pop/electronic/rock blend never really finds itself, but the unpredictability that comes with that made it an interesting listen. The album was not nearly as good as many hardcore Twenty One Pilots fans make it out to be, but I think it was better than many of its detractors described it as. It was a record that flip flopped between wanting to distance itself from typical radio pop and wanting to be on the radio. Ultimately, the album is ranked as highly as it is on this list due to its diverse sound and clever lyricism and hopefully as Twenty One Pilots continues to evolve they will find their sound and be able to make even better music.

Favorite Song: Check
Features: Birdman, T.I., Boosie Badazz, Young Dolph, Jacquees, Duke, Yak Gotti
Genius Page

Though this slot could have nearly gone to either Slime Season or Slime Season 2, Barter 6 is the best Young Thug release of 2015. The title Barter 6, originally Tha Carter VI, is obviously derivative of Thugger’s idol Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter series and it came right in the midst of the Birdman/Lil Wayne beef that has kept Tha Carter V from being released (while including a Birdman feature!). To add to it all, the cover to this album is almost as controversial as its title with a naked Young Thug on the cover. On this tape Thug sounds less like a Lil Wayne wanna-be (which is way too common with aspiring rappers) and more like a Lil Wayne successor. Yes, Drake is already Weezy’s clear successor (& Nicki Minaj to a lesser extent), but Young Thug is a successor to the unmatched energy, work ethic, and unapologetic strangeness that made Wayne stand out from all the other great lyricists. This record was extremely controversial in the hip-hop community ehrn it was released, but it, along with Young Thug, has begun to get the respect it deserves both in and outside of the hip-hop world.

Favorite Song: March Madness, as if that was even a question
Features: N/A
Genius Page

“I think 56 nights crazy”

For me, 56 Nights was where I really realized what Future had become. I liked a lot of Honest and various prior features and singles, but I didn’t understand the magnitude of Monster and Beast Mode until after revisiting them post-56 Nights. This mixtape (and Monster and Beast Mode) was all recorded following an infamous 56 Night jail stint Future’s DJ, DJ Esco (This mixtape is actually billed under DJ Esco and is technically only “hosted by” Future), went through in Dubai. The biggest loss involved with this incarceration was a hard drive that contained huge amounts of music Future had recorded in the two years prior. It was never recovered but that was probably for the better as it partially inspired his insane hot-streak that began with Halloween 2014’s Monster and has continued in 2016 already with January’s Purple Reign. On 56 Nights, Future explores addiction, depravity, and depression in a way that his become his signature style and that has never been done quite like this before (save maybe on Lil Wayne’s “I Feel Like Dying”).

Favorite Song: Heaven Only Knows ft. Chance The Rapper, Eryn Allen Kane, & Lido
Features: Chance The Rapper, Vic Mensa, Donnie Trumpet, Leather Corduroys, Eryn Allen Kane, Lido
Genius Page

“I get it get it, your friends did it, they famous/And you rap, too, so when you gon' make it?”

With Chance The Rapper being the most powerful independent artist in music and Vic Mensa freshly signed to Roc Nation and multiple collaborations with Kanye West, it’s clear that SAVEMONEY is hear to stay. The only question that was left was who would be the next member to blow up. That ended up being Towkio (formerly Tokyo Shawn), SM’s coolest and funniest rapper. Towkio has a unique style of conversational rapping that fits in nicely with the rest of SM’s soulful, jazzy, upbeat rap that occasionally takes serious turns. He also put on a hell of a live show on Chance’s Family Matters tour.

Favorite Song: Cut the Check ft. Chief Keef
Features: Chief Keef, Ab-Soul, Miguel, Lil B, Little Dragon
Genius Page

I don’t think this album was nearly as good as Mac’s last album, Watching Movies With The Sound Off, but not too many albums are in my opinion. This album sees Mac in a much happier and more confident mind state that allows him to make a project more mature than his previous ones. After seeing Mac live in December I gained a much stronger appreciation of this album and it has stuck with me more since. It may not be Mac’s best work, but it was still one of the best of the year. Hopefully Mac will continue to evolve and learn to blend the strengths of each of his different career stages from frat-rapper to depressed addict to whatever he is now, especially since he’s no longer independent and will thus have access to more features (although he was able to work with plenty of great artists before signing).

Favorite Song: Laurel Canyon
Features: Mac Miller, A$AP Rocky
Genius Page

The year of Chief Keef was 2012, but 2015 has offered much better music than he was ever making then. Because he no longer has as much visibility as he did with “Love Sosa” and The G.O.O.D Music (and for some reason Jadakiss) assisted “Don’t Like,” Keef has allowed himself to shape a new aesthetic that has changed drastically from his ruthless, violent image he had when brought drill to the forefront of rap. Now he occupies a zone similar to Lil Wayne’s in which he brings together strange pop culture references, wordplay, non-sequiturs, and humorous observations. Keef has evolved with his subject matter and beat selection, but his flows are still lazy, mumbled, and full of ad-libs and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Keef is not offering any lyrical complexity or strongly emotional moments on this album, but if taken at face value it’s a very enjoyable album and Keef’s best yet. The sequel, Bang 3 Pt. 2 was largely similar but with less memorable moments.

This year Sosa also had two of my favorite verses on Mac Miller’s Cut The Check and Travi$ Scott’s Nightcrawler

Favorite Song: Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go To The Party
Features: N/A
Genius Page

This album is easily the one most different from any of the others in the top 25. With this album, Barnett offers a string of observational, stream-of-consciousness lyrics that talks a lot about very little. It’s reminiscent of the way a comic would break down everyday situations, and carries with it a lot of the comedic strength. Though the album can get a little boring due to having a very exact and unchanging sound and aesthetic, every listen brings with it another new quotable that I had never noticed or thought anything of before.

Favorite Song: Wool ft. Vince Staples
Features: Vince Staples, Da$h, Wiki, Na'kel
Genius Page

In the wake of Odd Future’s breakup, The Internet dropped a quality album, Frank Ocean played with his fans emotions by not releasing anything, Tyler dropped a straight-to-the-recycle-bin album, and several other OF members dropped forgettable projects. What stood out the most was Earl Sweatshirt’s darkest and most personal album yet, which explores his personal experiences and themes such as depression, self-doubt, alienation, and substance abuse.

It’s interesting to note that the only OF contributions to this album are a beat from Left Brain on “Off Top” (the only song on the album Earl didn’t produce himself) and a verse from Na'kel (an OF affiliated skater who is rapping seriously for his first, and possibly only, time here).

Favorite Song: No Sense ft. Travi$ Scott
Features: Nas, Travi$ Scott, Big Sean, Halsey, Skrillex, Diplo, Ariana Grande
Genius Page

“Yeah I know that I let you down
Is it too late to say I’m sorry now?”

After spiraling from an undeniably talented teen star that could not be taken seriously dude to his music aimed at middle school girls to a train-wreck that was getting into trouble and losing public respect left and right, Justin was somehow on top in 2015. In 2014, Justin Bieber dropped his Journals series which showed artistic growth and featured Chance The Rapper, Future, Lil Wayne, and others, but it still wasn’t enough to redeem him. After his Comedy Central Roast, he was able to pull off the stray hit Where Are Ü Now, which originally appeared on Skrillex & Diplo’s Jack Ü album before being on Purpose. To follow that, he dropped two more of the best singles of his career with “Sorry” and “What Do You Mean?” and came with one of the best albums of the year.