Arguably the most anticipated of our year-end list is that of the Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2018. But while marquee artists like Drake, Cardi B and Travis Scott ensure that the genre dominates the charts, chart dominance doesn't always ensure critical acclaim. Scroll below to see whose albums made the cut this year.
Then, flip back through Exclaim!'s other genre-specific album lists for the Best Albums of 2018, including the Top 20 Pop & Rock Albums, our Top 10 Folk and Country Albums and the Top 10 Metal and Hardcore Albums of the Year.
Top 10 Hip-Hop Albums of 2018:
10. Jean Grae & Quelle Chris
Everything's Fine
(Mello Music Group)
Suffering from social media malaise? Worried about the ongoing apocalypse? White supremacy in the White House got you down? Then Everything's Fine was made for you. The title itself is a reference to shallow optimism, to the reflexive answer of "fine" whenever one is asked how they're doing these days, no matter how poorly off one actually is. Jean Grae and Quelle Chris delivered social commentary at its most biting wrapped in satire at its most cutting; it's pragmatic scepticism tempered by subversive humour, a sober evaluation of wokeness served with a bevy of jazz-laced beats that hint at the old school but with the polish of the future.
Appearances from top-drawer comedians such as Hannibal Buress, Michael Che and Nick Offerman help cushion the blow, as Jean Grae and Quelle Chris speak truth to power alongside turns from Ashok Kondabolu, Your Old Droog and Anna Wise. With Everything's Fine, a revolution you can laugh to, Grae and Chris ascend the ranks to become one of hip-hop's greatest power couples.
Alan Ranta
9. CupcakKe
Ephorize
(Independent)
She's been called raunchy, unabashed, freaky and audacious. And while CupcakKe is indeed all of these things and more, the Chicago-bred rapper proves that she can not only spit fantastic one-liners but that she can interweave it all with an impressive sense of vulnerability and self-awareness.
Ephorize is an album that no other rapper could make. And while it follows a certain tradition of sexually liberated female MCs, CupcakKe manages to push beyond set constraints to make music that serves up delicious — and often hilarious — self-affirmations. From confident tracks like "Cartoons" ("I'm a snack so I attract Scooby Doo's, give 'em Smurf dick, that's balls blue") to more serious ones like "Self-Interview," which taps into women's struggles ("Back then we had lip gloss and some overalls, that's the usual / Nowadays I gotta show skin and wear sew-ins to feel beautiful"), Ephorize's tracklist is a testament to her range and willingness to experiment with flow.
CupcakKe is an untamed 21-year-old powerhouse with nowhere to go but up.
Courtney Baird-Lew
8. Vince Staples
FM!
(Def Jam)
Vince Staples remains true to his Long Beach roots across his catalogue, but this year's FM! explored both his city and himself in a way prior records didn't. The scenes are arranged as a "theatre of the mind," with the 11-track effort playing out like a radio broadcast live and direct from the LBC. Staples' inventive concept is brought to life with quick segues by a cast of West coasters including Jay Rock, E-40 and Kamaiyah, not to mention "hosting" spots from L.A. broadcast staple Big Boy.
Even when rapping over twinkling textures or pushing his vocal delivery into energetic territory, the darkness of Staples' Long Beach creeps in. Big Boy's breezy album intro cuts to Staples rapping, "Summertime in the LB wild / We gon' party 'til the sun or the guns come out," while harrowing closer "Tweakin'" finds him "Tryin' to get rich, get everybody fed / But everybody dead."
Calum Slingerland
7. Tierra Whack
Whack World
(Independent)
No artist has used 15 minutes of fame more efficiently than Philadelphia phenom Tierra Whack. Her brief and gutsy debut, Whack World, is a trippy foray through the colourful crevices of her mind; like Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes and Andre 3000 before her, Whack delivers a complete experience that transcends the average album. She establishes herself as far more than a carbon copy, though; it's hard not to be charmed by her acerbic wit and unbridled confidence.
Appealing to — and perhaps simultaneously mocking — our short attention spans, Whack packages her multifaceted personality into lean, infectious vignettes that are deceptively cunning beneath their surface-level zaniness. Whack World is sharp, bright and succinct — and most importantly, leaves the listener yearning for more.
Whack might be a rookie in the mainstream, but her ingenious debut cemented her status as a masterful artist — and in record time.
A. Harmony
6. Travis Scott
Astroworld
(Epic)
Travis Scott's August 3 album came after many delays and switch-ups, leading many to wonder if it was going to be worth the hype.
Short answer? It was. Long answer? Astroworld is stylistically unmatched, features essentially all of the hottest rappers in the game right now and contributes as much progress to hip-hop as to music in general. In terms of Scott's discography, it's what his fans have been hoping for ever since Rodeo, and Birds in the Trap simply wasn't it. It's hard to pick a best track from an album like this, but "Can't Say," "Sicko Mode" and "5% Tint" would all make strong choices.
Astroworld feels like an instant classic; it's made Travis Scott part of the conversation about bona fide greats in the little more than six months since its release.
Clayton Tomlinson
5. The Carters
Everything Is Love
(Roc Nation/Sony)
JAY-Z and Beyoncé have always had an unspoken chemistry on tracks — dating back TO "'03 Bonnie & Clyde," fans have pondered what a joint album would sound like. Well, in what was equal parts completely spontaneous for fans and absolutely shady toward Nas — whose long-awaited (and questionably executed) LP dropped on streaming networks mere hours before, the billionaire power couple released the ultimate couple goal, Everything Is Love, under the name the Carters.
"Coupled" with breathtaking visuals for the lead single "Apeshit," featuring Offset and Quavo from Migos (and shot in the Louvre Museum in Paris), the project — loaded with Easter eggs for hip-hop heads to savour — made for an entertaining affair. Most notably, Bey gave Jigga a well-deserved public shaming on the stand out "Lovehappy," discussing his cheating, which was a hot topic in both of their solo LPs leading up this release.
Riley Wallace
4. Kids See Ghosts
Kids See Ghosts
(G.O.O.D.)
It was difficult to root for Kanye West in 2018. Between his MAGA hat and comments that slavery was "a choice," his musical output was mostly overshadowed by a succession of PR nightmares. Amidst all that, Kids See Ghosts — his new project with longtime collaborator Kid Cudi — was a welcome breath of fresh air.
Coming just a week after the clumsy, half-baked solo album ye, these seven tracks are mercifully free of political baggage. Instead, it's full of spirituality and redemption, relying heavily on Kid Cudi's wordless moans and mantra-like refrains: "I'm so reborn, keep moving forward," or "Lord shine your light on me, save me please." Kanye's production is beautifully moody, and when he takes the mic, he lays off the Trump references and "scoopy-poop" trolling. If Kids See Ghosts were the only thing Kanye did this year, we might be thinking of 2018 as yet another triumphant victory lap.
Alex Hudson
3. Noname
Room 25
(Independent)
Among the many feats that rising Chicago MC Noname pulls off on her breakthrough LP Room 25, perhaps the most impressive is the way she balances timeless production and a lyrical flow that couldn't be more 2018. The soothingly jazzy instrumental on opening track "Self," for instance, wouldn't sound out of place on a Roots or Erykah Badu album in the '90s, but Noname's conversational cadence is innovative and of the moment, making for a jarring, attention-grabbing combination. We can't fathom any past artist with enough oh-so-2018 creativity to make feminist metaphors about genitals that can also write about colonialism and teach ninth grade English.
Noname's boundary-pushing remains constant throughout these 11 tracks. With "Prayer Song," she deftly peppers metaphors about dysfunctional romance with social commentary about being black in America, each idiosyncratic non sequitur a relatable yet unexpected glimpse into her mindset. Then on "Montego Bae," she showcases her pop chart bona fides with an irresistibly catchy, sunny instrumental and flow to match. All the while, she never sacrifices the nimble lyricism that is her hallmark (in this case, those bars are an upbeat tribute to the title's Jamaican oasis).
Wide-ranging as her attributes are, Noname unifies them with her quirky and insightful sensibility. It ensured her name will be on the lips of many a critic and fan as year-end "Best of 2018" debates begin.
Kyle Mullin
2. Pusha-T
DAYTONA
(G.O.O.D.)
Before Pusha-T embarked on a colossal rap battle with Drake this summer, he released his third studio album DAYTONA as a part of G.O.O.D. Music's unexpected roster rollout in June. Executively produced by Kanye West, DAYTONA delivers a sinister story rooted in Pusha's affinity for rapping about dealing drugs and living lavishly. However, unlike previous albums, DAYTONA presents the other side of this lifestyle: the guilt ("What Would Meek Do?"), the failed relationships ("Come Back Baby"), the paranoia ("Santeria") and, of course, the enemies ("Infrared").
It's this duality that, for better or for worse, is represented by DAYTONA's $85K cover art: a 2006 picture of Whitney Houston's drug-strewn bathroom. While Pusha-T uses Rembrandt-like imagery to convey his stories lyrically, Kanye West's harmonious energy and ability to sonically cradle Pusha's effortless flow drives the lush album to becoming one his most tenacious works to date.
"This is my Purple Tape," Push raps on "The Games We Play," an ode to Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx — and for all intents and purposes, it is. Not only does Pusha-T arrive with the bag, but he's never been more in his bag than he is with DAYTONA.
Erin Lowers
1. Cardi B
Invasion of Privacy
(Atlantic)
Who knew 2018's most dominant rap album would vacillate between revenge fantasies, thick Atlanta tongue-twisting trap, Miami booty shake, passionate relationship analysis and NYC summer block party anthems?
With its churning beats and monster hooks, Invasion of Privacy is only outdone by its wildly charismatic author. How Cardi B makes it all work is, she squeezes every morsel of her finger-waving, no-fools-suffering Bronx attitude into each beat, never going through motions as she spills her sass over excellent trap ("Drip," featuring Migos), inspiration rap ("Best Life," featuring a scene-stealing Chance the Rapper), and Three 6 Mafia–styled Southern club tear-up ("Bickenhead," which reaches a level of raunchy irreverence that would make 2 Live Crew proud).
And the former stripper's three-hit-song minimum gifted us with legit pop-rap masterpieces that forced us to crank the FM radio dial whenever they came on — which they did, a lot. The bossy "Bodak Yellow" is a glorious slice of arrogant empowerment via high fashion, and the one that made Cardi a force to recognize. "Be Careful" dives heart-first into the drive-yourself-crazy mind games of a lover scorned. And the irresistible "I Like It" reenergizes Pete Rodriguez's infectious 1966 Latin boogaloo smash and feels like a parade in your car.
A swirl of extra noise surrounded the breakout artist as Cardi B owned both headlines and charts in 2018, but at the core of all the hype was a defiant and ridiculously fun pop-rap opus built on brashness and top-notch production. 2018 belonged to Cardi. And she relished it in surprise: "My little 15 minutes lasted long as hell!"
Luke Fox
Then, flip back through Exclaim!'s other genre-specific album lists for the Best Albums of 2018, including the Top 20 Pop & Rock Albums, our Top 10 Folk and Country Albums and the Top 10 Metal and Hardcore Albums of the Year.
Top 10 Hip-Hop Albums of 2018:
10. Jean Grae & Quelle Chris
Everything's Fine
(Mello Music Group)
Suffering from social media malaise? Worried about the ongoing apocalypse? White supremacy in the White House got you down? Then Everything's Fine was made for you. The title itself is a reference to shallow optimism, to the reflexive answer of "fine" whenever one is asked how they're doing these days, no matter how poorly off one actually is. Jean Grae and Quelle Chris delivered social commentary at its most biting wrapped in satire at its most cutting; it's pragmatic scepticism tempered by subversive humour, a sober evaluation of wokeness served with a bevy of jazz-laced beats that hint at the old school but with the polish of the future.
Appearances from top-drawer comedians such as Hannibal Buress, Michael Che and Nick Offerman help cushion the blow, as Jean Grae and Quelle Chris speak truth to power alongside turns from Ashok Kondabolu, Your Old Droog and Anna Wise. With Everything's Fine, a revolution you can laugh to, Grae and Chris ascend the ranks to become one of hip-hop's greatest power couples.
Alan Ranta
9. CupcakKe
Ephorize
(Independent)
She's been called raunchy, unabashed, freaky and audacious. And while CupcakKe is indeed all of these things and more, the Chicago-bred rapper proves that she can not only spit fantastic one-liners but that she can interweave it all with an impressive sense of vulnerability and self-awareness.
Ephorize is an album that no other rapper could make. And while it follows a certain tradition of sexually liberated female MCs, CupcakKe manages to push beyond set constraints to make music that serves up delicious — and often hilarious — self-affirmations. From confident tracks like "Cartoons" ("I'm a snack so I attract Scooby Doo's, give 'em Smurf dick, that's balls blue") to more serious ones like "Self-Interview," which taps into women's struggles ("Back then we had lip gloss and some overalls, that's the usual / Nowadays I gotta show skin and wear sew-ins to feel beautiful"), Ephorize's tracklist is a testament to her range and willingness to experiment with flow.
CupcakKe is an untamed 21-year-old powerhouse with nowhere to go but up.
Courtney Baird-Lew
8. Vince Staples
FM!
(Def Jam)
Vince Staples remains true to his Long Beach roots across his catalogue, but this year's FM! explored both his city and himself in a way prior records didn't. The scenes are arranged as a "theatre of the mind," with the 11-track effort playing out like a radio broadcast live and direct from the LBC. Staples' inventive concept is brought to life with quick segues by a cast of West coasters including Jay Rock, E-40 and Kamaiyah, not to mention "hosting" spots from L.A. broadcast staple Big Boy.
Even when rapping over twinkling textures or pushing his vocal delivery into energetic territory, the darkness of Staples' Long Beach creeps in. Big Boy's breezy album intro cuts to Staples rapping, "Summertime in the LB wild / We gon' party 'til the sun or the guns come out," while harrowing closer "Tweakin'" finds him "Tryin' to get rich, get everybody fed / But everybody dead."
Calum Slingerland
7. Tierra Whack
Whack World
(Independent)
No artist has used 15 minutes of fame more efficiently than Philadelphia phenom Tierra Whack. Her brief and gutsy debut, Whack World, is a trippy foray through the colourful crevices of her mind; like Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes and Andre 3000 before her, Whack delivers a complete experience that transcends the average album. She establishes herself as far more than a carbon copy, though; it's hard not to be charmed by her acerbic wit and unbridled confidence.
Appealing to — and perhaps simultaneously mocking — our short attention spans, Whack packages her multifaceted personality into lean, infectious vignettes that are deceptively cunning beneath their surface-level zaniness. Whack World is sharp, bright and succinct — and most importantly, leaves the listener yearning for more.
Whack might be a rookie in the mainstream, but her ingenious debut cemented her status as a masterful artist — and in record time.
A. Harmony
6. Travis Scott
Astroworld
(Epic)
Travis Scott's August 3 album came after many delays and switch-ups, leading many to wonder if it was going to be worth the hype.
Short answer? It was. Long answer? Astroworld is stylistically unmatched, features essentially all of the hottest rappers in the game right now and contributes as much progress to hip-hop as to music in general. In terms of Scott's discography, it's what his fans have been hoping for ever since Rodeo, and Birds in the Trap simply wasn't it. It's hard to pick a best track from an album like this, but "Can't Say," "Sicko Mode" and "5% Tint" would all make strong choices.
Astroworld feels like an instant classic; it's made Travis Scott part of the conversation about bona fide greats in the little more than six months since its release.
Clayton Tomlinson
5. The Carters
Everything Is Love
(Roc Nation/Sony)
JAY-Z and Beyoncé have always had an unspoken chemistry on tracks — dating back TO "'03 Bonnie & Clyde," fans have pondered what a joint album would sound like. Well, in what was equal parts completely spontaneous for fans and absolutely shady toward Nas — whose long-awaited (and questionably executed) LP dropped on streaming networks mere hours before, the billionaire power couple released the ultimate couple goal, Everything Is Love, under the name the Carters.
"Coupled" with breathtaking visuals for the lead single "Apeshit," featuring Offset and Quavo from Migos (and shot in the Louvre Museum in Paris), the project — loaded with Easter eggs for hip-hop heads to savour — made for an entertaining affair. Most notably, Bey gave Jigga a well-deserved public shaming on the stand out "Lovehappy," discussing his cheating, which was a hot topic in both of their solo LPs leading up this release.
Riley Wallace
4. Kids See Ghosts
Kids See Ghosts
(G.O.O.D.)
It was difficult to root for Kanye West in 2018. Between his MAGA hat and comments that slavery was "a choice," his musical output was mostly overshadowed by a succession of PR nightmares. Amidst all that, Kids See Ghosts — his new project with longtime collaborator Kid Cudi — was a welcome breath of fresh air.
Coming just a week after the clumsy, half-baked solo album ye, these seven tracks are mercifully free of political baggage. Instead, it's full of spirituality and redemption, relying heavily on Kid Cudi's wordless moans and mantra-like refrains: "I'm so reborn, keep moving forward," or "Lord shine your light on me, save me please." Kanye's production is beautifully moody, and when he takes the mic, he lays off the Trump references and "scoopy-poop" trolling. If Kids See Ghosts were the only thing Kanye did this year, we might be thinking of 2018 as yet another triumphant victory lap.
Alex Hudson
3. Noname
Room 25
(Independent)
Among the many feats that rising Chicago MC Noname pulls off on her breakthrough LP Room 25, perhaps the most impressive is the way she balances timeless production and a lyrical flow that couldn't be more 2018. The soothingly jazzy instrumental on opening track "Self," for instance, wouldn't sound out of place on a Roots or Erykah Badu album in the '90s, but Noname's conversational cadence is innovative and of the moment, making for a jarring, attention-grabbing combination. We can't fathom any past artist with enough oh-so-2018 creativity to make feminist metaphors about genitals that can also write about colonialism and teach ninth grade English.
Noname's boundary-pushing remains constant throughout these 11 tracks. With "Prayer Song," she deftly peppers metaphors about dysfunctional romance with social commentary about being black in America, each idiosyncratic non sequitur a relatable yet unexpected glimpse into her mindset. Then on "Montego Bae," she showcases her pop chart bona fides with an irresistibly catchy, sunny instrumental and flow to match. All the while, she never sacrifices the nimble lyricism that is her hallmark (in this case, those bars are an upbeat tribute to the title's Jamaican oasis).
Wide-ranging as her attributes are, Noname unifies them with her quirky and insightful sensibility. It ensured her name will be on the lips of many a critic and fan as year-end "Best of 2018" debates begin.
Kyle Mullin
2. Pusha-T
DAYTONA
(G.O.O.D.)
Before Pusha-T embarked on a colossal rap battle with Drake this summer, he released his third studio album DAYTONA as a part of G.O.O.D. Music's unexpected roster rollout in June. Executively produced by Kanye West, DAYTONA delivers a sinister story rooted in Pusha's affinity for rapping about dealing drugs and living lavishly. However, unlike previous albums, DAYTONA presents the other side of this lifestyle: the guilt ("What Would Meek Do?"), the failed relationships ("Come Back Baby"), the paranoia ("Santeria") and, of course, the enemies ("Infrared").
It's this duality that, for better or for worse, is represented by DAYTONA's $85K cover art: a 2006 picture of Whitney Houston's drug-strewn bathroom. While Pusha-T uses Rembrandt-like imagery to convey his stories lyrically, Kanye West's harmonious energy and ability to sonically cradle Pusha's effortless flow drives the lush album to becoming one his most tenacious works to date.
"This is my Purple Tape," Push raps on "The Games We Play," an ode to Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx — and for all intents and purposes, it is. Not only does Pusha-T arrive with the bag, but he's never been more in his bag than he is with DAYTONA.
Erin Lowers
1. Cardi B
Invasion of Privacy
(Atlantic)
Who knew 2018's most dominant rap album would vacillate between revenge fantasies, thick Atlanta tongue-twisting trap, Miami booty shake, passionate relationship analysis and NYC summer block party anthems?
With its churning beats and monster hooks, Invasion of Privacy is only outdone by its wildly charismatic author. How Cardi B makes it all work is, she squeezes every morsel of her finger-waving, no-fools-suffering Bronx attitude into each beat, never going through motions as she spills her sass over excellent trap ("Drip," featuring Migos), inspiration rap ("Best Life," featuring a scene-stealing Chance the Rapper), and Three 6 Mafia–styled Southern club tear-up ("Bickenhead," which reaches a level of raunchy irreverence that would make 2 Live Crew proud).
And the former stripper's three-hit-song minimum gifted us with legit pop-rap masterpieces that forced us to crank the FM radio dial whenever they came on — which they did, a lot. The bossy "Bodak Yellow" is a glorious slice of arrogant empowerment via high fashion, and the one that made Cardi a force to recognize. "Be Careful" dives heart-first into the drive-yourself-crazy mind games of a lover scorned. And the irresistible "I Like It" reenergizes Pete Rodriguez's infectious 1966 Latin boogaloo smash and feels like a parade in your car.
A swirl of extra noise surrounded the breakout artist as Cardi B owned both headlines and charts in 2018, but at the core of all the hype was a defiant and ridiculously fun pop-rap opus built on brashness and top-notch production. 2018 belonged to Cardi. And she relished it in surprise: "My little 15 minutes lasted long as hell!"
Luke Fox