Favorite Rap Releases so far in 2023

Curren$y & Harry Fraud - Vices

New Orleans’ Curren$y certainly is one of the most prolific rappers of these times, releasing multiple projects every year. It’s great that the music keeps pouring out, but means that you’re going to miss out on a few along the way and that quality may not always be consistent. That’s certainly not the case of his collaborations with producer Harry Fraud. “Vices” is their 6th or 7th project and to me is the culmination of what they’ve been doing together this whole time. From “Cigarette Boats” to “The Outrunners”, and more recently “Regatta”, the two have been delivering music infused with these South Florida and Miami vibes. So it made sense for them to dive into the universe of “Miami Vice” and pay homage to that show full of flashy clothes, sports cars and charismatic drug dealers. A time capsule of sorts, this album has Curren$y spitting over beats sampling some of the 80s classics that were included in the show’s soundtrack, the whole thing topped off with dialogues from the series. This creates a unique listening experience and the varied guests all lend a hand to make the album even more enjoyable. Take “Marble Columns” featuring Larry June for example, which samples the soundtrack from Miami Vice’s iconic “Definitely Miami” episode or the high adrenaline cut “86 Testarossa” with Rome Streetz. Then you have the Vico-assisted “Purple Picasso” or the opening track titled after another one of the show’s memorable episodes “The Great McCarthy”. The only drawback is that the album is too short… Time for the “Definitely Miami Deluxe Edition”?

Logic - College Park

Free of his major deal with Def Jam and fully out of retirement, Logic is back at it with another a full-length offering in “College Park”. This album sees Logic talk about his debuts and his career through a series of songs interlaced with interludes telling his journey with his crew from College Park to a concert he is playing in Washington DC. The entire album almost feels like a movie and each song is more interesting than the other. There are many highlights on this one like “Redpill VII”, the Redman and Seth McFarlane assisted “Self Medication” which is immediately followed by “Shimmy” with Joey Bada$$… If you love storytelling, boom bap raps and conceptual albums, this one will please you. This is my favorite album so far this year.

Black Thought & El Michels Affair - Glorious Game

Here’s one that was on my list of “Most Anticipated Rap Albums of 2023” and it didn’t disappoint. Off the back of the enormous collaboration album with Danger Mouse last year (which topped my best of 2022 list), Black Thought teamed up with El Michels Affair for this hard-hitting album. Black Thought goes solo on most of the cuts and the producers provide impeccable soundscapes - that feel cinematic - for the top rapper to spit it raw. “Hollow Way” is the best example of the album’s vibes and has been on repeat this year for me. There is the Son Little featured track “Protocol”, or songs like “I Would Never” and “Miracle” that also make for an amazing listening experience. The entire album is worth listening through and through and again. Another project that will go on to cement Black Thought’s GOAT status and will remain on my playlist for a long time this year.

Estee Nack - Nacksaw Jim Duggan

I first heard of Estee Nack on last year’s “Hitler Wears Hermes 10” tape by Westside Gunn and did not realise he had been around a while at the time. As I follow most of what Westside Gunn and the Griselda crew got going on, I decided to check out this album which is executive-produced by Gunn. While not extraordinary, this is a pretty good album with great raps over Griselda type of beats and I like how they used parts of pro wrestler Jim “Hacksaw” Duggar’s story in interludes along with some Latino sounds. This creates a cohesive listening experience throughout. This one probably won’t end on my year-end list, but has been a keeper so far this year.

Skyzoo & The Other Guys - The Mind of A Saint

Another one that was on my most anticipated albums list for 2023 is the new Skyzoo album. Produced entirely by The Other Guys and inspired by the show “Snowfall”, Skyzoo uses this concept album to not only reflect on the perks of making a career in drug dealing, but also the pits and falls that come with it. It follows an arc where Skyzoo puts himself in the shoes of fictional drug kingpin Franklin Saint to subsequently tell the rise to riches, the plunge into the abyss of a life of crime and the realization of all the bad that has been done, to end with repentance. It’s a Skyzoo album so of course you’re going to hear intricate storytelling and high quality raps. Plus, don’t forget his love for jazz music which gets sampled often in his albums and on this one again, to great results. It’s an absolute joy to listen to.

JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown - Scaring The Hoes (incl. DLC Pack)

It just doesn’t get more left field than when JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown get together for an album. I struggled getting into this “Scaring The Hoes” album at first because of the heavy bass covering the rappers’ voices, because of the psychedelic instrumentals and cadences, because of all the noise disruptions... Now I love it because of all of these things. The raps are just crazy and some of the samples are actually amazing. Songs like “Orange Juice Jones” and “Kingdom Hearts Key” (with redveil) are just mind blowing. Thank goodness they updated the record with 4 extra songs as a DLC Pack later on in first half of this year. Make sure you give this duo a listen.

Kota the Friend & Statik Selektah - To See A Sunset

They’re back at it after their “To Kill A Sunrise” collaboration. Kota the Friend lays great lyrics over the boom bap greatness courtesy of Statik Selektah. Not only is this a very good sequel, it comes equipped with solid features from the likes of Termanalogy or Blu. Some of the songs also have that really good summer feeling about them and feel like anthems. Take “Go Brooklyn” or “Real Ones” for example. This is just a great album to play as you’re getting stuff done around the house or even while driving. Check out the Deluxe with its additional 4-5 tracks.

Kool Keith - Black Elvis 2

So I’m not a huge fan of Kool Keith and I have not heard the first installment in the “Black Elvis” series, but decided to check out the album on the basis that I follow all of Mello Music Group releases and I found the album artwork interesting. It’s a pretty good album that I have been returning to quite often since I first got it. Probably not one I would see on my year end list either, but not a bad one at all. There are some moments I really enjoy like the Marc Live and Ice T assisted “The Formula”.

Rae Sremmurd - Sremm 4 Life

This group and their albums are on my guilty pleasures list. And this new offering is no different. I loved getting back to easy to listen music with catchy hooks and banging beats courtesy of  MiKE WiLL Made-It. The opening track “Origami” is dope and even though the following song “Royal Flush” feels like a rehash of previous cuts on their second studio album (more the way that Swae Lee sings the hook), it’s on repeat also. Then there are tracks like “Bend Ya Knees”, “Activate” with Future or even “YMCA”. All certified bangers that will make your head nod and you sing along.

Canibus - Self Licking Ice Cream Cone (SLICC)

Do you know what a self licking ice cream cone is? I had to look that up. It’s basically a way to describe a process, an institution or political apparatus that is just running over  and over again without purpose or much result. Canibus uses this title to capture the concept of the album which is once more a critique of everything that is broken from the music industry, to politics and to our ways of being in today’s societies. In his usual fashion, Canibus is being sarcastic and funny about the content, hence the title and artwork. This is a good Canibus album, I’d say on par with his BodyBagBen produced return album “Kaiju”. There are some great features here to check out too such as Ab-Soul or Hus Kingpin, Rockness Monstah. A very solid effort from the MC.