Demetrios’ List – It’s obviously been a crazy start to the year for hip-hop. It seems the culture is beating Twitter’s allegations that it’s a dying genre. A lot of my favorite underground artists are dropping their best projects to date, and there was the whole Kendrick / Drake fiasco; while this only really spawned great albums from Future, it’s never been more fun to be a hip-hop head. Here, we’ll discuss some of our favorite albums of 2024. The top two were obvious, but there have been countless others that come close and surely more to top them soon.
Honorable Mentions
5. YL & Starker – Diamond Collection
It’s amazing how different YL and Starker’s solo work can be from their collabs, which are arguably their most celebrated. Their newest album Diamond Collection is just a constant barrage of bars that show their New York roots so shamelessly – not even shying away from the occasional drill cut. Starker is at his best with someone else to smooth out the aggressive flow, while YL has so much more fun on these albums compared to his more personal and subdued albums (i.e. last year’s phenomenal Don’t Feed the Pigeons). They make for another great underground duo in the tradition of Al.Divino & Estee Nack, Mach-Hommy & Tha God Fahim, Phiik & Lungs, and many more.
4. Sunmundi & klwn cat – Lived and Born
It seems like early every year, there’s a super underground and emotional album that drops and I suddenly have a new favorite artist (thinking of AJ Suede and Skech185 previously. Not really much relation). I already knew of klwn cat’s production through Nonazz, but Lived and Born scratches such a special itch in it’s subdued, haunting tone. It’s at once the new-nerdy of Ta$e Grip and the frank whispers of Ka ( that’s high praise). Some bars really resonate, and while there’s a pain in them, they also motivate you to overcome – “you can lick your wounds but don’t develop a taste for em”. Be on the lookout for anyone in this scene.
3. Babydrill – ScoreGod
It’s seemed for a couple years now that there might be a scene of more upbeat, fun trap bubbling underneath Young Nudy and 21 Savage with artists like 21 Lil Harold, Yung Sinn, and of course, Babydrill. Babydrill held a lot of promise with his first two projects (improving with MadMan especially), but it’s on 2024’s ScoreGod that he really emerges as a songwriter. There’s always been the appeal of his bombastic beat selection and menacing, whispered flow that sounds like every bar is a question, but ScoreGod has such great feature placements and some standout tracks that reached the mainstream (“Detroit Flow“, “I Just Want You“). This is one of the most fun albums out of Atlanta in awhile.
2. Mach-Hommy – #Richaxxhaitian
Something about the rollout for #Richaxxhaitian had me thinking it would be Mach-Hommy’s masterpiece from the beginning. Turns out, that’s a tall order; but it certainly doesn’t disappoint. There’s a pervasive feeling throughout where Mach isn’t just proud of his culture, but that he’s trying to build it up further with his success story, having come out of a traditionally oppressed country. Musically, he feels somewhat direct – in a similar way to Pray For Haiti, but with a more backpacky, Mos Def feel than that album’s Griselda influence. #Richaxxhaitian seems to unanimously be a late milestone in an already amazing discography.
1. Bruiser Wolf – My Story Got Stories
With only one album back in 2021, it was still clear Bruiser Wolf was one of the most valuable and clever rappers in his lane – the question was always going to be how he capitalized on the hilarious drug bars and wacky delivery. Thankfully, he took the time to craft an album that took all of the things that made him already standout in a sea of underground coke rappers, and applied them to more creative sounds, pulled big name features, and brought even more personal and mature concepts. My Story Got Stories is a testament to how you can come out late in rap and still have something to say – with a unique voice at that. Read my full review here.
Listen to My Story Got Stories