501’s Top 10 Hip-Hop/Rap Albums of 2020
In an unprecedented year for music in the hip-hop/rap culture, which saw the untimely passing of growing superstars such as Pop Smoke and King Von as well as icons Kobe Bryant and Chadwick Boseman, hip-hop fans were gifted one of the best album rollouts of the decade. The curators at 501 Ent. have chosen its top 10 albums to come out in the year 2020, all factors ( and bias 😂) considered. These are the 10 albums that got us through the chaotic year that was 2020.
10. Young Nudy: Anyways
Anyways feels like a side-story off Slimerre, the rappers collaboration with Metro Boomin protégée & producer: Pierre Bourne. Listeners are drawn into a world of money, drugs, murder and slight comic relief found in songs like Blue Cheese Salad, which showcase the rappers ability to accompany his murderous storytelling with humour as well as its name just to show how unusual but unique the rappers music can be. Young Nudy concludes Anyways in a more relaxed mood, one that critics might say describes Nudy’s style of rap — nonchalant or lackadaisical. This is seen in I wont flex where it seems like he’s trying to make a track while taking a nap. Overall, this project is one of our best and Nudy deserves way more flowers than he’s given.
9. Pop Smoke: Meet the Woo 2
Meet the Woo 2 is a follow up from the rappers first tape and is a breath of fresh air from the usual Chicago drill. Also, we believe Pop would’ve wanted his debut studio album to sound more like this than that calamity 50 Cent put together. Often compared to UK drill, this tape pays homage to an illustrious career that bridged the musical gap between the New York and London scenes, forging a bond within a genre that has been demonised by the media in both the UK and US. Meet the Woo 2 feels like an extended introduction of Pop Smoke into the scene, the beat selection is grimey and full of base, the focus usually being to support the rappers catchy and creative ad-libs as well as Pop Smoke’s gruesome and often controversial punchlines.
8. Flo Milli: Ho, Why is You Here ?
Flo Milli raps like a schoolgirl taking candy from her classmates, except on this tape, she boasts being a home-wrecker, a proud and rich one at that. The mixtape includes the rappers 2020 viral instagram and tiktok hit: Beef FloMix. The track samples Playboi Carti & Lucki’s iconic underground track — Beef, unofficially released in 2016. Flo Milli’s music is a parade of self-confidence, an aura she possesses that lowers the self-esteem of haters around her. This is showcased in the song In the Party, where she opens the track with the line: “d*cks up when I step in the party”. Obviously we would wish that her music had no flaws, but her beat selection throughout the tape is not as consistent. “Scuse Me” sounds like a jetsonmade parody type beat.
7. Lil Keed: Trapped on Cleveland/ Deluxe
Keed is probably the most Atlanta rapper there is. From his horrendous dressing when he colour coordinates to his Michael-Jackson trousers. However, TOC3 is just another reminder of why Young Thug’s mom forced Thug to sign Keed on the spot. Obviously this tape would sound like garbage to new Keed listeners, old fans would already be used to his slurred speech, weird, catchy and prolonged ad-libs as well as his infamous high pitched voice that sounds like he’s rapping while constipating. You can’t watch this video of Keed in the studio without tearing up. As usual, the album is full of anthems and the deluxe is the perfect supporting act, with notable features from the whole YSL and our personal fave: Nasty with Chris Brown.
6. 21 Savage & Metro Boomin: Savage Mode 2
To be very honest, Savage Mode 2 does not have as much replay value as the first one, but we also agree that there would have been no better sequel to the first Savage Mode. Reason is Metro adopted a more theatrical approach to the album so it sounds almost too fixed. It doesn’t really give room to shuffle the tape and enjoy it the same way if you listened to it in order where the transitions are in place. However, the album does not fall short of hard-hitting punchlines, eerie and serene beats that sound like Metro took the hood to Hollywood. The album features Morgan Freeman who plays the fantastic role of narrator. His interlude on Snitches & rats is one for the history books. Fans can listen to the chopped not slopped version here.
5. Playboi Carti: Whole Lotta Red
Playboi Carti’s second studio album: Whole Lotta Red is anything but conventional. It was most definitely the most anticipated album of the past 2 years. Carti’s cult following is so deep and the influence it has fully immerses old and new fans into a whole different realm. Carti is often said to be disconnected from reality and this album is exactly that. The infamous baby voice is benched for most of the album and in its place is Carti rapping like he toke’s a blunt and raps the verse with the gas still in his lungs. It’s a lot of verses that have Carti sounding like he’s running out of breath, others are full of the native Atlanta slurred speech and uncompleted syllables and we find that Carti uses his voice to support the hard-hitting opium-infused beats from the likes of lil88, Art Dealer and Pierre Bourne. While fans of the album would argue its AOTY spot, the album will take much longer than its predecessor Die Lit to grow on the masses, however we at 501 believe Carti just cemented what trap music would sound like in 5–10 years, bridging the gap between trap-pop & rock, what we would call and Carti names on his album: Punk Monk.
4. Future: High Off Life
Future is undoubtedly one of, if not THE king of street hits, anthems, bops, tapes, whatever you want to call it. He has dominated both the charts and streets for over a decade. High Off Life is just another milestone in Pluto’s illustrious career with a robust and uncontested discography. The tape includes your usual misogynist and derogatory epigram where women are misused and drugs are abused. The tape has solid features with verses from Travis Scott, Young Thug and NBA Youngboy. This album ranks higher than others for us because of its cohesiveness. The beat selection allows for this as well, most of them sound like the beats from DS2 were chopped and screwed and with influences from producers like Wheezy, this tape has the same drug-infused aura as World on Drugs, his collab tape with Juice Wrld.
3. Gunna: Wunna/ Deluxe
Gunna secured his first number 1 album last year with Wunna, which did even higher sales by the time the deluxe was inevitably released. Gunna’s sound is extremely picky, in the sense that you either like it or you don’t. However, what is undebatable is that Gunna & Thug are undoubtedly pioneers of this new sound that is embedded in the whole of YSL. With supporting acts from producers ysl producers, Wheezy, Turbo, Taurus & Aviator Keyz, the album seems to shape-shift in its tone, mood and imagery a lot. Gunna’s last studio album Drip or Drown 2 made you feel like you were listening to trap music underwater, this time on Wunna, listeners are fully submerged into a whole new paradise above the sky, boasting a lifestyle full of money, mansions, cars and women. The deluxe was even better, even though it moved the order of the album around, Wunna is probably the album with the most replay value that dropped in 2020.
2. Lil Uzi Vert: Eternal Atake/ Deluxe
Eternal Atake is 1 out of the 2 most highly anticipated albums of the decade, and it did not fall short of anything but a classic. Uzi also took the deluxe trend and cemented it in his legacy when he dropped LUV is Rage 2 as the deluxe to Eternal Atake, quenching the thirst of starving fans who have been waiting for new music from Uzi since he retired having label issues with Atlantic, only to be rescued by Jay Z and tidal. Eternal Atake is split into two parts, the first half of the album provides fans with the rage they would have felt had covid not robbed us of shows and tours. Uzi glides on some of the fastest beats we’ve ever heard him on while delivering mouth-watering captions and hard-hitting punchlines like so on tracks Silly Watch and Homecoming. The second half of the album is where Uzi showcases the range in his musical ability, songs like Bigger than Life and Venetia are examples of more mellow beats with subtle drops that hit hard enough for you to lose your head, his flow switches up every 20 seconds and the hooks are almost too perfect. Moreover, there is enough street and chart topping anthems in both the album and its deluxe, which had our faves YSL, Young Nudy and 21 Savage.
Lil Baby: My Turn
If you think you saw bias with Whole Lotta Red, you’re in for more of it. Despite our contrary opinions, My Turn was the highest selling rap album of 2020, why? I wish we knew. Lil baby has made hardwork and consistency the epitome of his music, so even though he doesn't have a creative voice like Gunna or Thug, or autotune like Travis, Baby cannot stop rapping. Lil baby literally turns features into his own songs and he really does not run out of breath or bars, this is very evident in My Turn. The album title is obvious and sums up the theme of the album but this album is the first time a pitchfork review has been reliable, they rated My Turn a 6.6 and we totally agree. Everyone knows Baby can rap, however we don’t think he does more musically to transcend past just being able to rap. His adlibs are pretty basic, and unlike his peers at Quality Control, Migos & Lil Yachty, he can’t use his voice that much or imitate a persona while rapping, however what he lacks in creativity, he makes up for in his verses. Even at that, the king of features was actually washed in every song with a feature, Thug murdered Baby on We Should, Future rapped about more designer than Baby probably knows in Live Off My Closet and Uzi wiped the floor clean with his verse on Commercial. Nonetheless, Baby fans love the tape and we understand why, but for us this album is all work and no inspiration. Lil baby however could probably retire off this albums sales.
