2023 Wrapped Up

Everything that makes Drake Drake; the deep R&B cuts, the high tier rapping, the bangers, everything. And on top of it we get a lil 6 pack of some of Drake's best bars as of recent? Count me in.

Discovered Yeule quite a while back and their entire aesthetic is beyond pleasing to the eye and ear. The worldbuilding they display on their previous records is incredible and this album just shows that consistency.

Been a Pinkpantheress fan for a while, To Hell With It was a very therapeutic album to me when I was going through a lot of stuff back when it came out. This album is an expansion of Pinkpantheress's Y2K inspired bedroom pop, with some of the production on here being very unique and appealing to a wide audience. And of course she's one of my favorite newer vocalists.

This guy got soul for days, ever since the homie put me onto him he's been in heavy rotation whenever I reach deep into my neo-soul bag. One of the best modern neo-soul albums you're gonna hear, with a lot of D'Angelo and Prince influence showing throughout this record.

Unfuckingbelievable, Wayne been doing this shit in 4 different decades. This album has some of Wayne's best production in years and Wayne's chemistry with Tity Boi is still impeccable. High tier rapping from start to finish.

Jeezy in this new decade has been on a mission to prove he won't ever lose his touch. Ever since he's dropped the "Young" in his name, he's continued to grow as an artist and person in his music, with this album being perhaps his most introspective one yet. A double disc in 2024 with absolutely no misses sounds like a myth but Jeezy brought it to reality.

I was excited for new Earl but I didn't expect we might be getting one of his best albums. Just goes to show how elite Uncle Alc is, his production brings the best out of anyone. And Earl's rapping? I could sit here for days talking bout his bars. Truly one of the best writers Hip Hop has ever seen.

Absolutely beautiful. After a 6 year drought of solo music, Sampha came back with one of the most introspective and unique records of the decade. This album comes from a very spiritual place, telling tales of time, life, & love. All and all this album is a very healing experience full of life and genre-blending soundscapes.

Sade meets Tems. This album is gonna go down in history for me. If you been on the lookout for some new R&B that will truly blow your mind, look no further than OVO's newest prodigy Naomi Sharon.

Aw man. I hate throwing a lil blurb under this album because I truly can’t sum up just how incredible, innovative, and genre defining + blending this album is. Just go on and listen to it yall, do yourselves a favor. Alt afro-fusion from probably one of the best newer voices in music.

A common theme between a few albums on my list are spiritual and healing. No two words describe half of Cleo Sol's 2023 dual release Heaven better than that. Album just full of healing tunes, with stripped back instrumentals, her heavenly voice pun unintended, and lyrics urging the listener to get back on those two feet and keep facing life head on. Lot's self love, self care, self acceptance, and all in all everything you need to hear for yourself.

Ryan Trey been steady one of the toughest underground R&B names since 2018, but he really took it to the next level with this new album. Similar to the Toronto R&B wave that been giving us masterpieces all decade long, Ryan Trey gives us tales of love lost on that toxic vibe. This album came out at an important time of the year for me with a lot happening and being able to hear him talk his shit just really resonated with what I had going on.

Honestly I don’t got too much analysis for this album, it’s really another one of those listen for yourself records. MIKE bars up more than usual on this record but the production is still very hazy and unique, something easy to kick back to and appreciate. Full of mad unique vocal chops and other samples that MIKE almost entire produced by himself, the groundwork laid behind the boards created the perfect stage for MIKE to rap about angst and grief in complete confidence.

Aye man, if you know me I'm not the biggest fan of this lane of underground music. Especially Ken Carson. But this album??? Oh mannn, he really stepped it up here. A Great Chaos has Ken riding some of the most intoxicating and trippy beats I've heard in a loooong time effortlessly. Honestly, I feel like this album takes a lot of influence from DS2, with that trippy and intoxicated feeling prevailing even through points that feel like Future/Ken Carson are just tryna ride out cus they're scared of what life would be if they didn't. Incredible album.

After dropping a couple of half-baked movie-length albums, Chris Brown finally returns to peak form, releasing his most focused effort since 2014’s X. Rather than chasing hits and trends and littering this album with unnecessarily long songs, 11:11 sees Chris Brown going to his pop and R&B roots with some experimentation through out. Some of Chris’s best writing and vocals can be found on this album. Hopefully he continues in this direction and wins back fans who were rocking with him during the early part of the last decade.