Dec 14, 2019Previous editions:
2015
2016
2017
2018
....And the decade draws closer to a close. 2014 was a huge year for hip hop. And on a personal note probably around the time my listening habits and interests started becoming a lot more diversified. The artists of 'New Atlanta' (Future, Thug, Migos and for a very brief moment - OG Maco) who'd only just started making waves in the few years prior exploded onto the mainstream with a stream of decade-defining projects: Monster, Tha Tour Pt. 1, No Label 2 while future superproducers like Metro Boomin, LondononDaTrack, TM88, Southside, etc. all built on the works of Lex Lugar and MikeWillMadeIt to bring trap (and by extension - hip hop) to the forefront of pop music.
But that wasn't all. YG burst on the scene with (imo, still his best album) My Krazy Life. Isaiah Rashad, G Herbo, Vince Staples, and Logic all entered our field of vision. Freddie Gibbs ascended, and to a (much) lesser extent, so did J. Cole. Drake didn't drop an album but did drop some of the best songs he's ever made. Bobby Shmurda arrived and disappeared. Gucci continued to drop a ridiculous amount of music while still behind bars, while his Chicagoan protege Chief Keef reached new levels of greatness with a sound and style that would come to inspire the sound of music for the next 6+ years. Boosie got out and embarked on a streak that still hasn't been broken today. Father and his Awful Records affiliates pushed rap to extremes of weird. f---in G Unit reunited. Big names like 50 Cent, Rick Ross, The Game, T.I., Ghostface, Fabolous and Eminem all dropped and all disappointed. And the promise Travis Scott had shown on his debut mixtape the year before finally came together in the now legendary Days Before Rodeo. If anything, 2014 was the transitional year for hip hop this decade. Everything changed.
Some of my personal favorites:
Post your lists!
