As the first three months of 2015 draw to a close and we enter the second quarter of the year, the music industry has blessed us with some awesome high-profile releases. We’ve seen the likes of Joey Bada$$ and Action bubble up from the underground and into the mainstream, and we also witnessed K Dot solidify his foothold as hip hop’s
modern messiah. Take a look below at the full list of major albums released since January.
Rae Sremmurd: SremmLife
Sremmurd has made a real splash in the past few months with major releases like “No Flex Zone” and “No Type” landing on Billboard’s top ten and playing out in clubs around the country. Despite their apparent lack of lyrical enlightenment, Sremmurd has really captured the attention of fans with catchy songs and dances. The duo has driven attention to the more youthful music coming out the Atlanta scene, which many claim has risen to run hip hop.
Joey Bada$$: b4.da.$$
Badmon Jozef has truly elevated himself to a new level of stardom with his first official album. The title, a play on his name because it’s pronounced “before the money” but spelled like his name, focuses (much like his previous mix tapes) on social issues he faced growing up in central Brooklyn, also giving us a look into his life before fame. “Paper Trail$” details the struggle many face for survival during hard times, and “Hazeus View” doubles as a poetic transcript of the struggle of finding God, love, and peace amid a violent landscape. Moreover, the album is a return to his trademark silky smooth, gloomy flow, something that Joey’s been perfecting since his days in high school.
Lupe Fiasco: Tetsuo and Youth
Lupe, forever overlooked by mass media, released his fifth album in January. Notable for its amazing production courtesy of DJ Dahi and company, the album has some cool insights into Chicago’s infamous street life in “Deliver” and “Chopper”. Both of these songs and a few others run to the nine minute mark, so the album is actually considerably larger than what it seems to be, and is one of Fiasco’s more involved works. The lyrics get heavy and convoluted at times, so prepare for some unpacking.
Drake: If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
Ghostface Killah’s resident guest on Top 10 Softest, Drake, released his album this year with no press notice, following in Beyonce’s footsteps. It stirred much controversy as Drake claimed it was a mixtape, yet released it on iTunes for purchase. However, like Sremmurd, the tape does have some catchy songs that have taken up residence on Billboard’s Top 100 as well as in clubs and lounge scenes.
Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp a Butterfly
One of the best albums of 2015 so far and one of the best in recent memory, TPAB cemented Kendrick’s foothold on the top spot in hip hop. He used an abundance of rock and soul influences in this latest work to highlight America’s ongoing social issues (he’s already mastered every other flow), and even to point out the hypocrite in himself on a few tracks. The album has some heavy sentiment and will take you on an awesome journey through K Dot’s world as a young, religious black male and really force you to look at issues dominating headlines today through a different lens. Moreover, the Compton product took on some issues hip hop has traditionally neglected (look no further than “i” for an example) and made them central pieces of his album.
Action Bronson: Mr. Wonderful
Bronsolinio is known for three things: his similarity to Ghostface Killah, his exquisite references to food in his music, and his inexplicably nutty lyrics. Mr. Wonderful does an amazing job of solidifying Bronson’s rep as an artist that is able to meet all of these ends, and more. He is able to master any sample, be it soul, pop, rock, or jazz, and polishes off his mastery in his second album with songs that are a little more mellow and sentimental. Especially notable is his departure from Harry Fraud-like samples and flows and his return to signature Alchemist flows, a producer he frequently works with.
The first few months of 2015 have seen some great hip hop, with a lot of it reflecting on problems we have faced in the last year or so. With 50 Cent, Raekwon, Snoop Dogg (Lion?), and Tech N9ne set to release tunes soon, we should be back in a few weeks with more good news, as well as a more diverse selection of tunes that might not be so politically charged.
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