The Year 2017 in Review
Author: Jesal 'Jay Soul' Padania

The Year 2017 In Review
Author: Jesal 'Jay Soul' Padania

Well, that was an uneventful year.

All in all, it's been a deceptively decent year for hip hop. Something for everyone, albeit without a slew of classics. It's not about loving every single album on this list - it's about appreciating the diversity of the genre, and trying to understand just how so many polished albums can appeal to so many fans, new or old.

There are plenty of other albums I didn't include - appreciated, sure, but they didn't grab me like they clearly grabbed other members of staff. Examples include Oddisee, Brother Ali, MC Eiht, Skyzoo, DJ Quik, Fashawn...

A lot of cool R&B albums were released - SZA was probably the top pick, but there were loads more like Kehlani, Thundercat, Miguel, Sampha, Kelela... All worth your time.

And so, 2017 gets a 6.5 out of 10 from me.

Peace and have a great 2018!
Jesal

TOP 17 OF THE YEAR 2017

17) Drake - "More Life"
16) Big Boi - "Boomiverse"
15) CyHi The Prynce - "No Dope On Sundays"
14) Run the Jewels - "RTJ3"
13) Future - "HNDRXX"
12) J Hus - "Common Sense"
11) Meek Mill - "Wins & Losses"
10) DJ Khaled - "Grateful"
9) Gorillaz - "Humanz"
8) Eminem - "Revival"
7) Jay-Z - "4:44"
6) Tyler, The Creator - "Flower Boy"
5) Stormzy - "Gang Signs & Prayer"
4) Rapsody - "Laila's Wisdom"
3) Vince Staples - "Big Fish Theory"
2) N.E.R.D. - "No One Ever Really Dies"
1) Kendrick Lamar - "DAMN."

Originally posted: January 16, 2018
source: RapReviews.com