Four Essential Rap Albums Out Right Now
The South and West have something to say.
Rap is a pivotal moment right now. With its powerhouses releasing classic albums, the genre has never been more vibrant. Before Kendrick Lamar dropped GNX, people were still reeling in Tyler, The Creator’s Chromakopia, Doechii’s Alligator Bites Never Heal, and Megan Thee Stallion’s Megan: Act II. Given these successful drops, it’s safe to say that rap music is in a good place.
For one, the girls are killing it. Doechii was nominated for three Grammys for a mixtape, which speaks to her talent. Megan Thee Stallion was honored with some of Hip Hop’s finest starring in her video “Bigger in Texas” as well as the Pimp C nods on Megan: Act I. Clearly, the South has something to say when it comes to Hip Hop.
However, it’s not just the South making substantial noise in the field. It’s also California. Kendrick Lamar’s mindblowing Juneteenth concert united the city of Compton, and then he dropped a surprise album that reminded us that hate sometimes wins. Moreover, Tyler, The Creator released Chromakopia to stellar reviews and an HBCU band performance—a telltale sign of Black legendary status. All in all, rap is Blacker and better than ever. Here are four of the albums that tell us so.
- Megan: Act II
Undoubtedly, Megan Thee Stallion has had a great year. On top of releasing a diss track that went #1, she released two albums and completed a Hot Girl Summer Tour. As she states on the opening track, “Bigger in Texas” she’s at the top of her game. Following Act 1, the second half of this album has solidified her as a rap supreme.
The hot girl is fully healed and ready to reclaim her spot atop the charts and in our hearts. On Megan: Act II, she flexed her freestyling chops, leveraged strategic partnerships with K Pop artists, and provided superior samples. The first one we hear is Roc Steady, her song with Flo Milli that samples Ciara’s “Goodies.”
Like its predecessor, “Roc Steady” gave early 2000s realness as Megan and Flo Milli demonstrated why they are so conceited (because they can rap really well). On the song, Megan says, “Off one flow, I can make a M.” Flo Milli follows up by saying, “Hos tryna get picked; I’m tryna get dick.” Their chemistry is immaculate and provides a slew of captionable material.
Right before this, Megan reminds us that she’s a rap supreme when she states, “This n**** must’ve forgot who the f*** I am.” She is Thee Stallion, with thee ability to creatively talk about her body in a million different ways. Speaking of her body (ody-ody), Megan also asserts a powerful position: that it’s okay to love yourself at any size. On “Bigger in Texas,” she raps, “I look good chubby; I look good slim,” a nod back to the body positivity society has seemingly abandoned.
Yet, Meg does not place herself into a box. Although we get her classic rap style, we also get experimental rapping in tracks like “TYG.” When she’s yelling, she’s at her prime. It’s a different sound for her and a clapback at the people who claim she never switches things up. We’ve never heard her like this, and it’s refreshing to see a different side of her.
Still, the album follows Megan’s typical formula of blending old school with new school. By the time we get to her freestyles at the end, we are left with the impression that she has so much more to say. Her freestyling is her biggest flex, and she was no stranger to this accolade on the album. Between her demolishing the “G6” beat to her riding the “Suzie” beat by Gucci, we see that the people’s princess would like her crown back.
While I love Act 2, it wasn’t the best album of this season. It was one of them, but rap is at its best when it’s competitive. Although Megan’s only true competition is herself, it is beautiful to see her putting fire under the rap girls’ feet (see: “Ungrateful” from Traumazine). For some, they have taken this fire to the booth.
- Alligator Bites Never Heal
Doechii is a triple threat. She can rap, she can sing, and she can write stories through her lyricism. On her recent mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal, she showed that she can do all of these cleverly and succinctly. Over 19 short tracks, she leaves quite an impression on her listeners. Whether she’s calling back to her Floridian roots through her swamp theme or going “crazy” on explosive beats, Doechii brings a 90s storytelling realness back to the rap game. Her opening track, “Stanka Pooh” takes listeners to the swamp.
Her guttural grit continues through the next track “Bullfrog.” Here, she creatively narrates her life and career (“pop star, rock star/dark-skinned b****). She also shows us why she has three Grammy nods with her first major release. Her lyrical excellence is exemplified through other tracks like “Boiled Peanuts,” “Catfish,” “Death Roll,” and “Nissan Altima.” Additionally, she acknowledges her place in the rap game in “Nissan Altima” when she says, “I’m like Carrie Bradshaw with a back brace on / I been carrying you b***** now for way too long.”
This clever play on words showcases her unconventionality, which is one of her defining characteristics. On this project, she made callbacks to her alternative roots on tracks like “GTFO” and “Denial is a river.” In “GTFO,” she experiments with a trap rock sound that bears similarities to Rico Nasty and Playboii Carti. Yet, she makes this sound her own through her impactful lyricism. She creates rhythmic sounds through her lyrics, which is a theme throughout the album. In “Denial is a river,” she makes a beat by breathing. These unique sounds contribute to her overall eccentric artistry.
This is not the only way she distinguishes herself from her peers. While giving us rap realness, she also provides smooth R&B tracks that highlight her vocal range. These tracks include “*Hide N Seek,” “Bloom,” “Wait,” “Slide,” and “Fireflies.” On these tracks, she showcases her knack for seamlessly blending sounds to create a melodic rap track. From her early days, Doechii has always been versatile. She can make tracks like “Crazy,” “Black Girl Memoir,” and “Spookie Coochie” while maintaining her core sound. Overall, Alligator Bites Never Heal is a cohesive mixtape that highlights Doechii’s impeccable talent.
She succeeds artists like Tyler, the Creator, whom she collaborated with on his recent album, Chromakopia.
- Chromakopia
Tyler, the Creator makes no apologies for his former. On Chromakopia, it’s this unapologetic confidence that creates the album’s core sound. Throughout the project, we get constant switches from vulnerable to assured. His storytelling is top-tier, which reminds us that rap is in a good place right now. For one, he opens the album with affirmations. This is a sign that we are in for a journey.
After drawing listeners in, he begins rapping at his best on “Rah Tah Tah.” This song is catchy with its intoxicating hook line: “If you hang up on a n****, b**** I’ll call right back.” As Tyler repeats this toxicity throughout the playful sociopathic anthem, we hear nods to Odd Future, the group of which Tyler is an alum. He even acknowledges this when he raps, “Was really Odd Future, them other n***** whacked out.” Then, he gets to the core of his artistry, “The biggest out the city after Kenny, that’s a fact now.”
Undoubtedly, Kendrick Lamar has influenced a generation of poets turned rappers. As the only rapper with a Pulitzer, he’s set the bar high. However, Tyler meets it on this album. The next track, “Noid,” features acclaimed actress Ayo Edebiri in the video, and it’s a cinematic masterpiece bearing similarity to Section 8 Kendrick. However, Tyler too stands in a lane of his own.
He mixes in some vulnerability to elevate the album’s sound on the tracks “Darling, I”, “Take your mask off”, “Tomorrow,” and “Hey Jane.” Across these tracks, Tyler ruminates on thoughts of fatherhood, marriage, and fulfillment in later adulthood. On “Darling, I,” he raps, “I’m at the altar but I’m still searching.” This song is a ballad about the uncertainty of love and relationship aspirations. It serves as a perfect pair to “Hey Jane,” a song about unexpected fatherhood. The story leaves on a cliffhanger, but it is a cohesive narrative.
While Tyler reflects on his personal growth in “Tomorrow,” he also wishes reconciliation for others on “Take your mask off.” These tracks read like open letters to different parts of himself that he is repairing. We even hear him reckon with an absentee father on “Like Him.” However, as Tyler is healing, he is also feeling himself, which we hear in other parts of the album. On the more rap-heavy tracks like “Sticky” and “Thought I Was Dead,” he provides more than enough proof of his rap prowess.
On “Thought I Was Dead,” he says, “I got too much drive; I’m a terabyte,” which is a bar of the year. Also on this track, he loops in fellow Californian Schoolboy Q to formally not apologize for any of his former antics. He raps, “Pull up old tweets, old t-shirts, I’ll moonwalk over that b****.” For “Sticky,” he recruits a trio of ratchet realness – Glorilla, Sexyy Red, and Lil Wayne, whose voices all blend well with the Southern sound of the song.
He extends his Southern hospitality by inviting Floridian Swamp Princess Doechii on a whimsical, queer-friendly song, “Balloon.” This whimsicality is echoed in his natural hair anthem, “I Killed You,” which tells the story of Black people killing our hair to be more palatable to white America. Overall, the project did what needed to be done, and that was to showcase the beauty and versatility of rap music.
From these three projects, I can safely say that rap is in a good place. It’s competitive, it’s fun, and it’s vulnerable – three themes we saw on Kendrick Lamar’s GNX.
- GNX
If “Hit ‘Em Up” was a whole album, this would be it. In the opening track of GNX, Kendrick says, “F*** everybody. That’s on my body.” Then, he displays pure hatred of rap phonies while also being a little bit reflective (but only a little). This project was a mix of real life and real hatred. With his tactical sampling (as heard in “squabble up”, “luther”, and “reincarnated”) Kendrick showcases his ability to walk on any type of beat.
He begins with heavy hitter “wacced out murals.” Here, he addresses recent controversies surrounding his wins. He references Lil Wayne’s tirade over the Super Bowl spot and Snoop Dogg posting Taylor Made, Drake’s diss to Kendrick. While Snoop took it in strides, Lil Wayne posted a cryptic warning, although he’s never won a rap beef in his entire career.
[Lil Wayne warning]
This unapologetic confidence is consistent throughout the track. Kendrick states, “Before I take a truce, I’ll take ‘em to Hell with me,” an indication that he is done playing the nice guy role (although it’s questionable if he ever was the nice guy). Nonetheless, Kendrick also addresses Andrew Schulz, whose racist commentary on Black women fell back on Black men. “Don’t let no white comedian talk about no Black woman. That’s law,” Kendrick proclaims.
Yet, as this is the first track, the hate only starts here. Kendrick continues his hate train on other songs “tv off.” This lyrical dissertation is “crazy, spooky, scary,” and “hilarious,” he raps. “This is not a song. This a revelation, how to get a nigga gone.” On this song, Kendrick exemplifies his ability to not only hold a grudge but to stand on that grudge. He notes, “B**** I’ll call my granny off if she don’t see it how I see it.” This lyric narrates most of the album.
Kendrick is done breaking bread with people who are against him. He states “let me pop my s***” on “hey now,” which is what he does in multiple tracks. Notably, he employs a Tupac instrumental on “reincarnated.” At the end of this song, Kendrick admits that he cosplayed as the devil to prove point, and the point is proven: he is not one to be messed with.
Throughout GNX, Kendrick is raging, but he’s also reflective. While most tracks are hatred personified, some are more introspective. For example, he considers the complexities of love in his concluding track, “gloria.” He also slows it on “heart p.6,” where he considers his status as a great by discussing how he studied other great artists.
Conclusion
Altogether, Kendrick does a few things with GNX that are powerful: he reminds us not to forgive those who have wronged us, he brings back the competitive spirit of rap, and he reflects on his artistic excellence and its influence on his metaphorical children. By doing this, we will continue to see students of Kendrick like Megan, Doechii, and Tyler create just as impactful music.
About This Rwebel
Javanna is a multifaceted professional with a rich background in writing, education, and media. She holds a Master of Science in Journalism and a Bachelor of Arts in English, which has fueled her passion for storytelling and communication. Javanna is the CEO and founder of Rwebel, where she produces books, articles, and multimedia videos about culture and difference.
