The 5 Most Acclaimed Rap Albums of 2015

2015 was one of the most exciting years in hip-hop in recent memory. After a lackluster 2014 came and went with a few noteworthy releases (Run the Jewels 2, Piñata, PRhyme), 2015 arrived with an onslaught of quality albums from both veterans and newcomers.

Image via Flickr. Taken by: Jon Elbaz.

Rappers made good with collaborations with rockstars and jazz artists, auto-tune proved itself an artistic commodity, and several artists put out the best works of their careers.

Although we are still waiting on those Kanye and Frank Ocean albums, 2015 was by no means a disappointing year for the genre. According to scores from Metacritic, here are the top five most acclaimed rap albums of the year.

5) I Don’t Like S**t, I Don’t Go Outside: An Album by Earl Sweatshirt – Earl Sweatshirt

Earl Sweatshirt, a former member of the Odd Future posse, came in as a lyrically deft talent with his debut mixtape, 2010′s Earl. His mother, concerned with his general behavior, sent him to a school in Samoa for a few years. His return to the U.S. left him more depressed than ever before, which he chronicled on his debut album Doris.

Two years later, I Don’t Like S**t is another look at the sadness inside Earl’s mind, expressed through some of his best lyrics and beats to date. Unlike Doris, this album is mostly Earl’s own, with little guest features and only one song with guest production.

Earl injects a consistently dark, murky feel through his beats, and when he relates his grief your heart feels heavy. He touches on subjects like his dying grandmother, his absent father, ex-girlfriends, his struggles with fame, and adjusting to life in America again.

I Don’t Like S**t is not an easy album to listen to, but it is an essential exercise in introspection. Earl proves what is true for most artists like himself: music is their most personal connection to the outside world.

4) Compton: A Soundtrack by Dr. Dre – Dr. Dre

You could practically hear the collective sigh released by hip hop heads globally when Dr. Dre announced that Detox, his fabled follow-up to 2001, was officially scrapped. Almost immediately after he announced he would be releasing a new album inspired by the filming of Straight Outta Compton, the biopic of his infamous gangsta rap group N.W.A.

It was a smart move on the Doctor’s behalf, for nothing could possibly live up to the years of anticipation of Detox. Instead, he released Compton, a celebration of his hometown featuring friends both old (Ice Cube, Eminem) and new (Jon Connor, Anderson .Paak).

While it may not be considered worthy of the pedestal where his former albums The Chronic and 2001 reside, there is no denying that Compton is a strong project. Dre’s production is as fresh as ever, and he brings out the best in the many friends he has featured on the album. If it is true that this will be Dre’s final album, it is certainly not a poor note to end on.

3) Surf – Donnie Trumpet and the Social Experiment

First of all, Surf is NOT just a Chance the Rapper album. While he is predominantly featured throughout, it is due to his role as member of The Social Experiment, the band he formed with fellow musicians after the startling success of Acid Rap.

To pigeonhole Surf as a Chance solo album is to disregard the beautiful musicality of The Social Experiment, who infuse the project with elements of jazz, soul, and funk. It makes for the most uplifting album of 2015, giving you summer vibes and positive feelings throughout.

A stellar cast list accompanies the work of The Social Experiment, with artists like Janelle Monáe, J. Cole, Erykah Badu, and Busta Rhymes contributing to the album. The happiness of Surf is a breath of fresh air in a genre that often relies on dark, serious rhetoric.

Best part about this album? It is free, just like all of Chance’s and The Social Experiment’s other work.

2) Summertime ’06 – Vince Staples

Not many would have thought that Vince Staples would become the critic’s darling of 2015, least of all Vince himself. A former Long Beach gang member, Vince did not even think of becoming a rapper until he befriended the Odd Future crew, who pushed him into making music.  

Summertime ’06 marks his official full-length debut, a dark look back at his childhood in Long Beach with tales and observations of life on the streets. The album shows a lyrical, wise-beyond-his-years muse at the prime of his game.

Summertime ’06 received rave reviews from critics and opened up previously unimagined doors for the young rookie. Just this year, he starred in videos from Time and GQ, received attention from other major-scale publications, contributed a song to the Southpaw soundtrack, and toured with A$AP Rocky, Tyler the Creator, and Danny Brown.

Fame came fast for Vince, and he may be deciding to let it go soon. It would be a shame if he decided to leave at this point in his career, but even if he does, we will always have this remarkable album.

1) To Pimp a Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar

It is hard to say much about To Pimp a Butterfly that has not already been said. Since its release, TPAB has become the most dissected album of the year, with numbers of critics, writers, and other music types penning their interpretations and thoughts on the album.

The overbearing analysis consistently surrounding the album may have grown tiresome, but the album itself certainly did not. Kendrick and his producers take rap music to a whole new level, with free-wailing saxophones, chaotic pianos, and Kendrick’s own cadences and flows creating an abstract work of art.

Over the bed of jazz, soul, and funk sounds that echo the ’60s and ’70s, Kendrick goes places few other rappers would ever dare go, frankly discussing themes of racism and exploitation while also chanting anthems of empowerment. His lyrics are pure poetry; in fact, he even inserts a spoken word poem that grows throughout the album, finally coming together in the final song, “Mortal Man,” which then leads into an interview with Tupac (!).

Like a classic novel you had to read in English class, TPAB is dense and difficult, and requires several close listens to fully understand what Kendrick is conveying. In the end, that is what makes it so rewarding. TPAB is a true, daring masterpiece of this era.