2020 Rapped: Best rap albums of the year

Released on Jan. 17, 2020, Circles is the first posthumous album of artist Mac Miller. The record was designed to contrast the style of his fifth studio album Swimming, released in 2018, but after an unfortunate drug overdose on Sept. 7, 2018, he passed away at the age of 26. While Swimming talked about depression and anxiety, Circles focuses more on moving forward, as seen in the song Complicated where Mi...

Coming out of a two-year prison sentence, Lil Baby is one of the rap game’s biggest come up stories, and he is still on the rise. My Turn, released on Feb. 28, 2020 is the second studio album by the increasingly popular Atlanta rapper. The album talks about Lil Baby’s rough prior life in the streets of Atlanta, along with describing his rise to the top of the rap game, hence the album’s name “My Turn�...

Eternal Atake, released on March 6, 2020, is the long-awaited album from artist Lil Uzi Vert which had been leaked for over two years. With artwork that was influenced by the former deadly cult Heaven's Gate, Eternal Atake featured an otherworldly influence, which touched upon Uzi’s quest to make the best music in the universe with his alter ego “baby pluto.” Uzi furthered his fans' joy by releasi...

Heaven Or Hell, released on March 13, 2020, proved that Don Toliver was able to create entertaining music without help from other artists. Don Toliver gained popularity after his feature on the song Can’t Say in Travis Scott's ASTROWORLD during 2018, and until the release of the album, his career was very dependent on other musicians. However, upon the release of the album, Don Toliver had truly f...

The Weeknd has been relatively silent ever since the release of his third studio album Starboy in 2016, with the exception of My Dear Melancholy, which was an extended play (EP) dropped in 2018. As a result, the expectations for his next project were high, and the pressure was on. After Hours, released on March 20, 2020, is The Weeknd’s fourth studio album and was a huge success. The album didn’t col...

DaBaby was commonly criticized in the past for having similar flows in separate songs, but whether or not that be true, BLAME IT ON BABY, dropped on April 17, 2020, was the album that fixed the problem. The record displayed several vocal melodies, which is something rarely heard from DaBaby. Upon the release of the deluxe edition of the record, songs like BLIND, FIND MY WAY and ROCKSTAR created a new...

Drake has been one of the biggest names in rap since the release of Take Care in 2011. His several diverse interpretations of the genre appeal to many different audiences and Drake’s newest mixtape is no different. Dark Lane Demo Tapes, which dropped on May 1, 2020, is a combination of leaked songs and new songs that were meant to foreshadow the release of his sixth studio album, Certified Lover Bo...

Polo G has been one of the biggest rising names in rap ever since his debut album in 2019 titled Die A Legend. THE GOAT, which was released on May 15, 2020, is centered around Polo G’s life growing up in the streets of Chicago. The record tells the story of his early life struggles and his rise to the top as referenced by the songs 21 and 33. On the track titled 21, Polo G states “We came from poverty, man,...

2019 was known by many as the “golden year” for Gunna. He dropped his debut studio album, Drip or Drown 2, landed a spot on the 2019 Freshman XXL list and collaborated with several big artists such as Young Thug, Travis Scott and DJ Khaled. WUNNA, which is Gunna’s second studio album, dropped on May 22, 2020, and it cemented Gunna as one of the most consistent stars in rap. The album recites Gun...

After a home invasion that resulted in his tragic death on Feb. 19, 2020, Pop Smoke's debut and posthumous album, Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon, made history being the first posthumous debut album at the top of the charts. The album was completed by other artists, produced and managed by well-known rapper 50 Cent, who’s protégé was Pop Smoke. A combination of versatile lyrics and Pop Smoke’s B...

After the devastating news that Juice WRLD passed away on Dec. 8, 2019, his fans were eager to discover the album that he had been working on before he passed. After several months of waiting, Legends Never Die was released on July 10, 2020. The album mentioned Juice WRLD’s drug addiction, which was hard to listen to after his passing, but the track Wishing Well was especially disheartening. The song was Juice WRLD’s cry for help, and lyrics such as �...

Ever since the release of Under Pressure in 2014, Logic's career had entered a downward spiral. His fifth studio album released in 2019, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, was poorly received and Logic’s reputation took a devastating hit. In July 2020, Logic announced that he would be retiring after over half a decade of music, and he would be releasing his final studio album on July 24, 2020. No Pressure final...

Born and raised in Australia, The Kid LAROI built up his entire fanbase at the age of 17, making him the youngest rapper to make the list. After gaining popularity from a track titled Let Her Go at the end of 2019, The Kid LAROI released a series of singles throughout the new year that continued to elevate his reputation. By the time he announced his first commercial mixtape titled F*CK LOVE, all eyes were on him. July 24, ...

Internet Money is not actually an artist, but rather a collective of people creating music in collaboration with other musicians. Founded by Taz Taylor in 2016, they quickly made a name for themselves while they created hit songs with big artists. On Aug. 28, 2020, B4 The Storm was released, making it Internet Money’s debut studio album. While the record was mainly a collection of throwaway songs f...

In 2009, Kid Cudi released his debut album known as Man On The Moon: The End Of Day. The album was received with overwhelming support, and the sequel to the album was dropped a year later known as Man On The Moon II: The Legend Of Mr. Rager. The albums associated with the series were known to have some of Kid Cudi’s best tracks to date, so it is easy to assume that he was under a lot of pressure when he announced the...