The Best Hip Hop Project: 2010–2019

The most innovative decade of Hip Hop was a wild one. What were the best albums for each year from 2010 to 2019?

2010: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye West

No shocker here. Universally acclaimed and meticulously crafted, there really isn’t much more to say about why this album is the best of 2010 and one of the best of all time. As energetic as it is beautiful, Fantasy was the grandiose and maximalist return of the Mr. West that his fans so desperately wanted following the Taylor fiasco. I appreciate the new Kanye, but there was something special about this era of Kanye when he brazenly pronounced greatness for himself.

Runners-up: Thank Me Later, Flockaveli, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager

2011: Cole World: The Sideline Story, J. Cole

Comprised of material from his old mixtapes, newer and more mature sessions, and a song that didn’t bode well with Nasty Nas, Cole World was an excellent official statement for the newly-mainstream rap star. J. Cole finally got himself into the game and unleashed everything he wanted to speak on, including fame, riches, obstacles to success, and abortion. Cole dared to do what few others could even attempt in a competitive year, and it worked.

Runners-up: Watch the Throne, Take Care, Tha Carter IV

2012: Life Is Good, Nas

This decision was really tough, but by 2019 I find myself listening to this album more than GKMC. Life is Good is living proof that Nas still has it, a point that you can read more about here. Reflecting both his early rap styles (ex. “Loco-Motive”) while also adding a more modern sound (“Accident Murderers”)on top of an arsenal of features, Nas has certainly never lost his touch.

Runners-up: good kid, M.A.A.D. city, Cruel Summer, Dreams and Nightmares

2013: Yeezus, Kanye West

The Metallica tour brand alone says rockstar, but Kanye took it a thousand lengths further. With an abundance of public appearances, a series of fashion lines, and a cringeworthy music video, Yeezus stood out as the centerpiece and master blueprint of 2013 Kanye, as off-putting, far-reaching, and unafraid to break ground wherever there is ground. Yeezus is easily my favorite album of the decade and my favorite album of all time; I could write a book about this choice, but a book could never capture the same feel as listening to the album itself.

Runners-up: The Marshall Mathers LP 2, Born Sinner

2014: 2014 Forest Hill Drive, J. Cole

Before “double platinum, no features” was a joke to say, it truly was a crazy thought that Cole could be so successful as a standalone rapper. Forest Hills is a milestone in Cole’s career, where he solidified his position as a top lyricist of the decade and became the conscious mastermind that his stans continue to praise. Although he admittedly wore the “double platinum, no features” concept out on his next album, I still can look back at Forest Hills as well as the time I saw him perform the album live and feel both appreciative and nostalgic.

Runners-up: Oxymoron, Monster, Days Before Rodeo

2015: Rodeo, Travis Scott (tie)

In conversation for Hip Hop project of the decade, Rodeo topped Days Before and put Travis in the spotlight. Features and switch-ups on top of trap beats and a perfected use of auto-tune gives La Flame an A+ on his first try. I cannot recommend this album enough, and hope the Astroworld bandwagoners eventually realize that this is his true masterpiece.

2015: Sremmlife, Rae Sremmurd (Tie)

Ties are the unhealthy indecisiveness of ranks, but 2015 deserves another choice more than any other year. Sremmlife is a consistent series of hit after hit after hit, each song going harder than before. Perfect for the pregame, the tailgate, the late night, and the everyday walk, Rae Sremmurd’s debut project made them a star party act worldwide.

Runners-up: If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late, To Pimp a Butterfly, DS2

2016: Coloring Book, Chance The Rapper

Coming three years after his second mixtape and a year after his acclaimed Donnie Trumpet project, Chance had the world to prove with the spotlight finally on him. With an All-Star supporting cast and masterful production from The Social Experiment, Coloring Book is as fervently religious as it is dazzling. Jesus Is King could have profited from following his example more closely.

Runners-up: The Life of Pablo, Jeffery, Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight

2017: Culture, Migos

Drake and Cam Newton had already helped the Migos establish themselves as stars, but their second album is really where they got into their own. From the soothing flute on “Get Right Witcha” to the eerie haunting of Travis’s and Takeoff’s verses on “Kelly Price”, Culture is the Everest of their careers so far and has aged as well as wine. Culture II may not have matched the former’s glory but III could…you never know.

Runners-up: More Life, 4:44, Luv Is Rage 2, Painting Pictures, DAMN, Issa Album, Lil Pump

2018: Daytona, Pusha T

The first stop on Kanye’s five-week, five-album colossal tour, King Push’s third album is an epic narrative of the dangerous kingpin cracking down on any phony in the game. As controversial as it is drug-laced, its thunderous samples especially on “If You Know You Know” and “Come Back Baby” prove that Kanye can still deliver a beat and Pusha T as always can deliver the rhymes.

Runners-up: Die Lit, DiCaprio 2, Championships, Kamikaze, ye, Goodbye & Good Riddance

2019: Igor, Tyler, the Creator

If Tyler isn’t a more versatile entertainer than Kanye or Gambino, he cannot be discounted from the conversation. To close the decade, Tyler dropped his finest work yet, reminding the world that the spotlight was just as much his as it was ten years ago. His production style and cutting samples will help to pave the way for Hip Hop albums to come in this next decade.

Runners-up: Revenge of the Dreamers III, The Lost Boy, Kirk