1. Meek Mill - Wins & Losses
- Meek defines what it means to be resilient in this perfect blend of lyrics, bangers and pure heart. He pulls no punches on his more revealing tracks such as “Heavy Heart”, “1942 Flows” and “Price”. He delivers wise and uplifting messages to his main audience in “Young Black American” “Made It From Nothing” and “Never Lose”. All while still managing to provide his trademark heavy artillery bars over radio ready bangers along with star studded guest in tracks like “Ball Player”, “Glow Up” and “These Scars”. It is a perfect snapshot of Hip-Hop in 2017 and a brilliant come back for someone who’s career could have easily faded away after taking several L’s.
2. Kendrick - DAMN
- DAMN is an explosive conceptual fireball from beginning to end. Sonically it is his most daring and different album, straying far away from his typical artsy and jazzy sounds used in his recently albums. Instead he gives us many loud angry electronic sounds, dj drops and contemporary flows like a mixtape in the 90s, even a few rock ballads here and there following the rockstar trend in Hip-Hop. DAMN may also be his most simplistic album to date in the storytelling department. Good for the average or new listener who may have felt like TPAB went off the deep end and finds DAMN far more digestible. Bad for the hardcore listener and fan who loves going back for a second or third listen, to better piece the story together and find deeper meanings.
3. Future - Future
- This furious self-titled Ep perfectly embodies everything we’ve come to love about Future at this point in his career while also displaying his artistic growth. While not quite as angry as his infamous “Dirty Sprite 2” he still give us plenty of raw and rugged sounds to choose from. Fine tuning lyrics about designer clothing, outrageous spending, and rockstar lifestyle at a quality that is far above his mixtapes and copy cats biting his style. He relentlessly beats us over the head with hit after hit that sounds like it should be played at your local trap house party or being blasted out of sports car speakers. He takes a few melodic breaks in between to reflect on his past and warn his homies to stay out the streets.
4. Tyler The Creator - Flower Boy
- Tyler caught everyone’s attention in early 2011 due to his obnoxiously loud music & overly raunchy lyrics. Since then in incredibly ironic fashion he has quietly orchestrated some of Hip-hop's most soothing sounds to date. Flower Boy further pushes this narrative. Remove Tyler’s lyrics from this album and you may think you're at an art festival. However his lyrics are phenomenal and make this album great. Providing an in-depth look at a more mature Tyler’s insecurities and thoughts. He even tugs strings at possibly being gay (although he’s probably just trolling per usual). With the help of plenty of background vocals, frank ocean, and even a sneaky Lil Wayne verse which is always a pleasant surprise, this album provided some of the best vibes 2017 had to offer.
5. Jay-Z - 4:44
- Hov's latest record probably skyrocketed to the top of everyone's rap list off the strength of his star alone. Take away his star power and what do you have? A darn good album still. Sonically it is a bit lack luster, especially coming from one of Hip-hop's greatest innovators who has given us some of the most polished and elegant sounding music ever. Nevertheless it’s gritty and organic sound will either be like breath of fresh air or bore you to death. Moving pass that, lyrically this thing delivers. To see a persona as big as Jay-Z bury his ego and share his most intimate thoughts on fatherhood, his marriage, and the black community does nothing but further cement his status as legend, as he humbly comes full circle and grows as a person. Minus the few bars where he sounds like the preachy old guy trying to coach everyone about their finances.
6. Rick Ross - Rather You Than Me
-Prior to 2014 Rick Ross had given us nothing but contemporary classics. In 2014 and 2015 he dropped two albums back to back that were incredibly mediocre and forgettable. In 2017 he got back to business. Rozay dove back into his roots with the trap orchestra godfather sound that he helped create. Gliding from track to track with slick lyrics about gaining and maintaining the good life, being a OG in the game at this point, and being black in America. Arguably his best lyrical performance. (Ghost writer maybe 
). Regardless, Ricky still knows how to put a project together. He also gets a couple solid cameos from Nas, Meek Mill, Ty Dollar Sign, and more.
7. Playboi Carti - Playboy Carti
-Hailed by some as a “Mumble Rap Classic” Playboi Carti’s self-titled debut album took the world by storm in early 2017. It’s no secret Carti leaves much to be desired in the lyrical department. He makes up for it with the most infectiously catchy hooks and adlibs you may ever hear. With hits like “Magnolia” and “Woke Up Like This” that controlled the airways for months, it will be hard to not think of this Album when you think of 2017.
8. Young Dolph - Bullet Proof
-Any one of the 3 piping hot projects Dolph dropped in 2017 could have made this list. However this one is probably his most meaningful being as though he dropped it less than 10 days after being shot at 100 times! He effectively trolls his enemies in every bar, verse, punchline, and even the track list. All while producing solid high quality bangers and utilizing his infectious boss like mentality that makes him so popular. Bullet Proof is a southern masterpiece from beginning to end.
9. Culture - Migos
-This high octane instant classic dropped in January 2017 and pretty much set the pace for what was to come the rest of the year. The Migos were everywhere you looked, being featured in countless collabs between the 3 of them, joint albums and more. With juggernaut hits like “Bad and Boujee” “Slippery” and “T-shirt” and more, they made their reign look easy. Most importantly this album was a symbolic stepping stone from their status as mixtape superstars to world wide phenomenons.
10. Future - HNDRXX
- Somehow Future managed to drop two very relevant projects back to back, which just shows how dominant he is. The brilliance in HNDRXX is its polar oppositeness to his self-titled “Future”. Which just flexes his versatility. Where as Future is a raw and rough banger ready to be played at your local trap house, HNDRXX Is a much smoother and fine tuned sound where Future is much more emotional and open, ready to reflect on his new and past relationships and his lavish life.
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