The Top 10 Hip Hop Albums Of 2025
Here’s my list of my Top 10 Hip Hop Albums of 2025. Happy reading, and Happy New Year.
Enjoy,
Lamont
The Top 10
10. Lonely At The Top - Joey Bada$$ - Joey kept his name in the headlines all year by sparking a beef with what seemed like the entire West Coast. In fairness, I have to say he more than held his own against a formidable crew of battle-worthy TDE artists. On Lonely At The Top, he slides back into familiar territory, delivering meaty, introspective storytelling over brooding, slow-rolling, and often melancholy beats.
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9. Star Line - Chance The Rapper - I’ll admit, I’ve struggled with Chance ever since he peaked with his certified classic Coloring Book way back in 2016. It’s not that he hasn’t had good material—it’s just been spotty, too try-hard, and often incoherent. On Star Line, he’s as earnest and expansive as ever, taking on topics as far-reaching as spirituality, Blackness, masculinity, lost love, and the general state of the world. This time, however, his musings resonate with maturity and elegance—all lifted by a diverse range of lovely arrangements, spanning neo-soul, Afrobeats, house, Caribbean, and more. It’s still overly ambitious, but warm, genial, and thoroughly enjoyable.
8. Alfredo 2 - Back like they never left. Two auteurs at the top of their games who just happen to have superb chemistry. This sequel may not have reached the highs of their first offering, Alfredo from 2020, but it still slaps. Gibbs is a ridiculously proficient rapper—sly, melodic, effortless, and almost too cool for his own good. His rhymes blend seamlessly with The Alchemist’s jazzy, dreamy, hypnotic production, making it easy to put the record on and just zone out. That said, the rewards for listening closely are well worth it.
7. God Does Like Ugly - JID - As Dreamville’s proverbial next man up, JID has long been labeled as the chosen one—a rapper who, some might argue, was starting to come dangerously close to not living up to his weighty expectations. God Does Like Ugly should put those concerns to rest for good. It’s a thrilling album that shows off the Atlanta rapper’s prodigious talents. On tracks like “WRK,” “Community” (feat. Clipse), and “Glory,” JID locks in, showcasing his world-class flow, storytelling, and rapid-fire battle rhyming over an impressive array of stylish beats. It’s safe to say the future has arrived.
6. Welcome Home - Reuben Vincent & 9th Wonder - Welcome Home is pure comfort food for true-school hip-hop heads—the kind of record that instantly feels familiar in the best way. Reuben Vincent proves here that he’s an up-and-comer to be taken seriously, sounding confident, at ease, and mature well beyond his 24 years, while gliding effortlessly over 9th Wonder’s magnetic production. The album channels that organic North Carolina energy reminiscent of early Little Brother, with 9th’s signature imprint all over every track. No gimmicks, no trend-chasing—just thoughtful bars, timeless beats, and hip hop that feels honest, grounded, and deeply satisfying.
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5. Lotus - On Lotus, Little Simz continues her unbroken run of excellent albums, reinforcing the case for why she’s widely considered the best of a stellar crop of top-tier UK rappers. This record finds Simz in a combative headspace, working through thorny business issues and deeply personal reckonings with brutal honesty. There’s a raw, sometimes bruising edge to the album, but it’s controlled and expertly curated. Lotus plays like a necessary purge, with Simz emerging on the other side stronger, wiser, and a bit more cynical about the world around her. It’s fearless, grown, and uncompromising hip hop from one of the most striking artists on any continent.
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4. everything is a lot. - On everything is a lot., Wale lays claim to a lane he’s quietly mastered: chronicling the emotional highs and lows of modern love with clarity, nuance, and real feeling. Few emcees rap as well—or as honestly—about relationships in this era, and Wale does so without melodrama, letting insight and vulnerability carry the weight. His flow is deceptively great: liquid-smooth with a unique stop-and-go cadence that’s conversational yet precise. That rhythm meshes perfectly with the album’s R&B-tinged production, creating a sound that feels intimate, reflective, and emotionally lived-in.
4. everything is a lot. - On everything is a lot., Wale lays claim to a lane he’s quietly mastered: chronicling the emotional highs and lows of modern love with clarity, nuance, and real feeling. Few emcees rap as well—or as honestly—about relationships in this era, and Wale does so without melodrama, letting insight and vulnerability carry the weight. His flow is deceptively great: liquid-smooth with a unique stop-and-go cadence that’s conversational yet precise. That rhythm meshes perfectly with the album’s R&B-tinged production, creating a sound that feels intimate, reflective, and emotionally lived-in.
3. From The Private Collection... - Saba & No ID - From the Private Collection of Saba and No I.D. is an artsy, neo-soul–influenced record that sounds like it could have fit right in during the 90s Love Jones era. As usual, Saba’s rhymes are knotty and circuitous, diving headlong into high-concept ideas that are best appreciated through repeat listens. No I.D. enhances the vibe with grounded, highly textured production that gives Saba’s verses much-needed room to stretch out and breathe. The ease between the two of them is unmistakeable, two Chicago artists moving in sync, comfortable in each other’s presence, and focused on craft over flash.
2. Cabin In The Sky - De La Soul - Cabin in the Sky comes off as joyful and genuinely touching without leaning on sentimentality. The album is packed with De La's trademark wit, intelligence, and sense of play, --buoyed by the consistently brilliant musicality that’s defined their work for 30+ years. The uplifting tribute to Trugoy is handled with care; his presence is felt deeply throughout, but never in a way that feels forced or padded with material that wouldn’t meet his standards. Rather than sounding like a posthumous exercise, Cabin in the Sky feels alive and forward-looking, a reminder that De La Soul can honor their roots while still sounding sharp, affable, and fully themselves.
1. Let God Sort 'Em Out - Clipse - Forget album of the year, Let God Sort’Em Out might very well be my album of the century. Clipse are operating at an absurdly high level here, with Malice and Pusha T delivering extraordinary performances: immaculate rhyme schemes, precise structure, and punchlines that land with lethal force. This is elite-level writing and rapping—focused, controlled, and devastatingly effective. Just as impressive is how Pharrell matches their energy every step of the way, with production that’s imaginative, expansive and down-right exhilarating. There's just something about the crew from VA that just brings out the best in him. What elevates the album beyond even Clipse’s legendary standard however is the perspective anchoring it all: the coke bars are still there, but they’re reframed by maturity, reflection, and an awareness of survival. They rap like men who understand what they’ve accomplished—brothers who know that grace, more than bravado, is the reason they’re still standing.
The Rest Of The Top 25 (In Alpha Order)
- A Fine African Man - Knucks
- Black British Music - Jim Legxacy
- Desired Crowns - Che Noir & 7xventhegenius
- Don't Tap The Glass - Tyler The Creator
- Heels Have Eyes 2 - Westside Gunn
- Hi Top Fade - The Cool Kids
- I Love You Again - Reason
- Life Is Beautiful - Larry June, 2 Chainz & The Alchemist
- Light-Years - Nas & DJ Premier
- Music - Playboi Carti
- Okinawan Wuman - Awich
- Paint The World Black - Saigon & Buckwild
- The Last Wun - Gunna
- While The Iron Is Hot - Ovrkast
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