TOP 5 RAP ALBUMS OF ALL TIME
First off I just want to start by saying I can’t believe this is blog number 6 and my last blog of the semester. The whole blog cycle and comment Cycles went by really fast. This being my last blog of the semester I decided to combine two of my favorite topics to write about. Well not really topics more so ideas. The first one being rap music and the second one being top five lists. Today I will present to you my list of my top 5 rap albums of all time. As I almost always iterate to you all during my top five lists, this is my list if you do not like it please feel free to make your own.
- Young Thug – So Much Fun (19 Songs)
I th
ink so much fun was the perfect name for this album. It was exactly that, it was so much fun to listen to. For those of you who do not know who Young Thug is, he is considered by many to be one of the greatest trap artists of all time. Trap is a subgenre of rap music that is known more for its up-tempo beats with high hats and 808s. This was Young Thug’s best album when it comes to overall enjoyment of listening and quality of content. You could tell Young Thug took his time with this album and you can genuinely tell that he had a lot of fun making this album it might not have the best lyrical content but the way it makes you feel while listening to it is enough to make it one of the greatest trap albums of all time a long with one of the greatest rap albums of all time.
Favorite Songs: Jumped Out the Window, Hot (feat. Gunna), Light It Up.
- Roddy Ricch – Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial (16 Songs)
Roddy Ricchs first studio album will probably be the best album he ever makes and there’s no shame in that. Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial is one of the greatest rap albums of all time and I feel fully confident saying that. Now Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial in my opinion would also be classified as a trap album. However it’s probably one of the most eloquent trap albums of all time. What I mean by that is, the lyrical content and the production is probably the most advanced that you can get on a trap album. That’s what makes this album so special it’s a trap album that newer age rap fans could really enjoy. However it had Sensational lyrical content and production that made it easier for more of the classical rap fans to listen to. Roddy Ricch has since dropped a couple of projects that haven’t lived up to the standard of his first studio album. However he will alwa
ys be able to hold his head high knowing what he was able to do on Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial.
Favorite Songs: Tip Toe (A Boogie wit da Hoodie
), God Eyes, Big Stepper
- Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (13 Songs)
I just want to say that I do 
not stand with any of the recent things that Kanye West has said or done. However, I’m someone who tends to separate the art from the artist and Kanye West has produced some of the best rap art that I think the world has ever seen. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is a perfect example of that. The 13 song album features some of Kanye West’s best friends. From Jay-Z and Rick Ross to Pusha T and Kid Cudi,, Kanye not only had an All-Star cast of features that were great artists, they were also great friends of his. You can hear that in the music as it feels like Kanye and the artist who starred with him did a great job messing together and making 13 beautiful tracks. This album was also produced by Mike Dean who in my opinion is one of the greatest rap producers of all time. You could really just hear everything come together well for Kanye on this album. It is considered by many to be Kanye West’s best album as well as the greatest rap album of all time. To me it is neither. Kanye has another album that I think is just a bit better.
Favorite Songs: Gorgeous (feat. Kid Cudi & Raekwon), All of the Lights, Runaway (feat. Pusha T)
- Kanye West – Graduation (14 songs)
Yes Kayne West claims another spot on my top five this time with his album graduation. Graduation is another album from Kanye that I feel like everyone has somewhere near the top of their greatest album lists. I think its qualities as a great album are very evident. It has a lot of big songs and a lot of great features most notably Lil Wayne and T-Pain. However what makes it such a great album for me and what puts it over an album Like My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Is that I feel like the features on this album were just simple features. I know at first that might sound like a negative thing but it’s really a positive thing. Kanye was able to shine more in this. It was a Kanye album at least more so than My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. On top of that I just feel like it was more fun and it is my personal preference. However between the 2 Kanye albums on this list you’re truly splitting hairs.
Favorite Songs: Homecoming (feat. Chris Martin), Champion, The Glory
- Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m.A.A.d city (13 Songs)
To me Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city is truly the greatest rap album of all time. Now this list was a list based on my personal opinions. I don’t think most people’s top 5 rap albums of all time would look exactly like mine. I wouldn’t expect there’s too. I only chose to use albums that came out after I was born (2004). However, even if you would have gone back all the way to the start of rap music I don’t think you would be able to find a better album than Kendrick Lamar’s (GKMC). The perfect blend of storytelling, production and brilliant rap melodies make this album stand up above and beyond all of the rap albums that I have personally ever heard. I’ve heard Nas’s Illmatic, I’ve heard Biggie’s Ready to die, I’ve heard Jay-Z’s The Blueprint series. None of those to me are equal to the Brilliance that Kendrick Lamar displayed on this album and that is why it is good enough for my number one spot and it should be good enough for any rap fan’s number one spot.
Favorite Songs: Good Kid, Backseat Freestyle, Poetic Justice (Feat. Drake)
Hi Luke! This was such a fun post to read. Full disclaimer: I’m a huge music fan, but don’t listen to much rap, I tend to listen to more pop/rock. Despite this, it was so interesting to hear your opinions on these albums! Shamefully, out of the five, I can only confidently say that I’ve listened to the two Kanye albums, but I definitely agree with what you had to say about the two of them! I loved how you noted that sometimes having a feature and focusing on the additional artist is a good thing and how other times it’s best to just let the original artist shine. I also love All of the Lights and Runaway and think they are two incredible songs. It’s so obvious how passionate you are about this topic and that’s really admirable. It’s amazing being able to read others’ ideas on topics they deeply care about, adding an additional layer to the writing that makes the post a hundred times better. I hope to read more of your blogs second semester, keep up the great writing!