My Top Five Albums of 2018
The allotment of music in the year 2018, in particular, was overwhelming and a challenge for even the most notable and refined music critics out there. This mass influx of popular artists dropping albums, such as Kanye, Travis Scott, Drake, and Cardi B, have garnered most of the attention of casual listeners especially. 2018 has also had its fair share of new stars like Gunna, Lil Baby, and Sheck Wes. Hip-Hop, as it’s been for arguably more than a decade now, has been the nucleus of popular culture today as it affects musical and nonmusical entities. But the albums I found the most intriguing this year weren’t the ones gilded in gold because many of those albums ended up being empty carcasses. The continuous onslaught of projects, especially rap projects, left me from indifferent to unimpressed. I constantly found myself in situations where even good albums left no impression on me and didn’t stick. Well, here are five of the album that actually did stick and left me wanting more as well.
Snail Mail — Lush
When it came to coming of age albums, I thought I had enough, but the poignant and heart-piercing lyricism of Lindsey Jordan confirmed that I never got the album I deserved as a 16 year old. Snail Mail’s debut album balances projections of teenage emotions with stunningly mature hindsight. This project is a testament to encountering drastic situations and feeling that were never felt before, then accepting what occurred and moving towards what next even sounding wise beyond her years. The first part can be realized just by listening to “Pristine.” The dreary lyrics are sung upbeat in an upbeat manner with a delightfully heavy guitar riff and amping percussion that is anything but depressing. On this track, she would force the one she loves to love her back if she could. This brash, immature proclamation still evokes pity from the listeners this instance is far too common for most of our adolescence. Finding out how our feelings work and how to be responsible with them is a milestone you need for adulthood.
But at 19, this lesson is also quite apparent to her. “Golden Dream” plays as the other side of the coin. She accepts not being wanted romantically by that special someone. Jordan calls her and her selfish emotions “stupid” on the outro which proves how much as a person can learn from there actions by having an outside view of themselves. In the area of performances, Lush, is top notch. Every song either has and mesmerizing guitar or an insane rhythm and it’s euphoric when it has both. It doesn’t lack moments of brilliance, whether it’s a self-reflecting lyric or an emphatic climax. That’s all a great album really needs.
Saba — Care For Me
After the critical loss of his cousin and crew member John Walt in 2017, Saba took his time to craft a masterwork about perils and new beginning death can bring forth. But the album isn’t just a grief fest, Saba also comments on how people are living their lives. This is the first rap album of 2018 that I felt had a strong purpose. It’s not just because of the circumstances it spawned from. The vulnerability of this project is palpable. The narrations throughout allude to death, shame, desire, and self-care. This “self-care”, however, cannot be solved by rapping as he points out on “CALLIGRAPHY.” Feelings don’t go away just because it’s written on paper. Finding resolve with women is hopeless as well. In “BROKEN GIRLS,” he expresses his own disgust with himself for purposely starting relationships with women that have similar problems like him with little to no intention of helping each other out in a healthy fashion. Saba is poetically honest on this whole album, allowing him to force listeners to turn all of his attention on him.
Care for Me main moment of lamentation is on “PROM/KING.” The track is packed with triumph and despair between two kids, Saba and John Walt, just trying all they can be. The last moments of the track are the harshest of all whereas Saba receives a call from presumably Walt’s asking for his location not knowing what the horrible thing that recently occurred. John Walt vocals close out the track hoping that survives the streets of Chicago for another day. It’s arguably one of the best songs of the year being that it’s a two-part, seven and a half minute venture. Saba’s magnetic storytelling and revitalization should have been enough to earn him a Grammy nomination, but alas.
Squidtastic — Sahbabii
Just one quick scan of the other two rap albums on this list and you will notice one is drastically not like others. Sahbabii may not be your rapper’s favorite rapper — he should be — but he does have an overwhelming about of charm, especially on his 2018 effort Squidtastic, he has this strange ability to make people totally serious and not at all at the same time. To me, it’s the whimsical nature of the lyrics and instrumentals. His previous entry, S.A.N.D.A.S, was chalked full of melodies and hard beats. This album was stripped back with Sah rapping one punchline after another over light, spacious production. This album isn’t mixed well either, adding to the question of why it still sounds so good. Sah’s rapping is incredible and the hooks are still as catchy they can it. There’s an outlandish quotable in nearly every song. That absurdity is akin to early Young Thug and Wayne.
It should be pointed out that only the likes of Sahbabii can bring the best out of those instrumentals as airy and dreamy as there are. In this album, we receive a good helping of his personality as well. “Anime World” is a fun, enthralling moment of two cultures colliding. He expresses his unapologetic love of Naruto and even has an anime girl calling him the hero of the village or something like that. Overall, Squidtastic stars Sahbabii going crazy over minimalist production
In a Poem Unlimited — U.S. Girls
There's a lot going on in this album, A LOT. It’s a brilliant work of fiction and wonder that only happens when you're as talented as Meg Remy. The production on In a Poem Unlimited should be every musician's dream. The genre-blending, especially the hip-hop influence on “Pearly Gates” is to die for. The lo-fi vocals, though not completely incoherent, combine with everything else in spellbinding fashion. This album bleeds fearless creativity as every risk it took turned out great in the end. Both musically and lyrically it’s all over the place. It doesn’t care you understood everything the first time. This album was also the one that introduced me to the subgenre baroque pop with “Rosebud” the song about finding one’s meaning over the most irresistible dance groove.
It fits under the category of sophistipop for good reason. “M.A.H.” is the protest song airing out Remy’s disappointment of the Obama administration while “Rage of Plastics” details the untimely infertility of a refinery worker. No song has any real connection and with so much genre blending the album feels like an anthology series. It’s an album that will make you want to listen to No Doubt and Nate Dawg at the same that’s how strange it is.
Some Rap Songs — Earl Sweatshirt
This is the Earl that I enjoyed the most and has the most replay value. His emotional growth is evident on here and his strive for peace of mind is assuring. The album title minimizes its content severely. The blunt lyricism does him many favors over these two-minute beats. Some people have said this is only a Madvillainy impression but if it was that easy we would have actually gotten one from him years ago. This is different. This the actualization of his truth in a way only he can tell it. This project is a brief stream of conscious regarding the mental anguish he has carried for years and the recent passing of his father Keorapetse Kgositsile.
Throughout SRS Earl sounds more comfortable than he’s ever been. He glides over rugged vocal samples with unbridled determination for 25 minutes. He utilizes his time wisely claiming his significance on “Red Water” and appreciating the help of friends and higher powers on “Nowhere2go.” Still, he knows this isn’t a victory lap. There’s still a battle going on in his head. His desire for peaceful surroundings should bode well for him.
