Top-10 Albums, Top-5 Tracks from 2021, according to me
The year is coming to a close, and I have to assume there are not going to be any major anticipated albums releasing before the end of 2021 — which makes this a good time to write my review on the music I listened to this year.
In this piece, I’m going to give my opinion on the following:
Most disappointing album from 2021
Most disappointing artist from 2021
Top-5 tracks from 2021
Top-10 albums from 2021
Artist of the Year
Okay! Let’s get into it.
Most Disappointing Album — Certified Lover Boy (Drake)
After dropping four songs from late 2020 and early 2021 that actually interested me — the Scary Hours 2 EP and Laugh Now, Cry Later — I was actually, for the first time, anticipating a Drake album.
But I was disappointed.
Drake’s LP Certified Lover Boy is really dry, most of the songs feature a dreary production — the same type of beat you could find on any of previous three albums.
Way 2 Sexy is a legitimately abysmal song, and I’m not sure how anyone casually listens to it — and the line on ‘Girls Want Girls’ about 20-seconds into the track is so, so bad.
On the flip side, Certified Lover Boy has some solid features, particular from Yebba, Jay-Z, and Lil Baby — and the intro track ‘Champagne Poetry’ is really fun. But this just isn’t a good album in my opinion.
Best track: Yebba’s Heartbreak
Worst track: Get Along Better
Most Disappointing Artist — IDK
IDK released an album USEE4YOURSELF this past summer. It wasn’t bad, and there’s a few tracks from this LP that I still spin to this day — Dogs Don’t Lie and Cry in Church specifically.
But overall, as an artist, I’m not sure he grew much from 2020 — and I was excited to see if he’d curate more tracks like his 2020 single, Cereal (featuring Kenny Mason and JID).
There’s a verse on ‘Red’ from USEE4YOURSELF which Jay Electronica does… conspiracy things. It’s just unfortunate to see — but there’s still so much potential in what IDK does. The album sequencing is notably good, and the coherency of the project is nice. The quality is just not what I was expecting.
Top-5 Tracks from 2021
5. m y . l i f e (J. Cole, 21 Savage, Morray)
This track is absolutely a follow up to 2019 Grammy-award winning song “A lot” that the two main contributors, J. Cole and 21 Savage, created. That doesn’t make it any lesser of a song though — and the soul sample in combination with J. Cole’s verse is unbelievable.
After an unbelievable melodic feature during the chorus from Morray, 21 Savage lays down about 80 seconds worth of heartfelt bars — and it’s one of the best moments in music from this year.
Similar to their ‘A lot’, ‘m y . l i f e’ was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap Song, and deservedly so.
4. family ties (Baby Keem, Kendrick Lamar)
Family Ties is an electric song — one accompanied by an instant classic of a music video. The duo of Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar is an incredible team — and Keem opens this song with one of the best verses of the year — he carries the song from the intro, through a beat switch — until about the 2:15 mark when Kendrick takes over.
“What’s the pros and cons of this next check?
Wasn’t nobody ‘round, I was independent
…
I was seein’ double in the projects
Mad at myself when I put it to the side
Mama has to cater for the coupe
That we rode after school on the way to Popeyes”
This is peak Baby Keem.
Also, Kendrick Lamar released a statement from oklama dot com the same week this song dropped, further increasing the anticipation for the single.
He delivered.
“I been duckin’ the pandemic, I been duckin’ the social gimmicks
I been duckin’ the overnight activists, yeah
I’m not a trending topic, I’m a prophet
I answer to Megatron and Gabriel”
Yes. I love it.
3. I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE (Tyler, the Creator, Fana Hues)
Okay, okay, I know that this is technically the latter half to a larger track, but it lasts like five minutes on its own — and I make the rules for this piece.
Tyler, the Creator has become one of the best producers in music with his last three albums, Flower Boy, IGOR, and Call Me If You Get Lost. And it’s on full display here.
ITYWTD is a form of Reggae called ‘Lover’s Rock’ — and Tyler creates one of the best atmospheres for a track in his instrumentation here — and the lyrics tell a larger story — one that’s told throughout the entirety of his newest album.
Fana Hues gives the female perspective of a relationship Tyler has been pursuing for some time, while Tyler delivers an insane verse immediately afterwards.
“[Fana Hues]
Honestly, it’s all about the timing, yeah
I ain’t mean to lead you on, because
Him and I got some things that we’re trying
But my energy belongs to you
I want you so bad, but not too fast
It’s not your fault, we can’t pretend
Because we both in the wrong”
Fana Hues’s delivery is amazing on this track, and Tyler’s ability to place features within his album is phenomenal.
“[Tyler, the Creator]
I wish that we never met, I wish that we ain’t connect
Like Lego, connection good, but mixed signal
If you say so, like cardio
We stared up and down, but we didn’t blink
Felt like dirty dishes ’cause we was in sync”
This track is amazing, and if you haven’t experienced it, you need to. It’s beautiful on every level.
2. Gravity (Brent Faiyez, Tyler, the Creator)
When Gravity was released, I couldn’t stop listening to it. I think that night, I had it on repeat for like… at least two hours — and that’s something I don’t do.
But this song is infectious in every way, from the hook, to Brent Faiyez verses, and of course the Tyler, the Creator verse. The production by DJ Dahi is incredible. This is going to be my most-played track on Spotify this year, and it does not get enough credit.
“I don’t want you waitin’ too long (she hold me down)
I don’t want you waitin’ too long
She hold me down like gravity, we on the front page of them blogs
Would you be mad at me if the whole world knew the shit we was on?”
This is phenomenal, and it all sets up the Tyler verse.
“Yeah, see, I’m a star, look at me from afar
Hard to be down on Earth, when you nestin’ on Mars
You comet on how I move, too much space to assume
But I’ma tell you the truth, shit
…
They don’t mean much to me
’Cause I know I that I have a bakery back at home
Am I wrong for- (Come on, fuck)”
It’s too good.
1. Life of the Party (Kanye West, André 3000)
Okay, track of the year is a heavy-hitter. André 3000 has an incredible verse here, speaking to Kanye’s mother, Donda, about trying to communicate with his own mom. It’s heavy in lyrics, with an eerie yet captivating instrumental.
“[André 3000]
Hey, Miss Donda
You run into my mama, please tell her I said, “Say something”
I’m startin’ to believe ain’t no such thing as Heaven’s trumpets
No after-over, this is it, done
If there’s a heaven you would think they’d let ya speak to your son”
There is no one on the same level as André 3000. No one even close.
Kanye’s verse, is also heartfelt.
“They treat my married life like some type of entanglement
My neighbor still dissin’, wonderin’ why I ain’t sayin’ it
I can smell the setup, that’s that 2Pac in Vegas hit
I revealed myself and some don’t know what to make of it”
The outro to the song is a minute-plus long audio of DMX taking his daughter on an amusement park ride — and it, like everything about this track, is gorgeous, ending things on a great note.
Okay. The Main Event.
Top-10 Albums of 2021
Honorable Mentions:
Elephant in the Room (Mick Jenkins)
Weight of the World (Maxo Kream)
Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Sincerely Adolf (Westside Gunn)
10. The Melodic Blue (Baby Keem)
Baby Keem was due for a breakout this year, and he had a solid project when he released The Melodic Blue. There are several hits here, including ‘family ties’, ‘scars’, ‘vent’, ‘trademark usa’, and ‘booman’.
Baby Keem is one of the most unique (and newest) voices in hip hop — and he does everything on this album — it’s incredibly ambitious. It’s Playboi Carti if Playboi Carti was significantly better.
Best track: family ties (with Kendrick Lamar)
Worst track: 16
9. The House is Burning (Isaiah Rashad)
Isaiah Rashad is back with another great album following a five-year long absence. In The House is Burning, Rashad details how his house — or mental — is on fire. It’s a really relaxed album — one that allows features to shine — but a project I come back to regularly when in the mood to relax.
This album didn’t get as much critical reception as Civilia Demo or The Sun’s Tirade — and it may not be as good as those two projects. With that said, there isn’t quite doing anyone else doing what Rashad accomplished with The House is Burning — and he deserves some recognition for it.
Also, the cover art is probably my favorite this year.
Best track: Headshots (4r Da Locals)
Worst track: 9–3 Freestyle
8. ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE (BROCKHAMPTON)
This album was released pretty early on in 2021 — and it was my most-listened to project in 2021 for a short period of time. But BROCKHAMPTON really delivered on ROADRUNNER, giving bangers such as ‘BUZZCUT’, ‘CHAIN ON’, ‘BANKROLL’ while also getting heavier content on ‘THE LIGHT’.
ROADRUNNER is a well-put-together project that doesn’t get as much shine because it was released before all of the bigger names. It’s worth a listen.
Best track: BANKROLL (feat. A$AP Rocky & A$AP Ferg)
Worst track: DEAR LORD
7. An Evening With Silk Sonic (Silk Sonic)
Silk Sonic creates the atmosphere — one that is ever-present and clear throughout the entirety of the project. It legitimately makes you feel as though you stepped back a few decades. There isn’t a single miss on this album, from “Fly As Me” to “After Last Night” to “777”.
To whoever hurt Bruno Mars: Thank you.
Best track: Skate
Worst Track: Put On a Smile
6. TWOPOINTFIVE (Aminé)
Aminé’s TWOPOINTFIVE is a creative explosion between dance and rap music. It’s full of fun beats meant for a good day. Described as an ‘EPLPMIXTAPEALBUM” — this is only meant to be a halfway point, creating the type of music Aminé wants before his next album — one that will followup 2020 standout Limbo.
There’s a lot of great content on this track list: “YiPiYaY”, “Colors”, “NEO”, and “meant2b” are my favorites of the project.
Best track: Colors
Worst track: Sh!t2Luz
5. The Off-Season (J. Cole)
J. Cole delivered his best project since 4 Your Eyez Only when he dropped The Off-Season early this past summer. There’s incredible rapping over solid production — and I’ve personally gotten lots of mileage out of several of these tracks: “my . life”, “pride . is . the . devil”, “95 . south”, and “hunger . on . hillside” (stylized for medium).
J. Cole actually included features in this project — something he hasn’t done in a very long time -and each of them add a newfound element to this album.
Best track: m y . l i f e (with 21 Savage and Morray)
Worst track: p u n c h i n ‘ . t h e . c l o c k
4. Vince Staples (Vince Staples)
Vince Staples delivered a short, 22-minute long journey — filled with lo-fi beats and mellow bars. There isn’t a single song on this album over 2:40 — and it allows the listener to get through the entire thing in a short car ride — I’d listen to this entire project on the way to the beach in the morning during the summer.
There aren’t any misses on this album — “SUNDOWN TOWN”, “TAKING TRIPS”, and “MHM” are the major standouts. I’m very excited to see Vince perform this album in concert — it’s introspective in every way, and is everything you’d want out of a self-titled project.
Best track: SUNDOWN TOWN
Worst track: TAKE ME HOME
3. Donda (Kanye West)
There’s a lot to like about Kanye West’s Donda. Kanye West himself, though, is an enigma, he’s purely insane, crazy, all of it. He’s weird, but that’s probably why he’s so good at making music (that’s not giving him a pass on some of the things he has said over the past several years).
Still, Donda delivered one of the best albums of the year, and would be higher on this list had there been a shorter and more concise tracklist. Even so, there are more than a dozen hits, including “Jail”, “Hurricane”, “Moon”, “Pure Souls”, and “Praise God”
Best track: Pure Souls
Worst track: Tell The Vision
2. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert (Little Simz)
Little Simz deserves so much more praise than she’s gotten — and the fact that Certified Lover Boy received a Grammy nomination over SIMBI is disgraceful. But this is one of the best projects of the year. It’s cohesive, tells a story, includes some of the best production throughout the year of 2021, and allows Little Simz to display a versatile selection of flows.
Sometimes I Might Be Introvert was my introduction to Little Simz, and she put together an incredibly underrated project. “Introvert”, “Woman”, “I Love You, I Hate You”, “Standing Ovation”, and “Rollin Stone” are all elite songs.
Best track: Standing Ovation
Worst track: I See You
1. Call Me If You Get Lost (Tyler, the Creator)
I’m sorry, but everyone got washed by Tyler, the Creator this year. It’s not really close. Tyler delivered the best album this year. Call Me If You Get Lost is an incredibly storytelling album that has top-tier production, gritty rapping, and features that blow you away.
I mean, there’s a legitimate NBA YoungBoy feature in this album. It’s THAT good.
There is a track for everyone in this thing, I firmly believe that. If you want elite-A-tier rapping, visit the first seven tracks. If you want something more familiar to IGOR or Flower Boy, look at tracks eight through 16. But this is the one.
Tyler flexes on his DJ Drama-tape-type album — and it still has yet to take any losses.
Best track: SWEET / I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE (feat. Fana Hues, Brent Faiyez)
Worst track: MANIFESTO (feat. Domo Genesis)
Artist of the Year — Kanye West
I don’t even know who else this could go to. Kanye West had the entire world (and some) watching his three live-listening parties — which allowed the public to openly hear the progression of his artwork — one dedicated to his mother.
Again, I have some reservations giving this much praise to a main that put DaBaby and Marilyn Manson on the same song on his album, but at the same time — he may have revolutionized how some artists go about rolling out an album — and that cannot be ignored.
Kanye West, as I’ve said, is an enigma of a person, but Donda has quality — and effectively holding his fans and label hostage in the manner which he did was something I haven’t seen done. I mean, he was recording songs while there were people in a stadium waiting for him to walk out. That’s legendary.
Fin. Hope you got some music suggestions.
“And so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”