It’s been an interesting year for music. We’ve been keeping up with the scene in 2019 and although some may believe the year has been lackluster as a whole, there were countless bodies of work I was impressed by throughout the year. Do look forward to both Oscar and Destiny’s lists coming before the year’s end!
I tend to steer towards hip-hop/electronic/alternative music so keep that in mind; I’m sure I’m missing some of your favorites, feel free to comment below or tweet me @jackdombro to recommend some of your favorite cuts of the year.
In no order, here are my top 12 albums of the year. Here’s to 12 years of PoD, we’re looking forward to many more.
Kaytranada – BUBBA
One of my most anticipated drops of the year came at the end of the year with short notice before its release. AfterBUBBAdropped, Kaytra took to twitter recognizing his growth saying,
“I’m so damn happy I put out this LP. I was tired of people referring to 99.9% constantly. I had all these songs that I’ve been on in between. I would reply to them like “Thank you but damn! I can’t wait till you hear the new shit!” BUBBA feels more like me.”
This project is a refined and mature offering that attests to Kaytranada’s progression as a unique producer/DJ. His debut full-length album 99.9% showed what the Canadian could compile working alongside some really dope artists. He did the same on this, enlisting a star-studded list of features comprised of Kali Uchis, Pharell Williams, Tinashe, and Mick Jenkins among others, to make the album a wonderful journey front to back. This project evokes dancing on every single track, he’s able to bring out the maximum amount of rhythm and energy from any featured artist. BUBBA’sa compilation that ties hip-hop, house, and soul together in a really beautiful way; unique instrumentals consisting of wavy synths, rubbery bass, and uptempo drums mix to create a sound that’s become distinctive to Kaytra, he’s been able to carve out his lane within the electronic scene. I’m sure some of these featured artists were eager to hop on this album, his sophomore effort had high expectations of which he most definitely met.
Favorite Tracks:
Gray Area (feat. Mick Jenkins)
Need It (feat. Masego)
Go DJ (feat. SiR)
Culture (feat. Teedra Moses)
03 Greedo & Kenny Beats – Netflix and Deal
03 Greedo’s been chilling under the radar for a few years now and unfortunately, he’s recently been incarcerated. Just when he was starting to gain some real momentum, his career has come to a startling halt. A documentary showing the creation of this album reveals Greedo worked hard leading up to his imprisonment with a wide range of dope artists. This project with Kenny is his first release since going away and it exceeded my expectations drastically. His last effort, God Level, was a massive, impressive compilation of Greedo’s talents accompanied by some dope features such as Key! who is a long-time collaborator and helped create a cool vibe on “Aye Twin”; both of their unique styles come together awesomely. Netflix and Deal is a pivotal and positive addition to 03’s discography; this album showcases Kenny Beats’ dope range of production styles as well as Greedo’s pure talent as a vocalist and a rapper. His pen and freestyling ability is prevalent in this effort; Kenny and 03 explain in the documentary that the project is all based on Greedo’s favorite movies and how they relate to his life. He clearly holds nothing back whilst making his art and they were able to make a concise project that surely resonated with his hometown community and honestly, I believe should’ve resonated more in the mainstream… there are some absolute hits on here!
Free Greedy Greedo
Favorite Tracks:
Maria
Blue People (feat. Vince Staples)
Payback (feat. OhGeesy)
Baby Keem – Die For My Bitch
Young gun Baby Keem, Two-Phone Baby Keem stormed onto the scene recently and has been making some serious waves and some serious hits. At just 19 years old, this kid is as old as me and has a wicked ear for production and song-making. Die For My Bitch was raw and real; the project has great hooks and unique, unbelievably catchy verses. It has a carefree vibe on multiple tracks that gives his sophomore album lots of replay value. I liken his music to Carti’s, both have a strong persona that plays perfectly alongside hard-hitting production. Very talented producer Cardo worked alongside Keem on this album; there are so many stellar moments of production within this tracklist. These cuts were amazing live in Chicago at the Bottom Lounge, the energy was unlike any other concert I’d seen this year.
Favorite Tracks:
Stats
France Freestyle
Rockstar P
Orange Soda
Danny Brown – uknowhatimsayin¿
This might just have to be my AOTY. Danny Brown and the legend Q-Tip came together to make a stunning album. Its exclusive production had as wide of a range as Atrocity Exhibition or Old did and Danny put out a stunning effort on the mic per usual; as amazing as the artwork. From the sporadic Ferg adlibs on “Theme Song” to a special guest verse from RTJ on “3 Tearz”, this album has everything a hip-hop fan could want. Danny’s been killing it for years and this project might be his best… he’s as fly as ever. I had the honor of seeing this one live as well and it made uknowhatimsayin¿ that much more special for me.
Favorite Tracks:
Shine (feat. Blood Orange)
Combat
Dirty Laundry
Best Life
Steve Lacy – Apollo XXI
The insanely talented Steve Lacy blessed the world with his debut solo album and tour this year and he came back after an impressive demo with a beautiful compilation of uptempo, groovy tracks. I regret not buying tickets to this show, some of these tracks must’ve been special live because Steve’s an absolute star. His work with The Internet carries into this music yet he’s perfected his unique twist; the debut album flows very well with few skippable songs.
Favorite Tracks:
Playground
Basement Jack
N Side
Earthgang – Mirrorland
Atlanta-based duo Earthgang came out the gates running on their debut album Mirrorland. Uptempo tracks with some beautiful melodies and precise verses made up for a really dope run of tracks. Their third album comes at a high point in their career; after working on ROTD III and three EP’s on the “Road to Mirrorland”, the group came through with an effort with few tracks to be skipped over. The comparisons to Outkast that were discussed after this album’s release don’t surprise me.
Favorite Tracks:
Bank
This Side
Swivel
Blue Moon
Young Thug– So Much Fun
Young Thug achieved a lot of people’s GOAT status after this release. He took over 2019, dropping So Much Fun in August and then releasing its deluxe version that includes six new tracks. Thug never lacks in features, many of raps biggest names worked closely alongside Thugger on this effort. He turned all the way up throughout this album with his distinctive style. His nearly eccentric energy is beautifully channeled into So Much Fun and I’m looking forward to his new project dropping early 2020.
Favorite Tracks:
Surf (feat. Gunna)
I Bought Her (feat. Lil Duke)
I’m Scared (feat. 21 Savage & Doe Boy)
Pussy
Mannequin Challenge (feat. Juice WRLD)
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib – Bandana
Damn. This one might have to tie with Danny’s for my AOTY. Gangster Gibbs spoke his opinion and went on the “Album of the Year” tour and it was another I was sad to miss. All of these tracks are so important to the flow of the album and each provides a unique emotion for the listener. He flips “Half Manne Half Cocaine” in the middle to provide a dope contrast in a single cut. Constant hard-hitting street and life lessons are thrown at you in each track; Freddie doesn’t hold back any word or idea. I was lucky enough to see him perform at Pitchfork over the summer and he’s just as energetic, if not more, in person than he is on his recorded tracks. Freddie’s keeping hip-hop alive.
Favorite Tracks:
Palmolive (feat. Pusha T & Killer Mike)
Cataracts
Gat Damn
Education (feat. Yasiin Bey & Black Thought)
Dreamville – Revenge of the Dreamers III
Between ROTD II to ROTD III, Dreamville made a substantial effort to turn this collaborative album up. A several day studio session took place and so many dope artists pitched in to make an album unlike any other. Flying through Billboard rankings, ROTD III offered something for any kind of hip-hop fan in a stunning fashion. Both the artist and production credits on this were unlike anything I’d ever seen; Dreamville facilitated an album creation and rollout like none other in the recent rap game.
Favorite Tracks:
Oh Wow…Swerve (feat. Zoink Gang, KEY! & Maxo Kream)
Wells Fargo (feat. Buddy & Guapdad 4000)
Ladies, Ladies, Ladies (feat. T.I.)
Rembrandt… Run It Back (feat. Vince Staples)
Wiz Khalifa & Curren$y – 2009
I was bumping this all summer… there’s nothing like cruising late at night to a track like “10 Piece”. Both artists had dope years, Wiz dropped Fly Times Vol. 1 and both went on a string of tour dates. This project offers 40 minutes of old-school Wiz and Curren$y, two homies that can make some real smooth music together. Minimal features allowed the duo to do their thing with clean verses and some unbelievably catchy hooks. The effort’s artwork gives a lot of insight into the vibe of the project as a whole. 2009 feels like it came straight from 2009; the duo’s still chillin’ off the weed and livin’ fly.
Favorite Tracks:
10 Piece
The Life
Eastside
Flying Lotus – Flamagra
Electronic artist Flying Lotus dropped his highly-anticipated follow-up to 201x You’re Dead in 2019; Flamagra’s a melodic 27-track compilation of psychedelic cuts with spacey synths and interesting drum patterns spread throughout. Each track has a unique vibe with multi-instrumental layering, even utilizing vocals as a common vox at times. His synths and pads are simply mind-blowing throughout each track of Flamagra, he’s truly one of the best electronic producers out right now.
Heroes
More (feat. Anderson .Paak)
Black Balloons Reprise (feat. Denzel Curry)
Denzel Curry– ZUU
Denzel’s got simply unmatched energy and he didn’t miss a beat on ZUU; his fourth studio album swang for the fences with uptempo tracks tailored for both moshing and partying. Denzel enlisted several Florida talents to kill features and compile some supplements to Denzel’s even-more popular solo tracks such as “RICKY and “SPEEDBOAT”. His song-making has become even more versatile, songs like “Shake 88” give a unique vibe to give any listener something to dig. Per usual, Curry’s energy flies through the mic; his unmatched pen has evolved wonderfully, he’s making some of the best tracks of his career as time goes on. I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us in 2020.
Favorite Tracks:
RICKY
WISH (feat. Kiddo Marv)
CAROLMART (feat. Ice Billion Berg)
