10 Rappers Making Hip Hop Interesting for Me

But first let's give props to the undisputed 6th man off the bench of Hip Hop, Weird Al!  Don't act like he doesn't breathe new life into any hip hop song he does a pastiche of.

Let's be clear, this isn't a list of 10 rappers I think you should put in your top 10 right now.  These are rappers that have put out projects in recent years that made me say, WOW!  As such, I have listed them here so you can still tell me I forgot someone or that I shouldn't have listed the people that I've listed.

Artist:
Chance the Rapper

What I like:
There's something that is just so lively about Chancellor.   You can't help but feel good about today's youth when listening to his music.  The first time I truly interacted with him was Acid Rap and I have been impressed ever since.

How they can let me down:
Unless Chance ceases to make music that really feels like he's doing exactly what he wants and forging his own path, I don't think he can let me down.

Artist:
Childish Gambino

What I like:
I am just a straight up Donald Glover fan.  There is no two ways about it.  However, I feel like that despite what Complex says, Childish Gambino, became a force to be reckoned with post Sick Boi days.  The Stn Mtn/Kauai project felt like a refreshed artist while going back to the tenacity of Culdesac and Camp days.

How they can let me down:
Childish Gambino is at his best when I get any form of passion out of his music.  It could just be passionate fun or passionate about race relations these days but his grammy nominated album Because the Internet just seemed like someone who was not having a good time.  Bored and unfocused, and I hope there's no more signs of that going forward or I will be let down.

Artist:
Drake

What I like:
Yeah I like Drake on hooks, but, in August, Aubrey taught us he's got bars when he needs to.  How anyone from Toronto could hate on this guy after he gave the 6ix their first W in rap beef is beyond me.  Not only did Meek Mill (alleged battle rapper) not have a response worth listening to, he had to concede and kind of apologize?  Drake using the rhetoric of the Jays beating the Phillies for "Back to Back" World Series wins (did I mention Meek is from Philly?) in a year where everyone thinks the Jays might win another World Series is amazing.  Everyone should cop that "If You're Reading this it's Too Late" reference tracks or not and understand Drake's "0-100" started as a reference track for Diddy.

How they can let me down:
I can't lie, if the reference tracks come out for "Charged Up" and "Back to Back" I'll be disappointed.  But, Drake can't let me down as long as he continues to represent Toronto on the world stage.

Artist:
Fabolous

What I like:
Keeping it 100%  Brooklyn is the Falcon of Hip Hop, Fabolous!  Fab's mixtape game is intense.  He just recently put out a Friday Night Freestyles series going over classic 90s hip hop beats.  I say that to say this, you don't always have to do something new to be exciting.  Reaching back and preserving some of the ways of the past without feeling stale is a hard thing to pull off and Fabolous does it with aplomb.  Also don't think I didn't catch the slick responses to Kendrick's "Control" verse.

How they can let me down:
He can let me down to continue to have albums that sound formulaic in terms of beat selection and content.  However, Fab is an A1 wordsmith and as long as he keeps putting out the more artistically freeing mixtapes, I'll be good.

Artist:
J. Cole

What I like:
J. Cole always has my attention before one of his albums comes out.  He's spitting at his best and seems like he's having fun on mixtapes.  The first album seemed to be all the good songs that came out in years prior and some filler (including a song featuring Jay Z).  Regardless of what Cole's manager says, I think his strongest album is Born Sinner.  However, I agree that it's Cole's latest album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive is an album by an artist who truly knows himself.  That's what is exciting.  See an artist sell out shows at the Garden based off of an album without a radio single to speak of.  Just a true sense of self and connection with his fans.

How they can let me down:
I don't think J. Cole could let me down.  He knows what he wants to do, all the way down to putting on shows that only cost a dollar to get in.  He is truly a man of the people and as long as he stays true to that, he'll be fine in my books.

Artist:
Kendrick Lamar

What I like:
Look who we have here.  Mr. "Control" himself!  Kendrick is another artist who is able to pay homage to the Hip Hop of old without feeling stale.   In fact that's probably because he is definitely doing his own thing.  Both of his albums have narratives and demand that you listen to them in order.  The idea that the listener is losing something by throwing their player on shuffle is important.  I think it's great that Kendrick can spit but he actually knows how to convert his skills into a body of work that feels whole and special.

How they can let me down:
While I must say that To Pimp a Butterfly isn't what I wanted as a follow up to good Kid, Maad City, I must admit that it proves that Kendrick will forge his own path and not feel restricted by expectations.  All I can say is I hope the heavy jazz and improvisational feel on TPaB is gone by next album.

Artist:
Pusha T

What I like:
As much as I liked the Clipse, I've gotta say that Pusha T feels like he's finally being himself without the other brother Thorton to share the spotlight with.  There's something electric about every bar he spits nowadays.  G.O.O.D. looking out, Ye!

How they can let me down:
He's going to have to top his first solo record My Name is My Name.  Especially with this wait!  If this album doesn't top the last I really do feel like I'll be let down.

Artist:
Royce Da 5'9

What I like:
It doesn't matter if Royce is going dolo or working with Bad Meets Evil, Slaughterhouse, or PRhyme; Nickel is always someone I look forward to hearing from.  Let's remember his group work has him spitting next to Eminem, Joe Budden (my former ace up the sleeve), and working with DJ Premier!  I don' have a smart reason for liking him.  All I can say is listen to not only the lyrics but the way he's delivering them.  If that does nothing for you, I can't help ya.

How they can let me down:
I'm going to need to have another stand out solo album and for that Slaughterhouse album (being produced by JUST BLAZE!) to be fire.  I'm going to continue to listen if they're not but c'mon don't prove me wrong!

Artist:
ScHoolboy Q

What I like:
While I appreciated his mixtape work, I was afraid ScHoolboy wouldn't be able to deliver when it came to creating a full fledged album.  My fears were unfounded.  Q delivered on his first album and that's not an easy task.

How they can let me down:
I'm not so much worried about the next album so much as ScHoolboy Q turning into Beanie Sigel to Kendrick's Jay Z.  I need him to stay out of trouble.  He spoke about falling asleep during interviews because of codine.  I need him to stay in the good books and out of trouble.

Artist:
Wale

What I like:
Wale has had many lives in his short time on my radar.  I first noticed him on a Roots album, then I went through his Mark Ronson mixtapes and cringed when he released his Roc Nation managed debut album.  Then he got signed to Maybach Music Group and things looked cool for a bit.  However, it's his weird alliance with my least favourite Seinfeld cast member next to the one who did THIS (and Wale was able to make some art out of this mess) that has me most excited.   Wale's last album, The Album about Nothing is his most cohesive and that is something to get happy about.  It would appear Wale has finally found his zone.

How they can let me down:
Just stay in this creative space for a little, Wale.  You come off as restless and that may lead to another confused project that fails to show how amazing you are at rapping.

-YG