5 Breakthrough Albums of 2019

Who had the best albums of 2019? 2019 was a good year for music all around, with some trials and tribulations that came from the rap world. The biggest being the death of Nipsey Hussle, which shocked the world, especially within the rap community. With that being said, here are my top five rap albums of 2019:

1. Victory Lap, Nipsey Hussle

While this album did drop in 2018, it really came to light in 2019, following the late rapper’s death. We all know Nipsey was tragically shot to death outside of his clothing store on March 31, 2019 (via TMZ.com). This album went on to become a classic instantly following his death, and the late rapper won two Grammy awards this year from this album; RIP Nipsey.

2. AI YoungBoy 2, NBA YoungBoy

With his first number one debut on the billboard hot 200 (via Billboard.com), YoungBoy outdid himself with this album. Following his release from jail, this was a highly anticipated project from fans all over the world. The 19-year-old Baton Rouge native went on to sell 110,000 units in the first week of release, while also adding classics like “Free Time” and “Where The Love at,” which later went on to go platinum as singles off of the project.

3. From the Neighborhood to the Stage, Quando Rondo

2019 was a breakthrough year for Savannah, Georgia’s Quando Rondo. He made some noise in 2018 with features from Lil Baby and NBA YoungBoy, but his album in 2019 showed that he can make it solo, rather than off of features. Singles off of the project like “Imperfect Flower” and “In My Section” really showed fans on the twenty-year-old MC that he can sing, rap, and make catchy beats all on his own, which shows us that he’s here to stay, especially having just inked a deal with Atlantic Records following the release of this album.

4. The Backend Child, NoCap

NoCap caught the attention of rap fans all over the world with his hit song “Ghetto Angels.” The song went platinum in 2019 prior to the release of this album, but this is the song that got the attention the album needed. Without this song being a breakthrough hit for the twenty-one-year old, currently incarcerated rapper, the album may not have done the numbers that it did on the charts. NoCap has been held in custody for some months now in his hometown of Mobile, Alabama on burglary charges, so we’ll have to see when the next project will come from him as he fights his legal battle.

5. Please Excuse Me for Being Anti-Social, Roddy Ricch

I almost felt as if it was ignorant to not put this in the top 5, personally. My point in writing these blog posts and this blog in general is to recognize a mix of underground and mainstream, which is something I tried to do with this list to a certain extent. That being said, Roddy outdid himself with this project. This album has been number one on the charts for months and constantly being streamed. We’ve heard smash radio hits like the box, and traditional Roddy Ricch song’s like “Gods Eyes,” where he really is speaking from the heart. There is nothing more to say than he outdid himself and that he really took himself from being moderately famous into super stardom. Roddy also won his first Grammy award this year with his song with Nipsey Hussle, “Racks in the middle” (via RollingStone.com).