Kendrick Lamar

Top 40 Hip-Hop Albums of 2022

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It’s that time of the year to break down, discuss, and debate, which artist earned the coveted title of Album Of The Year. Since the beginning of 2022, plenty of artists, rappers or otherwise, have made up for the time lost during the pandemic so there certainly wasn’t a shortage of heat to choose from.

The trinity of Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole (via Dreamville), and Drake emerged to critical and commercial glory throughout the year. At the same time, the next generation preceding them claimed their stake in hip-hop, from J.I.D., Lil Baby and NBA Youngboy. However, it’s also a year when plenty of veteran MCs came through with extraordinary bodies of work showcasing the timelessness in their pens (i.e. Nas, Pusha T, Black Thought). 

Whether it’s an artist like Denzel Curry, whose Melt My Eyez See Your Future defies expectations through strong wordplay and versatile production, or the hedonistic trap god Future, who reminded fans of his innate ability to craft hit records with the release of I NEVER LIKED YOU, 2022 had something for everyone.

As difficult as it was, we ranked the top 40 albums of 2022. Scroll through HNHH’s picks and sound off in the comments with your thoughts on our Album of The Year.

40. Armani Caesar – The Liz 2

39. Nigo – I Know Nigo

38. Central Cee – 23

37. Babyface Ray – FACE

36. Boldy James & Futurewave – Mr. Ten08

35. Rome Streetz – Kiss The Ring

34. billy woods – aethiopes

33. redveil – learn 2 swim

32. Kodak Black – Back For Everything

31. Action Bronson – Cocodrillo Turbo

30. Flo Milli – You Still Here, Ho?

29. EarthGang – Ghetto Gods

28. Benny The Butcher – Tana Talk 4

27. Westside Boogie – MORE BLACK SUPERHEROES

26. Yeat – Lÿfe

25. Dreamville – D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape

24. Megan Thee Stallion – Traumazine

23. Lil Baby – It’s Only Me

22. Earl Sweatshirt – SICK!

21. Conway The Machine – God Don’t Make Mistakes

20. Tee Grizzley – Chapters Of The Trenches

19. Jeezy – Snofall

18. Westside Gunn – 10

17. Black Thought x Danger Mouse – Cheat Codes

16. Quavo x Takeoff – Only Built For Infinity Links

15. NBA Youngboy – The Last Slimeto

14. The Game- DRILLMATIC Heart Vs. Mind

13. Metro Boomin – Heroes & Villains

12. Smino – Luv 4 Rent

11. Joey Bada$$ – 2000

10. Future – I Never Liked You

9. Drake x 21 Savage – Her Loss

8. Gunna – DS4EVER

7. Vince Staples – Ramona Park Broke My Heart

6. Nas & Hit-Boy – King’s Disease III

5. Freddie Gibbs – $oul $old $eparately

4. Pusha T – It’s Almost Dry

3. Denzel Curry – Melt My Eyez See My Future

2. J.I.D. – The Forever Story

1. Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers

Here’s A Timeline Of Kendrick Lamar’s Best Moments Of 2022

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Kendrick Lamar 2022
Getty Image/Ralph Ordaz

Kendrick Lamar gave us a lot to celebrate in 2022. Namely his long-anticipated first album in five years, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. The follow-up to the Pulitzer prize-winning Damn sees Kendrick once again placing the microscope firmly on himself as arguably the best rapper on the planet, waxing on subjects that other MCs wouldn’t touch. But besides putting out another brilliant album, it’s everything that surrounded that release that really made Kendrick Lamar stand out in 2022. Here are his best moments of the year:

Super Bowl Halftime show

Kendrick appeared with Dr. Dre, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and 50 Cent in February. Taking place at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, Kendrick let his hometown crowd know that he was back. The performance even netted three Emmy Awards.

“The Heart Part 5” video

Before Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers dropped, Lamar shared the video for what many thought would be the album’s first single. Turns out it was a one-off cut with an incredible video that was later tacked on as a bonus single on the streaming version of the record. The clip saw Kendrick using deep fake technology to morph into a variety of famous faces from OJ Simpson to Kobe Bryant, and Nipsey Hussle.

Inspiring Fans (And Security Guards) On The Big Steppers Tour

Shortly after Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers came out in May, Kendrick set off on a glorious tour. Portraying himself on stage as a Christ-like figure with a crown of thorns, his worldwide performances were highlighted by delivering an inspiring message to a young boy, using his Glastonbury platform to champion women’s rights, and making a security guard cry with his lyrics. The latter went extremely viral, and for good reason.

Saturday Night Live Performance

Kendrick’s third stint on SNL was another one for the ages. He performed a medley of “Rich Spirit” and “N95” and then brought out Sampha for “Father Time.” It was an incredible artistic display from the rapper, no doubt.

A Cherry On Top With Six Grammy Nominations

Kendrick led all rappers at the 2023 Grammy Awards with six total nominations and bringing his grand total to 47. Among this year’s awards, he’ll be up for Album Of The Year and Song Of The Year. It’s indeed the ultimate cherry on top for an illustrious 2022 for Kendrick, that’ll surely lead to a big 2023.

Osheaga Festival Gears Up For 2023 By Announcing Kendrick Lamar And Billie Eilish As Headliners

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The largest pop music festival in Montreal, Osheaga Art And Music Festival is returning in 2023 with an illustrious cast of headliners. The festival announced today that Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish, and Rufus Du Sol will serve as the top-billed acts for the 2023 edition. The Compton rapper will close out the festival’s main stage on Sunday, while Grammy darling Eilish plays Saturday and the Australian electronic music trio will headline Friday evening’s slate.

Osheaga will take place from August 4th through 6th, 2023 at the Parc Jean-Drapeau on Montreal’s St. Helen’s Island. The complete lineup will likely be announced early next year. For context, the 2022 edition with Foo Fighters, ASAP Rocky, and Dua Lipa, only announced the complete lineup in late February of this year.

The 2023 headliners for Osheaga are interesting, because they could very well be foreshadowing what acts will be in play for the summer music festival circuit in 2023. Kendrick Lamar and Billie Eilish particularly seem destined to be atop a lot of festival bills in 2023.

As for the city of Montreal, it becomes a haven for music and cultural festivals in the summer. Staples like Montreal Jazz Festival, Pop Montreal, and Just For Laughs will also taking place.

3-Day festival passes to Osheaga 2023 go on-sale Friday, 12/16 at noon ET here.

Kendrick Lamar Leaks From “To Pimp A Butterfly” Album Make Rounds Online

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Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers undeniably became one of the most successful albums released in 2022. Even with all the new tracks he provided his fans this year, though, the Compton native has still fallen victim to a leak.

As HipHopNMore reports, a handful of titles from his To Pimp A Butterfly era have surfaced online. The father of two is no stranger to antics like this. In early 2018, a selection of his Kanye West collaborations made rounds across the internet. That same year, songs made with artists like SZA and Jay Rock also unexpectedly showed up.

Rapper Kendrick Lamar performs onstage during day three of Rolling Loud Miami 2022 at Hard Rock Stadium on July 24, 2022 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Jason Koerner/Getty Images)

2019 was when fans heard several random records of Lamar’s from 2009 without his consent. Finally, in 2020 he fell victim once again, although some of those leaks did end up on his 2022 album in one capacity or another.

On Sunday (December 11) the culprits struck again, sharing some throwaway titles from the DAMN. rapper’s 2015 album. Firstly, we have “Falsehood.” The groovy song consists of three verses, the last of which we previously heard on the album version of “i.”

As our source notes, the track features a bar seemingly written for Dr. Dre to record. Instead, Kung-Fu Kenny gives us his best impression of the “Still D.R.E.” hitmaker.

Another surprisingly surfaced title is “Organized Madness.” Far less orthodox in nature, it boasts an appearance from Thundercat at the end. Close listeners will notice that some of the lyrics from the unused song were reworked into “Complexion.”

In other news, it was revealed at the end of November that K-Dot is due to headline 2023’s Primavera Sound Festival. If audiences are lucky, he just may perform some of these random new arrivals during his time on stage.

Check out the recently surfaced Kendrick Lamar leaks here. Afterward, let us know which one of the songs is your favourite in the comments.

[Via]

Travis Scott And Kendrick Lamar To Headline 2023 Rolling Loud Rotterdam

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Travis Scott
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The famous hip-hop festival Rolling Loud keeps expanding. It started off in Miami, Florida in 2015, then added cities in California in 2017. Two years later, they added Sydney, Australia and New York City. They didn’t stop there — then came Toronto, The Netherlands, and Portugal.

The latest location is now Rolling Loud Rotterdam, which will take place at Rotterdam Ahoy in Amsterdam from June 30 to July 1, 2023. The lineup is nothing short of exciting. Only the headliners have been announced so far, which are Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar. Pre-sale tickets are available now on the festival’s website.

Last month, Rolling Loud revealed its lineup for Los Angeles. Headliners include Future, Playboi Carti, and Travis Scott. There’s still lingering controversy about Scott playing many festivals after the Astroworld tragedy. A victim’s family settled its wrongful death lawsuit with Live Nation and Travis Scott in October.

“The Buzbee Law Firm announced today that the claims brought by the family of Axel Acosta against Travis Scott, Live Nation, and others involved in the Astroworld tragedy have settled,” a press release read. “Victim Axel Acosta was a beloved son, brother, and student. He was kind and loving. He is greatly missed. Please keep his family in your prayers.”

Ab-Soul Freestyles Over “Die Hard,” Calls Kendrick Lamar’s TDE Departure An “Evolution”

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Ab-Soul is on pace to drop his forthcoming album, Herbert in a little over a week. In recent times, he’s made more media appearances than he has in the past. He showed face on the Joe Budden Podcast earlier this week where he previewed new music, and now, he’s made his way to Sway In The Morning.

As you’d expect, Soulo came through with some bars for Sway. This time, he takes on Kendrick Lamar’s “Die Hard” and adds his own spin to the record. He also makes reference to Kanye West’s infamous visit to Sway’s studios in 2013.

hardLOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 27: Hip-hop artist Ab-Soul performs onstage during the Ice Cube, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock concert at Staples Center on June 27, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Earl Gibson/BET/Getty Images for BET)

“Yeah, I’m a Pisces but can’t screw the fish, that’s food that’s cool to fish,” he raps. “Class is in session, Sway had the answers all along, that was never a question.”

Ab-Soul’s verse comes a few months after Ye admitted that Sway was actually in the right.

“Shout out to the homie Mr. Morale, that was an honor,” he said. “I don’t think I ever rapped over another one of the homie’s beats before. I was kinda nervous, I ain’t gonna lie. That was like another feeling. I see you, brother.”

Elsewhere, Soul addressed Kendrick’s departure from TDE to establish pgLang.

“I think that’s evolution, man,” he said. “That’s still my brother. I don’t feel a difference. I don’t know how to [explain]. We haven’t spoke on why it happened or why he did it, but I think it’s love, I think it’s growth on his behalf. That’s what he felt like he had to do on his path, on his journey. So I’ma always support him and what he do, you know what I’m saying? But you know who the gang is.”

He reiterated that Kendrick will always be family, regardless what he’s doing musically.

“I don’t care what company he’s with or where they go, if I speak to ’em, it’ll never change,” Soulo continued. “That’s the foundation. I think if you remember that, if you hold onto that, no matter how far you go, I think that’s the practice, to keep that balance. Everything is as it should be. Nothing is out of alignment, at all.”

Check the full freestyle and interview below.

Kendrick Lamar Includes Just One Name In His “Mount Rushmore Of Style”

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Twitter users often debate about who belongs on the Mount Rushmore of Rap, but when it comes time to hand out the awards to those who belong on the Mount Rushmore of Style, West Coast rapper Kendrick Lamar believes that just one person should be recognized.

On Thursday (September 29), the Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers artist hopped on Twitter to show some love to Grammy Award-winning producer Taz Arnold, who has an undeniably distinct sense of fashion that’s earned him praise from fellow creatives all across the industry.

Taz Arnold at Proximity Greenhouse on January 21, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ella Hovsepian/Getty Images)

“The Westside original,” Lamar wrote above four photos of Arnold included in his tweet. “My Mount Rushmore of Style.”

As HipHopDX notes, aside from just admiring his fashion sense, the father of two has also connected with his friend on a musical level. Arnold, who’s a part of the genre-bending L.A. group The Sa-Ra Creative Partners, co-produced three tracks on 2015’s To Pimp a Butterfly – “u,” “Momma,” and “For Sale? (Interlude).”

The “Glorious” artist had high praise for Lamar after working with him in the studio, saying, “He’s ill man. He directs people.”

“He writes his own material to a whole other level. He writes your material. He’s like, ‘Can you say these parts?’ He’s good to work in the studio. I was very impressed with his acumen and his skill set.”

In other news, Kendrick was recently announced as the musical guest on an upcoming episode of Saturday Night Live – read more about that here, and tap back in with HNHH later for more hip-hop news updates.

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