Skilla Baby

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For the second monthly installment of The Best Hip-Hop Albums, we had to dig a little deeper than we did in March, thanks in part to fewer releases overall. However, while there were fewer albums from established, well-known acts, plenty of up-and-coming artists took the opportunity to stake their claims on gaining a foothold in the public consciousness.

Thanks to Drake and Kendrick Lamar, it was an uphill battle. While Kendrick’s contribution to their ongoing feud didn’t arrive until the end of the month, Drake’s antics were more than enough to keep us all at our favorite digital water coolers, discussing his distasteful use of AI, and whether he still has the juice to survive another confrontation with a lyrical heavyweight with a longer history of critical support.

But even with those two sucking up all the oxygen, there were still plenty of new releases worth checking out if beef wasn’t your thing. Here are the best hip-hop albums of April 2024.

Anycia — Princess Pop That

The Atlanta newcomer got plenty of attention thanks to Latto’s verse on “Back Outside,” but Anycia’s first-ever mixtape bears more than enough proof that she’s bigger than beef. Her herky-jerky flow, smoky vocal timbre, and unabashed bluntness are versatile enough to tackle both boisterous boasts and unfiltered heartbreak, while the choice of production keeps the energy level high through all 14 tracks.

Future & Metro Boomin — We Still Don’t Trust You

The second half of Future & Metro’s double disc project focuses more on the singing than the rapping, so there was a strong argument that this leaves it in Wongo’s territory, but we did include it in the Best New Hip-Hop of the week, so it qualifies for the month. Besides, thanks to contributions from ASAP Rocky, J. Cole, and Lil Baby, it still has more than enough bars for anyone who wants them.

GloRilla — EhhThang EhhThang

Hip-hop can be a lot of things: Angry, menacing, political, and thoughtful. But I think at its core, what people want most from rap music is for it to be fun. GloRilla understands this and aims to feed this impulse directly on her first mixtape since 2020’s independent P Status. The project allays concerns that she might have been just a one-hit wonder with song of the summer potentiates “Wanna Be” featuring Megan Thee Stallion and “Yeah Glo!” while providing introspection on “Aite” and “High AF.” Will you find dizzying feats of virtuoso lyrical gamesmanship here? No. But hip-hop has always been way more than just rappity-rap wordplay and “fight the power” ethos. Sometimes, you just want to turn up. That’s when you turn on GloRilla.

J. Cole — Might Delete Later

I also debated not including this one, solely based on Cole’s decision to pull “7 Minute Drill” from DSPs as a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. Fortunately for him, there are still 11 other solid tracks, including the nostalgic Dipset callback “Ready ’24” and “H.Y.B” with Bas and Central Cee. Intricate wordplay may not be your thing, but Cole’s latest scratches that very specific itch, despite distracting him from following through on his promise to bring The Fall-Off to fruition.

Skilla Baby — The Coldest

The Michigan rapper follows up his 2023 collaborative project Controversy with Tee Grizzley with a solid solo effort. The Coldest finds him using his choppy flow to detail his misadventures in the streets with a cool-headed charisma that makes what should be worn-out material sound fresher than ever. A slew of guest stars, from Flo Milli to Rob49, join him on trunk-rattling production, but he never lets anyone steal the spotlight, proving that he’s a star in the making.