This is my 2023 AOTY list in no particular order in the hip hop and rap categories. I separate it into two sections, AOTY and Honorable Mentions. You could make an argument that any of these individual albums in the top section is AOTY, as they are all are as close to perfection as humanly possible. I consider this list definitive, as I appear to be the only blog that is tapped in to today’s AND the past’s rap scene (that I’m aware of).

I read all of the year-end lists for other popular and underground blogs to piss me off enough to write my own list. I was stunned that these seemingly obvious albums to include on a year-end list were missing from ALMOST every blog and publication, aside from Scaring The Hoes, which unsurprisingly made it onto everyone’s list. Great albums are freakin’ rare, so to make it onto this list is no small task. And you read correctly, Travis Scott’s dumpster fire UTOPIA is not listed here. 

1. Wiki & Tony Seltzer – 14K Figaro

This album even coming out was a total surprise as Wiki had already released so much music recently. Usually he’s all killer no filler, but lately some have been filler… sadly. His other 2023 album Faith Is A Rock was mediocre, as many Alchemist-helmed albums are, and so was Cold Cuts his 2022 album/mixtape/thing. That said, Wiki’s albums Telephonebooth, Half God, and 14K Figaro are each classics and some of my favorite albums in Wiki’s legendary catalog. We have to mention producer Tony Seltzer here on 14K Figaro, he’s been working with Wiki for years, and he’s the most consistent producer to work with Wiki in recent years, essentially replacing Wiki’s previous de facto producer Sporting Life (who is dope in his own right) of Ratking fame. This album is excellent front to back, but to be honest I haven’t listened to it enough times to fully do it justice. I just know this album is a masterpiece, and excited for subsequent listens. Easily could be #1 for AOTY, this album is an automatic purchase for me on vinyl and/or CD. 

Favorite Tracks: “RL”, “Lilypad”, “The Enterprise”, “Weed Song”, “New Religion”

2. Scaring The Hoes – Scaring The Hoes

Danny Brown and JPEGMafia joined forces to create the greatest drug rap album ever made, aptly titled Scaring The Hoes. The concept, if not obvious to the naked eye, is that this is an album that was made to not appeal to the female demographic, AKA the hoes. I got to see Scaring The Hoes live, and I’ve seen damn near everyone live, and this was the largest mosh pit I’ve ever witnessed. It was insane, I legit thought it was going to be Astroworld 2.0. Maybe part of me wished it was… anyways, the production on here is all handled by JPEGMafia, and he created some Yeezus level anthemic bangers on here that played so well live. The production is absolutely insane on each track, and sounds tailor-made for Danny Brown throughout. I put Scaring The Hoes above Madvillainy… don’t tell any of your nerdy incel friends or they might put a hit on me for this super hot take. I recommend getting high on your drug of choice and playing this front to back. Prepare to be taken on a journey to both heaven and hell. 

Favorite Tracks: “SCARING THE HOES”, “Orange Juice Jones”, “Kingdom Hearts Key”, “God Loves You”, “Jack Harlow Combo Meal”

3. Black Milk – Everybody Good?

Black Milk created a new sound on this album, that alone deserves kudos. In my not so humble opinion, he vaulted above Dilla and Madlib with this one, as he took hip-hop production to a new level. I forgot what words Black Milk used to define the sound on Everybody Good?, but on my first listen, I literally felt like a kid in Disneyland. And I was SOBER!! Usually I’d get lit for a momentous album like this, but I decided to approach it with a clear state of mind, and was shocked that I still felt so much elevation from it. My one beef with this album is that there maybe are only one or two singles, so you basically have to listen to this album from front to back, which I’ve done many times already. If you want a track by track breakdown of this album, I did a write up live as Black Milk was debuting this on Bandcamp, which his dope ass manager reposted on her IG, that was one of the iller moments of my life. Black Milk is a legend, if you don’t know him, you’re lucky af to get to dive into his background. He worked with Dilla and Slum Village when Dilla was alive, and has carried the torch for Dilla post-mortem. I bow before the milk that is black.

Favorite Tracks: “Ain’t Nobody Coming Down To Save You”, “No Wish”, “For How Much?”, “Fews & Trues” 

4. Drakeo the Ruler & Ralfy the Plug – Cold Day In Hell (Deluxe)

Long live Drakeo the Ruler, arguably the best gangster rapper of all-time, and also arguably the greatest West Coast rapper ever. Drakeo is dead, and literally killing rappers from the grave, due to the incredibly well-handled posthumous records by his brother Ralfy. Ralfy’s incredibly dope in his own right and is one of the best West Coast rappers today. Ralfy would be first to tell you that Drakeo was/is the GOAT though. Drakeo’s single bars are better than most rappers entire careers. Ok back to the album. When the original Cold Day In Hell dropped it was a fucking masterpiece, and Ralfy decided to add 12 more tracks onto it for the deluxe. While I didn’t love every track added on the deluxe, most of them are phenomenal. The album sounds like Drakeo is still alive and rocking with his brother. Black Sleeve and Store Runner were two of my top 5 most played tracks in 2023 on Spotify. I’ve got to shout out Bay Area rapper ZayBang for his chorus on Black Sleeve, it is absurdly hard. Store Runner is crazy because Ralfy is rapping alongside two dead rappers, his brother and MoneySign $uede. This album is very hard, not for softies, but if you like hard ass West Coast bangers, this will be your AOTY.

Favorite Tracks: “Black Sleeve”, “Store Runner”, “What Happened To Deebo”, “Outdated”, “Homeruns”, “Let Rami Rap”, “Spirit Fingers” 

Honorable Mentions:

1. Huey Briss – Flowers Before The Grave, HUE, AND Living Off The Land

Huey dropped 3 excellent tapes in one year, working with a different producer on each one. Why they didn’t make it to the above section is because each really felt like an EP, whereas his 2021 classic debut Grace Park Legend was undoubtedly an LP. If I had this blog in 2021, it would’ve been AOTY material easily. Huey worked with a different producer on each of these 2023 projects, though the only one I was familiar with was the production team Mike & Keys on HUE. If you don’t know Mike & Keys, well you’re wrong, you do, because you probably hopped on the Nipsey bandwagon when he died, and they made tons of bangers for Nip. Anyways, if you don’t know Huey Briss, which you probably don’t because you aren’t really into hip-hop, I’d check out all 3 of these tapes, but start with Grace Park Legend to set the stage. You’re welcome. Huey is top 5 on the West Coast right now, possibly DOA, still TBD. 

Favorite Tracks: “Laugh To Keep From Crying”, “Rookie Mistakes”, “Why Do I Try??”, “The Dark Forces”, “SIGN RIGHT HERE”, “God Vision”, “Six Figures”, “Plays Off Ocean”, “2416 Pasadena Ave”, “Avirex Leather”

2. Doja Cat – Scarlet

Doja woulda made it above the Honorable Mentions section if the first half of her album had been better, but the second half is undeniably excellente (Spanish for excellent). When Doja Gato dropped her hard-hitting boom-bap single “Balut” I genuinely thought she was going to single-handedly bring hip-hop back to the mainstream, but even the almighty Doja cannot rewire society. But for the afternoon that I toked and listened to “Balut”, she did, damnit she did. Anyways, I usually skip to “Shutcho” on this album and then let the rest of it play, though I do skip “Attention”. “Attention” was phenomenal live though, as was everything, and it was truly an honor to witness her first headlining tour up relatively close. My only regret is I didn’t get front row seats. Sigh. 

Favorite Tracks: “Shutcho”, “Agora Hills”, “Can’t Wait”, “Often”, “Love Life”, “Skull And Bones”, “Balut”, “WYM Freestyle”, “Paint The Town Red”

3. Lil 2 Dow – 21 Gun Salute

This album dropped a few days after the New Year, and was instant AOTY. Sadly there were still about 357 days left or so in 2023, so ultimately this album was surpassed. If you’re a true follower of this blog, then you know I’m an A$AP Ant fan. Lil 2 Dow is in A$AP Ant’s group Marino Infantry. He is the only one I’ve explored in Marino Infantry, but I would appreciate if any one of my many readers would look into the other members if you’re a real ass A$AP Ant fan. This album is super smooth, almost too smooth, yet super hood if you pay attention. I’d recommend lighting up for this one. 

Favorite Tracks: “21 Gun Salute”, “Stranded On The Row”, “The Ankle Lock”

4. AZ – Truth Be Told

AZ is a legend in the game, best known for collaborating with Nas on “Life’s a Bitch” off of Illmatic, which many nerds consider to be the best hip-hop album ever made. I strongly disagree, and could win that debate easily if I cared. Anyways, I actually prefer AZ to Nas in a lot of cases, as AZ’s flow is so damn entertaining. Both AZ and Nas struggle to find production that matches their respective talents, so I was thrilled to see that AZ’s Truth Be Told was produced entirely by Buckwild, a legendary producer of D.I.T.C. fame. If you’re yearning for 90’s nostalgia, this here is your best bet off of this entire list.

Favorite Tracks: “The GOAT”, “Reintroduction”, “How We Get It”

5. Danny Brown – Quaranta

If Danny didn’t include “Tantor” on this album, it would have had a better shot of making it to the AOTY section above. “Tantor” is the worst single and I think track that Danny has ever dropped, due to the godawful Alchemist beat. I won’t even try to describe how bad that track is. Anyways, Quaranta is quite good. Not Danny’s best work, but since he gave us Scaring The Hoes in 2023 too, all is forgiven. This album is very dark, as Danny was continuing his downward spiral into drug abuse as it was made during the pandemic. I am very proud of him for sobering up, as he is my favorite rapper ever, and just seems like a phenomenal dude. Been rocking with him since 2010. Protect Danny Brown at all costs.  

Favorite Tracks: “Celibate”, “Y.B.P.”, “Shakedown”, “Hanami”, “Bass Jam”

6. Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist – Voir Dire

I used to be the biggest Earl stan on the planet, as his classic I Don’t Like Shit I Don’t Go Outside (IDLSIDGO) is immaculate and one of the best rap albums ever made. After that, he linked up with MIKE, Medhane, and all those dudes who were inspired by Earl’s lyrical depression raps, then Earl took inspiration from them and started rapping over MIKE type beats, and imo ruined his career. Ahh the irony! Whatever though, artists gonna art. His 2022 album Sick! had a few redeeming tracks, but Voir Dire is much more consistent, due to the production provided by sole producer The Alchemist. Alchemist can be hit or miss as I mentioned in the Danny Brown review just above, but he was mostly solid on this album, and Earl came correct. Good not great album, but making a good album is no easy feat, as only 10 total made it to this list. 

Favorite Tracks: “The Caliphate”, “Free the Ruler” 

7. B. Cool-Aid – Leather Blvd.

Leather Blvd. is an album made by B. Cool-Aid, which is a group consisting of the eclectic and talented Pink Siifu, and severely underrated producer Ahwlee. Hard to put this in the rap section, but I didn’t have another list to put this on. Filled with extremely mellow instrumentals, this is an album to play end to end and you’ll get caught up in the vibe they created. Describing the vibe is a bit tougher. I’ve heard some people describe this album as being a personification of blackness. I don’t know if I can get away with saying that as I’m white. Anyways, this is a great album to play if you’re relaxing in the evening. I wouldn’t play it in the morning. Both Pink Siifu and Ahwlee are worth diving into as well, though I’m not well-versed on either. Both undoubtedly talented. Peep their previous collabs as B. Cool-Aid too!

Favorite Tracks: Cnt Go Back (Tell Me), soundgood

So that’s it! If you read this far, I applaud you for having a decent attention span. Personally for me I’m bored of all content, so hopefully you found this content unique. It definitely is compared to these other shit ass blogs. I’ll do a write up on my favorite singles of 2023 soon, but this is a lot of work, so you must exhibit patience young grasshoppa. 

Long live Drakeo the Ruler ❤️