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#1: The Top 10 Albums of 2024

#1: The Top 10 Albums of 2024

Adam Dash
January 20, 2025

Hey! Welcome to the inaugural SoundCentric newsletter (hold for applause).

After years of hearing propaganda from my older brothers about why I should start a newsletter, I have finally caved. To frame it more optimistically, I have finally seen the light and remembered how much I enjoy writing. Now, Brett and Jared, please close your eyes for a second. They may have been right about this whole newsletter thing.

In this newsletter, you can expect to receive a weekly story that may expand on one of my many hot hip-hop takes, a breakdown of a new music industry trend, a Q&A with an artist or industry professional, or anything else that pops into this ol' brain of mine that’s rap-related.

You could be reading anything in the world right now, and you're here with me. So, I appreciate it.

Now, let’s get to it!

Deep Dive

The Top 10 Albums of 2024

What an awful year to be a "hip-hop is dead" truther (I'm respectfully looking at you, Questlove.)

This may have been one of the most exciting years in recent hip-hop memory. Obviously, at the forefront of it all was the battle for the throne from the Big 3 (Kendrick Lamar, Drake, and J. Cole). In a year that started with the long-overdue return of a Drake and J. Cole collaboration on First Person Shooter, things would quickly go south—or west, if we’re being more geographically accurate.

Kendrick Lamar shocked the world and forever altered a majority of rap fans' views of The Boy. J. Cole did the most J. Cole thing imaginable—apologizing for calling To Pimp a Butterfly a snoozefest. Both Cole and Kenny dropped incredible surprise... mixtapes? I still don’t know what to call these projects. Kendrick also hosted his The Pop Out: Ken & Friends show, an amazing celebration of West Coast hip-hop.

This year also saw the rise of some amazing artists, like the swamp princess, Doechii. BigXthaPlug and BossMan Dlow had the game on lock. Personally, I was introduced to so many incredible artists like SAILORR, Tommy Richman, Trevor Spitta, and a million others that I’ll dive deeper into in a future article.

So, here we are once again. There is never an easy way to do this. No more delaying the inevitable Here are my top 10 albums of 2024!

10. Penalty of Leadership - Boldy James and Nicholas Craven

Boldy had quite the 2024. He dropped four albums, and to be fair, I decided to choose just one. The one that stuck with me most was the project he released at the start of the year with Nicholas Craven, following his unfortunate car accident which is depicted on the cover. The sample on the first track, Formal Invite, instantly drew me in and let me know I was about to hear something special. Boldy is a pure hip-hop artist through and through, and when paired with someone as talented as Nicholas Craven, no wrong can be done.

I spun this album during countless winter walks through New York City, feeling like I was in a movie. Boldy sounds even more laid-back than usual on this album, especially on tracks like Brand New Chanel Kicks and Speedy Recovery. That Speedy Recovery beat is one of those where you find yourself walking around the house singing along to the sample. You really can’t go wrong with any Boldy project from 2024, but Penalty of Leadership claimed my number one spot. Quick shoutout to Flying Trapeze Act from the Across the Tracks tape with Conductor Williams—that one also landed in my top 10 of the year.

9. Elite Vessel - Lexa Gates

Lexa's voice is something special. When she raps, she carries the perfect thick New York City accent. When she chooses to sing, she sounds like an American Amy Winehouse—high praise, I know, but that's just the vibe she gives. Lexa has a flawless ear for beats that match her effortlessly cool aesthetic. She often draws comparisons to Mac Miller, and starting a song with a line like, "I love you so much, it makes me wanna kill myself," makes the resemblance clear. The fourth track, Stupid, landed in my top 10 songs of the year, and a track like I Just Can’t Be Alone is simply perfect all around.

Lexa also directed many of the videos featured in this rollout, creating an incredible image that the music only amplifies. She just oozes cool, even when reflecting on her self-conscious tendencies. When she pairs the right chorus with the right raps and beats, she makes magic—and that’s basically every song on this project. I can’t wait to see what she does next.

8. ACCELERATOR - greek

This list is going to be filled with a lot of hip-hop. Sorry, not sorry. But here’s one of my favorite R&B albums of the year.

I discovered Greek in 2023 through his incredible track VIRGINIA CREEPER, which ended up as one of my top 10 most-listened-to tracks that year—and again in 2024 when it made the final tracklist for this album. That first listen was special. The sample on RIPCORD immediately told me this was going to be one of those albums for me. When I first heard THERE FOR YOU, I played it five times back-to-back, literally smacking my bed and yelling, "He can't keep getting away with this!" I sent it to everyone I know.

Greek has the voice and vibe of someone I could easily imagine appearing on a future Tyler, the Creator project, playing a role similar to Rex Orange County on Flower Boy. This album is such a relaxing listen—perfect for summer vibes, whether you're sitting on a porch or hanging by some body of water. If you enjoy levitating, this is the album for you.

7. Blue Lips - ScHoolboy Q

The second I heard the beat drop on Pop, I knew we were in for something special. ScHoolboy Q built up anticipation for this tape with an amazing rollout, teasing the beautifully soulful track Blueslides. Honestly, that might be my beat of the year. I remember hearing Thank God 4 Me during a Kal Banx Boiler Room performance months before the album dropped and instantly knowing it was the one. That track ended up as my favorite song of 2024—one of those songs you have to start every car ride and gym session with. And that beat change at the end? Sheeeeeesh.

This is a beautiful album that manages to mix straight bangers with sweet, touching tracks where Q dives deep into his life as a father and his newfound love for golf. The production throughout is stellar, and every feature is perfectly placed. This is definitely an album I love playing front to back on a weekly basis.

6. GNX - Kendrick Lamar

GNX cracked my top 10 right at the buzzer. As with most first listens these days, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it at first. I was driving to tour a law school when I saw that Kendrick had surprise-dropped a new album, so I was a little rattled. But over time, after playing the album in different settings—mainly at the gym—GNX completely grew on me. Who else could shut down the internet and have McDonald's corporate tweeting "MUSTARDDDDDDD"?

Tv off and luther quickly became some of my favorite songs of the year, even with their late release. Hey now and peakaboo are straight bangers that took a few listens to click but now randomly pop into my head throughout the day. Reincarnated brings that classic West Coast vibe and showcases Kenny's signature storytelling.

All in all, I’m happy with this project... or mixtape? I’m still not sure how to classify it.

5. Why Lawd? - NXWORRIES

They always ask why lawd? But they never ask how is lawd :(

NxWorries' 2016 album Yes Lawd! is easily in my top ten favorite albums ever. Suede is probably my favorite song of all time, so this project had the highest expectations for me this year—and Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge did not disappoint. Compared to Yes Lawd!, this album takes a noticeably darker tone, reflecting .Paak's recent public divorce. Songs like KeepHer and HereIAm showcase his reflections on the fallout of that relationship.

FromHere was an incredible single, with October London sounding amazing on the chorus. FallThru is probably my favorite track on the album, though it’s tough to pick just one. Both .Paak and Knxwledge brought their A-game, delivering yet another outstanding project.

4. DON'T GROW UP TOO SOON - Nascent

I'm not usually a huge fan of when producers make their own albums featuring a long, eclectic list of artists that feel cut and pasted onto different beats with no cohesion. That was the complete opposite of my experience with Nascent's DON'T GROW UP TOO SOON. Nascent, who has producer credits and Grammy wins with artists like Kanye West (Hurricane) and SZA (Good Days), introduced me to some amazing artists I had never heard before, like SAILORR, BashfortheWorld, PawPaw Rod, Knucks, and Farrah Fawx.

This album told a full story, and it felt like every artist knew the assignment—from Ab-Soul’s reflective intro track, Take Your Time, to Childish Major and SAILORR battling through their relationship woes on Run Me Back My Bread. This was my surprise album of 2024, and I even got to sit down with Nascent to talk about it on my podcast, which was truly an honor. This is definitely an album I keep coming back to over and over again.

3. Alligator Bites Never Heal - Doechii

What a year for the Swamp Princess. I've been on the Doechii wave for quite a while, sending my friends her music with every new drop. In the month leading up to this tape's release, Doechii started teasing the album with a few music videos, one of which ended up making the album—NISSAN ALTIMA.

Doechii is the future, and she is now, plain and simple. She can make a pop hit whenever she pleases, and a song like SLIDE easily proves that. But what I love most about Doechii is that instead of going the pop route, she brought back that '90s boom-bap vibe and gave us some incredible rap performances like DENIAL IS A RIVER and BOILED PEANUTS, tracks that sound like they could be straight off a Busta Rhymes album.

Even her TV and YouTube performances show how ready she is for stardom. Did you see what she did on the Stephen Colbert show? Did you catch her NPR Tiny Desk performance? Not every artist wants to be a star, and that's understandable. But Doechii appears to be someone who embraces the spotlight she's currently receiving, running with it, and never looking back.

2. Aileen - Dru Kelly & Stix

I'm going to throw my journalistic integrity out the window for this one, as I do manage Dru, but I’ll say that I first heard this album before that even came to be. This album, front to back, is a masterclass in rapping, storytelling, and production. Dru has such a unique voice, and when it’s paired with a beat produced by Stix, it’s over (cue the Vince Carter GIF).

Dru is special for a few reasons. As I mentioned, he has a one-of-a-kind voice. He also has an amazing life story, which he details on tracks like Aileen, Posted Up, and the closing track Proof, where he goes into depth about meeting his fiancée and raising three kids together before the age of 25. He has an ear for catchy choruses that helps him construct bangers like Talk About It and Kapeesh. He’s also going to out-rap anyone he's on a track with, though every feature on this album is perfectly placed and adds so much to the tracks. Dru amazes me with every song I hear, and this album will go down as a very special one for me.

1. Might Delete Later - J. Cole

I woke up to a two-word text: "Cole dropped."

I was bewildered. I was flabbergasted. I was left aghast. The one night this year I went to bed at a reasonable time on Thursday night and I wake up to find out my GOAT had dropped, and I wasn't there to listen right way. I failed you, Jermaine. You trusted me, and I failed you (say this in the voice of Alfred at the end of The Dark Knight Rises. You know the scene.)

This album was heavily overshadowed by the fact that Cole removed his Kendrick Lamar diss 7 Minute Drill, which closed out the album and decided to apologize on stage as he closed out his Dreamville fest. This album was teased with Cole posting videos from his tour with Drake showing us songs like 3001 and Crocodile Tears. You could tell Cole was still in his Off Season “lemme' get some bars off” bag, and that is what he did. This album features top tier Cole tracks like Trae The Truth In Ibiza, Huntin’ Wabbitz, and Pi, and truthfully every song on here is amazing outside of Fever.

I think it’s awesome that someone so deep in their career with so much success under their belt is only getting better with time. And these are just the throwaways. Can you even imagine what we are about to get on The Fall Off?