She’s unafraid of uncharted territory and willing to step outside the conventional box Americans place on Afrobeats, all while broadening the umbrella of dance music.

Whether it’s a future classic or impenetrable catalog builder remains to be seen, but once more, King Kendrick has proved through linear vision he’s naturally able to outshine the rest of the mainstream while still working to figure out the world around him.

Black Messiah is ambitious and adventurous, and in that way it delivers wholly on the promise of D’Angelo as an artist.

Not only is Homecoming an artistically-sound triumph, it’s a cultural touchstone and, quite possibly, the live album of a generation.

From nine-minute douchebag manifestos, to enlisting an A-list Grammy ensemble to piece-mealing his album out to the masses every Friday, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy defies logic and it ignores convention.

Noname overwhelmingly succeeds in telling her coming-of-age story where she removes all emotional layers to explore everything from comical socio-political ideology to sexuality minus self-serving preachiness.

With Care For Me, Saba accomplished his objective by making an album that can endure for years to come.

It is both album and manifesto, and illustrates the true power of art. The power to conjure back from the dark the voice of people the world has chosen to ignore.

The album is a storyteller's album. In fact, it's an immensely inclusive R&B album.

At its core, We’re All Alone In This Together is a meticulously constructed, well-balanced rap album. It’s an important landmark, placing Dave high in the best rappers under 25 conversation.

This project truly is an American requiem as the opening track states; it’s Beyoncé’s reminder that much has been sacrificed to allow her to claim her identity as a southern girl and fully partake in all of America’s unique artistic and cultural traditions.

With Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City, Compton's flag bearer unveils a group of songs equally potent individually and collectively, meeting the mainstream and rabid fans in the middle, improbably touching that thinnest slice between mass appeal and mass respect.

Renaissance is both backward-looking and forward-thinking. A colorful, euphoric and glittery celebration of what has passed and what is still to come.

Through thick and thin, Tribe embodies the fully fleshed out idea of the Hip Hop their impassioned audience clamors for: work that’s soulful, thought provoking, and gripping enough to transport minds away from strife to another world sonically.

The peaks on SOS, (“Used,” “Smoking on my Ex Pack,” and “Forgiveless”) find SZA sounding refreshingly comfortable rapping over gritty, hazy, and grimy productions.

The 16-track potent lyrical adventure is peppered with countless poetic musings masquerading as seamless Hip Hop tracks, easily solidifying Rapsody’s musical legacy.

The two have undeniable chemistry; woods always sounds exceptionally comfortable over a Kenny Segal beat, and Segal complements woods’s intricate writing brilliantly, keeping the backdrops uncluttered but ever-evolving.

Throughout RTJ2 [El-P] holds his own rhyming alongside a superior wordsmith.

RTJ4 cements Killer Mike and El-P’s right to be mentioned amongst the greats, especially in the realm of politically charged Hip Hop.

Rather than cheap ploys to cross over, the questionable collaborations are more likely calculated concessions with the intent of sneaking his evangelical message to a greater audience. After the communion cup runs empty, Chance proves himself worthy of hero worship by subtly and subversively overthrowing the commercialized horrors of his town’s violent drill movement.

While Vince sticks with his most familiar narrative examining stardom’s futility despite it providing escape from former life’s struggles, his calling lies in finding provocative, edgy and unconventional ways to tell his story. Luckily, Staples’ choice to walk the road less traveled placing innovation at a premium over fame shouldn’t prevent his well deserved shine from gaining continual momentum.

A Seat at the Table is her strongest work to date.

While When I Get Home is a valiant effort and (thankfully) distinctive to mainstream music’s consistently homogenized landscape, it could’ve benefited from less freeform and a little more stability.

The trouble with Illmatic XX isn’t what you hear, but what you don’t hear. In a vacuum, it’s an unexpectedly well-preserved snapshot of Golden Era, New York Hip Hop. Sonically, it strikes the perfect balance between cleaning up the original recordings through the advent of digital remastering without eliminating subtleties such as the crackle of a needle over vinyl.

Whether you've been patiently waiting for five years or just recently got into Saigon's music, The Greatest Story Never Told delivers a stimulating message that is as cautionary as it is entertaining.

With its substantial subject matter, solid production and tightly-woven sequencing, Charity Starts At Home does exactly what a solo debut should: showcases the artist's skill set and personality all at once.

Sometimes I May Be Introvert is an espousal on Black womanhood with deep emotional intelligence and refined insight from someone who’s ruminated on her pain and found catharsis through music.

The 17-track project finds Tyler leaning into his rap prowess and flexing more bars than on previous efforts like 2017’s critically acclaimed yet sonically lighter album Flower Boy. ... The blatant dichotomy between emotiveness and almost blind arrogance peppers nearly every track, shedding even more light on who Tyler is beneath the surface.