Despite its brief blip away from Billboard stardom, hip-hop still has a pulse (and a strong one at that). R&B is growing stronger amidst some ups and downs, too. And the one thing about mainstream death and institutional failure is that counterculture always rises from the ashes of a crumbling pop format. Indeed, the underground grows stronger if pop lacks luster.
Consequently, a lot of the best music of 2025 was decidedly blue-collar and middle-class. Artists made music clawing out of the mud, whether lamenting systemic injustices or grunting their way towards the life they want for themselves. As creative industries lazily creep towards AI sludge, raw, human expression defined the year.
Here are the ten rap and R&B records that spotlight how art has persevered against all odds.
10 of the Best Hip-Hop & R&B albums of 2025
10. Act Broke Get Rich by ABGR Lil Cory
An Atlanta trap revival was inevitable as America creeps towards recession. ABGR Lil Cory stands up to the task to lift the sound once again, the manifestation of Future declaring God’s blessing towards every trap house. Blood-boiling heat sears off songs as Cory wheezily grunts, “it’s gon’ be hard to beat me, I’m finna flood the streets,” on “Choosing“. Triumphant horns make “Sto Runna” soar, like an SEC band celebrating as Georgia routes Marshall 54-7.
What keeps Act Broke Get Rich from routine Thug Motivation 101 bible readings is the Mississippi rapper’s absurdity in his excess. There’s no shortage of Amiri flexing, but not without his mama telling him he’s “dumb as f***” after he spends $1,500 on shoes. Following Jeezy’s on-the-nose humor, he raps “Trappin’, gettin’ paid like an athlete, I’m a traplete n****.” It’s the kind of music that makes you remember why school boards banned Snowman t-shirts.
9. (The) Forever Dream by Fly Anakin
“I’ve been told this sounds like a Cadillac. So if you own a Cadillac, good job n****,” Fly Anakin grins on “The Times”. No description is more apt for (The) Forever Dream, a hazy, breezy record that’s as much Half Baked as it is Cooley High. Quelle Chris’ vision as executive producer brings a touch of graininess that suits the corduroy couches and bright-colored velour interiors of Cadillacs.
It all lends well to Fly Anakin’s everyman raps that curbs from Wiz Khalifa and Wu-Tang Clan alike. We can lounge around with him and his friends on “Corner Pocket” while making just enough space to keep it real on records like “Forever Dream”. “Told me I could be the biggest thing if I just make the list. But I don’t see a future in this game playing politics,” he admits. These brief moments make the heart of (The) Forever Dream: leaning back on community in the face of uncertainty.
8. Best Rapper Alive by G Herbo
Best Rapper Alive is what happens when you distill the energy of a radio freestyle across 20 songs. G Herbo harkens back to the age of the mixtape, on DatPiff or the trunk of someone’s car. When someone considers rap in a sports context, this is what they mean. There’s an adrenaline for a great rapper to paint their own rendition of The Game’s “One Blood” or a Murderers’ Row of prime Lil Wayne flips. There’s a similar rush to hear it, a hunger even under less prestigious lights. Sometimes, that’s where the best games are played. It’s akin to watching Kevin Durant light up Rucker Park in an offseason just to keep his game fresh.
In a world of streaming fodder and forced prestige bait, it’s refreshing to hear someone like G Herbo let loose but never lax. Sure, it’s all exhibition, like a promotional run on Hot 97 or Sway in the Morning. But it’s also the most energetic he’s been in years, not burdened by expectation or functional correctness. The only thing that’s missing is a series of DJ Clue bombs or Funk Flex growls.
7. Rebel by EsDeeKid
EsDeeKid raps with real menace behind his misfit demeanor. With any other performer, records like “Phantom” or “Rottweiler” would come across as vacant flexes of drugs and high fashion. But with the Liverpool rapper, with his Scouse accent under the ski mask, his sound seems to harbor a kind of “knife in an alleyway,” real dangerous kind of vibe. Rebel plays with the kind of lawless energy that Chief Keef had behind his guns and True Religion jeans. “LV Sandals” may indulge in women, money fans, and drugs, but EsDeeKid raps with dead eyes behind all the degeneracy. People may (foolishly) believe that he’s Timothée Chalamet behind all the excess. But there’s enough malice in his voice to suggest he’s not a posh art kid.
6. GOLLIWOG by billy woods
billy woods raps like he still smells the napalm in Vietnam. As the world continues to spin, he still sees the blood on the battlefield. Where woods has always dealt in the seemingly inescapable oppression, GOLLIWOG thrives in magnifying his targets rather than broadening the scope. There’s a cinematic quality to these vignettes, one that fixates on misery and commiserates with the disenfranchised.
Take “Golgotha”, where the horns are beyond weary, practically wheezing at the pollution families deal with living next to data centers. Or take “BLK XMAS”, where Bruiser Wolf and billy woods rap as oracles, depicting the freezing desperation in worn-down neighborhoods. “BLK ZMBY” plays like the never-ending sands of the desert, wandering without a map, close to the brink of death. There’s no telling if water will ever come. That’s what the rationing is for: to persevere and have faith in the mere prospect of survival.
While billy woods has always been a stellar lyricist, his writing strengthens when paired with the kind of scorch that matches his criticism. “Why when it’s my turn to eat, it’s always ashes in my mouth” hits like a brick when paired with uneasy, frantic Conductor strings. There’s never been a doubt that woods can paint the picture in writing alone. But GOLLIWOG is among his best because he brings in more color to amplify his message.
5. hooke’s law by KeiyaA
hooke’s law captures the essence of modern living like few other artists today. The album plays out like a sitcom, where KeiyaA’s musings on predatory landlords and deep convos into raunchy bed-rocking stand side by side. The anxiety is just as real as the horniness. She writes with a staggering clarity of self that makes her music feel tangible, even amidst turmoil. “Do I wanna die or am I just hungry?” is a fleeting thought just like her existential dread on “stupid prizes”. Think Curb Your Enthusiasm relatability funneled through the synth-heavy moroseness of 808s & Heartbreak. You may be on the brink, but that doesn’t stop the annoying mundanities of everyday life.
4. Still Goin The EP by MexikoDro
MexikoDro makes proletariat rap music for the modern generation. Rappers in the past made their motivating music in the name of achieving luxury. Jeezy rapped with the intent of creating an empire. Hov’s favorite hue is Jay-Z blue. But where drug dealing was a means to an end for them, Dro draws the line there. He wants to be in bed at 9 pm with a glass of wine and finds his peace working on vintage rides.
It’s wildly relatable and a staggering juxtaposition to the trap music of years past. Most people are regular civilians, using this kind of music to grind their way through a job they don’t love. “You won’t never ever catch me trappin’ on no block. I ain’t finna make a million dollars from no rock, but I got a whole lotta beats that’s in stock,” he says in his gruff voice. MexikoDro might not work the 9-5, but the principles are the same: hustle hard and reap the rewards.
3. art Pop * pop Art by zayALLCAPS
zayALLCAPS is not a pop star. Some of the catchiest songs you’ll ever hear might fool you, though. “Tasty (Bad Gurl)” is the kind of earworm you were destined to hear during the 5 pm traffic jam in LA (technically, LA traffic is eternal) on REAL 92.3. Maybe “rWm” is when the DJ slows it down at the roller skating rink. Or “MTV’s Pimp My Ride” is blaring out of someone’s car while you’re posted up outside the local 7-Eleven.
But to consider zayALLCAPS in pop terms misses the nuggets of music-nerd details and the referential material that go into every shimmering layer. Hit records don’t feature a guest verse where the rapper’s car locks up and hydroplanes on the I-5. Pop songs aren’t typically about exercising and running a pickup game with your friends. They really don’t take on such a tender, glittery refrain about nurturing your hobby on the piano. A quiet superpower of Zay’s is his ability to blend ordinary mundanities and everyman songwriting with unstoppable, galactic-scale hit records A&Rs salivate over.
All of this stems from diligent, precise study. Prime T-Pain album cuts, SOS Band chords, Gap Band kicks and swings, a bit of Frank Ocean when he was singing about his crappy job and how he wishes to love his partner every day as his 9-5 instead. Some Jet Age of Tomorrow grooves here, or Dilla and Pete Rock drums there. What about on-the-nose metaphors sourced out of 2000s R&B b-sides? “Work it Out” is the kind of record pulled straight out of DāM FunK’s deep record collection. Pop stars are rarely this measured because mainstream records usually prefer more simplicity than strong detail. zayALLCAPS is the rare artist who could pull off both on art Pop * pop Art.
2. SLAYTANIC by Zukenee
It’s always a shame when rappers desperately latch onto gimmicks to stay relevant. Desiigner is putting out empty-calorie boom-bap records to try to resuscitate his career. We see NLE Choppa put on a new personality every six months to boost streams and social media engagement. It’s all hilariously transparent and dishonest, and the worst part is that they never fully committed.
Zukenee is incredibly refreshing in an environment of fakes and hucksters. He likens Atlanta to medieval times, where guns are sticks and swords, and trap houses are dungeons. But as deliciously nerdy as that might sound, it never relies on these trite comparisons. On “IN THE WOODS”, gentrification is the villages being burned down, and he asks, “You gon’ stand around the fire or you gon freeze and die?” “CUT YA HAND” and its country sheen might as well be farmhands cutting through hay bales with pitchforks.
Behind all the metallic sword noises coming from a sheath is a deep love for Atlanta rap. Zukenee’s most apparent influence is Bankroll Fresh and his scorchingly aggressive delivery. But “HOT ASS GREECE” might as well have been a Goodie Mob deep cut. “STOOPID FOOL” and “YOGA” dip into Smack DVD Gucci Mane territory, while “HINDU” is the kind of addictive hook Quavo would’ve conjured up in 2013. Whether or not Atlanta will bite on his medieval aesthetic isn’t certain. But at the very least, Zukenee is reimagining the bounds of how we can understand trap music.
1. The Passionate Ones by Nourished by Time
We all want to believe that there’s hope. Amidst some of the darkest times of our lives, we tell ourselves every day that there’s a reason we get up in the morning. There’s a reason we decide to follow our routines, our self-care, to eat well, and we get up and go to work. Maybe, just maybe, life will be okay one day. We’ll live comfortably, and the ailments and tragedies of this life won’t hurt us.
The Passionate Ones doesn’t promise a light at the end of the tunnel. Marcus Brown of Nourished by Time is more than disillusioned by the American Dream and is actively bracing for the worst. However, he does radically argue that if we’re as doomed as it seems, we might as well love and be passionate until the fire burns out. “If I’m gonna go insane, at least I’m loved by you,” Brown heartily croons.
The Passionate Ones is timely as ever, the defining album of the 2020s in a fascist regime where the arts die a slow, agonizing death to the assimilation of greedy corporate execs and godless tech bros. Data centers are withering away our homes and our health, taking all of our water. What’s the point? In a dizzying spell of hip-hop, R&B, disco, and rock, Marcus Brown represents perseverance in the face of the end.
The post Top 10 Hip-Hop & R&B Albums of 2025 appeared first on VICE.
