Over halfway into the decade, it’s been difficult to pinpoint what hip-hop has been in the 2020s. Rather than having central artists and albums, the culture has been fractured. Moments will capture the imagination like brief blips on the radar before eventually moving on to something new. On one hand, it’s made for a fascinating underground presence, where the mainstream matters a little less and more artists get the limelight. On the other hand, it hasn’t made for a ton of decade-defining albums because of how varied and scattered everything is.
Still, there have been a handful of records that will matter to people years down the line. Even if they’re just classics in their respective scenes, we’ll look back at them as significant touchstones within hip-hop. We’re going out on a limb and choosing these three albums to succinctly define what the 2020s have been so far.
3 Rap Albums That Will Be Considered Classics in the Future
‘Whole Lotta Red’ by Playboi Carti
If any artist has defined the 2020s at large, it’s been Playboi Carti. His legion of disciples and imitators is immense, no matter what style he favors on a given record. Whether he was taking us back to the days of Swamp Izzo and old mixtape tags or cosplaying as a vampire, everyone wanted to be like Carti.
Whole Lotta Red will likely stand the test of time more because of how many artists failed to imitate it. Many artists tried and failed to capture the pocket of rage music, far too weird and synth-heavy to find a pocket in. But Carti squealed and scatted throughout the record seamlessly. “Vamp Anthem” saw him go full Castlevania, while “Sky” sounded like Carti drifting on Rainbow Road in Mario Kart. If Playboi Carti was hip-hop’s most influential, Whole Lotta Red proved that it’s not easy being such a trendsetter.
‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’ by Kendrick Lamar
Most people are going to remember Kendrick Lamar in the 2020s for his infamous beef with Drake. He provided hip-hop with some of the most scathing diss songs in hip-hop history. However, it’s easy to argue that, despite such a monumental moment in the culture, its impact is starting to wane. Drake dropped a hefty three albums and landed back in a lot of fans’ good graces again. The most we got from the whole debacle was just discourse online and needless bickering between fanbases.
At the very least, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers still exists as a decidedly bold choice for Kendrick Lamar. The context of the record changes a little bit because we know that his decision to choose peace clearly didn’t last that long. Nevertheless, to hear an artist bear their scars and make some particularly thorny rap songs after five years away from their most commercial success is invigorating.
Time will tell how Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers ages. Currently, hearing him admit “I can’t please everybody” and that he didn’t want to wear the crown anymore doesn’t align with the rapper who slayed Drake so viciously. But what if that was just a one-off? What if it was simply a moment where he proved that he could be the rapper who could wear the crown if he wanted to? What if he walks away again and stays true to his word this time, walking away from the grand spectacle of the hip-hop industry? That would make for a truly daring album we’d look back at fondly.
‘Meet The Woo 2’ by Pop Smoke
Pop Smoke will be one of the biggest “what ifs” in hip-hop history. His voice was thunderous but had the charisma that could’ve seen him soar beyond the New York drill music scene. The possibilities were endless for him, and Meet The Woo 2 proved that. While mostly operating on electric drill drums, Pop Smoke had an uncanny gravity that separated him from his contemporaries in the subgenre. What could’ve been just bland production in another artist’s hands were stadium-sized anthems in his.
The “King of New York” label had never stuck with an artist since the prime days of G-Unit, Dipset, and Jay-Z. Pop Smoke would’ve changed that. When history looks back at hip-hop in the 2020s, it’ll be easy to imagine where he would’ve fit had he not passed away.
(Photo by Johnny Nunez/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
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