Best albums of 2021

The California native delivered a brutally honest masterpiece

The Bruno Mars-Anderson .Paak collab lived up to the hype

The album exemplifies the spectrum of emotions in a COVID-19 and grief-stricken world

The album provides a road map for seasoned emcees who want to remain relevant

The rapper depicts an all-too-familiar love-hate relationship with the South

The album is the musical equivalent of a therapeutic group chat

Their album eludes the nostalgia trap

The emerging rapper re-imagines the revenge narrative

The singer is evolving from soul man to R&B artist, but will Black audiences join him?

The rapper’s lyrical ability mirrors that of a literary memoir, further proving the beauty of rap