Part 1: Every Member of the 2018 XXL Freshman Class Ranked
9) Stefflon Don
Please don't call me a sexist for putting the lone female rapper at the bottom of this list. I've heard many of her songs and her sound is just not for me. Her music has more of a Jamaican dancehall influence. I don't really enjoy most of that subsection of hip-hop, but I understand her appeal. I do like a couple of her songs but out of all the artists in this list, she's the one I will go back to the least.
Favorite Songs
Real Ting
Favorite Guest Verse: MC Fioti - Bum Bum Tam Tam
8) BlocBoy JB
I like his music and his energy, but I would rather listen to all of the other artists on this list, other than Stefflon Don, than BlocBoy. Even though I enjoyed SIMI, I will admit that most of the songs blended together and sounded the same. I think he could use more variation in his beat selection, even though I do enjoy the beats from Tay Keith. I don't hate him as much as most people do, but I enjoy the rest of this ranking more than him.
Favorite Songs
Look Alive
Nun of Dat
Rover 2.0
Mamacita
Favorite Guest Verse: A$AP Rocky - Bad Company
7) Lil Pump
He has improved a lot in 2018, but I enjoy everyone else a bit more than Pump. His music is less repetitive, but also doesn't hit as hard. His guest verses in 2018 have been on point, but we haven't heard much solo music from the Harvard Dropout other than "Esskeetit." I'm looking forward to what he will do on The Harvard Dropout, which is slated to drop in July. Also, his freestyle was a shitty acapella version of the second verse of "Esskeetit." I wasn't expecting much for it but anything else would have been better.
Favorite Songs
Esskeetit
Smoke My Dope
Boss
Flex Like Ouu
Favorite Guest Verse: Tee Grizzley - Jettski Grizzley
6) Smokepurpp
Smokepurpp's music is the equivalent of junk food. You know it's not great and you could benefit from something else, but you want to listen to Smokepurpp instead. I enjoy a lot of what he has to offer, but he's not doing anything special. In short, I don't think Smokepurpp is a great artist, but he isn't necessarily terrible either. He's just okay. However, I used to not like his melodic music that much, but I love it the more I listen to it.
Favorite Songs
Fingers Blue
Do Not Disturb
Krispy Kreme
To the Moon
Favorite Guest Verse: PnB Rock - 3X
5) YBN Nahmir
The only reason he's not any higher is that he doesn't have an official full-length project yet. I also think his verses are pretty interchangeable and can be average at times. However, I see a lot of potential in Nahmir. I think he is better than plenty of SoundCloud rappers from a lyrical and flow standpoint. He's also not just relying on the triplet flows like many new rappers today. He has a unique personality, but his lyrics need to grow into more than just the life of a GTA character.
Favorite Songs
Rubbin Off the Paint
Bounce Out With That
Glizzy Hella Geekin
No Hook
Favorite Guest Verse: G-Eazy - 1942
4) Trippie Redd
When I listened to more of his music, I went from liking Trippie Redd to loving Trippie Redd. Seriously, I don't know what it is about his raspy vocals that draw me in, but I find them to be really infectious. There are so many songs I found across his two mixtapes that I just love. I really wish that he'd stay out of trouble so he could build a bigger fanbase and generate more positive hype.
Favorite Songs
Dark Knight Dummo
Poles 1469
Bust Down
Today
Favorite Guest Verse: Lil Yachty - 66
3) Wifisfuneral
I wouldn't say that Wifisfuneral is amazing, but he is certainly a great artist. I enjoy most of his music and his latest projects were very solid. However, I find it very hard to find songs that stand out and there aren't too many songs that are replayable. The reason why he is so high on this list is that I enjoy his flows and I think he is better lyrically than many of his South Florida peers. I think he needs to pick better beats.
Favorite Songs
lil jeff hardy
Aw Shit
Grim Pt. 2
Every Fucking Pill In the World
Favorite Guest Verse: Ronny J - Snakes
2) J.I.D
From a lyrical standpoint, he is the best rapper on this list. He hasn't put out too much music, but I do believe that XXL is just what he needs to gain the popularity and respect he deserves. I think he is very talented and that he can make some great music, but I want to hear more.
Favorite Songs
Never
Hasta Luego
Underwear
8701
1) Ski Mask The Slump God
Ski is definitely my favorite new school rapper. He's become one of my favorite artists and there's so much to enjoy from him. I love his fast-paced flows, his whimsical lyrics, and wacky beats. It's a shame that his projects aren't selling that much because I feel like more people need to hear his talent. I think if he had better promotion and management, he could truly turn into something great.
Favorite Songs
Take a Step Back
Catch Me Outside
Child's Play
BabyWipe
Favorite Guest Verse: XXXTentacion - RIP Roach
Part 2: Every G.O.O.D. Music 2018 Album Ranked
5) Kanye West - ye
I originally thought this was the worst G.O.O.D. Music album after my first listen, but I can see why it's been given so much praise. I don't think it's above average, but I can appreciate the fact that Kanye wanted to do something more different and personal than his previous works. My biggest issue, other than the fact that it's a rushed inconsistent mess, is that it's too short. It's the only one of these projects that would benefit from being longer. It could have used like 3 or 4 more tracks.
Best Tracks
Yikes
Ghost Town - feat. Kid Cudi x 070 Shake x PARTYNEXTDOOR
Violent Crimes - feat. 070 Shake x Ty Dolla $ign
Worst Track
All Mine - feat. Ant Clemons x Ty Dolla $ign
4) Teyana Taylor - KTSE
This one just had to break the flow of the albums and be 8 songs instead of 7. But seriously, I do think this is an above average R&B record. Her singing and Kanye's production go very well together. It was very consistent in tone and did its job. I don't see myself going back to most of these tracks, but I didn't hate this album.
Best Tracks
Hurry - feat. Kanye West
3Way - feat. Ty Dolla $ign
Rose In Harlem
Worst Track
WTP - feat. Mykki Blanco
3) Nas - NASIR
I can see why plenty of people don't like this album. There's a lot of weird lines about being against vaccinations and Fox News being started by a black guy and what not, but I found much of this project to be very enjoyable. Although this album is carried by Kanye's production, I really thought Nas spread some powerful messages in songs like "Cops Shot the Kid" and "Simple Things." I'll admit that I was too positive in my review. It's more of a 7 or 8 than a 9.
Best Tracks
Cops Shot the Kid - feat. Kanye West
everything - feat. Kanye West x The-Dream
Simple Things
Worst Track
Not For Radio - feat. 070 Shake x Puff Daddy
2) Kids See Ghosts (Kanye West x Kid Cudi) - KIDS SEE GHOSTS
I'm ranking these albums based on quality, but if I were to pick a personal favorite from the Kanye onslaught, it would be this one. The production from Kanye was just beautiful and Kid Cudi spat some of his best verses in years. I felt like the personal issues that Kanye tried to address in ye were more fleshed out in KSG. Also, "Reborn" is the best song on any of these albums, don't @ me.
Best Tracks
Fire
4th Dimension (feat. Louis Prima)
Reborn
Worst Track
Feel the Love (feat. Pusha T)
1) Pusha T - DAYTONA
I love this cover. It's the image that I think portrays Pusha's famous "YEUGH" ad-lib best. This album may not have as much replayability value as KSG, but it's a perfect album. Pusha hits his listeners with some hard-hitting bars and flows throughout. Kanye brought out the best in Pusha as he provided some stellar beats. Also, if it weren't for Pusha sending shots at Drake on "Infrared," we wouldn't have gotten one of the best diss tracks in the history of the genre.
Best Tracks
If You Know You Know
Santeria - feat. 070 Shake
What Would Meek Do? - feat. Kanye West
Worst Track [or in this case "least good track"]
Hard Piano - feat. Rick Ross x The World Famous Tony Williams
Part 3: Making the Perfect 7-Song Compilation for G.O.O.D. Music
I feel like Kanye started a trend. Most of the albums I've been listening to besides the G.O.O.D. Music stuff lately have been pretty short. Anyway, I always love making best of playlists so I will be putting together a seven-song compilation of the very best G.O.O.D. Music had to offer in 2018.
The Title
Coming up with a title for this playlist was pretty tough. What do I call it? Best of G.O.O.D. Music 2018? Too boring. Wyoming? Not every album was made in Wyoming. Surgical Summer? No, that's only a term that Pusha T used because he wanted to pick Drake apart. Cruel Winter? It's summer and that album is probably never going to come out. Cruel Summer 2: Electric Boogaloo? Too silly. How about G.O.O.D. Fridays 2018? G.O.O.D. enough.
The Cover
Finding a photo online to portray the compilation was tough. It took me a while but ultimately, I decided to go with this:
Special shoutout to the KTT user who made this (It said NO USERNAME on the website and I have no idea if that's a joke or not). This is dope.
The Tracklist
This was the hardest part of the process. I have to pick from 36 songs and narrow them down to 7. I wanted to make sure I implemented at least 1 song from every album. Here are the magnificent 7:
- Pusha T - If You Know You Know (from Daytona)
- Kanye West - Yikes (from ye)
- Kids See Ghosts - Fire (from Kids See Ghosts)
- Teyana Taylor - Rose In Harlem (from KTSE)
- Kanye West - Ghost Town (from ye)
- Kids See Ghosts - Reborn (from Kids See Ghosts)
- Nas - Simple Things (from Nasir)
I mainly just grabbed my favorites from each album and threw them together but I think this tracklist may have a consistent theme. Aside from the opening track, you could argue that this album could be a story about a man who is losing himself but picks the pieces back up in the end and values his life more and more with each passing day.
1) If You Know You Know - It doesn't fit the theme but I find that track to be a stellar intro and attention grabber.
2) Yikes - This is the part where the man loses himself.
3) Fire - He starts to evaluate himself and goes on the journey to find his inner peace.
4) Rose In Harlem - He finds out that he won't have help because the people closest to him abandoned him. He has hit rock bottom.
5) Ghost Town - All of a sudden, he feels the pain starting to go away. All he really needed was the space and a break from the stressful outside world to bring himself back together.
6) Reborn - He truly feels at peace with himself and is ready to progress to the next chapter of his life.
7) Simple Things - He takes his lesson about not taking things for granted to heart. He starts to enjoy the little things every day. Sure, they aren't that special, but they're special to him and make him happy. In the end, that's what really matters.
Where to Listen
You can find it on my Spotify page.
Here's the link: https://open.spotify.com/user/rjona97/playlist/6zUKaiHNHyxMTg8Ltow0Wu?si=N82mOWFvThS7JPB5KwW-RQ
Sorry for the lengthy post. I had so many ideas that I wanted to do and they would have taken forever to spread out because of my upcoming half-year lists next week. Tomorrow, I will be revisiting Drake's 2017 project More Life ahead of his new album coming on Friday.
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