ML3's Top Albums of 2024

2024 was one of the best years for music in recent memory. It had some of everything, with male R&B making a comeback, Kendrick Lamar's culutral reset and more. Hip-Hop was being talked about as being "dead" or "dying", and it was numbers-wise, while culturally it had become stale in the mainstream. I spoke about this on my podcast, as the culture we create isn't gatekept the way that it should be, and that leads to the eventual degradation and dilution of what the creators and pioneers intended. I'm all for the evolution of sounds, different subgenres and sounds, however, when the genre itself becomes a charicature or a stereotype, there's an intrinsic problem that needs to be addressed. Kendrick Lamar seen that and I think that by now we all see that an important part of his stance during the beef against Drake is protecting the culture itself. With that being said, music had a renaissance this year, and this is how I seen the resurgence for 2024 albums.

Honorable Mentions:

Hailey Knox x For The Best (EP)

Release Date: July 19th

Lil Tecca x Plan A

Release Date: September 20th

Bryson Tiller x Bryson Tiller

Release Date: April 5th

Megan Thee Stallion x MEGAN: ACT II

Release Date: October 25th

Westside Gunn x Still Praying

Release Date: November 1st

J. Cole x Might Delete Later

Release Date: April 5th

¥$ (Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign) x Vultures

Release Date: February 10th

JT x City Cinderella (Mixtape)

Release Date: July 19th

Ariana Grande x eternal sunshine

Release Date: March 8th

Kamaiyah x Ms. Everything

Release Date: November 22nd

Sexyy Red x In Sexyy We Trust (Mixtape)

Release Date: May 24th

Marsha Ambrosius x CASABLANCO

Release Date: June 28th

Blxst x I'll Always Come Find You

Release Date: July 19th

Kehlani x CRASH

Release Date: June 21st

With the honorable mentions, I wanted to show that I wasn't just listening to the next 25 projects all year long, and to be completely honest I may have forgotten some projects, so don't get too upset if you don't see something you listened to here. 2024 was such a loaded year for music, I truly enjoyed the nonstop releases. Now, onto tthe official top 25.

25. Childish Gambino x Bando Stone and The New World

Release Date: July 19th

24. Ab-Soul x Soul Burger

Release Date: November 8th

23. Tems x Born In The Wild

Release Date: June 7th

22. Chlöe x Trouble In Paradise

Release Date: August 9th

21. Alemeda x FK IT (EP)

Release Date: September 19th

20. Vince Staples x Dark Times

Release Date: May 24th

19. Laila! x Gap Year!

Release Date: September 6th

18. Latto x Sugar Honey Iced Tea

Release Date: August 9th

17. Tyla x TYLA

Release Date: March 22nd

16. Billie Eilish x Hit Me Hard and Soft

Release Date: May 17th

15. Freddie Gibbs x You Only Die 1nce

Release Date: November 1st

14. NxWorries x Why Lawd?

Release Date: June 7th

13. Cordae x The Crossroads

Release Date: November 15th

12. GloRilla x GLORIOUS

Release Date: October 11th

11. Larry June x Doing It For Me

Release Date: August 9th

10. Rapsody x Please Don’t Cry

Release Date: May 17th

9. Doechii x Alligator Bites Never Heal (Mixtape)

Release Date: August 30th

8. Concrete Boys x It's Us. Vol. 1

Release Date: April 5th

7. SZA x LANA (SOS Deluxe)

Release Date: December 20th

6. Beyoncé x Cowboy Carter

Release Date: March 29th

5. Schoolboy Q x Blue Lips

Release Date: March 1st

4. Leon Thomas x MUTT

Release Date: September 27th

3. Metro Boomin & Future x WE DON'T TRUST YOU

Release Date: March 22nd

2. Tyler, The Creator x CHROMOKOPIA

Release Date: October 28th

Album of the Year:

Kendrick Lamar x GNX

Release Date: November 22nd

1. 

   
   

Kendrick Lamar's dominance of 2024 will be something to study as the years continue to pass, as GNX was just the icing on the cake for a perfect run through the year. Hip-Hop was beginning to be looked at as stale, and some people were calling it dead. Obviously this applied to the mainstream sound, but it wasn't an incorrect take. Lack of gatekeeping, a loss of love for the genre due to those who've come in and exploited it and many other factors led to this. However, Dot's years helped bring a refocus to the art and the true artist within this genre, and it's been beautiful. R&B has been looked at in a similar fashion for a longer amount of time, but I think that artists like Leon Thomas, NxWorries & Chlöe's solid project are a sign that the genre is not going anywhere anytime soon. After a year like this, 2025 should be a great one as well, and I can't wait to see who and what ends up coming out this year.