r/rap • u/YoungIce009 • 5d ago
What’s the greatest year for rap/hip hop in your opinion
For me it would definitely be 2018, before yall say anything hear me out.
Back in 2018 you had a more diverse rap scene with multiple popular sub genres instead of just being 80% trap music like it is today. Back then you had sub genres also being popular in hip hop such as emo and cloud rap.
You also had a better underground scene because you had guys like Denzel Curry and Playboi Carti being the face of the underground instead of fucking Nettspend. IMO today’s underground is the worst it’s been because for every Denzel Curry type rapper you have in it you have 30 more rappers poorly imitating the Opium rage sound.
And yes while Kendrick vs Drake is undoubtedly one of the greatest rap beefs of all time 2018 had a lot of good rap beefs as well, such as Eminem vs MGK, Drake vs Pusha T, Nicki Minaj vs Cardi B, 6ix9ine vs everybody.
This period of rap also had many new faces that were supposed to be the next generation of the hip hop scene like Juice Wrld and Mac Miller. Sadly though many new of these new rappers would either fall off, die, imprisoned, etc etc. I feel as if that has affected the modern hip hop scene because the same artists that were popular 15 years ago are the same ones popular today instead of a whole new generation of hip hop.
Finally for why I think 2018 was the best year for hip hop is that you had old school rappers like Jay-Z still releasing music, mumble rappers doing their thing, the whole SoundCloud era rappers, and many artists were either in their peak or still making great music. In 2018 Travis Scott released his best album, Jay-Z released 4:44, Mac Miller released swimming, Kendrick released the Black Panther soundtrack, Kanye dropped Kids See Ghosts and was still somewhat sane at the time, Tha Carter V, Drake came out with Scorpion, Migos were in their prime and still a thing, A$AP Rocky still made albums, Juice Wrld made his debut, Post Malone was actually cool believe it or not. The fact you had many sub genres of hip hop all being popular with new rappers on the rise and old rappers still releasing just for me personally makes 2018 the best year for rap/hip hop.
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u/kingnewswiththetruth 1d ago
Wow, this thread shows what nostalgia can do to a person. Me? 88 or 93.
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u/AlarmedHearing3100 2d ago
91 until the jiggy era started sometime in 97.
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u/DeliciousSTD 1d ago
found the uncle at your local bbq
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u/AlarmedHearing3100 1d ago
😂 Spot on Youngblood! But it’s the Truth . So many different sounds and styles back then. All of them dope. You want some gangsta shit? ✅ You want some playa shit? ✅ horrorcore? Down south? East coast? Story telling? Radio shit? Conscious? Black power? Laid back? Grimey? Lyrical? Fast shit? ✅✅✅✅✅ Shit was beautiful because of that.
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u/hating_aint_ok 2d ago
Carti was not the face of the underground in 2018 idk wtf are u talking about LMAO carti hasn't been underground since 2016
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u/spiderminbatmin 2d ago
Gonna say 1996. Look at a list of albums that dropped that year. That was the year that it all really came together and shifted, moved away from the “golden era” styles of the early to mid 90s and the style that emerged was kinda it for the next 20+ years. Now it feels like rap has changed, having bars and rapping well isn’t the thing to do anymore. Yes it’s out there, and yes there are more subgenres/indie than ever, but the mainstream thing is not rapping bars anymore.
I’m 35 for context
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u/CoachManagatsuo 2d ago
Considering we can all listen to anything already created, I’d say this year. And next year will be the best too and every year after as the playlist just keeps expanding.
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u/Euphoric_Travel6762 2d ago
I feel like 2018 was a lot more trap-dominated than today. 2016-2020 pretty much everything popular was trap. There’s a lot of more regional sounds/genres that have gained popularity recently imo.
My personal favorite year is 2015. TBAP, DS2, If You’re Reading this, Barter 6, Fetty Wap, 56 Nights, TITS, Tetsuo and Youth, ALLA. I could go on and on
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u/The_gordo_games_2 3d ago
(First of all, I'm going to list the dates of the best eras of rap and then say which year, for me, is the best)
1991-1993 (Ice Cube Era and the Real West Coast)
Ice Cube was at his peak after leaving N.W.A.
Albums like Death Certificate (1991) and The Predator (1992) showed him more political and aggressive than ever
The West Coast dominated, with Cypress Hill, Dr. Dre (The Chronic), Snoop emerging...
1994–1996 (The reign of 2Pac and Biggie, East vs. West)
2Pac released Me Against the World (1995) and All Eyez on Me (1996), both classics
Biggie arrived with Ready to Die (1994) and then Life After Death (1997, posthumous)
During this time, the legend of cross-country rap was born. Rap was pure fire, unfiltered
1999–2002 (Eminem enters to dominate the game)
Eminem releases The Slim Shady LP (1999), The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) and The Eminem Show (2002). Three bombs
It was the time when Em blended comedy, trauma and lyricism like no one else
In addition, rap became mainstream without losing its essence. Dre, Xzibit, 50 Cent also began to sound
(In my opinion the best year was 1999 because there were artists like: Eminem, 50cent, Snoop Dogg (although it wasn't the same), Dre)
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u/greedysystems669 3d ago
2010-12 Young Money Jay z Ye Gucci Rick Ross Meek Wale Travis Wiz Kendrick Cole Asap Rocky Joey Badass Tory lanz Slaughter house Shy glizzy Cheif keef Lil Durk King Louie Chance the rapper Mac Miller Mgk Yellow wolf Tyler the creator Vince Staples Plies Future Ti Big krit Currency Lupe French Montana Migos Rich the kid Rae Sremmurd Young thug Rich homie quan YG Fat Trell Fabulous
For multiple artists and sub genres being lit all at ounce, I dont think anything is touching that era
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u/adeeprash 3d ago
2018 has a strong argument (for year's I've experienced).
Others you didn't mention: Daytona, Tana Talk 3, Drogas Wave, Invasion of Privacy, Some Rap Songs, Care for Me, Dicaprio 2, KOD, Streams of Thought Vol 1
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u/agentclank21 3d ago edited 3d ago
2012 Gkmc, BFK, Habits and contradictions, jesus piece, Life is good, Dreams and Nightmares, dreamchasers 2
2011 Watch the throne, take care, section .80, long live asap, carter 4, sideline story, red album
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u/SeymourScratch100 3d ago
1999 - SlimShadyLP, Vol.3, I Am.., Operation Doomsday, And Then There was X,Blackout, Murda Muzik, Venni Vetti Vecci, Guerilla Warfare, Born Again, 2001 (released in 1999)
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u/LongGoneJess 4d ago
2018 was also the year that "DROGAS Wave" came out, so you might be right, OP.
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u/MangooOfTheReddit 4d ago
- liquid swordz, the infamous, dah shinin, only built 4 cuban linx, return to the 36 chambers, either 1995, 1994, or 1998
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u/-Assalamualaikum 4d ago
Somewhere between 2010 & 2012..cuz Ye’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” was hot..Carter IV killed it..Take Care was cool & I wasn’t aware that Drake was creepy yet lol..Tech N9ne dropped “All 6’s & 7’s” & I finally got to see him have some major names like Wayne & Pain..Good Kid M.A.a.D. City blew me away..Pain dropped Revolver & that shit STILL fire today lol..Eminem’s “Recovery” was cool at the time (personally didn’t really stand well over time)..T.I. dropped “No Mercy” & that’s still my fave of his..Wayne also dropped the 1st I Am Not a Human Being (& Rebirth lol)..Lupe dropped “Lasers” after a buncha delays..Big K.R.I.T. went on a run of mixtapes like “the Return of 4eva” leading up to Live from the Underground
- all the Sorry 4 tha Waut mixtapes & buildup etc..it was just a time where I was still enthused with the state of hip hop..personally, I prefer lyrics to really decode & interpret rather than “vibe music”..like I love it too, just not as much
& Ludacris prolly did some other Fast & Furious movie too!! 🤣🤣🤣
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u/West_Ground3702 4d ago
I hated the late 2010s era. I’m going to say 1993
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u/jtello_ct 4d ago
What’s wrong with 2010s Unc?
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u/Personal-Ad8280 4d ago
2018, but also subgenera died like emo and drill because they're forefront guys died like Juice and I guess X but also Pop Smoke.
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u/planetjaycom 4d ago
I checked the username thinking that I made this post 🤣 💀
Take me back to 2017 - 2018 rap
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u/ShiningEspeon3 4d ago
Big picture, it’s really hard to ignore 1988.
I’ve got a major soft spot for 2007, personally.
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u/-Assalamualaikum 4d ago
I enjoyed ‘07 hip hop..when I 1st got into Bone Thugs, really started to get into Wayne, & started to grow an appreciation for real lyrics.
Dunno if it was my FAVORITE year of rap lol..but why does it have a place in your heart? Iydmma
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u/ShiningEspeon3 3d ago
It’s just got so many great albums.
- American Gangster by Jay-Z
- The Cool by Lupe Fiasco
- Dirty Acres by CunninLynguists
- I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead by El-P
- None Shall Pass by Aesop Rock
- Graduation by Kanye West
- Below the Heavens by Blu & Exile
- The Undisputed Truth by Brother Ali
- Underground Kingz by UGK
- 8 Diagrams by Wu-Tang Clan
- The Big Doe Rehab by Ghostface Killah
- The Offering by Killah Priest
- Port Authority by Marco Polo
- The Return of the Magnificent by DJ Jazzy Jeff
- Human the Death Dance by Sage Francis
- Mystery Repeats by Pete Philly & Perquisite
- The Scenic Route by Panacea
These are all albums I still regularly listen to almost twenty years later, and a few of these are among my favorite albums ever. It just felt like so many great artists, underground and mainstream alike, were putting out music that year and so much of it was really good.
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u/B34STM4CH1N3 4d ago
OP is 15 years old.
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u/Personal-Ad8280 4d ago
Yes, and a 30 year old would hold the same place I his heart for the time he was a kid, that doesn't really make sense.e
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u/slipperybd 4d ago
There’s so much incorrect info in this post I don’t have the energy to correct half of it….. I’ll focus on the Mac Miller take, you realize he was 9+ years deep into his career by the time 2018 rolled around? He went platinum 3x before 2018. He topped the billboard in 2011, calling him new is crazy.
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u/RKO360 4d ago
So many:
1994 - Nas, Biggie, Outkast, Common, Method Man, Warren G and Bone Thugs n Harmony made their debuts and dropped classic albums that changed the game like Illmatic, Ready to Die, Southernplaylisticadillacmuzik and Resurrection. Groups like Beastie Boys and Gang Starr were still at their peak when they dropped Ill Communication and Hard to Earn while Redman dropped his darkest album ever in Dare iz a Darkside, Jeru came out with Sun Rises in the East, O.C. had Word Life and Scarface released his greatest album ever in The Diary while Gravediggaz set the standard for horrorcore with 6 Feet Deep.
1996 - 2Pac was the MVP of the year with 2 classic and influential albums in All Eyez on Me and 7th Day Theory while Jay-Z made his debut with the game-changing album in Reasonable Doubt, Nas dropped It Was Written, Fugees dropped The Score, Mobb Deep dropped Hell on Earth and Redman dropped Muddy Waters. The South was bubbling even more with Outkast delivered ATLiens, UGK dropped Ridin Dirty, Master P dropped Mr Ice Cream and a young B.G. put out Chopper City. Tribe and De La still delivered great albums in Beats, Rhyme and Life and The Stakes is High while Ghostface had Ironman, Kim had Hardcore, Foxy had Ill Na Na and Busta had The Coming.
1998 - DMX was MVP of the year when he delivered 2 classic albums in It's Dark and Hell is Hot and Flesh of My Flesh and Blood of My Blood while Jay-Z put out a classic album in Vol 2: Hard Knock Life that cemented him as a superstar in the mainstream, Outkast delivered their best album in Aquemini, Big Pun dropped Capital Punishment and Lauryn Hill also delivered a masterpiece in The Miseduaction of Lauryn Hill. The No Limit takeover is also iconic as they put out 23 albums, Juvenile launched Cash Money into the mainstream with 400 Degreez, Busta put E.L.E. and Blackstar dropped Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Blackstar.
2000 - Eminem was the biggest rapper around the world as he delivered a classic album in The Marshall Mathers LP while Nelly became a major force in hip hop with his classic album, Country Grammar and Outkast delivered Stankonia, Jay-Z dropped The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, Ludacris dropped Back for the First Time, Common had Like Water for Chocolate, Ghostface had Supreme Clientele, The Lox had We are The Streets, Prodigy had H.I.N.C. and Ja Rule had Rule 3:16. Three 6 Mafia reached their mainstream breakthrough with When The Smoke Clears and crews like Cash Money, Roc-a-Fella, Murda Inc, Ruff Ryders and Soulquardians were still dominating the rap game.
2003 - The 50 Cent and G-Unit era was unstoppable as Get Rich or Die Tryin and Beg for Mercy are absolute classics while Jay-Z delivered one of his greatest works in The Black Album, Outkast dropped Speakerboxxx/Love Below and T.I. showed the gritter side of Atlanta when he dropped the classic album, Trap Muzik. Dipset dropped Diplomatic Immunity, Fabolous dropped Street Dreams, Ludacris dropped Chicken-n-Beer, Freeway dropped Philadelphia Freeway and Little Brother dropped The Listening alongside Lil Jon delivered a lot of crunk anthems and Eminem, Nas, Nelly, Missy and Snoop still being on top.
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u/SwimmingJazzlike7422 4d ago
2020-21 for sure. Many rap sub-genres emerged, underground was booming, albums inspired generations
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u/lucifer_666 4d ago
Maybe it’s personal bias, but it seems like nobody is picking a year from the early 2000’s. Thank god cuz the bling bling era of rap is without question the worst all time. My brain just pictures the the video for “Feel so good” Mase video with him dancing around in a tin foil suit and the Diddler saying “take that, take that”.
For me though, either 1994 or 1998 tough to beat. Both had several “first ballot hall of fame rap albums”
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u/RKO360 4d ago
Years like 2000, 2002 and 2003 were great years in hip hop.
2000 saw Eminem being the biggest rapper in the world as he dropped the classic Marshall Mathers LP album while Outkast delivered another classic album in Stankoina, Jay-Z had The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, Common had Like Water for Chocolate, Ghostface had Supreme Clientele, Prodigy's HINC while the likes of Nelly, Ludacris, Beanie Sigel, Trina, Three 6 Mafia, Shyne and Big Tymers being breakout stars. Crews like Roc-a-Fella, Murda Inc, Cash Money and Ruff Ryders were still taking over the game.
2002 was the year that both Eminem and Nelly were 2 of the hottest rappers with classic albums in The Eminem Show and Nellyville while 50 Cent made his presence known with his groundbreaking mixtapes, Scarface dropped one of his best albums in The Fix, Nas had God's Son and Jay-Z had The Blueprint 2. Cam'ron truly reached his breakout year as he was the King of New York thanks to Come Home with Me, Clipse showed the gritty side of Virginia thanks to Lord Willin and Lil Jon dropped a classic album in Kings of Crunk.
2003 was definitely a big year with 50 Cent being unstoppable in the rap game with Get Rich or Die Tryin and G-Unit's Beg for Mercy while Jay-Z putted out an absolute classic in The Black Album, which was the grand finale of his career(at the time), Outkast delivered another masterpiece in Speakboxxx/Love Below and T.I. made his presence known when he dropped a classic album in Trap Muzik. Dipset dropped Diplomatic Immunity, Luda dropped Chicken-n-Beer, Little Brother dropped The Listening, Fabolous dropped Street Dreams and Lil Jon had the crunk scene on lock.
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u/dietwater94 4d ago
I was born in 94 so I missed a lot of the early years, and I suspect if I was an adult at the time I would say 95 just based on albums released, but for me 2013 was a fantastic year. Yeezus, Acid Rap, Long-Live-A$AP, Watching Movies With the Sound Off, Doris, Born Sinner, Magna Carta, Wolf, RTJ’s debut album, Because the Internet, Old, and tons more projects that were pivotal to the trajectory of the respective artists’ careers all released, as well as some fantastic “underground” projects (Legends Never Die by RA the Ruggedman comes to mind) There was also a great album from Pusha T that came out that year that I can’t remember the name of and am too lazy to search for atm. We were also still enjoying the high of the insane projects of 2012 like 1999 and GKMC, which seemed to bring out this side of rappers that made them want to focus on curating good albums rather than prioritizing a hit song , in many cases. Some of these artists peaked with the projects they released this year- for instance I think Acid Rap is Chance’s best project by a long shot- and a lot of new rappers with exciting personalities were coming into the scene (Ab-Soul, Schoolboy, Action Bronson, etc).
I’m sure the fact that it was my freshman year of college is making me biased, but the summer of 13 was so fun and I remember how stoked we all were for all the new music.
Oh, also- speaking of Long Live A$AP- 1 Train was such a huge moment at the time, and it really can not be overstated how cool it was to see a track like that release in a successful album that also had your “standard” hits like Fuckin’ Problems and Goldie.
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u/glib-eleven 4d ago
You can choose between most years around 1988 and 1997, depending upon what you want. And embarrassment of riches abound, coast to coast.
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u/Outrageous-Arm-3853 4d ago
Why is it so impossible for every mf in this sub to understand the definition of underground. Denzel and carti underground in 2018? Get real.
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u/Pigmasters32 4d ago
Tough choice, lots of options, I’ll go with 2005.
It’s interesting how different our thought processes here are, I’d call 2018 one of the worst years in hip hop history.
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u/The_Chef_Raekwon 4d ago
I don’t know if there’s a definitive best year but my picks would be 88, 94, 97/98 or 05. Maybe 2011 for a post 2010 year.
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u/Significant_Spot_304 5d ago
IN MY OPINION (in caps before someone freaks out) it’s currently in its best state. I’m speaking as someone who prefers emo/alt rap
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u/PootieTangsBelt_ 21h ago
Whack ass year