Top 10 Albums of 2016

Julian McKenzie
11 min readDec 22, 2016

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It’s end-of-the-year list season. Blogs and magazines are inundating you with their picks for best album, best song, — someone, somewhere is working on a Best Instagram Beefs of 2016 post — best everything. Naturally, I wanted to join in on the fun as we close the chapter on an eventful year.

Just when we seemingly escaped the darkness of 2016, another notable celebrity death, or tragedy, was there to wreck the fun. Despite that, this year gave us a ton of albums — some long-awaited, some completely unexpected — from a bunch of our favourite artists. Here are my 10 favourites.

10. KONNICHIWA by SKEPTA

Release date: May 6, 2016

May 6th, 2016 was arguably the best date for new music this year. Four of the albums that dropped on that date, Konnichiwa included, are on this list.

Across the pond, Skepta has made his name as a top grime artist in the UK for the better part of a decade. When North American artists like Drake and Kanye West started propping up the grime scene, Skepta was at the forefront moshing with Yeezy and signing (not the other way around) Drake to his imprint, Boy Better Know. In 2016, Skepta dropped his fourth album, Konnichiwa, to critical acclaim, and was deserving of the Mercury Prize, one of highest honours in UK music.

“Shutdown” was one of the best tracks of 2016 and it still hits hard when you play it off Konnichiwa. The album also boasts previously released singles such as “That’s Not Me” with brother JME and “It Ain’t Safe” alongside A$AP Bari of the A$AP Mob, but it still packs heat with “Man”, “Text Me Back” and the stellar Pharrell collab “Numbers”. Whether you’re a diehard grime fan or a novice looking for an introduction to one of the best forms of hip-hop out, Konnichiwa will whet your appetite.

9. THE COLOUR IN ANYTHING by JAMES BLAKE

Release date: May 6, 2016

The soothing, gripping, and beautiful electronic sound of James Blake we’ve enjoyed from previous album is always a pleasure to take in, and The Colour in Anything doesn’t stray from that formula. Its best moments are when Blake’s looping vocals — altered by pitch correctors or other effects — are surrounded by layers that are constantly added as a song plays, and by the song’s apex, you’re left in awe.

Blake’s vulnerable, but certainly not wounded enough to let his voice simply fade in the background of his production. “Love Me in Whatever Way”, “Timeless” (with or without Vince Staples, the latter version isn’t on the album), and the amazing “I Need a Forest Fire” with Bon Iver, are among the album’s standout tracks.

8. COLORING BOOK by CHANCE THE RAPPER

Release date: May 6, 2016

We won’t know until February 2017 whether Chance the Rapper will have done enough to snatch the Grammy. Lil Chano from 79th is nominated for seven of them, including Best New Artist, Best Rap Song (No Problem), and Best Rap Album. Technically a mixtape, Coloring Book will forever have its place in hip-hop history as he singlehandedly forced the Recording Academy to change its rules and allowing stream-only albums to be considered for Grammy nominations.

Chance’s good spirit is infectious and you can’t help but crack a smile when you go through this piece. “No Problem” with Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz can easily be one’s anthem. “Mixtape” resonates with hip-hop fans who are embedded and infatuated in the trap/new hip-hop style brought forth by Lil Yachty and Young Thug. You don’t have to be deeply religious to feel something spiritual from both “Blessings” tracks or “How Great”, where Jay Electronica plays scene-stealer. Even its sadder tracks, “Summer Friends” or “Same Drugs” ultimately have some sort of happy ending. It’s hard to not root for Chance to succeed, especially after you take in Coloring Book.

7. BLONDE by FRANK OCEAN

Release date: August 20, 2016

The music world, mostly those diehard fans waiting on Frank Ocean, was on pins on needles for the long-awaited sophomore effort to the brilliant and revealing Channel Orange album from 2012. It got to a point where tracks like “Bad Religion” and “Super Rich Kids” — timeless tracks from that debut album — had finally run their course and patience had run thin.

After much waiting, a visual album, Endless, was released, and fans all gawked in awe as they stared at Frank Ocean working on a staircase. Days later, Blonde dropped, giving fans a deeper and more complex studio album than its predecessor. Those who expected any semblance of Channel Orange were disappointed, but those who have come to understand the beauty of Frank Ocean’s lyricism and poetry were satisfied.

“Nikes”, the version without Frank’s pitch-corrected ad-libs, melts and soothes souls. “Pink + White” is a delicate and wonderful tune. “Nights” is known for its equally distinct and captivating fragments. Critical acclaim and applause can also be left for both “Solo” and its reprise with Andre 3000, “Godspeed”, “White Ferrari”, and the much too-short “Close to You”. It was well-worth the wait for the former Odd Future crooner.

6. BIRDS IN THE TRAP SING MCKNIGHT by TRAVI$ SCOTT

Release date: September 2nd, 2016

Travi$ Scott’s Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight didn’t earn any Grammy nominations, much to his disappointment. He has a case. From start to finish, Travi$ provided a dark, yet fun album filled with bangers.

The haunting intro of “the ends” with Andre 3000. The college party staples of “goosebumps” and “through the late night” (speaking from personal experience, those two songs were played at every SU outdoor jam that occurred outside my apartment throughout the fall semester) where Kendrick Lamar and Kid Cudi, respectively, provided amazing guest verses alongside Travi$. “Pick Up The Phone” with Young Thug & Quavo is one of the best songs of the year in any genre. Finally, the show-stopping “beibs in the trap” where Toronto rapper Nav shines so hard, there’s literally nothing Travi$ can do to match him.

The album lets its features shine, but Travi$ gets his two cents in as well, all over outstanding production to boot. It’s a shame it hasn’t gotten more attention and acclaim from end of the year lists, let alone the Recording Academy. Its one disappointment: a severe lack of Brian McKnight.

5. THE LIFE OF PABLO by KANYE WEST

Release date: February 14, 2016

Months before he was meeting with President-elect Donald Trump (holy shit, this happened) with blonde hair, Kanye West had the world on edge with his seventh studio album. The changing release dates, the constant tinkering with the track list, and even after its release, the tracks. Adding drums and extra vocals wherever necessary. It was unlike anything we had seen from an artist before. We’re so used to an artist releasing an album and letting it breathe as it is. But for Kanye to go back on an already released project and fine-tune certain tracks speaks to the perfectionism he strives to attain.

We also cannot forget about its exclusive release on Tidal, where the service’s subscribers doubled, but at least half a million “illegally downloaded his truth over the drums”.

The debate on where TLOP will rank in Kanye’s catalogue will rage on, but allow me to put this particular shouting match to rest: Ultralight Beam is the greatest opening track to a Kanye West album. Ever. How many Kanye West tracks can you think of can bring you on the verge of tears, or some semblance of a religious experience? The Metro Boomin tag before the drop on “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” ended up being one of the best things about 2016, and a Vine favourite in the process.

But there’s some deeper cuts on TLOP, such as 30 Hours where he recounts his time with a former fling from years past. There’s tracks like “Real Friends” and “FML” that give us an idea that all is not well with Kanye mentally.

The album is all over the place, and the expectation that Kanye West lyrically is going to be at his Kanye best has faded in the post-Yeezus era. But, similarly to his creative peak My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, he blends a bit of everything from his previous albums that has gotten him this far and it works.

4. A SEAT AT THE TABLE by SOLANGE KNOWLES

Release date: September 30, 2016

“Lemonade is a popular drink and it still is”. That won’t change anytime soon. Beyoncé Knowles’s Lemonade album has likely topped your album of the year list and you’ve gone through it a couple of times on Tidal, deservedly so. While Solange’s album doesn’t boast the star power that her bigger sister has, my preference lies in A Seat At The Table.

Its major themes of self-worth, representation, pain, and ultimately, the African-American experience, flow through the album, and it couldn’t have come at a more important time. Black people have wanted their seat at the table, seeking to be treated as equals in modern day times. We have long past the days of Jim Crow and slavery, but racism pervades in a subtle form, still hiding within the cracks of society. Black people still have to go out and prove that their lives matter, and their “pro-Black” stance can be seen as exclusive, dividing, or threatening. Even when African-Americans are placed under the spotlight they deserve, they must be careful to ‘not bite the hand that feeds them’.

“F.U.B.U”, “Don’t Touch My Hair”, and “Rise” are some of the album’s best tracks, but its piece de resistance is “Cranes in the Sky”, where Solange is arguably at her most hurt and wounded, singing about drinking, working, and sexing her pain and fears away. It’s one of the biggest reasons why I find myself going back to A Seat At The Table more than Lemonade. Nothing on Beyoncé’s album, it’s a marvellous album, but I feel a deeper connection to her younger sister’s effort.

3. 99.9% by KAYTRANADA

Release date: May 6, 2016

Montreal boasts a quiet, yet budding star in producer Kaytranada, who went from making Fruity Loops beats on a busted computer at home in the South Shore, to blowing up on Soundcloud and eventually earning himself a Polaris Prize with 99.9%, his debut studio album. He’s a “young messiah” and hero to the city’s beat-making and hip-hop community, as well as an inspiration to its upstarts and veterans. More importantly, mainstream media outlets closer to home are finally starting to recognize him.

99.9%’s production is high-grade, with songs that will have you scrambling to a dance floor or a concert hall. The most fun about 99.9% is hearing older beats — “Got It Good” with Craig David has elements of an old Kay track from an older mix — and old favourites such as “Leave Me Alone” with Shay Lia, resurface with new life thanks to alterations. The album’s collaborations with Anderson .Paak, Phonte, and Syd from The Internet, among others are party starters and flow into each other quite nicely.

The sky is the limit for Kaytranada after this album. Perhaps the Juno Awards can right their wrongs and give him the nomination he deserves, or maybe the “lamest shit” of an award, a Grammy.

2. MALIBU by ANDERSON .PAAK

Release date: January 15, 2016

.Paak was bubbling under for years, releasing music with producer Knxwledge under the moniker NxWorries, and as a standout on Dr. Dre’s “Compton” album in 2015. But after the release of “Malibu” in January, we had no choice but to pay attention to the 30-year old multinstrumentalist — that includes adding the dot before “Paak” in his name.

The Oxnard, California native released a groovy, soulful, and ultimately fantastic effort that certainly earned him thousands of new fans in the process. He’s also shown off his talents as a live performer. His free show in Montreal back in June goes down as one of the most fun times I’ve ever had, even if I don’t show it.

“The Bird”, “The Waters”, “Come Down”, “Room in Here”, “Am I Wrong” with Schoolboy Q, are high points, but don’t sleep on “Celebrate”, the Kaytranada-produced “Lite Weight”, “Parking Lot”, or “The Season/Carry Me”. Track after track, the quality of .Paak’s work shines through. Pay attention to him. You’ve been warned.

1. WE GOT IT FROM HERE…THANK YOU 4 YOUR SERVICE by A TRIBE CALLED QUEST

Release date: November 11, 2016

We’ve seen a ton of celebrities and personalities leave this earth in 2016. Muhammad Ali, Prince, David Bowie, and a host of others. Phife Dawg, the funky diabetic of the famous A Tribe Called Quest quartet passed away on March 22, due to complications from his diabetes. Little to our knowledge, he and the rest of ATCQ had been working on an album in secret, and it ended up becoming one of the best releases of the year. When the group surfaced on Saturday Night Live to perform cuts from the album, tears flowed but the vibes were present. To think, viewers were already spoiled at Dave Chappelle hosting that show, resulting in one of SNL’s best episodes in years.

We Got It From Here…is an experience you have to consume all at once, and you’re forgiven if you feel overly emotional once Phife’s parts come on. Q-Tip and Jarobi provide more than their fair share of lyrical atomic bombs on tracks like “Space Program”, “We The People…”, “Melatonin”, and “Black Spasmodic”. The collaborations will take you by surprise, namely Anderson .Paak, Kendrick Lamar, Andre 3000, Elton John (!!!) and frequent collaborator Busta Rhymes who’s at his best every time he appears. The album’s final track, “The Donald”, is a tribute to Phife Dawg and a fitting way to end the album.

It had been over 18 years since their last album and ATCQ hadn’t missed a beat, or a step. We Got It From Here…will stand as the group’s final album, and rightfully so. How many groups get to go out on a high. Phife will be forever missed in the hip-hop world by ATCQ fans, casual or diehard, but his legacy will live on, and his final efforts as a member of ATCQ did not go out in vain.

Honourable mentions

Starboy — The Weeknd
Campaign — Ty Dolla $ign
Blank Face LP — Schoolboy Q
Telefone — Noname
Awaken, My Love — Childish Gambino
22, A Million — Bon Iver
untitled unmastered — Kendrick Lamar

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Julian McKenzie

Canadian journalist, podcast host, broadcaster, Content creator in a new media world.