Top 8 Albums of 2018
By Marcos Léon and Matt Ford
Making a list of best albums is hard, but then agreeing with your friend? Y’all thought agreeing on where to eat was hard? Nah, b. We both had to leave out albums that we liked cause the other wasn’t feeling it, and albums not on either of our lists showed up here cause compromise is what good relationships are built on (and we woulda fought otherwise).
We got our personal honorable mentions first up, and then an alphabetical list.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
MARCOS’S PICK: Care For Me — Saba
Saba wrote a grief-stricken album that serves as a memorial to his cousin Walter. It digs into his mourning process, from dating emotionally unavailable people to not being able to get out of bed. The album builds up to the story of his relationship with his cousin: “Prom/King” is a seven-minute story of their meeting, growing relationship, and Walter’s murder. And Saba manages all of these insights into his mourning while maintaining impeccable flows over beautiful beats.
MATT’S PICK: Caution — Mariah Carey
The mere fact that Caution is the living legend’s 15th studio album is alone cause for recognition. And she wears it well. Earlier this spring, Mariah revealed that she’s been living with bipolar disorder, a daily battle that she seems to be taking in stride with a fiercely emotive and fervently witty record, which the singer herself said that she didn’t want to take too seriously. She plays with the language of the times — peep the airily savage “GTFO” and “The Roof”-reminiscent groove “Giving Me Life” — oozing a well-worn charm without coming off as the corny auntie of R&B. Most notably, she relies of her soothingly mature vocals, reserving the pipes for personal numbers like album closer “Portrait”, and still manages to shed light on parts of herself beyond the hilariously self-aware diva antics. It’s the most fun 10-song collection you’ll hear all year.
Daytona — Pusha T
Pusha T comes hard against every aspect of the mainstream. This album is laser focused in a time when major artists drop bloated projects. Pusha wants everyone to know that he started as a drug lord and his rapping maintains the ruthlessness. His final (and direct) attacks against Drake might even be the weakest on the album, but his follow-up diss “The Story of Adidon” proves that Pusha ain’t somebody to fuck with.
Dirty Computer — Janelle Monáe
Janelle stands apart from her peers in the way she comes at music. It’s so hard to place this album into a single genre because of the way she beautifully mixes inspirations. Songs like “Django Jane” and “Pynk” sound like they’re from different worlds, but she seamlessly goes from one to the other, managing to maintain a conversation on the modern sins of society without coming off preachy. And the accompanying emotion picture was the visual album that ended visual albums for the year (in April).
Invasion of Privacy — Cardi B.
The morning after Cardi B.’s Invasion of Privacy leaped out of its cocoon, Instagram and Twitter flooded with literal tears from Remy Ma and uproarious praise from Oprah Winfrey, Missy Elliott, Green Day, and about three dozen other stars. No one expected the Bronx-born rapper to jump from the strip club to reality television to every speaker and stage in the world, but that only speaks to the charisma and badassery that dart out of her hyper-speed flows and infectious energy in every song. The party lasts from the blaring siren opening “Get Up 10” to SZA’s declaration of independence closing “I Do”. But it doesn’t stop there: Cardi capped the year with a colorful, flawlessly shot ’90s throwback music video for surprise single “Money”. A phenomenal year for Bardi Gang, indeed.
Musas Vol. 2 — Natalia Lafourcade
Natalia Lafourcade gives us the second of her homages to traditional Latinx folk music. This album brings back memories of a childhood spent listening to Chavela Vargas in my abuela’s house. Natalia’s ethereal voice dances over acoustic guitars and demands your attention. She wants you to feel the same reverence for these legends that she does, and through this project of love proves her place as a muse for the next generation of Latinx musicians.
Oxnard — Anderson .Paak
Anderson .Paak is that nigga: a rapper, a singer, a composer, a star — with the pretty-boy wide-mouthed grin to prove it. Oxnard completes .Paak’s “beach series” triptych in the best way possible, executive produced by Dr. Dre with appearances from hip-hop greats Snoop, Q-Tip, Cole, Pusha, and Kendrick. But what stands out most from the vibrant horns, sharp drums, and fluttering background vocals — which we expected, of course — is his narrative. Weaved amongst the hip-bouncing old-school grooves and bluesy high-notes are stories of complex relationships (“Smile / Petty”), carefree charisma (“Sweet Chick” featuring heart-melting crooner BJ the Chicago Kid), and hood rich braggadocio (“Mansa Musa”, laid head-to-toe with tag-team bars alongside Dre and newcomer Cocoa Sarai) — complete with hilarious sexcapade interludes. Put all this together live and you’re in for one hell of a time. We’d pay to see the guy play the kazoo.
Room 25 — Noname
Noname’s debut studio album is just as infectious as Telefone, the mixtape that made her a hip-hop household name, but this portrait of the mid-twenties rapper boasts the striking maturity of the woman she’s grown to be. Room 25 is the jazz-tinged soundtrack of her rapid evolution — from moving to LA and losing her virginity to disentangling romance and Christianity and watching gentrification take over Chicago’s South Side. Sounds like a dense album, right? Certainly, it is, but it graciously envelopes you into the hushed music box notes of her past and the abrasive trumpets and contemplative snares of her present, all with an ease that makes you wonder why “they thought a bitch couldn’t rap.” Plus: experiencing her musical catalog live, Fatima, as her friends call her, is full of energy and light, her brilliance bubbling freely.
