Happy New Year! Top 10 Projects of 2020!

 

FYI: RIP MF Doom. I'm working on some kind of tribute post, but it's hard to do one that can encapsulate all that man did for indie rap and rap in general. 

Happy New Years from UGF! Here's to hoping for a serious upgrade in 2021. Figured now's a good time to take a look back on 2020 in Hip Hop with my Top 10 Projects of the year. 

10. Lil Lotus - All My Little Scars, Vol. 1: One of the better emo trap projects that I've heard. Lotus' songs could use some more structure, but I'm excited to see where he goes from here. LISTEN

9. Factor - First Storm: The GOAT producer hit us with another jewel this year with an appropriate covid-esque album (even though the majority of it was recorded pre-pandemic.) LISTEN

8. Illmac - SMMR: The best release I've heard from Illmaculate yet. The technical skill is finally being paired with top notch song-writing. LISTEN

7. RAP Ferreira - Purple Moonlight Pages: A really lush and melodic project from Rory, full of lyrics for days. Jazz rap haven. LISTEN

6. VA - RYD Radio Vol. 4: The best battle rap compilation out to date imo. These guys' skill sets aren't limited to talking about how they'll murder you. LISTEN

5. Aesop Rock - Freedom Finger: I'm still digesting his latest album, but Aesop's video game soundtrack has no misses. LISTEN 

4. Lil Wayne - Funeral: There's some stinkers on here, but plenty of hits as well. Even though his limelight has passed, Wayne still knows how to put on a rap clinic. LISTEN

3. Open Mike Eagle - Anime, Trauma, and Divorce: The feels are real throughout Mike's most personal album yet. The highs and lows on this project go places. LISTEN

2. Juice WRLD - Legends Never Die: It took me a while to warm up to this one as you can tell a lot of the songs are posthumous edits of Juice WRLD rough drafts, but it's ultimately a really good send off. LISTEN 

1. Uggish - And Now to Learn to Fish: The year's most beautiful, and best, album. Uggish's reflective and melancholy rhymes sum up 2020 perfectly. LISTEN