2023 is hip hop's most disappointing year of the 21st century: only some artists delivered

South Lyon Student Newspaper

Dec 15

Kellen Pies '24, Copy Editor

After hearing the many rumors of artists set to drop new music this year, rap entered into 2023 expecting perhaps the best year for rap thus far. Instead, the long-awaited year brought forth only a handful of albums that met fans' raised expectations, and music from quality artists that disappointed on many fronts.

Names like Travis Scott, Drake, and Nas garnered anticipation from all across the genre; however, some of this year's most popular albums fell short in terms of quality and longevity, as some of rap's most popular artists dropped already-forgettable music. However, there are a few artists who pulled through.

UTOPIA: An anomaly to some of the other albums of 2023, Travis Scott's Utopia subverted previously set soundscapes created by the Houston legend. Tracks like "HYAENA", "MODERN JAM", and "FE!N" capture some of Scott's most creative production and flows of his career. Senior Alex Goodrich said, "I think 'MY EYES' will solidify itself as one of Travis' best pieces of work yet." Perhaps 2023's best rap album, Utopia was one of the few that satisfied expectations.

King's Disease III & Magic 2/3: With the release of his classic 1994 album, Illmatic, Nas established himself as one of the best emcee's of the earliest years in hip hop. Since then, through quality album after album, Nas has cemented himself as one of the greatest hip hop artists of all time, and many argue he is number one. Impressive is an understatement when it comes to describing his longevity, because Nas is still making great albums 30 years later. 2023's King's Disease III is the third entry in the King's Disease Trilogy, and it is just as impressive as the last two. That is saying a lot going up against King's Disease, because the 2020 LP won best rap album of that year. However, KD3 is just as good—if not better—than KD1 and KD2.

Along with the King's Disease Trilogy, Nas created another trilogy in his late career with the release of Magic in 2021. The album brought back a diminishing boom bap sound for modern hip hop, and featured impressive flows from the New York City icon. In this past year, he released Magic 2 and Magic 3—both of which continued the trilogy in unique ways. Although the weakest entry of the three, Magic 2 implemented trap-like production accompanied by Nas's rather traditional flow. On Magic 3, Nas continued the trend of intricate sampling production, making for a satisfying conclusion. All three of his 2023 releases met expectations and brought something new to his sound.

For All The Dogs: Drake's anticipated 23-song album is both bloated and dull, only having a few memorable songs. In the past three years, the Toronto rapper has released five studio albums, each with their own shortcomings. However, the level of quality presented on For All The Dogs has been the most disappointing of Drake's entries throughout the entirety of his career. That is not to say people did not enjoy this album, as a lot of Drake fans found it to be a perfectly fun and enjoyable listen: "I think that For All The Dogs is a really fun album and has a lot of great songs," senior Josie Legakis said.

Pink Tape: Lil Uzi Vert has been one of the biggest names in rap throughout the 2010's, with his ability to blend genres and his unique sound. Albums like Luv Is Rage 2 and 2020's Eternal Atake cemented Uzi as an influential creative mind in the mainstream hip hop world. Unfortunately, this past year's Pink Tape is a bloated and sonically inconsistent project, which blends genres in a less accessible and pleasing way than Uzi's previous attempts. The 26-song album consists of borderline ear-bleeding rock instrumentals, and lackluster rapping performances. Although some of the die-hard Uzi fans can't help but praise Pink Tape, it was probably best if the rapper stuck to the same sound that worked so well for so long.

Although 2023 had a handful of great albums, a lot of mainstream artists left fans disappointed. Drake's For all the Dogs is not the only example of this—Lil Uzi Vert's Pink Tape might be his worst album yet, and there was a lack of big names that were supposed to release music in 2023, including A$AP Rocky. Overall, there were only a handful of good albums this year, so it is safe to say that 2023 is hip hop's most disappointing year in decades.