Staff Picks AOTY 2015 - @AQueens_Crown

2015 has been a crazy one for me, and I wouldn’t have gotten thru some it without music. So here is my top 5 of the best of the best in music this year.

Number five: Drake - If You're Reading This Its Too Late

Yes it’s a album!

As the kids would say, Drake’s IYRTITL went HARD! Drake was much more aggressive on this album compared to the others. Maybe he was tired of the jokes, who knows, but the Drake we have seen since this album dropped has been a beast. “Is that your world tour, or your girls tour” I don’t even have to say anything else, and I already know you’re picturing your favorite meme.You heard the aggressive tone on tracks 6PM In New York and 6 God. He spit raw bars into some of these tracks. He didn’t sing on this album that I know many expected. One of lines where Drake is letting you know how they feel comes fom Engery "I got rap niggas that I gotta act like I like. But my actin’ days are over, fuck them niggas for life." 

Number four: Ty Dolla $ign- FreeTC

I was honestly surprised with how much I liked this album. Granted Ty Dolla $ign leans more on the R&B side of things. He often crosses into the rap genre so I was expecting more rap. However, you get a nice medley of his voice and feels of old school R&B. Horses in the Stable is one of my favorites. Mirale/Wherever ft TC & d-Loc was another song that was nice to listen too. Even though you can tell the features were done behind prison walls, it doesn’t take away from TC’s amazing voice.

Number three: Chance the Rapper, Donnie Trumpet and the Social Experiment - Surf

Overall, this was a fun album. Filled with great features such as Big Sean, KYLE, Busta Rhymes, Erykah Badu, and many more. I know many look as this project as the work of Chance the Rapper, but its not. This comes from the great minds of Donnie Trumpet and The Social Experiment. Think of them as similar to The Roots if you need a reference point. It's hard to find a track that I didn’t like on this album. The whole thing is filled with smart lines, beautiful instrumentals, and uplifting messages like on Wanna Be Cool, about being yourself, or Sunday Candy, an ode to Grandmas everywhere.

Number two: Wale - The Album About Nothing

This is the album I have always wanted from Wale.  Going with the same theme as his most popular mixtapes  The Mixtape About Nothing and The More About Nothing. Wale enlists the help of stand up comedian  Jerry Seinfeld  to narrate the album.  They talk about love, drugs, and just life in general. I wish Wale was appreciated more as an artist. His viewpoint on all things life have always been expressed in his work, but with this album I felt like it was really delivered properly. The Girls on Drugs was a great song about, as the title suggests, girls on drugs. It describes a cautionary tale of a woman's battle with pills. I hope Wale continues to deliver and be received by old and new fans to come.

Number one: Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly

Everyone is lying if they say Kendrick didn’t have one of the best albums of the year. To Pimp a Butterfly is a milestone in the history of hip hop. I cant descried the album anything less than beautiful. The theme of black empowerment, which ran throughout the whole album, heard clearly in Complexion. I cherished the poetry in These Walls, Kendrick speaking on different types of “walls” and what they mean for the person.  I know when the first single i was released, people didn’t really like it, but it set he tone of Kendrick’s mindset when making this album. In u he faces his own demons as a black man, that is suddenly thrust into the spotlight. Feeling like everyone is changing, causing him to question his faith. A place I am sure people can relate to. If you haven’t already or even if you already listened go give the album a listen, make sure you listen carefully.