UNLEARNING (Chapter II.)
“I’m a fan of dark-
I like dark music
I like depressing music, I like music that makes me sad
I like music that makes me, you know, that- that- that makes me feel angry
I want that shit that when you walkin’ down the street, you just feel like you the baddest motherfucker on the planet
It’s something that fuels me”
From Plans Change by Evidence
90. Juicy J – Head On Swivel
Juicy J reminded everyone last year who holds the keys to the vault in Memphis. Head On Swivel is twenty tracks of pure energy, bass, and the winning mentality of someone who won the game a long time ago yet still enjoys playing it with a beginner’s hunger. The album’s main driver, the track Leak When I Walk, is the essence of Juicy’s style—an infectious groove, witty bars, and drip so heavy you need to mop the floor behind it. Juicy isn’t trying to lecture anyone here; he exists in his best version. Still, beneath all the Balenciaga and gold, you can feel the empathy of a veteran who knows that Nobody Really Safe, and that every banknote is an insurance policy for his children. Last year saw plenty of great projects from rap veterans—new albums by Mobb Deep and De La Soul prove that. But the one who impressed us the most was the southern king himself, Juicy J.
89. SwuM & GRIMM Doza – IMMORTAL 2
Let us start our review of this album in a rather personal way. Every week we go through countless new albums and try to find the biggest gems, so we have really little time to listen to older albums. The year before last we praised Thank You, ‘Preciate It by artists Monday Night and GRIMM Doza, and as part of our search we put on IMMORTAL. It blew us away as much as its cover. Despite being a modern album from 2022, it has the essence of something immortal (touché). So we’re thrilled that producer SwuM and rapper GRIMM Doza have returned after three years to release a follow-up that builds on the vibe of the first and definitely won’t disappoint. IMMORTAL 2 is another serving of top-notch modern rap that carries a dusty vibe like it was found in the ruins of an ancient temple. GRIMM Doza uses the unique beats that SwuM produced for him with absolute precision, rapping bars that reflect his life with all its successes and failures.
88. DeAngelo Xavier – A Dot On The Bulletin
A Dot On The Bulletin by DeAngelo Xavier is a grimy and technically precise project that serves as a reminder of minimalist, finely honed rap craftsmanship. The rapper’s seventh studio album draws inspiration from the cult film Beverly Hills Cops and is packed with memorable moments. The track To Whom It May Concern is the essence of Xavier’s stance—beneath layers of aggressive bars and references to pop culture icons, there is a deep empathy for outsiders. Xavier proudly aligns himself with a crew of outcasts who started in the trenches and for whom rap is the only path to redemption, something powerfully affirmed by the emotional moment on Grandma, We Made It.
87. Estee Nack & Friends – #MINIMANSIONDUST VOL. 7
The seventh installment of the #MINIMANSIONDUST series is a collision of two worlds. On one side stands the hypnotic, ritualistic production of Mr. Rose (the producer alter ego of Estee Nack), on the other the hard-hitting, earthy signature of Bonewes (with one beat on the album also produced by Smello). Estee Nack moves between them like an elusive specter, preaching about God one moment and dissecting reality into pieces the next. Bonewes’ cuts, such as MIAMIONAMONDAYAFTER or Q&AFORMAT, give Nack space for his most aggressive flow. This is rap surgery without anesthesia. The entire project peaks with the track SWORDINTHESTONE, which functions as the definitive full stop to this epic of survival. No official music video was released for the album, so we are including the video for the track IL DUCE.
86. SOO DO KOO – 100 FROM THE CLARITY STRIPE
SOO DO KOO, a rapper and producer from Albany, New York, released fourteen excellent albums in 2024. He continued at a similar pace last year, putting out thirteen projects. He was releasing music so frequently that we stopped including most of his new albums in our articles, simply to make room for other artists. Still, we listen to all of his projects with enthusiasm, and his music has become an escape zone for us—a safe space we are happy to retreat into every month. For our list, we selected the project 100 FROM THE CLARITY STRIPE, which once again blends the artist’s beautiful beats with his charismatic rap. SOO DO KOO is a one-man army, and the entire project is his work, except for one beat by sherman and a verse by andrew. 100 FROM THE CLARITY STRIPE is another excellent addition to the discography of this talent, who makes rap with complete ease—SOO DO KOO was born for music.
85. MAVI – The Pilot
MAVI’s The Pilot is a record that slips into your life quietly, but once you listen closely, you realize it carries more weight than most rap that claims to be deep. The battle with himself and with the world is a daily ritual MAVI flies through. It’s an album by someone who’s had enough of chaos but doesn’t believe he’ll ever fully escape it. It’s intimate but not soft. Vulnerable but not weak. MAVI holds a balance only someone who’s spent years wrestling with pressure and his own mind can hold — and who has finally learned to say it out loud. The production is beautifully dusty, loose, free of unnecessary gestures. There’s warmth, but not the comforting kind — it’s the kind of light that slips through blinds and lands on the table where you’re learning to live with what shaped you. And it still burns. The track Typewriter captures the album’s essence best. MAVI raps like someone who finally understands that too much of his life has been about survival. Every bar smells like reality, but not the tired, dull kind. It’s the honesty of a man who finally knows his own worth — and is afraid to lose it. Kenny Mason brings a surge of energy in the second verse that lights the track up completely. He sounds like someone living fast, dangerously, with a mind running on two planes at once — a perfect contrast. And MIKE with Earl open the darker layers of the record, not through stylization but through experience. You can hear that everyone on the album knows exactly what they’re talking about.
84. Estee Nack, al.divino & Grubby Pawz – C.C.E
„Whether u in the combat training program in the matrix, or in the depths of outerspace… We deliverin the coldest combination ever seen or heard on this side of the universe…“ – Estee Nack.
Estee Nack and al.divino are artists whose solo discographies expand at an unbelievable pace every year. But some of the most striking albums in their catalogs are their collaborative ones. divino and Nack form a duo that redefines contemporary grimy rap, and C.C.E is no exception. COLDEST COMBO EVER also includes producer Grubby Pawz, who crafted a psychedelic soundscape stretching from the hard-hitting dirty beat of the track AMERICAN GRAFFITI all the way to a hip-hop-meets-rock ballad in the form of the closing song ANEWDON (DAWN). If you’re interested in his creative process, check out the video in which he breaks down the beat for the track ARTMONEY / DOPEMONEY. al.divino and Estee Nack are absolutely unstoppable on the mic—many artists call themselves “coldest,” but with these two, you believe it in every single word. Supreme Mathematics.
83. Lord Apex – Smoke Sessions 4
When we think of Smoke Sessions, we think of a vibe, not a specific track, but a feeling: thick smoke, night lights, and beats that sway more than they push. With the fourth installment of the series, Lord Apex shows that his magic lies in continuity. He knows how to create an atmosphere where the listener feels at home, even on a first play. Smoke Sessions 4 is both a return to roots and a step forward. Apex still balances between cosmic perspective and everyday slang, between detachment and a living-room party. On No Worries, this contrast comes alive — the lightness of a party, laughter, and dance, with a hint of melancholy between the lines. It’s rap that feels present but knows how quickly euphoria can fade. The tracklist is long, yet never boring. Vision, Warmest Winter, and The Art of Letting Go showcase Apex’s ability to write verses that go beyond blunt-smoking snapshots, more like diary entries. He transforms everyday situations into vivid images with surprising depth, even where it seems like pure vibe at first. Production-wise, the album is diverse yet held together by a unified mood. It’s the kind of record that works as a soundtrack to life itself — for a tram ride, an evening walk, or when you need to shut out the world and tune into your own mind. Apex stays true to his name and to the community following him, with no pressure for hits.
82. Jay Cinema – A Smile to a Tear
Jay Cinema released his most ambitious album to date last year, A Smile to a Tear, and the title itself — a nod to Roy Ayers’ A Tear To A Smile — perfectly captures what to expect. A Smile to a Tear is a record where joy and sadness don’t oppose each other but coexist, two states between which Jay shifts almost every bar. It’s a gentle, sensitive project that still carries the strength of a person. The release is built on a diverse lineup of producers (pi, lilith, shemar, Tony Seltzer, and more), who open various sonic worlds for Jay — from jazz-light beats to melancholic vibes and rougher, more underground grooves. This makes the album colorful yet cohesive. Jay carries his honest tone throughout, with a voice that works through empathy, fatigue, hope, and memory rather than aggression. One of the most poignant moments is Split It Even, produced by Tony Seltzer. On the track, Jay addresses trust and loyalty, speaking about friends who held him up when he had nothing and how he wants to give back. It’s a song about sharing, not letting others down, and growing up in a world where nothing comes for free. Jay often touches on painful themes — uncertainty, fear of the future — yet there’s always a glimmer of light within them.
81. Tylr C & Protagonist – Last Judgment
Tylr C and Protagonist created a claustrophobic portrait of a mind that has become its own prison on the album Last Judgment. The record, which takes its title from the monumental fresco by Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti, was released on Bandcamp back in 2024 but only made its way to all streaming services last year. Our list, our rules. The album is a dark, spiritual reckoning in which heaven and hell do not collide somewhere far away but directly within the isolation of a single room. The key track, Shutter Island, defines the entire mood of the project. Tylr C raps about a cage whose keys are hidden beneath a frame that cannot be reached—a chillingly precise metaphor for mental paralysis and the feeling that “this shit ain’t Tetris” — things simply don’t fit together. The beats by Protagonist reinforce these states with a crushing minimalism that pins you to the wall and forces you to listen to every word about guilt and the search for redemption.
